Wasting Talent?

Mikoto had excellent talent. She had already awakened her Sharingan more than a year ago, and Hyuga Shin was the only one who knew.

Mikoto told him that she had awakened her Sharingan when her grandfather died.

When he'd heard that, he'd been a little surprised that she had awakened it so early, but it made sense when he thought about it. Losing her only family member must have been a devastating blow.

With her emotions in turmoil and her already excellent talent, awakening the Sharingan wasn't impossible.

Mikoto used to keep him company and chat with him. Now that she was training, Hyuga Shin was left sitting around with nothing to do. It was a little dull, so he decided to train as well.

Hyuga Shin no longer had to torture himself with brutal physical training. He could use the Tenseigan's gravity.

By directly increasing the gravitational pull on himself, he could improve his physical strength quickly and effectively. It strengthened him all over, even his vulnerable internal organs.

He left most of his ninjutsu training to his Shadow Clones. Besides, he didn't know many jutsu, and he'd already mastered all of them.

The Tenseigan's ocular abilities didn't require training. He only needed enough chakra to use them.

What Hyuga Shin needed to train now were Armament Haki, Observation Haki, chakra extraction, the Glint-Glint Fruit, and swordsmanship.

Training in swordsmanship also let him work out and improve his physical strength. It was a two-for-one deal.

The Glint-Glint Fruit required him to improve his ability to condense light and increase its power. That was a bit of a hassle, so Hyuga Shin decided to set it aside for now.

That was the only downside to having so many abilities: there was too much to train. If Hyuga Shin didn't have such good talent, he'd never be able to train in so many skills at once.

After two days off, school started again. If the morning's lessons weren't useful, Hyuga Shin chose to extract chakra instead.

In the afternoons, Hyuga Shin usually went off by himself and slowly swung the short sword he'd had specially made.

He couldn't help it. He wanted to swing Ryujin Jakka, but he wasn't tall enough. Trying to wield it anyway would look ridiculous.

"Hey, Shin, you're swinging that sword way too slowly. Even an ordinary person could dodge it easily. It's completely useless. I don't know why you insist on practicing with it every day."

"Haha! You wouldn't understand, Nawaki," Hyuga Shin replied with a couple of laughs.

The reason he swung so slowly was that his body was under tremendous gravitational pressure. If Hyuga Shin turned off the gravity, Nawaki wouldn't even be able to see his sword swings.

"What wouldn't I understand? You're so mysterious. Let me tell you, I've learned a jutsu, and I can use it now."

Nawaki said proudly.

"What? Nawaki actually learned a jutsu?"

"Impressive. He's from the Senju Clan, after all!"

Nawaki hadn't bothered to keep his voice down, so everyone nearby heard him and stared at him in shock.

"Oh? What jutsu?" Hyuga Shin asked curiously.

"Watch me demonstrate. This jutsu is really powerful, so you should all stand back."

Seeing how impressed his classmates were, Nawaki felt the urge to show off.

"Nawaki, you're not allowed to use jutsu at school," Shikaku Nara said, dousing Nawaki's excitement.

"It's fine. I'm here watching, so go ahead and use it, Nawaki. It'll be a good chance for the teacher to see," Ueno Juri said as he walked over.

Nawaki had thought he wouldn't get the chance to show off, but now he was thrilled. This was the perfect opportunity to display his skills and make a name for himself.

Stepping forward, Nawaki formed Hand Seals with both hands. Unfortunately, his speed was so slow it could only be described as tortoise-like.

"Water Style: Water Wave!"

Water spurted from Nawaki's mouth, but the eager crowd was met with a collective look of dismay.

Nawaki had indeed managed to use the jutsu. But the stream of water was so tiny... it might have been enough to drown an ant.

Then again, it might not even have drowned an ant.

"Nawaki, are you sure you didn't use the legendary Water Style: Spit Jutsu?" Hyuga Shin asked doubtfully.

"Mr. Ueno, are we going to be using jutsu like this from now on? Can a jutsu like that even hurt anyone?"

Nawaki's face flushed red. If there'd been a mouse hole nearby, he would have crawled into it. This was so embarrassing.

"I messed up that time. Let me try again. I did it yesterday, I swear," Nawaki protested, then hurriedly tried the jutsu again.

But the more nervous he got, the more mistakes he made. This time, Nawaki couldn't even spit out a mouthful of water. He'd done worse than before.

Chapter 35: Wasting Talent?

The onlookers were even more disappointed. They hadn't seen anything like the display they'd hoped for.

"Ahem!" Ueno Juri cleared his throat, then said, "Nawaki, you haven't mastered this jutsu yet, so this happened. Don't be discouraged. You're already very impressive."

"Just keep practicing, and you'll definitely be able to use it. Your teacher believes in you."

Ueno Juri encouraged Nawaki.

"That's right, Nawaki. You're already amazing—you can use a jutsu now. Sure, it's a bit lame and can only drown ants, but maybe you should consider becoming an ant exterminator," Hyuga Shin added, offering his own kind of "encouragement."

"Argh! Shin, are you praising me or making fun of me?" Nawaki cried in fury.

Hyuga Shin looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"You really can't tell? Of course I'm making fun of you. Do you think anyone could praise you for a jutsu like that?"

Nawaki was at a loss for words. He stubbornly argued, "I just messed up. I clearly pulled it off yesterday. Even my sister saw it. If you don't believe me, ask her."

"Do you think they believe you?" Hyuga Shin asked, pointing at the crowd.

"I believe you, Nawaki!" Inoichi Yamanaka came over and patted Nawaki on the shoulder.

"Really? Thanks so much, Inoichi." Nawaki was so moved to find someone who believed him that he nearly burst into tears.

"I believe you absolutely can't pull it off." With that, he left with a mischievous grin, ignoring Nawaki, who had frozen in place.

"Damn it! Just you wait. I'll prove it to all of you. I'm going to become Hokage someday. A mere jutsu is nothing—I'll be able to use it perfectly in a few days."

Nawaki said viciously, then went off to sulk by himself.

Everyone smiled without saying anything. They knew Nawaki's personality; he'd probably forget about this in no time. He was just thick-skinned.

"Shin, how about a spar?" Minato Namikaze asked Hyuga Shin with a slight smile.

"Hey, hey! Minato, have you lost your mind? Shin's so strong, and you're built like a twig. He'll punch you straight into the hospital!"

Before Hyuga Shin could say anything, Nawaki, who'd been sulking by himself, jumped up and looked at Minato as if he were an idiot.