Chapter 126: The Loneliness of the Strong
The world blurred—like a dream made of shifting light and motion.
At the No. 3 training ground of the Ninja Academy, two figures clashed repeatedly.
Or rather, it looked like a clash.
In truth, it was more like a one-sided game of cat and mouse.
Neji had no real opportunity to land a hit. Every attempt to close the distance was predicted and countered. The Chūnin examiner danced just out of reach—his wind-style ninjutsu sharp, his ninja tool throws perfectly timed.
Each movement, each dodge, was surgical.
From afar, near the edge of the illusion, Hyūga Neji stood with Ryosuke and Hinata, watching the battle replay like a recording of a memory he'd lived through once before.
"Is this really… just an ordinary illusion?" Neji murmured, stunned.
The images felt too real. Every sensation, every shift in chakra flow, echoed what he'd experienced during the actual fight. It was as if they were back at the training grounds, watching from the sidelines as the fight unfolded again in perfect clarity.
But Ryosuke hadn't even been there.
"It's simple, really," Ryosuke said, casually waving a hand as the illusion continued to shift. "As long as you've got a decent grasp of genjutsu, a strong spatial awareness, and an active imagination, something like this isn't that hard."
As he spoke, he rewound the illusion—like flipping a tape back to a specific frame.
"You said during your third attempt to close in, you nearly touched him before he dodged. That was your best chance, right?"
"Yes… that's right," Neji said after a pause.
Ryosuke made a small gesture, adjusting the chakra flow around the illusion. The scene began to play again—faster this time, refined with more detail.
The first illusion had been rough around the edges. There were gaps—moments left out because Neji hadn't remembered or described them clearly. But Ryosuke filled in the blanks with his own combat instincts, and as Neji watched, his memory sharpened. He began to recall small moments he hadn't mentioned—micro-expressions, minor footwork adjustments—and Ryosuke wove those into the illusion too.
Soon, a perfect reconstruction unfolded before them.
In the projection, Neji's younger self faked a stagger, trying to bait the Chūnin into lowering his guard. It almost worked. Neji surged forward, aiming to strike, but—
"He saw right through it," Ryosuke narrated. "Your eyes, your timing—it gave your intentions away. That moment of hesitation told him everything."
He adjusted the scene slightly, changing the Chūnin's movements.
"Still… it's his fault for letting you get that close," Ryosuke added, brows furrowed in thought. "Anyone familiar with Hyūga-style taijutsu would never let you close the distance. Not unless they wanted to end it fast."
"If it were me, I wouldn't give you even a second to get near. I'd stay at range the entire time. Ninja tools, long-range jutsu—constant pressure. The safest way to deal with the Hyūga."
Neji nodded slowly, his eyes still fixed on the illusion.
"Your feint worked to an extent," Ryosuke continued. "The examiner either underestimated you for a moment or deliberately gave you an opening to bait your full strength. Either way… that's where it ended."
Ryosuke's tone wasn't critical—it was analytical. Calm. Clear.
The insight wasn't just for Neji. It was for Hinata too.
No matter how long she remained in Konoha, one day she would face opponents who understood the Hyūga inside and out—enemies who would be prepared.
Today's breakdown was a warning: Know your enemy. Or be outplayed.
Both Hinata and Neji absorbed the lesson in silence.
Ryosuke glanced at the darkening sky. The scent of evening meals had begun drifting across the clan grounds.
"That's enough for today," he said, dispelling the illusion with a flick of his wrist. "You fought well, Neji. Facing a seasoned Chūnin, it's impressive that you lasted as long as you did."
"But just because I don't blame you doesn't mean you should get comfortable. Now you know exactly where your weaknesses are. So fix them. Push yourself. And when you're ready… apply again."
"Yes, Ryosuke-sama," Neji said, bowing respectfully.
But then something strange happened.
Just as Ryosuke began turning away, Neji gathered chakra in his body—an instinctive reaction.
He wanted to test something.
He tried to dispel the illusion himself.
And to his shock—
The illusion shattered instantly.
He blinked in disbelief. No backlash. No pain. No resistance.
It's over already?
It had felt so powerful… so immersive. Yet all he had to do was shift his chakra slightly, and it ended?
Was he still trapped inside another illusion? He almost activated his Byakugan out of paranoia.
But Ryosuke noticed his confusion and chuckled.
"I told you—it was just a basic illusion," he said, walking over to release Hinata from hers. "It doesn't have any combat application. Not yet, anyway."
The illusions faded completely, and the quiet of the Hyūga training grounds returned.
"If you run into any issues," Ryosuke added, "feel free to come to the main house. You can speak with me, or… with Hinata."
He looked at Neji with a calm smile.
"Hinata might be busy soon. As the future head of the clan, I hope you—Hyūga's top genius—can support her in whatever ways you can."
Neji's eyes widened.
He turned to Hinata, unsure how to respond.
