Looking at the casual expression on Yuto's face, Neji's eyes continuously flickered with admiration.
Neji had always considered himself a genius, but now he suddenly felt that Yuto before him was the true genius.
By developing a ninjutsu with the Rotation's characteristics from just seeing it performed, what else could that be called but genius?
"Thank you for your guidance, Lord Yuto."
Neji bowed deeply to Yuto, speaking respectfully.
"I have fought many jonin from your Hyuga clan before. Your clan's techniques are a progressive cycle, starting with the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving, then applying the Rotation technique, followed by developing the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm."
"The patterns connecting these techniques are linked, but unfortunately Ao isn't here this time; otherwise, he could have explained some of the basics to you."
A faint smile was on Yuto's face as he stretched lazily.
Although Ao was not from the Hyuga clan, his experience as an elite jonin using the Byakugan was more than enough to teach the current genin Neji.
Neji froze for a moment before nodding in agreement.
During his time in Kirigakure, Neji hadn't been idle; after all, he now held the identity of one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.
Therefore, he had naturally researched some of Kirigakure's famous ninja in private.
The ANBU captain, Ao!
He was the only outsider in the entire shinobi world, besides those who came to Konoha, to possess the Byakugan. How could Neji not know of him?
The sound of "whooshing" water accompanied the sides of the cabin receding behind them.
A cool sea breeze swept from the horizon, filling the air with the scent of the ocean.
On the deck of the cabin.
Neji was in a corner, continuously practicing what Yuto had just taught him.
Beside him, Yuto lay on a long chair with his eyes slightly closed, as if asleep.
But Neji, who was training, could clearly sense through his Byakugan that Yuto's chakra was unusually active at that moment.
The Land of Hot Water.
Located in the northwest of the Land of Water, it was situated directly north of the Land of Waves.
Moreover, the distance between the Land of Waves and the Land of Hot Water was not far.
Of course, compared to the impoverished Land of Waves, a country without a hidden village, the Land of Hot Water was already considered relatively wealthy.
Unfortunately, the strength of Yugakure was not great. Not to mention comparing it to Amegakure or Takigakure, even when compared to other minor ninja villages, Yugakure's strength ranked near the bottom.
This was not only because Yugakure itself had no particularly powerful ninjutsu, but also because the village was inherently peaceful.
In the shinobi world, the term "the village that forgets war" was used to describe Yugakure.
However, what amused Yuto was that in such a peaceful village, a bloodthirsty ninja like Hidan had emerged.
As time passed.
The ship drew closer to the Land of Hot Water.
Following a black flash, Kinoshita Misasa appeared beside Yuto.
"Lord Yuto, we have arrived at the Land of Hot Water. Should we dock the ship?"
Kinoshita Misasa bowed half his body, his face filled with respect.
"Oh, we've already arrived."
Yuto rose from the long chair and looked at the land outside the ship, a faint smile appearing on his face.
At this time, Neji, who was beside him, also stopped his training and walked toward Yuto.
"You just wait on the boat. Let's go, Neji."
Yuto spoke flatly to Kinoshita Misasa. As he finished speaking, the figures of Yuto and Neji had already disappeared.
Within the borders of the Land of Hot Water.
"Truly worthy of being called 'the village that forgets war,' the tense situation of the shinobi world seems to be completely absent here."
Feeling the peaceful atmosphere of daily life around him, a hint of astonishment flashed through Yuto's mind.
"It seems this village has many hot springs."
Neji's eyes showed surprise as he looked at the various hot springs of Yugakure.
"Unfortunately, we're not here for leisure this time. Otherwise, I would really love to soak in these hot springs."
Yuto shrugged, making a helpless gesture.
"Lord Yuto, what are we here for this time?"
Neji's usually cold face was filled with curiosity.
He had never known the purpose of this trip to Yugakure. Along the way, Neji had wanted to ask many times but held back each time. Now, he could obviously no longer contain his curiosity.
"You'll know soon enough."
A faint smile played on Yuto's lips as he calmly looked ahead.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
At that moment, several faint sounds of breaking air came from the distance.
"Byakugan!"
Neji's spirit tensed, his body quickly crouching as he prepared for battle.
In the blink of an eye, Yuto and Neji were surrounded by ninja from Yugakure.
A leading Yugakure ninja first glanced at Yuto before finally fixing his gaze on Neji.
After all, Neji's Byakugan was too distinctive.
"From Konoha?"
The leading Yugakure ninja frowned first, speaking with confusion.
They had not received any advance notice of Konoha ninja coming to Yugakure.
Therefore, although these Yugakure ninja were puzzled by the appearance of Yuto and Neji, they were not tense at their first appearance.
Yugakure and Konoha were allies, so they would not be overly wary of people from Konoha.
"We are not from Konoha."
Neji remained with his Byakugan activated, speaking solemnly.
This statement was not only for the Yugakure ninja but also for himself.
Yuto glanced at Neji, then looked up again at the leading Yugakure ninja, speaking flatly:
"Let your Yugakage come see me."
What!
As Yuto's words echoed, the expressions of the many Yugakure ninja present couldn't help but change, their faces instantly darkening.
"Who do you think you are, speaking to us like that!"
A Yugakure ninja's face flushed with anger as he took a step toward Yuto.
However, before the ninja had taken two steps, the leading Yugakure ninja reached out and stopped him.
"Are you from Kirigakure?"
The leading Yugakure ninja seemed to have thought of something, his body tensing as his voice unconsciously trembled slightly.
Yuto still had a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his face, his eyes narrowed slightly as he calmly looked at the Yugakure ninja before him.
For a moment, the entire air seemed to freeze.
Although it was Yuto and Neji who were surrounded, the Yugakure ninja around them were the ones breaking out in cold sweat.
[
Hey everyone,
I need to tell you what's actually happening.
I just got hit with mass cancellations. On top of being buried in academics until the 9th, I'm in deep financial trouble right now—like, genuinely don't-know-how-I-cover-next-month trouble. Translation is the only work I do, and after two years of daily output, I am running on fumes.
I want to do more for you. I have another Naruto fic ready to drop the moment this academic hell ends. But I can't keep creating if I can't survive.
I'm not powerless about the work—I know I can deliver for you. But I'm powerless to stop the bleeding alone.
Here is exactly what you get if you step in now:
$5 tier: 20 chapters per month
$10 tier: 40 chapters per month
$15 tier: 60 chapters per month for both novels
If you join now, you unlock +60 chapters for all novels immediately in your first month. That is 120 chapters ready to read the moment you sign up.
I am not a corporation. I am one person sitting at a desk, converting these stories so you can enjoy them in English. Without backing, I cannot keep doing that.
If you've ever thought about supporting, this is the moment. Not "someday." Now.
Patreon: patreon.com/anish_44
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/anish_44
Every new member literally buys me another week of doing this. Every existing member staying is the reason I'm still here.
Thank you for reading this far. That alone means something.
]