Neji adjusted the bandages on his hands and exhaled softly. Sweat rolled down the side of his face, proof of a full day's worth of exhausting training. He had been pushing his body and mind to the limit, following Samui's strict routine. Even so, he remained calm and determined.
"If I complete the training within the given time," Neji asked quietly, "can I use the rest of the time however I want?"
Samui, standing nearby with her usual composed elegance, squinted slightly at him. For a moment, she looked as though she were testing whether he was being serious. Then, her lips curved into a rare smile.
"Alright," she said, "everything is under your control. If you perform exceptionally, you'll even earn special rewards."
Neji gave a firm nod. "We agreed."
"Good," Samui clapped her hands once, her golden hair catching the sunlight. "Don't waste another second. Let's go!"
She swung her arms back and dashed forward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.
Neji inhaled deeply, his sharp eyes flashing, and then shot off after her. His feet struck the ground with precision, and his breathing grew steady as he settled into the pace.
[You went for a morning run. Your physical fitness increased. Basic Taijutsu improved. Experience +3.]
[You practiced Chakra healing. Understanding increased. Experience +2.]
[You used Byakugan. Insight improved. Experience +1.]
By the time evening arrived, Neji was utterly exhausted. He dragged himself home and collapsed onto his futon, staring at the mental dashboard of floating notifications that appeared in his mind's eye. He had been too busy training to check them throughout the day, but now they flooded in all at once.
Just as he was about to review them carefully, the door creaked open.
"Creak…"
Samui entered, her presence filling the room immediately. Before Neji could even react, she bent down and scooped him up in her arms as if he were still a child.
"W–wait, Sister, what are you doing?!" Neji flailed his legs, his face flushing with embarrassment.
Samui didn't answer. With effortless strength, she carried him across the room and dumped him straight into a large wooden tub filled with steaming water.
"H–hot!" Neji yelped as his entire body was submerged. He instantly turned red, his pale skin flushed like a shrimp tossed into boiling water.
He tried to stand, instinctively attempting to escape, but Samui pushed him firmly back down with a single hand on his shoulder.
"Neji," she said softly, her tone gentler now, "I know you're uncomfortable. Just endure it a little longer. It will be worth it."
Her words carried both authority and warmth. She stroked his damp hair lightly, then opened a small packet and poured a fine medicinal powder into the tub. The water bubbled faintly as the powder dissolved, releasing a faintly metallic scent mixed with herbs.
"This," she explained, "is a precious secret medicine passed down through generations of the Yotsuki Clan. One packet costs a hundred thousand ryō. It's very expensive."
Neji's eyes widened. "A hundred thousand?! For just this?"
His instinct to climb out of the tub vanished immediately. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to sink back into the steaming water. If it was that valuable, then enduring a little discomfort was the least he could do.
Samui watched him quietly, a satisfied expression on her face. Once she saw him adjusting, she reached down and took his small hands, pressing them gently against the water's surface.
"As a reward for your hard work today," she said, "Big Sister will give you a massage."
Her touch was surprisingly careful, nothing like her usual cold and commanding demeanor. Neji closed his eyes and let himself relax slightly, though his mind remained curious.
"Hiss—Sister," he asked between breaths, "what is the real purpose of this medicine?"
Samui's voice grew serious. "It strengthens your body, expands your meridians, activates hidden potential… and, most importantly, it helps awaken Lightning Release Chakra."
Neji's eyes snapped open. "Lightning Release Chakra?" His tone was filled with disbelief. "Such a medicine exists?"
As every academy student was taught, chakra nature was something you were born with. You either had an affinity or you didn't. The ability to master multiple natures was rare and incredibly valuable, opening the door to a wider variety of ninjutsu and more flexible combat strategies.
The five basic chakra natures—Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water—were all interconnected, each having strengths and weaknesses against one another. Wind cut through Fire, Lightning overpowered Wind, Earth stopped Lightning, Water eroded Earth, and Fire consumed Water.
A shinobi with only one nature was always at a disadvantage against someone who possessed multiple. The outcome of a battle could be decided before the first move was even made. Neji remembered stories: the Third Raikage single-handedly fighting tens of thousands of Stone-nin, or Sasuke defeating Deidara because of his elemental advantage.
Everything pointed to one truth: chakra nature determined victory.
