Hiashi Hyuga
Time: The day of the explosion.
Location: Konoha Hospital
Hiashi paced the sterile hallway outside Hinata's hospital room. He kept his hands clasped tightly behind his back to hide the fact that they were shaking. His foolish daughter. She had somehow managed to get herself blown up while simply sitting in her own bedroom.
Down the adjacent hall, his father was approaching, leaning heavily on his wooden cane.
"What happened?" the Hyuga elder demanded, keeping his voice to a harsh whisper. "How did your heir end up in a hospital bed?"
"I don't have all the details yet," Hiashi replied, keeping his tone carefully measured. "But something occurred in Hinata's room. There was an explosion, and she was caught in the blast."
"You almost lost your designated heir inside our own compound? Where we have hundreds of shinobi supposedly guarding her?" The elder's pale eyes narrowed. "Have you punished the guards for their incompetence yet?"
"I haven't had the time, nor the inclination. From what her caretaker told me, the chakra that caused the explosion felt far too close to Hinata's own signature. It was just... slightly different."
"Different how?"
"They detected hints of Fire, Lightning, and Yang-natured chakra lingering in the air. But it dissipated too quickly to figure out exactly what caused them to combine."
The elder scoffed, gripping his cane. "So your child was experimenting with natured chakra in her bedroom? Have you not warned her of the dangers? She could have blown her hands off!"
"I am not incompetent, Father. I taught her the basics," Hiashi said smoothly. "What is genuinely interesting, though, is that she might have actually succeeded in whatever she was trying to do. The explosion was loud enough to draw the eyes of half the compound. The guards reported seeing a brilliant flash of light tear straight through her roof and shoot into the night sky."
A distinct glint appeared in Hiashi's eyes. He took a step closer to his father.
"Three differently natured chakras. Hints of them combining into something entirely new. A blinding flash of light escaping into the sky. You tell me, Father. What does that sound like to you?"
The elder froze. His stoic facade slipped, leaving behind a look of absolute bewilderment. "No. No, it can't be. A Kekkei Tōta?" He muttered the words like they were a curse. "It had to be that blasted child, didn't it? The one person in this family who refuses to hurt a fly gets favored by the Heavens themselves. Is this the Year of the Hyuga? The Uchiha are gone, the Hokage has no clear successor, and our heir stumbles into a Kekkei Tōta?"
"Let us confirm it first. The doctor said we can see her now."
They stepped into the quiet hospital room. Hinata was sitting up in bed, idly watching a game show on the small TV in the corner. To the profound relief of both men, she looked perfectly whole.
"Hinata, are you well?" Hiashi asked, burying his relief under his usual diplomatic tone.
"Argh! I told you guys already, didn't I?" She groaned, sinking back into her pillows. "I fainted from chakra exhaustion. I wasn't hurt by the explosion!"
"Regardless, it is my duty as your father to ensure you are healthy." Hiashi sighed, letting his shoulders drop just a fraction. "But now that we know you are unharmed, kindly explain what on earth you were doing in that room with three differently natured chakras."
Hinata stiffened. A nervous sweat broke out on her forehead, and her eyes darted toward the window.
"Oh. You noticed that, huh? Guess the Byakugan really does live up to the hype." She offered a weak, incredibly sheepish laugh. "Well, you know how Fire and Lightning are my affinities, right? I was just looking out the window, thinking about how beautiful the sunset was, and I wondered how hard it would be to recreate that kind of light with chakra. I figured it had to be some mix of fire and lightning."
She started gesturing wildly with her hands, getting entirely too caught up in her own story. "So I tried combining the two, but it totally didn't work. Then I started thinking about the actual qualities of sunlight. When the sun shines on you, you feel warm and refreshed. When it shines on plants, they grow. So it must have Yang chakra mixed in there somewhere, right? I tried combining all three, and it formed this glowing blob of what I'm calling Light-release chakra! So, ta-da! I think I made a Kekkei Tōta? Admittedly, it did blow up in my face a second later. But in my defense, I didn't actually think it would work. And now here I am, totally fine and with way more power!"
She mimicked an explosion sound with her mouth, grinning like a kid who had just won a prize.
