Hearing the calls from outside the door,
Shinji Hyugasubconsciously activated his Byakugan, causing the veins around his eyes to bulge along with his expanded field of vision.
Seeing that the person standing outside was just an ordinary Hyuga clan ninja,he dispersed the chakra in his hands.
Strangely,
the chakra he dispersed did not dissipate like normal chakra.Instead, propelled by another peculiar form of chakra, it quietly transformed from Wind-natured chakra back into ordinary chakra and retracted into his body.
In the Byakugan's penetrating vision of the human body,this ordinary chakra was then broken down again and transformed back into a more basic unit—'stamina'.
Shinji Hyuga'scomplexion visibly improved, becoming rosier.
He then got up, went to the entrance, and opened the door.
Standing outside was a Hyuga ninja wearing a Chunin vest,someone Shinji recognized.
Hyuga Iroha,
fourteen years old,a Hyuga clan ninja who was in the same class as Shinji Hyuga at the Ninja Academy. Currently a Chunin, he was expected to be promoted to Jonin around the beginning of Shippūden in his twenties—a ninja who, even among the Hyuga, wasn't particularly conspicuous.
Not everyone in the Hyuga clan treatedShinji Hyuga as poorly as Hyuga Tetsu did.
At that moment, Hyuga Iroha casually greeted Shinji.
"Hey,Shinji, you're up pretty early. And... you look great."
He lookedShinji Hyuga up and down, his gaze lingering for a moment on his unusually ruddy complexion, before smiling and handing him a scroll.
"The clan has decided to send you to the front lines of the Hidden Mist battlefield."
"But you're quite lucky;you were assigned to the medical team at the Kusabami Coast. Well, that place... how should I put it, it's quite suitable for retiring."
Kusabami Coast, located within the Land of Fire, served as a transit point for frontline medical personnel. Those sent there had generally already received emergency treatment and were awaiting return to Konoha for recovery.
The medical ninjas stationed there to provide further treatment for the wounded were much less busy than those at Konoha Hospital in the rear.
At this point,Hyuga Iroha couldn't help but joke, "If I get transferred there later, we can get together and play cards when we have nothing to do."
"Thank you." Shinji Hyuga returned the smile, took the scroll, and shook his head in reply.
"However,I don't really want us to run into each other there. After all, I don't really want to help you sew up your intestines."
Hyuga Iroha paused for a moment,then realized what he meant, shaking his head and chuckling:
"Haha,that makes sense."
Due to the special nature of the transfer point, the ninjas sent there were often already in critical condition. In such cases, if they went to the medical ninjas at the camp, they would most likely need procedures like intestinal suturing and final grooming to prepare their remains.
In theory,this was the job of the corpse disposal team, but wartime conditions were special. The corpse disposal team was only a small department under the Konoha Medical Department, and faced with vast numbers of fallen ninjas, manpower was inevitably scarce.
"That's all. I still have a few more transfer orders to deliver, so I'll take my leave now."
After seeing Hyuga Iroha off, Shinji Hyuga unfolded the scroll and began to read.
Just as he had guessed,
the clan's order transferred him for the day after tomorrow,and the mission location was, as Hyuga Iroha had said, the medical station at Kusabami Coast.
This was the same location Root had assigned him,only the reporting authority was different.
The person Shinji Hyuga was to report to according to the main family's order was an elderly female ninja named Furofuki. This grandmother-aged ninja was formerly the vice-director of Konoha Hospital and was currently semi-retired. She was also the nominal highest-ranking person at the camp.
The main family's arrangements were not disrespectful toShinji Hyuga; in fact, they were perhaps a bit too lenient.
However, Shinji Hyuga only glanced at the scroll before casually stuffing it into the storage pouch tied to his left leg. Then, he glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
5:40 AM.
The main family's group would leave the village today, and as usual, they would depart promptly at eight o'clock, with three shifts taking turns to escort and scout the route ahead.
Shinji Hyugahad already deduced the general route and did not intend to follow the main family's group.
