Unlike Uzumaki Naruto—who went from overwhelming potential to dead last due to the Nine-Tails' chakra interference—Izanami, after obtaining the Ōtsutsuki Bloodline, possessed not only terrifying potential but also an exceptionally solid foundation.
The Hyuga clan's Byakugan allows its users to see chakra flowing through the tenketsu and meridians, giving them an inherent advantage when it comes to chakra control training.
After awakening his Byakugan, Izanami also unlocked the Chakra Control talent trait.
Even before officially enrolling, Izanami had already mastered tree climbing and water walking.
Not to mention the Three Basic Techniques—he had long since learned the B-rank Shadow Clone Technique, as well as several lower-level elemental ninjutsu left behind by his parents.
He was much like Uchiha Itachi—already possessing graduation-level strength before ever setting foot in the Ninja Academy.
Naturally, Izanami easily took first place in the entrance examination.
As a result, he was assigned to First Grade, Class A—the same class as Nara Shikamaru.
When he entered the classroom, many of his classmates were already seated.
Izanami swept his gaze across the room, eventually stopping on a small girl who had also noticed him and looked pleasantly surprised.
The corners of his lips lifted slightly as he walked straight toward her.
The desks in the classroom were long, designed to seat three students.
The girl was sitting in the middle, with no one on either side.
"Yo. We meet again."
Izanami sat down beside her and said with a teasing smile,
"As expected of the young lady who dared to run away from home—looks like the entrance exam wasn't difficult for you at all."
"I… Izanami-kun…"
The girl didn't dare meet his eyes. She lowered her head and fidgeted with her fingers, though her heart was overflowing with joy and excitement.
She was right—Izanami on the list really was the Izanami-kun who had helped her back then.
"We're deskmates now. Please take care of me, Hyuga—no, Hinata-san," Izanami said, smiling as he spoke her name.
Hinata's cheeks and even her ears instantly flushed red.
She subconsciously turned her head to look at Izanami. After their eyes met, she quickly looked away and replied softly,
"P-please take care of me too, Izanami-kun."
What she didn't notice was the faint fervor hidden in Izanami's gaze.
In his vision, five bubbles of different colors floated around Hinata.
The largest—and most eye-catching—was a red one.
[Byakugan Princess (Red)]
[Bloodline Limit · Byakugan (Purple)]
[Jonin Aptitude (Blue)]
[Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Blue)]
[Chakra Control (Blue)]
The Byakugan Princess trait was precisely why Izanami had approached Hinata in the first place—and why, years ago, he had deliberately waited outside on the snowy night she ran away from home after Hyuga Hizashi's funeral, earning her goodwill.
The moment Izanami saw this trait, he decided to intercept both Uzumaki Naruto—the Child of Prophecy—and Ōtsutsuki Toneri, the original claimant.
Just as the reincarnations of Asura and Indra sought to obtain each other's power and achieve the convergence of extremes to awaken the Rinnegan, Ōtsutsuki Toneri and Hinata only needed to acquire each other's power to awaken the Tenseigan.
Moreover, their bloodlines and Byakugan purity had regressed to an extremely high level—making the awakening of the Tenseigan all but guaranteed.
In the original timeline, Hinata needed only Ōtsutsuki Toneri's chakra to defy fate.
Unfortunately, that condition was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Thus, as merely a Byakugan Princess with her Ōtsutsuki Bloodline at only blue-tier, Hinata's ceiling was no higher than elite jōnin.
But now…
Hinata's destiny had begun to change.
Izanami, who possessed a Red-tier Ōtsutsuki Bloodline, might be able to use his chakra to help Hinata defy fate.
And Hinata's red-tier trait could allow Izanami to obtain the power of the Tenseigan.
The two were simply a match made in heaven.
After greeting her, Izanami didn't continue speaking to Hinata.
After all, this was only their second meeting.
Six-year-old Hinata had already begun training in the Gentle Fist. She was likely being steadily crushed by Hyuga Neji, gradually disappointing Hyuga Hiashi, and her personality had begun to turn increasingly introverted.
Three years ago, while she had been just as shy, she hadn't avoided meeting Izanami's gaze.
Fortunately, Hanabi had yet to grow up, and Hyuga Hiashi had not completely given up on Hinata or decided to focus entirely on his second daughter.
With just a little encouragement—just enough to build her confidence—Hinata's withdrawn nature could still be changed.
That said, it wouldn't be easy.
Hinata was the Hyuga clan's young lady. Aside from attending classes, she rarely left the compound.
Even when she did, she was always escorted by clan members wearing green flak jackets.
Being alone with her was nearly impossible.
He needed to find a way.
Izanami rested his chin on one hand, lightly tapping the desk with the index finger of the other.
Meanwhile, Hinata secretly watched Izanami as he pondered, the admiration buried deep in her heart once again swelling.
Yes—Hinata admired Izanami.
As someone her age, she would get lost just stepping outside her home.
Yet he had dared to wander alone through a snowy night, his words and actions calm and mature, like those of an adult.
He had also taken first place in the entrance exam.
If she could be even a little like him, her father wouldn't be disappointed in her.
Moreover, aside from Hyuga Neji, Izanami was the only peer Hinata knew.
Even after three years, she hadn't forgotten the black-haired, blue-eyed boy with a youthful face named Izanami.
Longing for a friend, Hinata desperately wanted to speak to him first.
But…
She couldn't.
She was too timid.
Izanami was unaware of Hinata's inner turmoil.
At that moment, his attention was drawn elsewhere.
Because he had just seen his other targets.
Uzumaki Naruto—
And Uchiha Sasuke.
Several bubbles floated around them as well, each with a red-tier trait like Hinata's.
Uzumaki Naruto's talent traits were:
[Sage's Body (Red)]
[Super Kage Aptitude (Gold)]
[Uzumaki Bloodline (Purple)]
[Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Blue)]
Izanami did not see the words Asura or Nine-Tails among Naruto's traits.
However, the level of his Sage's Body and Uzumaki Bloodline made it clear—Naruto's Sage's Body was fundamentally different from that of the Senju or ordinary Uzumaki.
It was on the same level as a pure Ōtsutsuki Bloodline.
Such a Sage's Body had only ever belonged to Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo and his son, Ōtsutsuki Asura.
And on top of these traits, Uzumaki Naruto also possessed half of the Nine-Tails as his own cheat.
Compared to him, Uchiha Sasuke's talent traits were slightly inferior:
[Sage's Eye (Red)]
[Kage-Level Aptitude (Purple)]
[Uchiha Bloodline (Purple)]
[Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Blue)]
An unawakened Byakugan Princess wasn't worth mentioning.
Likewise, an unawakened Sage's Eye wasn't either.
Without Uchiha Itachi's eyes, and without stimulating Indra's chakra, Uchiha Sasuke's limit would be that of a Kage-level ninja doomed to eventual blindness.
Only by obtaining the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, or by truly awakening the Sage's Eye—Indra's chakra itself—allowing him to wield near-infinite ocular power without swapping eyes, would his aptitude rise to the Super Kage tier.
Just like Uchiha Madara, who was always suppressed by Senju Hashirama, Uzumaki Naruto might look like dead last right now—
But once he began to unleash his true power, he could instantly surpass Uchiha Sasuke, who had trained painstakingly for years.
This was true throughout their six years at the Ninja Academy.
And it remained true during the three years of Shippuden.
This was the difference in talent.
And the difference between cheats.