Winter follows summer, just as autumn's harvest leads naturally into the quiet storage of winter. Time, like the seasons, flowed swiftly in the Hidden Cloud Village. Without even realizing it, Hyūga Neji had already trained under the Raikage's care for two full years.
Although only six years old, Neji no longer resembled the frail boy who had once been carried to the Cloud by fate. His body, toughened by relentless training and tempered by secret herbal medicines of the Yotsuki clan, had grown strong and lean. He stood a full three feet tall now, every movement betraying the natural poise of a martial genius. His once-childish features carried the sharp lines of determination, making him appear far older than his age.
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The Raikage's Office
Inside the spacious office atop the Raikage Tower, Ay—the Fourth Raikage—sat behind his heavy desk, a massive dumbbell in one hand as if even paperwork could not interrupt his strength training. His piercing eyes locked on the elderly figure before him.
"Matsuichi-senpai," Ay rumbled, his voice deep as thunder. "How has Neji's training been progressing lately?"
The veteran instructor stroked his long beard, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Raikage-sama, this child is extraordinary. He has already grasped the core of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode."
Ay froze, his hand halting mid-lift. "What?" For a moment, the stern Raikage betrayed genuine shock.
He himself had been hailed as a prodigy of the Cloud, yet he had only managed to awaken Lightning Release Chakra Mode at thirteen. And now, before him, was a boy not yet seven who had achieved the same feat. His late father, the Third Raikage, had once theorized that a shinobi with unparalleled insight and chakra control could reach heights that others would only dream of. Perhaps that theory had found its proof in Neji.
The Raikage's eyes narrowed. "Then the idea of nurturing the Hyūga bloodline within the Cloud is no longer just useful—it is absolutely necessary."
He leaned forward. "Matsuichi-senpai, I was planning to let Neji train under your care for two more years. I may have to trouble you further."
But to his surprise, Matsuichi shook his head slowly, a bitter smile on his weathered face. "Raikage-sama, I have nothing more to teach him. His growth has already surpassed the boundaries of my instruction. In fact, there isn't a single shinobi in the entire Cloud Village who could properly serve as his teacher."
Boom!
The dumbbell in Ay's hand slipped and crashed to the floor, shattering the tiles beneath. Tsuchida, the ever-stoic aide who stood nearby, widened his eyes in disbelief.
"Senpai… surely you're jesting?"
Matsuichi chuckled softly. "Tsuchida, I have guided Neji for over a year. I understand that boy's capacity better than anyone. With respect, I must insist—you are underestimating him."
The old man's voice dropped lower, carrying a weight that silenced the entire room. "By conservative measure, Neji's current strength has already reached the level of a Special Jōnin."
For a long moment, silence filled the office. Then, Raikage Ay threw his head back and laughed thunderously. The glass windows rattled at the sound. With a sudden burst of speed, his body flared into blue-white lightning and he leapt out the window, vanishing from sight in a crack of thunder.
Tsuchida sighed, shaking his head as he looked at the shattered window. Yet despite his grumbling, a small smile touched his lips. "Raikage-sama hasn't been this happy in years…"
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Evening in the Cloud
The evening sky of Kumogakure was painted in layers of soft gray, the towering Amagumo Mountain looming protectively over the lively village below. Within one of the Cloud's secluded training fields, Hyūga Neji stood quietly.
Clad in a black training uniform, his pale eyes were shut as if in meditation. Around him stood dozens of intricate mechanical devices, each armed with kunai ready to fire at the slightest trigger. With deliberate calm, Neji exhaled and tugged lightly at the chakra threads controlling the trap array.
Click… click… swoosh!
The training ground instantly came alive. Mechanisms whirred, wires snapped, and a storm of kunai rained down upon him from every direction.
At that precise moment, blue-white lightning erupted across Neji's body. In a flash, his small frame blurred into motion, moving with the speed of an arrow loosed from a bowstring.