Hiashi and the elder just stood there, blinking in stunned silence.
Is this really how bloodline limits are formed? Hiashi thought, a headache building behind his eyes. By accident and sheer teenage stupidity? What are we then, chopped liver?
She hadn't even gone through formal Nature transformation training. He cleared his throat loudly, forcing himself to regain control of the situation.
"Ahem. Regardless of how you managed to turn a structural disaster into a moment of triumph, we still need to explain this to the village. Do you wish for me to report this to the Hokage?"
"I don't see why not." Hinata scratched the back of her head. "I have to tell my sensei anyway, and he'll definitely tell the higher-ups. It probably looks better if the news comes from the clan head, right?"
"Then it is decided. We lack the proper resources for advanced ninjutsu in this clan, so to develop this Light-style, you must rely on yourself and your sensei. Just ensure you do not neglect your taijutsu training. It is what makes us Hyuga. Abandoning our roots will only give your detractors ammunition."
"Aye-aye, Captain!" Hinata beamed, giving him a goofy, two-fingered salute.
When did my daughter get so weird? Hiashi wondered. He could only sigh.
Hinata Hyuga
Time: Two days after The Bell Test
Location: Training Ground 7
Hinata stepped lightly to her left, letting Sasuke's momentum carry him harmlessly past her. With a subtle flick of her ankle, she hooked his footing. As he tripped forward, she delivered a quick, precise jab to his wrists with her Gentle Fist. His arms went totally numb, and he hit the dirt hard.
"And that's the match! Hinata wins because Sasuke is eating dirt!" Naruto cheered, practically rolling on the grass with laughter.
"Dammit! Dammit!" Sasuke shouted. He scrambled to his knees, gripping his numb left arm tightly. He glared up at her, chest heaving. "When did you get so much better than me?!"
Hinata rested her hands on her hips, her breathing perfectly steady.
"My taijutsu has improved a lot since we graduated. I don't know how or why, but the physical mechanics just started making sense to me," Hinata explained honestly. "I can feel the flow of a fight now, and my instincts just take over. Besides, isn't it kind of a given that a Hyuga would beat an Uchiha in a fistfight? Your clan was always famous for flashy ninjutsu, not close-quarters combat."
"I... I guess that's true," Sasuke muttered. He looked away, his dark eyes burning with frustration. "It's just impossible to wrap my head around. Last time we fought in the Academy, you couldn't even last a minute. Now I can't even land a hit."
"Hey, if you want my advice," Hinata offered gently, "I think once you unlock your Sharingan, we'll be on much more equal footing. My Byakugan gives me a massive advantage up close. You're going to have a much better time fighting me from a distance."
Sasuke nodded slowly, though his hands were still clenched into tight, white-knuckled fists.
"Thank you. I will keep that in mind," he replied, his voice stiff and guarded. "I need to go train."
With a swirl of dry leaves, he used the Body Replacement technique to vanish.
"Man, what is his deal? The guy can't take a loss to save his life," Naruto complained, crossing his arms behind his head.
"You heard him when he introduced himself to Kakashi-sensei, didn't you?" Hinata sighed, looking at the empty spot where Sasuke had just been. "He wants to kill someone. Someone who is leagues stronger than even Kakashi-sensei."
"Really? I thought he was just trying to sound edgy and cool." Naruto blinked, genuinely surprised. "I didn't know he meant it for real."
"He meant it. Every word. And I'm worried that if we don't support him, he's going to completely break down when things get tough."
Naruto's face softened for a second before he flashed a blinding, whiskered grin. "Hah! Then we'll just support him so hard that nothing will ever be able to break him!"
"That sounds like a plan, Naruto," Hinata smiled back, feeling a rush of affection for her loudmouth teammate. "Now, how about we go get some of that ramen you literally won't stop talking about?"
"Heck yeah! Let's go! Old man Teuchi is gonna love you, and the pork bone broth is gonna change your life!"
"Then what are we waiting for?" Hinata laughed, racing him toward the village gates.
Hinata Hyuga
Time: Three days after The Bell Test
Location: Clan Compound
The afternoon sun warmed the wooden floorboards of the traditional Japanese courtyard where the two sisters sat.