Ever since learning of Ryosuke's importance to the clan, Neji had dismissed Hinata entirely. He believed—as his father had told him—that Hinata was just a placeholder. A puppet to maintain appearances. The real future of the Hyūga was Ryosuke.
But now…
Now, he wasn't so sure.
"She's going to surprise everyone," Ryosuke said softly, following Neji's gaze. "Just watch."
Next to him, Hinata didn't say a word. Her expression remained calm—stoic, even. But something behind her eyes glimmered. A quiet resolve.
Under Neji's uncertain stare, the two of them turned and walked away, leaving behind the illusion—and the weight of failure that no longer felt so heavy.
Hinata was quiet on the way home, her earlier good mood slowly unraveling.
The conversation with Ryosuke had reopened the weight pressing on her heart. The pressure to change the clan, to make a better future—not just for herself, but for Hanabi and others like her—weighed heavier with each step.
"Do you... think he can really help me?" she asked suddenly.
Ryosuke glanced sideways, but before he could respond, she quickly added, "I don't mean you. I meant Neji. He's still a student. I just… don't know how much he can really help."
Her voice was defensive, stubborn. A reminder of the promise she made to herself—to solve this problem on her own.
Ryosuke didn't tease her. Instead, he smiled gently, grasping her hand and leading her forward. "Those elders are incredibly stubborn. Just because you have the title of future head doesn't mean they'll listen."
"They've been trapped in the bird cage too long. Age hasn't softened them—only made them cling harder to the system that hurt them."
He paused.
"But what if more than half the clan—even two-thirds—agrees with your reforms? What then? Could they really continue to resist?"
Hinata stopped walking.
Her eyes widened.
Ryosuke met her gaze. "There's still time before the next clan meeting. If you want this to work, make your move now. Forget school for the time being. This is more important."
---
After a quiet but impactful conversation with her father, Hinata and Hiashi found themselves, for the first time, on the same side.
Hinata wanted change for justice, for a future where Hanabi wouldn't have to leave.
Hiashi, on the other hand, saw reform as a necessary step to safeguard the clan's long-term survival.
Together, they began to plant the seeds of change.
Meanwhile, Konoha was undergoing its own shift.
As Ryosuke predicted, the battle in the Land of Waves had left the Third Hokage shaken. Sarutobi Hiruzen had begun preparing for his retirement.
Rumors soon spread—Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, had returned to the village.
It was unclear when he'd come back, but Ryosuke had his suspicions. Likely, Jiraiya had been summoned before Hiruzen departed for the Land of Waves, brought in to quietly stabilize things from the shadows.
Even the way Naruto's monitoring had relaxed slightly suggested Jiraiya's hand in the matter.
Still, despite being the Hokage's student, Jiraiya had no desire for the hat. His heart was set on wandering—on the path of a sage, not a ruler.
As for Ryosuke, he wasn't directly involved in any of it.
The clan meetings, the quiet rebellion led by Hinata, even the beginnings of a new Hokage selection—he only heard of these things secondhand, through those who trusted him implicitly. Hoshicai. Tamao. His teammates.
And that was fine.
For now, his focus was elsewhere.
On himself.
Despite the success of the Wave mission, despite how neatly everything had gone, Ryosuke felt no satisfaction.
The real threats remained untouched.
The Akatsuki moved in the shadows.
Kaguya Otsutsuki—a sleeping god on the moon.
No amount of clever strategy would matter if he lacked the power to face them head-on.
He had no interest in gambling.
If he had to fight Kaguya, he would rather defeat her than seal her again.
---
That determination fueled his training.
He now realized that improving in isolation would only take him so far.
Raw potential meant nothing without sharpening it against real opponents. True growth came from pressure—from danger.
Even chakra control, once an abstract practice, had taken on a new meaning.
In the silence of his private room, Ryosuke sat surrounded by scrolls.
"Yin chakra represents the power of the mind and soul. Yang chakra embodies the vitality of the body."
His chakra, once light blue, had begun to glow with a faint green hue—reminiscent of medical ninjutsu. These green pulses flowed through his body, slowly healing the minor damages caused by overtraining.
It wasn't much. The healing was weak and limited.
But it was a start.
Where ordinary medical ninjutsu stopped, Ryosuke was pushing forward—toward true self-regeneration.
With the knowledge of the original timeline and his clan's inherited techniques, he had a solid foundation. Now came the hard part: development.
He ignored the noise of the world.
His subordinates brought him reports, and he listened when necessary.
But his focus had narrowed.
The deeper he studied Yin release, the more he gained.
And now, Yang release was his next goal.
Training his body had brought him to a plateau. The gains had slowed. Physical growth alone wouldn't carry him further.
Instead, he sought new avenues—chakra transformation, nature manipulation, internal refinement.
Every improvement, no matter how small, pushed his limiter closer to full.
When it reached the limit, he would break through again.
A new stage. A new Ryosuke.
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