The heavy door creaked open with a long squeak. Samui stepped inside the Raikage's office, her cool expression unchanged as she turned and gestured toward the small boy waiting outside.
Neji Hyūga's heart tightened. He inhaled deeply, steeling himself. The moment of fate had arrived.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward into the chamber.
The Raikage's office was not at all what Neji had expected. For a man known across the ninja world as both ferocious and proud, his private space was surprisingly bare. There was no glitter of gold or polished trophies to flaunt wealth. Only a solid desk, a long couch pushed against the wall, and a scattering of iron gym equipment heavy enough to bend the floorboards.
Neji blinked once. So this is how he lives… Simple. Focused. Perhaps he thinks valuables are wasted distractions. Or perhaps, in his hands, too easily broken.
Behind the desk sat a man who radiated power like a roaring storm. His blond hair was cropped short, his chest bare beneath a sleeveless cloak, every muscle chiseled as though carved from steel. His very presence seemed to press the air downward.
Ay. The Fourth Raikage.
Beside him stood a middle-aged man with a single sharp eye, dressed in the manner of an elder advisor. His posture was straight, arms folded across his chest with the calm arrogance of one used to holding influence. His one good eye studied Neji with curiosity.
Neji knew him at once. Though the man was rarely mentioned in history, fragments of knowledge surfaced in his mind. Tsuchida. Advisor to two generations of Raikage. The brain behind the throne, a man whose prestige carries nearly as much weight as the Raikage himself.
Neji lowered himself immediately, bowing on one knee. His voice, calm and soft, echoed in the quiet room.
"Hyūga Neji greets Raikage-sama, and Senior Tsuchida."
The Raikage's stern face broke into the faintest smile. His voice boomed like distant thunder.
"Neji… Very few children have ever caught my eye. You are one of those rare few."
As Ay spoke, he shot Tsuchida a subtle glance.
The elder's lips curled faintly, arms still crossed. His voice carried both pride and testing malice.
"Hyūga Neji, you came to Kumogakure of your own will. That proves you have some understanding of your situation. I have already advised Raikage-sama to raise you as a breeder."
The word cut through the air like a knife. Neji had expected this test. He did not flinch. His young face remained carved from stone, his pale eyes unshaken.
Tsuchida leaned forward, voice sharp, deliberately cruel. "You may not yet know what a stallion is. Let me enlighten you. You will live in a small room—well-fed, well-clothed, never in danger—but never free. From six-year-old girls to sixty-year-old grandmothers, anyone in this village may come to 'play' with you, until the day you die. That is the fate of a breeder."
His tone dripped with ominous relish, waiting for the child to break.
Any normal boy of four would have collapsed in terror. But Neji did not so much as tremble. His eyes were cool, indifferent, as though Tsuchida's words were no more than the wind.
For the first time, Tsuchida's brow twitched. This child was no ordinary boy. He was too calm, too mature. A four-year-old who looks me in the eye without fear… Interesting.
Neji finally lifted his gaze toward the Raikage. His lips parted, his voice firm, carrying weight far beyond his years.
"Raikage-sama," he declared, "give me ten years… and I will return to you a Hidden Cloud Village that shines magnificently across the ninja world."
The words fell like a spark into dry tinder.
Ay's thunderous composure cracked, his eyes widening slightly. Even Tsuchida, master of restraint, allowed a flicker of shock to pass through his single eye.
It was an audacious boast—arrogant, even laughable. And yet… hearing such conviction from the mouth of a child, his face utterly expressionless, his tone heavy with certainty, made even these hardened leaders hesitate.
For a brief moment, both men felt the weight of destiny pressing in the room.
But only for a moment.
Tsuchida quickly recovered, straightening with deliberate scorn. His voice snapped like a whip.
"Hmph! Such arrogance from a mere child! What could you possibly possess to back up such a claim?"
Neji turned calmly to him, his pale eyes unwavering. "Senior Tsuchida, I carry within me the ultimate power of the Hyūga Clan. Given enough time, I can help Kumogakure rise to dominate the ninja world."
Ay's massive frame leaned forward, interest flickering in his sharp gaze. The words "ultimate power" stirred curiosity even in the Raikage.
Tsuchida's eye narrowed like a blade. "Ultimate power? Speak plainly. What is it?"
Neji's voice was steady. "The Byakugan and the Sharingan are known as the two great dōjutsu of the ninja world. Beyond the Three-Tomoe Sharingan lies the Mangekyō Sharingan, a legendary evolution of great strength."
"We already know this," Tsuchida interrupted coldly. "Get to your point."
Despite his harsh tone, his ears sharpened. Even Ay tilted his head slightly, listening.
Neji continued without pause. "The Sharingan can evolve into the Mangekyō, gaining power that rivals a Kage. Yet the Byakugan… it too can evolve. My Byakugan can awaken a state beyond the Mangekyō Sharingan. A power known as—Tenseigan."
The word hung in the air like a bell tolling in a silent temple.
Tsuchida's brow furrowed deeply. "Tenseigan?"
His mind raced. Was such a thing possible? For centuries the Byakugan had remained unchanged, its power great but limited in scope. Could it truly evolve beyond? If so… why had no Hyūga in Konoha ever demonstrated it?
Ay's eyes glinted dangerously. His voice was low. "Decades ago, the Uchiha Clan birthed Mangekyō Sharingan, yet since the founding of Konoha, the Hyūga have never shown this 'Tenseigan.' If it truly exists, what proof do you have?"
Neji bowed his head slightly, as if conceding. "Senior Tsuchida, Raikage-sama… the Mangekyō Sharingan has not been seen for decades. It is rare, difficult, and costly to awaken. Likewise, the Tenseigan cannot be expected to appear easily. That does not mean it does not exist."
Tsuchida snorted. "Heh. Then you admit you have no proof. In that case, all your words amount to nothing but fantasies."
Neji closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them with solemnity. "My father once told me that in the ancient chronicles of the Hyūga Clan, the Tenseigan appeared—awakened by the legendary shinobi, Hyūga Ichizoku."
The name rolled off his tongue with the weight of legend.
Tsuchida paused. A legendary figure? A name unknown in records, yet spoken with such conviction. Could a child invent such words on the spot?
His arms crossed, expression unreadable. "Hyūga Ichizoku…? If such a man existed, he must have been extraordinary."
Neji pressed on. His tone did not waver. "I cannot offer you physical proof today. But I carry the potential within me. That is my confidence. Whether Raikage-sama chooses to believe is his freedom. What I guarantee is this: if you allow me time, I will bring unprecedented opportunities to Kumogakure. To refuse me may be safe, but to accept me… is to gamble on greatness."
His pale eyes locked with Ay's. The boy's voice lowered, resonant with determination far beyond his age. "The question is whether Raikage-sama possesses the generosity—and the courage—to take that gamble."
The room fell silent.
Ay leaned back slowly, tapping his fingers against the desk. The sharp sound echoed like distant thunder. His gaze bore into Neji, testing, weighing. Then, suddenly, a grin split across his stern face.
"Neji… you are a fascinating brat." His voice thundered with approval. "Very well. From this day forward, you are a shinobi of Kumogakure. You will enjoy the highest level of treatment—every resource, every secret technique, every cultivation method our village possesses will be open to you, without restriction."
The Raikage's words were final, booming with authority.
Hyūga Neji had secured his place.
And with that promise, the first stone was laid in the foundation of a new future—one that, in ten years, might indeed shake the ninja world.
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