"Are you really okay now, big sister?" Hanabi asked softly. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, letting Hinata carefully brush and braid her long, dark hair.
"You mean the hospital thing?"
"Yeah. I saw the explosion and the light shooting up into the sky. I was so scared something terrible had happened to you. But when I ran to the hospital, you were asleep, and the nurses wouldn't even let me in the room."
"I'm totally fine, I promise," Hinata reassured her, tying off the end of the braid with a soft ribbon. "It was really just chakra exhaustion. I'd spent the whole day fighting Kakashi-sensei, and I got a little too excited trying out a new idea when I got home. I shouldn't have pushed myself."
Hanabi crossed her arms, pouting. "Stupid sister. You should have just come to my room. We could have hung out, but instead, I had to wait hours for you to come home. Do you have any idea how worried everyone was? Dad didn't sleep a wink that night. He tries not to show it, but he loves you, you know."
"Oh, did he tell you that?" Hinata replied softly. A bittersweet warmth bloomed in her chest. "I didn't mean to scare you, Hanabi. I really am sorry."
Hanabi's cheeks dusted pink. She leaned back against her older sister's legs, looking up at the sky.
"It is fine. Just don't do it again, okay?" she mumbled.
"I won't. Cross my heart," Hinata laughed lightly.
"Also, did you fight with Big Brother Neji again? Father made us spar yesterday, and he seemed really distracted. He didn't even attack me with his usual ferocity."
"Huh. That's interesting," Hinata mused, her hands resting on Hanabi's shoulders. "The day before my Bell Test, I was in a terrible mood and we got into a bit of an argument. We worked it out, though. We left things on good terms."
"I don't know. I'm just worried about him. He was acting so weird."
"You don't need to worry about Neji, Hanabi. He carries a lot of heavy things on his own. We can't fix all of it for him. Some battles he just has to fight on his own terms."
"Okay," Hanabi murmured, though she still sounded a bit unconvinced as she watched the clouds drift by.
Sasuke Uchiha
Time: 6:00 PM. Same day.
Location: Somewhere in Konoha.
Sasuke dragged his feet as he walked toward the Uchiha compound. The evening shadows were stretching long and dark over the dirt paths, matching his mood perfectly.
How did I fall behind her? His mind was spinning, eating away at his pride. It doesn't make any sense. I've trained until I bled every single day for the past five years. She was always dead average, and she surpasses me in less than a month?
He dug his nails into his palms until they stung. If he couldn't even beat his lazy classmates, what chance did he ever have of killing Itachi?
Up ahead, he spotted a flash of pink hair. Sakura was sitting on a bench near the path that led back from the training grounds.
"Oh, hey! Sasuke, where are you going?" she called out, immediately jumping to her feet and beaming at him.
"Home," Sasuke replied flatly. He didn't break his stride, hoping she would take the hint.
She didn't. She had a persistent, infuriating habit of taking any scrap of attention as a sign of deep affection. He was in no mood for it today. Watch, he thought bitterly. Next thing I know, even Sakura is going to get stronger than me, and I'll be the weakest one on the team.
"Oh! Well, I just thought since we haven't seen each other much this week, it might be nice to talk!" Sakura scurried to catch up, falling into step beside him.
"And how exactly did you know I take this specific path home?" His left eye twitched. "Did you stalk me?"
"Ah, ha-ha, no! No, I thought about doing that, but I just ended up asking Naruto. I mean, the guy never shuts up."
I am going to have to physically gag him to keep him from handing out my personal information, Sasuke noted grimly. He stopped walking and let out a long, exhausted sigh. He looked at her from the corner of his eye.
"What do you want, Sakura?"
"Oh, um! I just wanted to ask how training is going! Is Kakashi-sensei good? Because Kurenai-sensei is totally driving us crazy! She makes us do so much cardio, and she keeps telling me I need to stop dieting! Like, seriously? How am I supposed to maintain my figure if I eat like Choji? I mean, I know Kurenai-sensei is gorgeous and all, but do you think she's trying to sabotage us so we aren't competition for her?"
