Wind-Riding Sword Technique

Day after day, he went to school to study ninja theory and the history of the Shinobi World. After class, he went to Nawaki's house to practice swordsmanship. In the meantime, Inuzuka Gai and Aburame Tomohiro had also come over to play. When they learned Hyuga Shinichi was practicing swordsmanship, they were puzzled. Wasn't the Hyuga Clan known for the Gentle Fist?

Later, Tsunade saw him practicing and told Mito Uzumaki. They all came over and sat to one side to watch.

After practicing with a sword for a few weeks, Nawaki decided he wasn't cut out for swordsmanship and stopped.

After Hyuga Shinichi showed off the sword techniques he had learned, everyone applauded. Remembering the idea he'd had earlier, he felt it was finally ready to try. He decided to show off in front of his friends and called out loudly.

"Nawaki, Gai, Tomohiro, watch closely! This move I came up with is really cool!"

Hyuga Shinichi stood in the middle of the training ground, gripping his sword with both hands and closing his eyes as he took his stance. When he exhaled, the air around him changed. Gusts of wind blew out from his body.

"Is that Wind Style chakra? To have such a presence at his age is truly remarkable."

Mito Uzumaki, seated off to the side, recognized that Hyuga Shinichi was using Wind Style, but she had no idea what he would do next.

"Byakugan! Wind-Riding Sword Technique: Wind Flow Coverage!"

That's right. He had noticed that his Wind Style chakra was unusually active, and when developing this move, he had borrowed an idea from a character in a game he'd loved playing in his previous life: Yasuo the Unforgiven, who wielded the Wind-Riding Sword Technique.

This move also made use of the Byakugan's X-Ray Vision. By seeing through the chakra points and pathways in his own body, he could clearly see and precisely control the flow of chakra throughout his system.

Air currents gradually enveloped the wooden sword in his hands, until they covered the entire blade. With Wind Style chakra coating it, the wooden blade looked incredibly sharp.

At that moment, having successfully performed the move for the first time, Hyuga Shinichi felt as if he could cut through anything—even Susanoo. But when he could no longer hold on, that illusion dissipated along with his chakra.

"Wow! That move was so cool!" Nawaki and Inuzuka Gai exclaimed together.

After seeing Hyuga Shinichi's move, Nawaki and Inuzuka Gai shouted excitedly. Though Aburame Tomohiro didn't cry out, his excitement was clear from the look in his eyes behind his dark goggles.

"He really is remarkable. Little Shinichi can already control the flow of his chakra to this extent?"

Tsunade spoke to Mito Uzumaki, who had watched from the sidelines. Having lived so long, Mito could naturally see many things. If Shinichi hadn't activated his Byakugan, a child so young couldn't have precisely controlled the flow of his chakra. He might only have managed it once he was older.

Of course, Mito Uzumaki didn't let Shinichi's talent blind her to how hard he had worked.

Hyuga Shinichi had activated his Byakugan while controlling the flow of his chakra, and sweat already covered his chubby cheeks. Unlike Nawaki, who lost interest after a few minutes, Shinichi had worked hard at sword practice for weeks, and several calluses had formed on his young hands.

At last, Mito saw Hyuga Shinichi barely manage to stay on his feet. He smiled happily at his friends' praise, and Mito Uzumaki's lips curled into a smile as she said,

"He really is still just a child."

Everyone had seen Hyuga Shinichi's talent and overlooked his age and hard work. But in Mito Uzumaki's eyes, he was still just a little boy who liked showing off in front of his friends, who was happy to be praised, and who hadn't grown up yet.

A few days later, Hyuga Shinichi arrived at school in the morning and heard his classmates engrossed in conversation. He went over to join them. By now, he knew everyone in his class, and even plenty of students in other classes and grades. He had already earned the title of Ninja Academy Social Butterfly.

His classmates liked Hyuga Shinichi, so when he came over, they pulled him into the conversation.

"Hey, Shinichi, did you hear? They're teaching us the Three Basic Techniques today. Chakra training was so boring before. We're finally learning some ninjutsu!"

Hyuga Shinichi quickly figured out what they were discussing. The boy who had spoken was a civilian. With no family traditions to rely on, the only way he could become a ninja was through the Ninja Academy. Before they started teaching ninjutsu, all he could do was endlessly practice chakra extraction—a dull and exhausting task.

In simple terms, chakra training meant meditating, sensing the chakra inside you, and getting it to flow. It laid the groundwork for using ninjutsu, allowing you to draw out chakra and activate techniques.

For kids their age, who were energetic and loved to play, it really was a trial. Naturally, they were all excited to hear they were finally going to learn ninjutsu.

Back at his seat, Hyuga Shinichi thought it over. The Three Basic Techniques taught at the Ninja Academy were the Transformation Technique, the Substitution Technique, and the Clone Technique.

The Transformation Technique temporarily changed an object using chakra. At its core, it was a change in form.

The Clone Technique created an illusion out of chakra, with no physical form or ability to cause real harm.

The Substitution Technique was a diversion technique. Just before being struck, the user replaced themselves with a piece of wood, tricking their opponent into thinking the attack had succeeded.

In Hyuga Shinichi's view, all three techniques were just illusions created by chakra, and the Byakugan could see through them. That made him unable to get excited about the lesson.

If he remembered right, there was also a more advanced set of Three Basic Techniques. He wondered if they would teach it later. They were the Body Immobilization Technique, the Invisibility Technique, and the Body Flicker Technique.

Thinking of the Body Flicker Technique reminded Hyuga Shinichi of Body Flicker Shisui, a ninja who had given a technique its name. As for a movement technique of his own, Hyuga Shinichi had already come up with an idea. It was none other than the essential move for becoming a carefree wind swordsman: Sweeping Blade.

The idea was to gather Wind Style chakra beneath his feet and use it to propel himself forward a short distance.

It sounded simple, but it was hard to pull off. How much Wind Style chakra should he control so he wouldn't shoot too far and could still stand firm enough to swing his sword? And charging straight ahead would make it easy for an enemy to predict his position and attack. How could he control his chakra if he needed to change direction mid-dash?

"Honestly, my body's just too small right now. Developing ninjutsu is such a struggle."

"What are you mumbling to yourself about?"

Hyuga Shinichi knew it was Nawaki without even looking up. When he raised his head, he saw Nawaki grinning, with Inuzuka Gai and Aburame Tomohiro behind him.

They had clearly run into each other on the way to school and come in together. Shinichi told them what the school would be teaching that day, and they began chatting.

"Hey, Gai, doesn't your clan have a secret technique that's kind of like the Transformation Technique? The one where a person can turn into a dog, and a dog can turn into a person?"

"Dummy, those are the Beast Mimicry Ninja Art and the Human Mimicry Ninja Art. They're way more advanced than the Transformation Technique. They're not even in the same league."

After several days of lessons and practice, Hyuga Shinichi successfully mastered the Transformation Technique and the Substitution Technique. His Clone Technique, however, wasn't quite right, and Gai and Nawaki teased him about it.

Tomohiro stood beside me and put a hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me. But from the way his shoulders shook, I could tell he was laughing too.

To them, any little thing that the genius Hyuga Shinichi couldn't do well was fodder for jokes and teasing.

Hyuga Shinichi pretended to look annoyed, but all three of them knew he was acting. As he put it, friends had to tease each other to make things fun. They all liked that kind of relationship, including Tomohiro, who wasn't much of a talker.