The storm of kunai left no blind spot, filling the air with deadly steel. Yet through the Byakugan's penetrating sight, every trajectory was laid bare before Neji's eyes. Each spinning blade, each glint of steel, was charted like stars across a night sky.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Neji's palms blurred into afterimages, the force of each strike producing violent gusts of wind. Kunai shattered under his blows, breaking into showers of iron fragments. His figure danced like a ghost within the storm, untouchable and swift.
A deep whoosh echoed suddenly. From the front, a massive Fūma Shuriken spun toward him, its blades howling as they tore through the air with deadly force. Its kinetic energy was enough to slice through flesh and bone as though they were paper.
Yet Neji did not flinch. He stood rooted, his stern face breaking into the faintest of smiles. His right fist tightened.
"Divine Empty Fist!"
With a thunderous motion, he drove his fist forward. The air itself trembled. Chakra burst outward, condensing into a visible orb of pressurized force. The surrounding iron fragments were swept aside as though by a storm wind.
Boom!
The chakra cannon struck the spinning Fūma Shuriken mid-flight, shattering it five meters away. The giant weapon exploded into a spray of glittering dust-like fragments.
To a true master of taijutsu, pulverizing stone was trivial. But to reduce solid steel into powder with a single strike—this was a feat that defied common sense. Against human flesh, such a blow would not merely wound; it would annihilate.
Neji lowered his fist, the pale veins around his eyes receding as he deactivated his Byakugan. His lips curved slightly. "Success. At last, I have found a technique to surpass the Gentle Fist. No longer will I need to rely on striking Tailed Beasts or Susanoo with only Gentle Fist techniques."
A glowing panel of insight flickered in his mind:
Taijutsu: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms Lv. 4 (241/4000)
New Skill: Divine Empty Fist Lv. 1 (1/500)
The Divine Empty Fist combined the brute strength of Strong Fist with the precision of Gentle Fist, delivering penetrating chakra force that devastated the target from within. Moreover, it was non-elemental in nature. By infusing elemental chakra, the technique could evolve into countless variations.
It was, in essence, similar to Naruto's Rasengan—a foundation upon which infinite techniques could be built.
Neji mused, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack might share the same principle. Yet hers relied purely on overwhelming physical might, while the Divine Empty Fist channels refined technique. In that sense, my fist may even surpass hers in precision.
---
The Raikage's Arrival
A ripple of energy disturbed the training field. Neji turned sharply, his eyes narrowing. At the edge of the grounds stood Ay, the Fourth Raikage, his towering frame radiating raw power.
Neji straightened immediately, bowing his head. "Raikage-sama, forgive me. I did not notice your presence and continued my training…"
Ay waved a massive hand dismissively. "No need for apologies. I was the one intruding. Besides, I am the one who should be surprised. To see you master Lightning Release Chakra Mode so quickly…" His voice carried both amazement and pride.
His gaze swept across the field, lingering on the powdery remains of the Fūma Shuriken. His eyes widened. "That technique you used just now… was it a ninjutsu of your own creation?"
Lightning still crackled faintly around Neji's body, proof of his mastery of the Raikage's clan's most sacred art. Yet the final blast—the visible orb of chakra—was something even Ay had never witnessed.
"Yes," Neji replied calmly. "I call it the Divine Empty Fist. Its rank is at least A-class."
Ay blinked, momentarily at a loss for words. To create an A-rank technique at six years old… this was beyond genius. It was monstrous.
Both he and his father had been hailed as prodigies, inventors of unique techniques that became synonymous with their power. But neither had accomplished such a feat at so young an age.
His eyes drifted to Neji's Byakugan, where a faint blue glow shimmered beyond the usual pale iris. A thought struck him like lightning.
"Neji…" Ay's voice trembled slightly. "Could it be that your eyes are… the legendary Tenseigan?"
Under the Raikage's burning gaze, Neji remained silent for a moment before nodding slowly.
Buzz.
Ay inhaled sharply, his massive chest rising. Then, with a sudden laugh, he slapped Neji's shoulder with unrestrained camaraderie. His laughter boomed across the mountainside.
At that moment, the Fourth Raikage was no longer looking at a mere child. He was gazing at the dawn of a new era for the Hidden Cloud Village.
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