He stared at her. He was rapidly losing his grip on his patience. How could a trained kunoichi be so utterly oblivious to reality?
"Look, Sakura. I don't have the time to stand here and talk about your diets and your looks," Sasuke snapped, turning to face her fully. "I have to train. I have to get stronger. And right now, you are just standing in my way. So, excuse me."
He turned his back on her and started walking.
"Wait! Wait! Why don't we train together?" she pleaded, stepping forward. "I'm sure I could help you get better!"
He froze.
He slowly turned his head to look into her bright, naive green eyes. And suddenly, the world tilted on its axis.
The quiet, sunlit path vanished. The air turned freezing cold, thick with the metallic stench of blood. The dirt road shifted into the paved streets of the Uchiha compound, painted completely crimson. The weight of hundreds of dead bodies pressed down on his chest, suffocating him. He was trapped under the pile again. His mother's lifeless eyes were staring blankly into his.
He was paralyzed, forced to watch the nightmare loop. Over and over, he saw them butchered. And just as the silence of the graveyard finally settled in, the screaming would start all over again.
A low, trembling chuckle escaped his throat. It slowly morphed into a hollow, deranged laugh.
"You... you want to help me?" Sasuke sneered. His voice didn't even sound like his own. It was too dark, too dangerous. "You haven't won a single sparring match against the dead-last of our class. Forget being a ninja, Sakura. You should try stand-up comedy."
"Hey! That's not fair! Naruto is just stubborn and has too much stamina!" Sakura stepped back, her smile faltering, clearly unnerved by his tone. "Besides, I got the top grades! I was Kunoichi of the Year! That has to mean something!"
"Getting good grades on paper means absolutely nothing out here." His eyes went completely dead. The lingering light of the setting sun seemed to vanish from his face. "But you don't strike me as someone who understands words. Let me give you a practical demonstration."
He moved faster than she could blink.
In a fraction of a second, his hand shot out and clamped around her throat. He shoved her backward, sweeping her legs out from under her. She hit the dirt with a heavy thud, the breath knocked from her lungs. Before she could even process what was happening, he was straddling her waist, pinning her down. The freezing steel of his kunai was pressed flush against her skin.
"My kunai is right against your neck. Right where your carotid artery runs," Sasuke whispered. His pitch-black pupils began to bleed into a vibrant, glowing crimson. A single black tomoe spun lazily in his iris. "It feeds the blood to your brain. What do you think happens if my hand slips just a fraction of an inch? How long do you think you'd gurgle in the dirt before your brain starves and you die?"
He leaned in closer, his breath ghosting over her face. "So tell me, Kunoichi of the Year. When you are out in the real world, seconds away from having your throat slit, do you think your test scores are going to save you?"
Sakura stared up at him, her eyes wide with absolute, primal terror. She started hyperventilating, her entire body trembling beneath him as she weakly tried to push his arm away.
"Sasuke, please," she choked out, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Put it away. You're scaring me."
The raw fear in her voice hit him like a physical blow. The illusion shattered. The blood-soaked streets melted away, leaving only the quiet dirt path and the terrified girl crying beneath him.
Shit. What am I doing? He scrambled off of her as if he'd been burned, stumbling backward. I almost hurt her. I lost my mind.
The exact same blood flows through your veins as it does mine, little brother, a phantom voice whispered softly in the back of his mind. Itachi's condescending smile flashed behind his eyes. How does it feel to know we are the same?
"Look. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," Sasuke forced out. He couldn't bring himself to look at her face. He stared at the dirt instead. "But I have seen too many people die. I don't want you to be one of them. As long as you treat this life like a game, you are going to get yourself killed."
Sakura pushed herself up from the dirt. Her hands were shaking violently as she rubbed her reddened neck.
"It is fine. I get it. You don't want me around," she whispered, her voice breaking on a sob. "I will leave you alone."
She turned and practically ran back down the path.
Say something, Sasuke screamed at himself, his chest tight with panic. You just terrorized her for no reason. Fix it! Say something!
But his throat felt tight, and his feet were glued to the ground. He could only stand there in the fading light, watching her disappear. He was entirely alone again, left to drown in the familiar, suffocating waves of his own shame.
