Chapter 2: Breaking the Chains
Arata stared at the dent in the wall, his heart pounding. The faint mark from his chakra-fueled punch felt like a promise—a spark of something new. He grinned, his pale face flushed with excitement. "This… this is my Byakugan's power," he whispered. His inner vision, the strange ability to see his own veins and chakra, was real. "If I can fix the blocked paths in my body, I'll control chakra better than anyone."
The thought lit a fire in him. He rubbed his arm where one of Mori's goons had hit him. His body was weak, frail from years of being sick, and it showed. "No more," he muttered. "I'm done being weak. I'm training. Now."
For days, Arata threw himself into practice. He punched, ran, and tried to move chakra through his body, even if it barely worked. Word spread fast in the Hyuga compound, and soon, Hyuga Mori was back, strutting into the training yard with his usual smirk.
"So, the crane's tail is training?" Mori laughed, watching Arata sweat through another set of punches. "You're wasting your time. That weak body of yours won't make it to the Ninja Academy. Show up to the exam, and I'll break your legs myself."
Arata ignored him, throwing another punch at the air. His eyes flicked to Mori, sharp with defiance, before he went back to training. The Hyuga had strict rules—no fighting among clan kids. Even Mori, the elder's son, couldn't break that without trouble. Arata knew it, and it made Mori's threats feel empty.
Mori's face twisted, his pride stung by Arata's silence. He stepped forward, fists clenched, ready to act—until a sharp voice cut through.
"Stop it, Mori!"
Arata paused, glancing over. A boy, a bit older than them, stood there, his white eyes calm but firm. Hyuga Hizashi, a name Arata knew from his memories—and from the stories he'd read in another life. The father of Neji, a man caught in the clan's cruel divide.
Mori spun around, glaring. "You? Meddling in my business, Hizashi?"
Hizashi didn't flinch. "Clan rules, Mori. No bullying. You want to face the elders' punishment?"
Mori sneered. "Him? He's not even a real Hyuga. Just a branch family tool."
Arata's fists tightened, but he kept training, his punches harder now. Tool. That's what the main family thought of them. Less than human, only good for serving. The word burned, but he wouldn't let it stop him.
Hizashi's voice grew sharp. "What did you just say, Mori?"
"You heard me," Mori shot back, smirking. "Branch family are nothing. Tools. Not real Hyuga."
Hizashi's face darkened, veins bulging around his eyes. "Get out, Mori. Now."
Mori laughed, cold and mocking. He turned to Arata. "Last warning, crane's tail. The exam's in two weeks. You won't make it. You'll see the difference between a genius and trash like you." With a final sneer, he walked off.
"Bastard," Hizashi muttered, watching him go.
Arata stopped, wiping sweat from his brow. "Yelling won't shut him up," he said, his voice low but steady. "I'll prove who the real trash is."
Hizashi blinked, surprised. The kid everyone called the weakest was talking like that? He studied Arata, soaked in sweat, his clothes sticking to his thin frame. This wasn't the scared boy the clan laughed at. "You're right," Hizashi said, a small smile forming. "You want to shut them up? Then train smart. You're working hard, but you're doing it wrong. Let me teach you how to handle chakra."
Arata's eyes widened. "You'd help me?"
"We're branch family," Hizashi said, grinning. "We stick together."
Arata felt a rush of hope. Hizashi's offer was a lifeline. He nodded, eager, and listened as Hizashi explained.
"There's two weeks until the exam," Hizashi said. "Forget kunai or building more chakra—it's too late for that. The Ninja Academy test isn't hard, but you need a foundation. Most kids pass with one decent skill."
Arata's shoulders slumped. A skill? He could barely move chakra. The clan called him talentless for a reason.
Hizashi saw his face and clapped his shoulder. "Don't give up. If you can learn one C-rank ninjutsu in two weeks, you'll pass. Watch this." He stepped back and showed the Three Basic Techniques: Clone, Substitution, and Body Flicker. "These are what Class A kids know," Hizashi said. "But for you, just master the Body Flicker. It's the easiest."
Arata's eyes lit up. The Body Flicker—moving fast in a blink—could get him through the exam. He nodded, determined.
After Hizashi left, Arata practiced the seals for Body Flicker. He tried again and again, but every time, the jutsu failed just as it started. He wasn't Naruto, blindly charging forward. He was smarter than that. He activated his Byakugan, turning his inner vision on himself.
His strange Byakugan showed him everything—his chakra flowing through six points in his body. Two streams went to his arms, four to his legs. But the leg paths were blocked, the chakra bouncing back. "That's the problem," he muttered.
The next day, when Hizashi showed the Body Flicker again, Arata watched with his Byakugan. He was right—six points needed to release chakra for the jutsu, and his blocked paths were stopping it.
For days, Arata focused on those points. Using his inner vision, he pushed his chakra against the blocked paths, enduring sharp pain as he forced them open. It was slow, grueling work, but his Byakugan let him guide the chakra with precision. Bit by bit, the six points cleared.
Finally, he tried the Body Flicker again. He formed the seals, focused his chakra, and—
Boom!
Arata appeared ten meters away, stumbling but standing. His heart raced. "I did it!" he shouted.
Hizashi, watching from nearby, froze in shock. "Three days?" he said, almost to himself. "You learned Body Flicker in three days? With no foundation?" He shook his head, grinning. "Arata, you're no crane's tail. You're going to pass that exam."
Arata beamed, his chest swelling with pride. "Thanks, Hizashi. I couldn't have done it without you."
Hizashi waved it off. "Keep practicing. You've got this."
As Arata returned to training, his Byakugan still active, he felt something new—a fire deep inside. The exam was coming, and he'd show Mori, the clan, everyone, that Hyuga Arata was no tool. He was a ninja.
(End of Chapter)
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