Three Years

At dusk, Hyuuga Nen finished his day of training and headed home.

On the way, Hyuuga Nen could hear the villagers discussing all sorts of topics—food, drink, and entertainment, work, children, joys, grievances, and, of course, the war.

Nearly three years had passed since Hyuuga Nen first extracted chakra.

Although he was in the Land of Iron, Hyuuga Nen still occasionally heard delayed news about the ninja world war. The Third Shinobi World War had broken out three years ago; while there was no concrete information, plenty of dubious rumors were circulating.

Since the war began, far fewer ninjas traveled through the Land of Iron than before. Most of those who did come were there to procure war supplies, leaving in a hurry once their business was concluded.

Influenced by the war, the business of weapons and ores in the Land of Iron had been thriving over the past three years.

"Have you heard? They say the war in the Land of Fire is over, and they've even chosen a Fourth Hokage."

"Really? When did that happen?"

"Just a while ago."

"It's good that we're in the Land of Iron, unaffected by the war."

Hearing this conversation, Hyuuga Nen paused his steps, glanced at the two middle-aged men speaking, and then continued walking as if nothing had happened.

So, has Naruto been born yet? If not, it should be soon, Hyuuga Nen thought silently, his hands in his pockets and his eyes fixed straight ahead.

As he walked, Hyuuga Nen saw a Konoha ninja squad approaching from the front. He recognized one of them—a young man wearing a dark blue bandana with something like a toothpick in his mouth, looking rather devil-may-care.

Is that guy called Shiranui Genma? Hyuuga Nen glanced at the Konoha squad and naturally shifted his gaze away.

Hyuuga Nen had encountered many ninjas over the years. At first, he had been quite afraid, but as time passed, he grew accustomed to it. As long as they weren't using the Byakugan, he trusted that it would be difficult for others to discover his disguise.

Returning home, Hyuuga Nen set down his training katana and began processing medicinal herbs. Over the past few years, he had started helping Rika with this task.

To minimize the chance of being discovered, Hyuuga Nen generally didn't help out at Rika's shop, instead assisting with housework and odd jobs. By now, the herbs Rika needed were all collected and processed by Hyuuga Nen, and he had even planted some at home.

That evening, Hyuuga Nen and Rika ate dinner together at the table.

"Nen, how did your samurai training go today?" Rika set down her bowl and chopsticks, looking at Hyuuga Nen with concern.

"It was quite simple," Hyuuga Nen replied while eating.

Just then, Hyuuga Nen heard Rika begin to cough violently. He looked up to see her face flushed red, as if she were coughing up her very lungs.

He quickly moved to Rika's side, condensed Yang-attribute chakra in his hand, and placed it against her back.

"Are you feeling better?" After a while, Hyuuga Nen looked at her.

"Much better, that's enough, Nen." Rika turned to look at him, forcing a smile.

Hyuuga Nen frowned as he returned to his seat, thinking about Rika's illness while he ate. Every winter, Rika fell severely ill; even though she was a doctor herself, she could not avoid it.

The scroll his father left him only recorded the training method for the "Hemostasis Technique," while other medical ninjutsu were only listed by name and effect.

When Rika had an episode, Hyuuga Nen could only use his Yang-release chakra to make her feel a bit more comfortable; he had no better solution.

Hyuuga Nen had been undergoing samurai training for two years now.

In a middle-class family like his, they would pool money to hire a samurai to instruct the children. Training usually occurred once every three days, and the teacher wasn't particularly attentive to children with average talent—after all, there were simply too many children in the Land of Iron who wanted to become samurai, and the teacher couldn't possibly manage them all.

The teacher provided simple guidance on chakra extraction and swordsmanship, asking nothing else. Even children who couldn't extract chakra could still train.

Hyuuga Nen kept his performance at an above-average level, focusing his energy on his own private training during the rest of his time.

Six months later, late one night.

In his sleep, Hyuuga Nen felt someone enter his room. He immediately snapped awake, opened his eyes, and saw that it was Taro.

"Taro, what's wrong?" Hyuuga Nen asked.

Taro gestured toward the outside, and Hyuuga Nen immediately understood. He followed Taro into the forest and saw a black panther lying on a rock.

"You've come. It seems you have become a ninja. Show me the results of your training over these past few years."

With that, the black panther crouched on its hind legs, crossed its front paws, and watched Hyuuga Nen with piercing eyes.

Hyuuga Nen didn't say a word and began his demonstration. First came taijutsu, followed by ninjutsu and genjutsu.

The black panther frowned as it watched him finish the ninjutsu, but it said nothing. "What about sealing jutsu? Have you mastered any?" the panther asked sternly.

After hearing this, Hyuuga Nen steadied his chakra. As he finished his hand signs, he slammed his palms onto the ground.

"Single Thread Light Formation!" As the words left his lips, a circle composed of several black runes appeared on the ground.

"Next is the Three-Way Seal." Hyuuga Nen pressed his index and middle fingers together, crossed his hands into a cross, and formed the Ren seal.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Two clones appeared beside him. Hyuuga Nen directed them to the east and west while he stood in the south. The three of them performed the seals simultaneously, and a transparent, green, pyramid-shaped barrier appeared between them.

"These are the only sealing jutsus I have mastered," Hyuuga Nen told the panther.

Seeing that Hyuuga Nen could use sealing jutsu, the panther's expression eased significantly.

"You must remember, sealing jutsu will be very helpful for your situation. You need to spend more time on it." The panther stared intently at Hyuuga Nen.

Considering his circumstances and knowing the panther spoke the truth, Hyuuga Nen nodded.

With a "poof," the panther clapped its front paws together, and a scroll and a book appeared before Hyuuga Nen.

"What are these?" Hyuuga Nen asked, looking at the items.

"These are the last things your father left for you. Something has happened, and I will stay here for a while to help with your training. Go back for now, and from now on, come here every night at midnight." With that, the black panther vanished into the depths of the forest.

Hearing this, Hyuuga Nen thought of the news from over half a year ago regarding the Fourth Hokage taking office.

Now that over half a year has passed, Naruto should have been born, right? That means the Fourth Hokage must have already passed away. The plot is about to begin.

Shaking his head, Hyuuga Nen cast the unnecessary thoughts from his mind. Carrying the scroll and the book, he left the forest and headed home.