Sakura Haruno
Time: 6:30 PM. Same day.
Location: Somewhere in Konoha.
Sakura slumped onto a wooden bench in an empty playground, pulling her knees up to her chest. Her trembling hands kept drifting up to touch her neck.
When Sasuke had pressed that knife against her throat, it hadn't felt like a harsh lesson. It had felt real. It felt like he was a fraction of a second away from murdering her in cold blood. Her body shivered violently in the warm evening air. He would have killed her without batting an eye in that state.
What was wrong with his eyes? she thought, frantically wiping away the fresh tears spilling over her cheeks. They were completely red, with that weird black comma floating inside.
She had always wanted to know the real Sasuke. But the sheer, unadulterated terror of being near him just now made her stomach turn. Was he crazy? He was usually just quiet and broody, focused on his goals. He had never been so vicious. So deranged.
And the things he said... did he really think she was that pathetic? She knew she wasn't the heaviest hitter in their class, but she was smart! She had perfect chakra control!
But the brutal truth gnawed at her chest. She hadn't even seen him move. One second he was standing five feet away, and the next, she was pinned to the ground with a blade at her throat. If that had been an enemy ninja, she would be dead right now.
He's right. I really am useless, she thought, burying her face in her hands.
He doesn't want me. I've spent years trying to get him to look at me, hoping he'd see how much I care about him. And the very first time we're actually alone together, he looks at me like I'm trash and threatens my life.
Was she really that worthless? She scrubbed at her eyes, but the tears just kept coming, hot and fast.
"Stop it! Stop crying!" she muttered brokenly to herself, her voice cracking. "He doesn't care about you at all! Why do you still care about him?!"
"Rough first breakup, kiddo?" a smooth, melodic voice asked.
Sakura jumped. "Yeah, what's it to you, hag?!" she snapped blindly, too upset to care who was listening.
"Ouch. You're really calling your own sensei a hag? My, my. And here I thought you were just telling Sasuke how beautiful I am."
Sakura froze. She peeked through her fingers to see Kurenai leaning down, looking her right in the eye with a small, knowing smile.
Seeing her sensei's calm, familiar face was the breaking point. Sakura lunged forward, burying her face into Kurenai's flak jacket, and started bawling.
"Sensei! Sasuke is a jerk and he doesn't want me!" she sobbed into the green fabric. "He almost killed me! He pinned me down and held a kunai to my neck and told me I was going to die out there!"
Kurenai's playful smile vanished instantly. Her crimson eyes flared with sharp, protective instinct. She gently pushed Sakura back by the shoulders, her eyes carefully scanning the girl's neck for any cuts or bruises.
"Well. I've been rejected a few times in my life, but no one has ever pulled a blade on me over it," Kurenai said. Her tone was light, but her eyes were entirely serious. "And they say the worst a guy can say is 'no'."
"This isn't a joke, Sensei! He almost killed me!"
"Sakura, take a breath. Look at me," Kurenai said gently, brushing a stray pink curl out of Sakura's wet face. "You don't even have a scratch on your neck. If Sasuke Uchiha genuinely wanted you dead, you wouldn't be sitting here talking to me."
"But you didn't see him! His eyes changed! They turned bright red, with this creepy black tadpole spinning around inside them!"
Kurenai's expression hardened completely. "I see. That is a very serious matter. I will be having a word with the Hokage about that. But Sakura, look at me... are you really crying this hard just because a boy rejected you?"
"No." Sakura's shoulders slumped, all the fight leaving her body. "I just asked him to train with me. And then I was on the dirt with a knife at my throat. I couldn't even see his hands move. Tell me the truth, Sensei. Am I just weak? Am I so pathetic that I can't even track my own classmate's movements?"
"That's an interesting question." Kurenai sat down on the bench beside her, letting out a soft sigh. "What does it actually mean to be weak? Some people think strength is just what you're born with. And while genetics definitely play a part in our world, it's not the whole picture. Everyone is born with an aptitude for something. Most people just haven't found their 'something' yet. And unfortunately, in our line of work, a lot of people die before they get the chance to figure it out."
