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The Hyuga Clan's Branch Family dojo.

Yu sat on the floor in a long white Confucian robe.

Across from him, Hizashi sat upright and began his lesson.

"We Hyuga are ninja who specialize in taijutsu, and our Gentle Fist Style is a school all its own, distinct from the Strong Fist Style!"

"Gentle Fist is a taijutsu style that drives your chakra into an enemy's body, damaging their internal organs and the 'chakra pathway system' through which their chakra flows. It can only display its true power when used with the Hyuga Clan's kekkei genkai-the Byakugan. Since internal organs can't be trained, a hit from Gentle Fist is often fatal, no matter how powerful the ninja."

"That is the essence of Gentle Fist!"

"Mm, mm~!" Yu nodded, looking as though he only half understood.

Hizashi looked at Neji, who sat beside them. "Neji, you've already mastered all this. Go train at your own pace."

But Neji said, "Father, Yu has only just started training. I'd like to stay with him. It won't hold me back anyway."

"Mm, all right." Hizashi nodded, deeply pleased.

Turning his gaze back, Hizashi said solemnly, "The Byakugan is the foundation of Gentle Fist. When it's activated, the chakra throughout your body circulates at high speed, giving your taijutsu extraordinary power. Watch closely, Yu!"

He raised two fingers!

"Byakugan!!"

Pop! Veins bulged around Hizashi's eyes, stretching all the way to his temples!

Lowering his hand, Hizashi said, "This is what the activated Byakugan looks like!!"

Yu exclaimed, "So amazing~~!!"

Hizashi said, "It's nothing special. Once you've trained, you'll be able to do it too!"

Yu asked, "That thing you just did with your hand is called making hand seals, right, Dad? Do you need hand seals to activate the Byakugan too?"

Hizashi said, "Oh, that? I was just demonstrating for you. Beginners need hand seals to activate the Byakugan, but once you're proficient, you can activate it whenever you want without them. Give it a try, Yu!"

Yu raised his little hands to form a seal.

Hizashi said, "Hand seals aren't just gestures. Your chakra has to circulate along with them. Focus on feeling the chakra moving inside your body!"

"Oh~." Yu's little face looked bewildered.

He was a bona fide Ōtsutsuki. In principle, he needed no hand seals to perform any technique.

Hizashi thought, I skipped the most basic chakra lessons and started directly with the Byakugan. That's how I taught Neji, but Neji's talent is exceptionally rare. If this really doesn't work, I'll start further back...

Bzz!

The same veins swelled around Yu's eyes!

"Hehe, I activated it~!"

"Wow~, so this is the Byakugan? Everything's so clear, and I can even see through walls! Amazing~!"

Yu feigned astonishment!

Beside him, Neji's little mouth hung open in surprise too.

Hizashi kept his expression calm, but his mind was anything but. Hmm, looks like there's no need to start with the basics. Does this child have a head start just like Neji?

In fact, Yu had been able to sense chakra and activate his Byakugan on his very first day after transmigrating. It hadn't been thanks to the Book of the Gods, but to the innate talent of his Ōtsutsuki body!

His talent and comprehension were both good. What about his chakra?

Hizashi looked closely. In Yu's abdomen, at the spot ninja called the "root chakra," a brilliant blue flame of chakra burned more than two feet high, almost reaching above his head!

"???"

Stunned, Hizashi rubbed his eyes and looked again. The chakra flame had become smaller and thinner, reaching only his chest.

But even so... that was an astonishing amount of chakra!

N-no, no, no way! This child has never trained, yet his chakra far exceeds that of children his age. It's even... at jōnin level????

Yu thought, That was close, so close! I almost gave myself away. When I activated the Byakugan, I nearly failed to keep my chakra suppressed!

Ōtsutsuki chakra was measured against that of tailed beasts.

Don't get the wrong idea. The tailed beasts here didn't mean the One-Tail through the Nine-Tails created by the Sage of Six Paths, but the original Ten-Tails!

Generally speaking, even an Ōtsutsuki with inferior talent, growing normally without consuming a Chakra Fruit, could reach half the Ten-Tails' chakra at their peak!

Those with better talent could have chakra comparable to a complete Ten-Tails at their peak!

