Transcendence

What was a dream?

On their first day of school, there were hardly any lessons. After merely having them introduce themselves, Iruka dismissed them.

When they returned home, Hyuga Hiashi, just like Iruka at school, asked Ryosuke and Hinata about their dreams.

Just as she had said at school, Hinata's dream was still to become a qualified clan head.

That was her genuine wish.

Ryosuke's answer, however, differed from the dream he had stated at school.

"My dream is to gain enough strength to protect myself and my family as soon as possible, then steadily improve myself in an ordinary life," Ryosuke said with a smile. That was his true wish.

But his answer clearly dissatisfied Hyuga Hiashi.

Frowning, Hyuga Hiashi rose from his chair and looked down at Ryosuke. "This... is what you think? Your goal?"

His tone was stern, filled with interrogation.

He had given Ryosuke countless amounts of attention and placed great expectations upon him. Even in his heart, Ryosuke already held a position above the clan itself.

If he had to choose between Ryosuke and the Hyūga, Hyuga Hiashi might choose Ryosuke.

The reason was that, in his heart, the influence Ryosuke's bloodline had brought him had already surpassed the current Hyūga Clan.

Ryosuke alone was worth the entire Hyūga Clan.

Yet after hearing such an ordinary dream from Ryosuke, he was deeply dissatisfied. This should not have been his dream.

As the Hyūga's future, his dream should have been greater and broader.

"Do you intend to waste that Ancestral Regression bloodline of yours?"

Hyuga Hiashi wore an unprecedentedly stern expression. "Ryosuke, with your temperament, it's impossible for you to have only such a boring dream. Tell me what you truly think."

Clearly, he did not believe this was Ryosuke's genuine wish.

He felt that Ryosuke was hiding his abilities again, even from him, his father.

Beside them, Hinata clasped her hands tightly behind her back.

Since Ryosuke had come to this family, this was the first time Father had been so harsh toward him.

He was angry.

"This is what I truly think."

Yet Ryosuke maintained the same unchanging smile, his posture calm, as though he had not sensed Hyuga Hiashi's anger in the slightest.

"Foolish!"

Hyuga Hiashi suddenly slammed his palm against the table. The sound was so loud that even the birds perched among the branches in the courtyard spread their wings and fled.

"You know the history of our Hyūga."

"Since the Warring States Period, though we called ourselves a Great Clan, our clan had long failed to produce a talented genius of both virtue and ability."

"When Konoha was first established, thanks to the powerful sensory abilities of our Bloodline Limit, our clan held an exceptional position in the village and enjoyed many conveniences."

"Even to this day, though Konoha's upper ranks remain wary of our clan, their guard against us falls far short of what they reserve for the Uchiha. Yet this does not make me happy in the slightest. It even fills me with shame!"

"And I believe you understand the reason, Ryosuke!"

Hyuga Hiashi was emotional, spraying spit as he spoke.

This unprecedented loss of composure frightened Hinata Hyuga into taking a step back, leaving her standing there blankly.

But at that moment, neither of the two people in the study paid her any attention.

"I understand."

Facing the uncharacteristically discomposed Hyuga Hiashi, Ryosuke nodded calmly.

"Since you understand, then you should know what you must do!"

Hyuga Hiashi stared intently at Ryosuke. "When Konoha was first founded, the Uchiha had Madara Uchiha, while the Senju had Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju. Yet our Hyūga could not produce anyone capable of matching them."

"Later, though the Senju were gone and Madara Uchiha had vanished, Princess Tsunade's name spread throughout the Ninja World, and the Uchiha had figures such as Kagami Uchiha. Though they were not from the same era, they all possessed the ability to bear the banner. Yet our Hyūga still produced no one of note during either period."

"Now, the Senju Clan has no successors, while the Uchiha Clan remains strong, producing figures like Itachi Uchiha and Body Flicker Shisui. This time, our Hyūga have finally gained someone who can bear the banner—Ryosuke! Your ambitions should not be so short-sighted!"

"Before you become strong enough, I can allow you to hide your abilities. But you absolutely cannot waste your talent or drift with the current! You should achieve great deeds and spread the Hyūga's prestige!"

He clenched his fists and panted heavily.

Their Hyūga had waited far too long for this opportunity.

Konoha's wariness toward them was less than its wariness toward the Uchiha because it simply did not think highly of the Hyūga.

For a long time, the Hyūga had not produced anyone capable of bearing the banner. Everyone had been living off past accomplishments, including Hyuga Hiashi himself.

The secret techniques of the Gentle Fist from a century ago were still the same few moves today.

The Byakugan from a century ago had likewise remained unchanged until Ryosuke appeared. None of the differences recorded throughout the Hyūga's long history had emerged. They had insisted on preserving the purity of the Byakugan, and no so-called evolution had occurred.

Without these Byakugan, they were nothing.

Over a hundred years, they had done nothing except live off past accomplishments.

But the other clans were entirely different.

Every previous clan head had understood this. Everyone had been anxious, yet that anxiety had changed nothing.

But now, it was different. A Byakugan matching the historical records had appeared.

"Father, you're too agitated."

Facing Hyuga Hiashi, whose forehead veins bulged as though he had activated the Byakugan, Ryosuke looked at him calmly. However, the smile on his face gradually faded, replaced by seriousness.

"Living peacefully in this world is not as easy or simple as you imagine," he said slowly. "And gaining the strength to protect one's family and oneself is even less something that can be accomplished overnight."

After arriving in this world, Ryosuke had considered many goals.

But in truth, none of them were more practical than cultivating peacefully and steadily.

In his previous life, he had encountered materialist thought. It had been an era without any cultivation, an age of technology.

In such an era, when Ryosuke came to the Ninja World and encountered cultivation and so-called Chakra, everything related to cultivation felt novel to him.

Fighting for power, building a harem of three thousand beauties—none of that could become his dream.

He could have accomplished such things in his previous life as well.

In fact, compared to this world, that era with its developed entertainment industry had been far more comfortable.

So compared to those things, Ryosuke was far more interested in cultivation.

As a reincarnator whose entire worldview had been formed in a world without magic, no one could understand the shock and longing he felt when he extracted his first wisp of Chakra and sensed it flowing through his body, filling him with warmth.

Afterward, the Byakugan and Gentle Fist allowed him to accomplish many things he had once never dared imagine. This was transcendent power, a process by which humanity sought to elevate the level of life itself.

If Ryosuke had not reincarnated, but instead obtained a Chakra extraction manual in the modern world,

he felt that apart from lying low and quietly studying its mysteries, he would not have had the slightest desire to display his holiness before others.

The moment he came into contact with cultivation and the transcendent, his thoughts and standing had already changed.

And this difference was something the people of this Ninja World could not feel, because they had never experienced a technological age without magic.