"What?! But I don't want to die before I figure out what I'm good at!" Sakura panicked, her eyes going wide.
"Then we better start figuring it out," Kurenai smiled, bumping her shoulder playfully against Sakura's. "The only way to find your strength is to try everything until something clicks. So, tomorrow morning, we are going to test out a few different ninja arts and see what sticks."
A tiny spark of defiance ignited in Sakura's chest. She wiped her nose on her sleeve. "Yeah. I'm going to find my thing, and I'm going to beat the stupid out of Sasuke. He called me dead weight. I'm going to make him choke on those words!"
"Exactly!" Kurenai laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "That's the fire I want to see, Sakura! That's the attitude you need in life Sakura! To beat the shit out of men who underestimate us!. Now you've got me excited for training tomorrow!"
Sasuke Uchiha
Time: 9:00 PM. Same day.
Location: The Uchiha Compound.
The rice tasted like ash in his mouth.
It had been five years since the massacre, yet he still couldn't cook a decent meal. Truthfully, he refused to learn. His mother used to promise that she would teach him how to cook his favorite dishes before he went on his first official genin mission. Now, he was a genin, and the sprawling estate was suffocatingly quiet. The only sound in the entire house was the hollow scrape of his chopsticks against his ceramic bowl.
The terrible food was just another bitter reminder of the ghost town he lived in.
He dumped the rest of his dinner in the trash and walked down the dark hallway to his room. The specters of his family seemed to hover in the corners of his vision. He had never told anyone about the twisted, phantom Itachi his mind conjured up when he was stressed. He didn't want the village shrinks digging around in his brain, treating him like a fragile, broken victim.
He sat heavily on the edge of his bed, staring down at his hands. They were trembling.
His mind kept drifting back to the sparring match. To Hinata's fluid, effortless movements.
Why can't I grow that fast? he thought, his chest tightening with bitter resentment. Why do I have to bleed for every single inch of progress, when Itachi was practically born a master?
His brother had been promoted to genin a few months into the Academy. He was a chunin by age eight. And here Sasuke sat, a newly minted genin at age twelve, struggling to keep up with girls who used to faint in his presence.
He bit his lower lip hard, forcing back the hot tears prickling his eyes. Crying wouldn't make him stronger. Eventually, Itachi had to hit a wall. Everyone had a ceiling. Sasuke just needed to keep climbing until he reached itachi, even if it took him ten years.
He would catch his brother. And when he did, he would make him pay for everything he took.
Hinata Hyuga
Time: Three days after The Bell Test
Location: Training Ground 7
Sasuke and Naruto collapsed onto the grassy field at the exact same time, both panting heavily. They looked completely wrecked.
"Come here, kitty! Who's a pretty girl? Yes, you are! You are just the sweetest thing!" Hinata cooed, happily scratching Tora under the chin.
Hinata had to admit, the infamous demon cat of Konoha was way cuter in real life than she ever was on a screen. The little pink bow tie around her neck just made her look totally precious.
"Why is she acting so nice to you?!" Naruto whined from the dirt, wincing as he touched a set of angry red claw marks on his cheek. "She shredded me and Sasuke to pieces when we tried to grab her! But you crouch down for two seconds, and she just jumps right into your lap!"
"Well, Tora just happens to be an excellent judge of character. Isn't that right? Yes, it is!" Hinata fell right back into baby talk, burying her face into the soft fur.
"Excellent work, my adorable genin. You have successfully acquired the target," Kakashi drawled, dropping lazily out of the branches of the nearest oak tree. "Now we just have to deliver it to the client."
"Sensei, don't call her a target!" Hinata scolded, holding the cat defensively against her chest. "She's a baby! How would you like it if I started calling you a bastard, huh? I mean, it might be an accurate description, but it still hurts to hear, doesn't it?"
Kakashi's single visible eye twitched. "I'm sorry, what did she just call me?"
"She called you a bastard," Sasuke confirmed from the ground, his face totally deadpan.
Later that afternoon at the Hokage Tower, it physically pained Hinata to hand the poor cat back to Madam Shijimi. It was the first time Hinata truly understood how a person could be loved to death. Tora looked like she was fighting for her life as the massive woman aggressively hugged her.