For a top-tier Ōtsutsuki, having chakra equal to two or three Ten-Tails at their peak was nothing difficult!

A very few Ōtsutsuki had truly monstrous talent, such as the biological father of Yu's Ōtsutsuki body... they could even-never mind, that could wait.

But Ōtsutsuki were still living beings at their core, and living beings needed time to grow.

In childhood, an Ōtsutsuki's chakra wasn't much greater than a human's.

Once childhood ended, their chakra would explode exponentially, until there was no stopping it!

Only then would the difference between the races become fully apparent!

So, for now, Yu was still a promising prospect.

That was exactly how he wanted it.

Otherwise, given the way the Konoha High Command behaved, he could forget about enjoying a peaceful little life.

"Mm... good, good. That's my boy!"

Hizashi nodded repeatedly. It would have been a lie to say he wasn't proud. Who didn't want their child to stand out from the crowd?

Still... Hizashi was a little worried.

What would his elder brother think if he saw this?

After all, Hinata's talent had always been a sore point for Hiashi!

Murphy's law: whatever you feared would happen.

Whoosh! Hiashi pushed the door open. "Yu has started training, hasn't he? I came to see how far he's gotten. Has he learned to mold chakra yet... hmm?"

The moment he entered, Hiashi saw Yu sitting there, watching him with his Byakugan.

What? He can already activate his Byakugan? Hinata took three months to learn that!!

Surprised, Hiashi activated his own Byakugan and saw Yu's chakra rising more than a foot above his root chakra!

A child of three or four has chakra comparable to a jōnin!? What's going on here!

Hiashi asked, "Hizashi, tell me the truth. Have you been giving Yu extra lessons in secret?!"

Hizashi hastily said, "No, no, absolutely not!"

All right.

Hiashi had seen plenty in his time, and soon regained his composure.

Hizashi rose to offer his seat. "Brother, sit down!"

Hiashi stopped and waved him off. "No need. Keep teaching!"

"Ahem." Hizashi steadied himself and put on a stern expression. "Yu, now that you can activate the Byakugan, you have the foundation needed to learn Gentle Fist. But! But after countless refinements by the Hyuga Clan, Gentle Fist has become a vast and profound discipline! You must approach it humbly, master it from the basics, and train diligently, one step at a time. Understand?"

Yu answered, "I understand, Dad~!"

Hizashi said sternly, "There are no fathers and sons in the dojo! Call me honored Father!!"

Dad, there's something wrong with that wording...

But Yu obediently said, "I understand, honored Father!"

"Mm." Hizashi stood. "Listen. Gentle Fist is a combat taijutsu style. You'll never learn it by talking without practicing. Footwork is the foundation of fist techniques. If your footwork is unsteady, your strikes will be disorganized too. Gentle Fist footwork is derived from the Eight Trigrams Formation. Its defining features are flowing like water, unpredictable changes, and movements that are difficult to read!"

"Now I'll demonstrate it once. Watch with your eyes and understand with your heart!"

Hizashi demonstrated it in front of everyone.

Yu watched carefully, thinking, Hmmmmm...

Whoosh! His demonstration finished, Hizashi darted back to his original position. "That was the general framework of the footwork. Of course, in actual combat, you'll need to adapt to changes in your opponent's position. But the underlying principle never changes. Visualize an Eight Trigrams Formation with your opponent at its center, and you won't go wrong!"

Yu nodded. "Mm~!"

Hizashi said, "Try it once! I'll correct any shortcomings!"

"Mm~."

Yu stood and began.

Tap~ tap~ tap~ tap~! His little feet struck the floor in a lilting, cheerful rhythm!

Hizashi wondered, His steps are perfectly placed, but why does it feel like he's dancing rather than practicing martial arts...?

"Hehe..."

That was right. Yu was dancing. The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style played in his head, and his steps combined Gentle Fist's Eight Trigrams footwork with the song's beat!

"..." Hizashi's body began moving involuntarily. If Hiashi hadn't been watching beside him, he might have joined in.

Beside him, Hiashi was struggling to restrain himself too. What an amazing sense of rhythm!

After Yu sat down, Neji leaned over and whispered, "Yu, you were actually dancing, weren't you...?"

Children understood children best.

