Hearing the call from outside the door, Hyūga Yūu subconsciously activated his Byakugan, causing the blood vessels around his eyes to bulge as his field of vision expanded.
Only after confirming that the person standing outside was just an ordinary Hyūga clan ninja did he dissipate the chakra in his hand.
What was peculiar was this—
The chakra he dispersed did not scatter like normal chakra; instead, propelled by another strange type of chakra, it silently reverted from Wind Release chakra back into regular chakra and retracted into his body.
Within the Byakugan's penetrating view of the human body, this regular chakra was then broken down further, transforming back into its most fundamental unit—stamina.
Hyūga Yūu's complexion visibly became more rosy.
He then got up, walked to the entryway, and opened the door.
Standing outside was a Hyūga ninja wearing a Chūnin vest, someone Hyūga Yū knew.
It was Hyūga Iroha.
He was fourteen years old, a Hyūga clan ninja one class ahead of Yū at the Academy, currently a Chūnin, and would likely be promoted to Jōnin around the start of Shippuden in his twenties. He was a ninja who, despite possessing the Byakugan, wasn't particularly noticeable in a crowd.
Not everyone in the Hyūga clan was like Hyūga Tetsu, who treated Yū poorly.
At this moment, Hyūga Iroha greeted Yū casually.
"Yo, Yūu, you're up pretty early—and… you look like you're in good spirits."
He glanced Yūu up and down, paused briefly on Yūu's unusually rosy complexion, then handed over a scroll with a smile.
"The clan has decided to send you to the front lines of the Hidden Mist battlefield."
"But you're quite lucky; you've been assigned to the medical squad at Kusunami Coast. Hmm, that place… How should I put it—it's pretty suitable for retirement."
Kusunami Coast is located deep within the Land of Fire and serves as a transfer point for the wounded from the front lines; those sent there have usually undergone initial emergency treatment and are awaiting transfer back to Konoha for recuperation or further care. Medical ninjas stationed there are far more idle than those in the Konoha Hospital.
Reaching this point, Hyūga Iroha couldn't help but tease, "If I get transferred there later too, we can get together and play cards in our free time."
"Thank you," Hyūga Yūu replied with a smile, taking the scroll and shaking his head.
"However, I'd rather we didn't meet there. After all, I'm not keen on stitching up your intestines."
Hyūga Iroha paused, then realized the implication and shook his head, laughing wryly.
"Haha, good point."
Due to the nature of the transfer point, ninjas sent there have usually met their end. If medical ninjas at the camp are called upon, it is often for post-mortem duties—stitching up intestines or cleaning faces to prepare the remains.
Theoretically, this is the responsibility of the Corpse Disposal Squad, but wartime conditions are unique, and the squad is only a small division under Konoha's Medical Department. Faced with an ocean of fallen ninjas, manpower is inevitably short.
"I still have a few transfer orders to deliver, so I'll be taking my leave now."
After seeing Hyūga Iroha off, Hyūga Yū unrolled the scroll and began to read.
It was exactly as he had guessed.
The clan's transfer order stated that his departure date was the day after tomorrow, and the mission location was, as Hyūga Iroha had mentioned, the medical squad at Kusunami Coast.
This was the same location Root had ordered him to go—only the person he was reporting to was different.
The Hyūga Main House instructed Yū to report to an elderly female ninja named Furofuki. This grandmotherly figure was formerly the vice director of the Konoha Hospital and was currently semi-retired, serving as the theoretical highest authority in the camp.
The Main House's arrangement was in no way detrimental to Hyūga Yū; in fact, it was somewhat overly favorable.
However, Hyūga Yū merely glanced at the scroll before casually stuffing it into the scroll pouch strapped to his left leg.
Next, he glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
5:40.
The Main House would be leaving the village today, customarily departing precisely at eight o'clock, with three squads alternating between protection and advance scouting along the route.
Hyūga Yū had already determined the general route and therefore did not plan to follow the Main House's convoy.
The reason was simple.
If the Jōnin couldn't handle an enemy, his presence as a Genin would likely be useless, and the Byakugan users in the escort team could see much farther than he could. If discovered, Yū would have no way to explain his purpose.
If Hyūga Genkō became suspicious and, in desperation, activated the Caged Bird Seal, Yū would have nowhere to appeal.
He was only worried about Hyūga Natsu, who was involved in this incident, and the only person he intended to protect was Hyūga Natsu—perhaps Hyūga Tetsu at most.
At the same time, sharpening the axe does not delay the chopping of wood.
Confirming that he still had ample time, Hyūga Yū returned inside, sat down cross-legged once more, picked up a kunai from the table, and channeled chakra into it.
Ninjutsu training cannot be achieved overnight.
But that was only true under conventional circumstances.
Thanks to planning his training direction very early on, Hyūga Yū had used chakra paper to test his chakra nature when he was barely old enough to crawl.
Unfortunately, he was not a genius like Hatake Kakashi; he possessed only one chakra nature: Wind.
Furthermore, training in Wind Nature Transformation and Form Transformation had begun the moment Hyūga Yū first learned to mold chakra.
Chakra Nature Transformation has many variations; for example, water can be transformed into glue or mud, and fire into gunpowder, steam, or high-temperature substances.
For the Wind nature, the most common and easiest transformation to replicate is Sharpness—or, more vividly, Blades.
According to the process Asuma Sarutobi used to teach Naruto Wind Nature Transformation, the training consists of three stages.
Stage One: Strengthening the Nature Transformation.
Simply put, this involves finding the direction of the chakra's nature shift.
The procedure is simple: channel chakra into a leaf until it begins to tear or cut.
Stage Two: Increasing the instantaneous amount of transformation.
In Shippuden, Naruto trained this by summoning a large number of clones to cut a waterfall, emphasizing brute force and shared experience.
Hyūga Yū did not have that much chakra, so he relied on slow, persistent effort. Whenever his stamina allowed, he would mold Wind Release chakra to cut the ground or a large boulder placed near his doorstep.
After seven full years of grinding effort, that heavily pitted boulder was finally split in two by a single touch from Hyūga Yū's hand.
When he instantly emptied all his chakra—leaving only the bare minimum needed for survival—he could use pure chakra to cut a perfectly straight groove into ordinary earth, approximately one millimeter thick and three meters deep.
It wasn't that Yū couldn't cut past three meters; his chakra reserves simply didn't allow it.
Since he could instantly release all available chakra, this stage of training could be considered perfectly complete.
Stage Three: Fusion with Jutsu.
Naruto nearly ruined himself training for this stage; the process of fusing Wind Release with the Rasengan constantly ravaged the meridians in his hand. Only the durability of the Uzumaki physique, combined with the Nine-Tails' chakra, allowed him to endure it through sheer regenerative power.
However, for Hyūga Yū—who possessed the Byakugan and practiced Gentle Fist—this was paradoxically the simplest step.
Just like now—
Hyūga Yū lightly gripped the kunai and channeled chakra into it.
The Wind Release chakra, normally sharp, painful to handle, and constantly emitting harsh crackling sounds, was obedient in his grasp—like a cat winding around his legs, seeking comfort.
Any sign of instability was instantly corrected, broken down, and resynthesized under the interference of that other strange chakra.
Not a single trace of chakra was wasted throughout the entire process.
Furthermore, the step where even Shimura Danzō needed to exhale and form the Boar hand sign to coat a kunai with Wind Release chakra and create a vacuum blade—
was completely omitted by Hyūga Yū.
In the next instant, a pale yellow wind blade—approximately one meter long and constantly emanating sharp sword energy—suddenly erupted from the kunai in Hyūga Yū's hand.
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Jujutsu Kaisen: Hebi