The reason was simple:
If a Jonin couldn't handle an enemy,a Genin going there would be of little use. Besides, the Byakugan of the main family's guards could see much farther than his. If he were discovered, Shinji Hyuga wouldn't be able to explain why he was there.
If Hyuga Genkou became suspicious and,in a desperate situation, used the Caged Bird Seal technique, Shinji Hyuga would have nowhere to seek justice.
He was simply worried about Hyuga Natsu,who had been caught up in this incident, and the only person he wanted to protect was Hyuga Natsu... maybe Hyuga Tetsu as well.
At the same time, sharpening the axe wouldn't delay the woodcutting.
Having determined there was still enough time,Shinji Hyuga returned to the room, sat down cross-legged again, picked up a kunai from the table, and infused it with chakra.
The mastery of ninjutsu cannot be achieved overnight.
But this was only under normal circumstances.
Thanks to having planned his training path early on,Shinji Hyuga had tested his chakra attributes with chakra test paper when he was just able to crawl.
Unfortunately,he wasn't a genius like Hatake Kakashi; his chakra nature was only 'Wind'.
Meanwhile, Shinji Hyuga's training in Wind-nature chakra transformation and shape manipulation began the moment he first learned to refine chakra.
Chakra can undergo many nature transformations.For example, water can be transformed into glue or mud, and fire can be transformed into gunpowder, steam, or high-temperature objects.
The most common and easiest-to-replicate property of the Wind nature is"sharpness," or more figuratively, "blade."
Following Sarutobi Asuma's instructions to Naruto, Naruto learned the process of Wind-nature chakra transformation.
There are three stages in chakra nature transformation training.
Stage 1: Strengthen [Nature Transformation].
In layman's terms,this means finding the direction of chakra nature transformation.
The process is also very simple:infuse chakra into a leaf until it splits.
Stage 2: Increase Instantaneous Output.
In Shippūden,Naruto trained by summoning multiple clones to cut a waterfall, highlighting his immense chakra reserves and experience sharing.
Shinji Hyugadidn't have that much chakra, so he used a slow and steady approach. Whenever he had enough energy, he tried to fuse wind chakra to cut the ground or a large rock placed not far from his house.
After seven long years of painstaking work,the rock, riddled with holes, was finally split in two by Shinji Hyuga's bare hand.
WhenShinji Hyuga instantly depleted all his chakra except for life-sustaining amounts, he could use chakra alone to carve a groove about one millimeter wide and three meters deep straight down into ordinary ground.
It wasn't thatShinji Hyuga couldn't cut deeper than three meters; rather, his chakra reserves only allowed him to cut that much.
When one can instantly unleash all their chakra,this stage of training can be considered perfectly completed.
Stage 3, also the most difficult stage:
[Integration with Techniques].
Naruto almost ruined himself during this training phase.The process of fusing Wind Release with the Rasengan constantly damaged the meridians in his hands. It was only because of the Uzumaki clan's constitution combined with the Nine-Tails' buff, making him extraordinarily resilient, that Naruto relied purely on his terrifying regenerative ability to endure the entire training process.
However, for Shinji Hyuga, who possessed the Byakugan and knew the Gentle Fist, this was actually the easiest step.
Just like at this moment—
Shinji Hyugalightly grasped the kunai and poured chakra into it.
The sharp,piercing wind-natured chakra that constantly emitted ear-piercing crackles became as docile as a kitten rubbing against his knee, seeking comfort.
Occasionally,signs of loss of control would appear, but in the next instant, under the interference of another peculiar chakra, they would be decomposed and reassembled.
The entire process involved absolutely no waste of chakra.
Even Shimura Danzo had to open his mouth to exhale and form hand seals.
The process by which the"Ren" seal could attach wind-natured chakra to a kunai to form a Vacuum Blade
was completely omitted inShinji Hyuga's hands!
The next moment,
a pale yellow wind blade,approximately one meter long and constantly emanating sharp sword energy, suddenly extended from the kunai held by Shinji Hyuga!