Yu whispered, "Shh! Even if you see through it, don't say it."

Neji looked eager. "Let's dance together after training~!"

Yu grinned. "Hehe~ it's a deal~!"

The two adults heard the children's whispers too.

"Ahem...!" Hizashi coughed beside them.

Yu and Neji straightened their sitting postures in a second!

Tap, tap, tap~! With his arms held before his chest and his right foot tapping incessantly, Hizashi said, "The framework of your footwork was correct, although... never mind. I'll demonstrate it again with the strikes included."

Perhaps influenced by Yu, Hizashi looked as if he were dancing when he began again!

Fortunately, he corrected himself in time to avoid making a complete fool of himself!

That was close. This child nearly led me astray. Good thing my foundations are solid...

Next, Hizashi demonstrated progressively more advanced moves, and Yu learned everything he offered!

Yes, Yu hadn't deliberately shown off his talent, but neither had he deliberately played dumb.

His Ōtsutsuki talent was beyond question.

He had understood from the outset that once he officially began training, he couldn't completely hide his brilliance.

Constantly trying to conceal it would make his life exhausting.

Besides, being treated as a useless failure would bother him too. After all, he had promised Hiashi to look after and protect Hanabi. He had to give Hiashi some reassurance.

So Yu's plan was to reveal just a tiny sliver of his brilliance and present himself as a fairly conventional genius. Yes, enough that no one would consider him useless, but not enough to steal Neji's thunder~!

Yes... his talent would be no worse than that of Neji, the foremost genius, but because he'd started later, he would temporarily take second place. In the future, he could catch up or even surpass him. That was the persona he wanted~~!

In just one day, under Hizashi's guidance, Yu mastered the fundamentals of Gentle Fist.

Having witnessed this miracle, Hiashi felt a little desolate, but more than anything, he was moved.

In the corridor at dusk.

Hiashi sighed sincerely. "Hizashi, perhaps you should have been the Main Family's heir..."

Hizashi was alarmed. "Brother, why would you say that? Your strength unquestionably qualifies you to lead the clan!"

Hiashi shook his head with a bitter smile and patted Hizashi's shoulder. "Raise Yu and Neji well. They are the Hyuga's future, and Konoha's hope!"

Watching his brother walk away, Hizashi bowed. "Thank you, Brother!"

Outside their home.

Yu and Neji were dancing~!

Passing clan members stopped to watch, looking at them as though they were fools.

"Look, it's Yu. He's at it again..."

"Haha, that little fellow never behaves properly."

"Wait, why is Neji doing it too...?"

Although Neji had largely let himself go, he was still a young master reluctant to abandon his aloof image. Under the clan members' disdainful looks, he stopped!

Tap, tap, tap~!

Yu was thoroughly enjoying himself. He hopped repeatedly from side to side, leaving hazy afterimages!

"Th-this is..."

Secret Technique: Repeated Side-to-Side Hopping!!

"Hey... what's going on with Yu?"

"Haha, what utter nonsense!"

"But can you hop sideways like that and leave afterimages??"

"Actually, I don't think I can."

"So is he a genius or an idiot?"

"I heard his performance in the dojo was no worse than Neji's. Even Lord Hiashi praised him highly!"

"Then he's another genius from the Branch Family??"

Yu bent low and swept his leg, kicking up a gust of wind!

Whoosh~!

"Whoa~!" Everyone's eyes lit up!

But Yu kept sweeping faster and faster~~!

Imitating the principle of a bamboo propeller, he used his sweeping kicks to create an updraft and flew into the air~~!

Secret Technique: Spiral Ascension!!

Everyone's gaze rose, and they all thought the same thing. Probably an idiot~!

"Hehe..."

As Yu rose into the air, he spread his arms and scattered "candy" all around!

Secret Technique: Heavenly Maiden Scatters Flowers!

"Hahaha, he may be an idiot, but he's a lovable idiot..."

Everyone happily picked up the candy, ate it, and went home!

That night, everyone who had eaten the candy had a dream. In their dreams, they danced wildly all night to the infectious melody of The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style!

When they woke the next morning, the tune was still buzzing in their heads, refusing to leave!

That was probably the beginning of the Hyuga Clan's descent into absurdity~!