The following day was spent doing back-breaking labor on a farm outside the village gates. By the time they finished pulling weeds and tilling the soil, they were all too exhausted to do anything but go home and sleep.
It wasn't until the third day that Hinata finally found a moment to corner her sensei and ask for help with her Light-release.
"Fire, Lightning, and Yang chakra. Yeah, that checks out," Kakashi muttered, rubbing his chin as he looked down at her. "I'll be honest with you, I've never been a jutsu-creation prodigy. Even my signature move was something I kind of stumbled into by accident. But I do know the core theory behind it. I can teach you the foundation, but just be aware that building a brand new jutsu is more art than science. Your brain has to conceptualize chakra in a really specific way. It's why Kekkei Genkai are so rare."
"I know, I know! Just teach me the basics," Hinata pleaded, practically vibrating with excitement. "I can always bug the specialized jonin for specific help later on."
Kakashi sighed deeply, closing his orange book with a dull thwack. "Alright, gather around, kids. Class is in session. I will now attempt to explain how jutsu creation actually works without putting you to sleep."
"Yes, Sensei!" Hinata and Naruto said in unison.
"Ninjutsu is, at its core, performed using chakra and hand seals," Kakashi began, pacing slowly in front of them. "There are a lot of variables, but for beginners, the hand seals are the training wheels. There are hundreds of possible seals out there, but shinobi have standardized them over time to make things easier. The twelve Zodiac seals are your alphabet. You can't spell without them. And on top of that, there are five specific seals tied directly to elemental manipulation."
"But what do the hand signs actually do?" Naruto asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"They act like a mold for your chakra," Kakashi explained, pointing at Naruto. "You can't do ninjutsu without chakra, but raw chakra doesn't do anything unless you force it into a specific shape. Now, true masters, Kage-level fighters, can skip the hand signs completely and just muscle the chakra into shape with their minds. But that takes years of insane dedication and practice. So, the rest of us use hand signs."
He held up two fingers. "But signs alone aren't enough for the big leagues. Truly powerful jutsu require two advanced steps. Shape Transformation, and Nature Transformation.
"Shape Transformation is altering the physical reality of the chakra. Making it sharper, wider, faster, or denser. Nature Transformation is giving it an elemental property. Adding fire to burn, or lightning to pierce.
"When you combine hand seals, Shape Transformation, and Nature Transformation perfectly, you get the kind of jutsu that shift the landscape and win wars." Kakashi looked directly at Hinata, his expression unusually serious. "If you want to master this Light-style of yours, that is the mountain you have to climb."
Hinata nodded slowly, absorbing the weight of his words.
"Since you somehow completely bypassed the rules and stumbled into Nature Transformation already, your next priority is Shape Transformation. You need to memorize your signs, learn how to physically mold your chakra to get the effect you want, and string it all together. It is a long, highly frustrating process. Especially for a Hyuga, since your clan almost exclusively punches things. But, if you pull it off, you'll be a total powerhouse."
Kakashi offered her a trademark, crinkled eye-smile.
"Man, that sounds like so much studying," Hinata groaned, her shoulders slumping dramatically.
"Well, yeah. Did you think S-rank jutsu grew on trees?" Kakashi chuckled, shaking his head. "Most major jutsu are the result of entire clans spending hundreds of years doing trial and error. The Nara spent generations figuring out shadows. The Yamanaka spent centuries on mind-walking. Being born into those clans is like getting a massive head start in a marathon. You get to read their notes. You're starting from scratch.
"Still, a Kekkei Tōta is incredibly rare. It's worth the headache. And hey, even if you don't master Shape Transformation tomorrow, we can probably figure out a way for you to shoot off some basic D-rank light attacks, right?"
"Yeah, that's true! Let's figure it out, Sensei!" Hinata cheered, her enthusiasm rushing back. "If you help me, maybe when I'm the head of the Hyuga clan, I'll hook you up with super easy, high-paying missions for your retirement!"
Kakashi's visible eye twinkled.
"Sure, sure. I wouldn't mind a few easy missions coming my way."