Until now, Neji had believed that new chakra natures could only be gained through extreme and dangerous methods. Forbidden ninjutsu like Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear or Hiruko's Chimera Technique. Surgeries involving the transplantation of kekkei genkai cells, such as Hashirama's Wood Release or Sharingan. Or the mythical act of consuming a chakra fruit, something beyond human reach.
But this—this was different.
Samui smiled faintly at his astonishment. "The Yotsuki Clan is not a bloodline-limit clan. Many of our members awaken Lightning Release Chakra by using this medicine. But there's a condition—it only works on children under the age of ten. If you had come a few years later, you would never have been able to learn the Lightning Release Chakra Mode of the Hidden Cloud."
Neji frowned, absorbing the information. "So… I have to endure this treatment for six years?"
Samui gave a small nod and, without warning, pinched his side playfully.
"Tss!" Neji clenched his jaw at the sting.
He quickly calculated in his head. One hundred thousand ryō a day… that was thirty-six million a year. Six years would mean more than two hundred million ryō. The cost was astronomical, enough to bankrupt entire clans.
Could the Hidden Cloud truly afford such an investment just for him?
Samui seemed to sense his thoughts. She brushed her hand lightly across his damp hair and explained, "You've received special attention from the Raikage himself. Ordinary Yotsuki children are not treated like this. They bathe in shared pools, in diluted medicine, and stop as soon as their chakra awakens. That way, the cost is much lower."
Her words pierced through Neji's calculations. His chest tightened, his nose stung faintly, and he lowered his gaze.
So the Raikage wasn't just making promises—he was truly raising Neji as if he were his own child.
Before, Neji's decision to join the Hidden Cloud had been one made out of necessity, a desperate attempt to escape the fate awaiting him in Konoha. But now, for the first time, he began to feel something deeper. A genuine sense of belonging.
The Hidden Cloud shinobi… they were treating him far too well.
---
The next morning, before dawn, Samui stepped out of her room only to find Neji already waiting in the living room, eyes bright with determination.
"You're up so early," she said, her usually icy face softening into a faint smile. She could feel the sincerity radiating from him.
"Big Sister," Neji said firmly, "please push me harder. I want you to train me more strictly—even if it hurts."
Samui studied him for a moment. Then she nodded. "Alright. We'll begin with a warm-up. Before the sun rises, we'll climb Amagumo Mountain. Let's move."
Neji followed without hesitation.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks stretched into months. The training was brutal. Countless times his muscles screamed, his bones ached, and his chakra reserves felt empty. But Neji never stopped.
Half a year later, his perseverance finally bore fruit.
[Congratulations. After long exposure to the secret medicine, your body's potential has developed further. Lightning Release Chakra awakened.]
[Congratulations. Through consistent training, your Byakugan has advanced to Level 2.]
Neji stared at the notifications. His heart skipped a beat.
When he had first asked, Samui had told him that even ordinary Yotsuki children needed two to three years to awaken Lightning Release. Yet here he was, achieving it in only six months.
After a pause, Neji let out a long breath. Of course. In the original timeline, without any of these resources, he had still reached the level of a jōnin by age fifteen. He had always been a genius. With proper support, his growth was naturally faster.
He shifted his focus inward, examining his Bloodline Limit.
Bloodline Limit: Byakugan – Level 2 (1/1000)
Effect: Your eye power has no upper limit. As it increases, so too will your range of vision, x-ray sight, and insight.
Neji's expression hardened.
No upper limit? That meant, with enough training, his Byakugan could evolve endlessly. Perhaps even into the legendary Tenseigan.
The thought sent a chill down his spine.
In the original stories, there were two known ways for Byakugan to evolve. The first was through the Ōtsutsuki Clan on the moon, who stole the Hyuga main family's eyes and evolved them into Tenseigan. The second was the creation of the Giant Tenseigan, formed by fusing many Byakugan together, a divine tool capable of destroying entire worlds.
One was a dōjutsu, the other a weapon.
But now… now there was a third possibility. His own path.
If his Byakugan truly had no ceiling, then he alone might be able to evolve it into Tenseigan independently. No stolen eyes, no fusion of countless dojutsu—just his own effort.
And perhaps, he thought, tightening his fists, he would be the only one in history capable of such a feat.
---