Chapter 4
I followed Tsunade out of the building and into the streets once again. She led me down a street into an area out of the main gate's street.
"Where are we headed?" I asked.
Tsunade answered shortly, "The Hyuga clan's main building."
She kept walking as though that answered everything. Wait. The Hyuga?
"Hold on, you mean the Hyugas who possess the Byakugan?"
Tsunade slowed down so that she was walking next to me. "So even one hidden in seclusion as yourself has heard of the renowned Byakugan and the users. I did tell you Neji Hyuga who you met earlier possessed the Byakugan. He's a Hyuga and possesses the Byakugan. His Uncle, the head of the clan possesses a powerful Byakugan, although Neji is a prodigy in his own right. Hiashi will be able to shed light on anyone who can help you. Although I have a guess already on what he'll suggest."
As they talked, they approached an old wooden entry gate to a large estate. A man that look vaguely familiar greeted them at the entrance.
"Ah, Hiashi. I see you got my message." Tsunade said warmly. It hit me when she spoke to him. This was Neji's uncle and they look very similar. Blue eyes, long dark brown hair, and the village headband worn on their foreheads. The differences ended there, however. This man has seen much war, I could tell this much by his eyes.
"Lady Tsunade." Hiashi nodded briefly at the Hokage before looking at me. He was still clearly speaking to Tsuande, however. "Is this the girl with the supposed visual prowess of the Korigan?"
"Yes, Hiashi. She told me of her clan and how her Korigan awakened after seeing the aftermath of the annihilation of her clan."
"And you believe this child?" Hiashi asked. It didn't sound as though he was accusing me of lying. He was just a cautious man.
"I do. She's seen a lot and been through a lot. I met her elder once as well and he was an honorable man. She has no mentor to teach her how to use the Korigan. I thought someone who used visual jutsu might be able to train her better than someone who doesn't. That leaves your clan or Kakashi."
"Well, I'm too busy training Hanabi and Hinata is not skilled enough with the Byakugan yet to train someone nor does she possess what it takes to train someone with a different skill set. I know you're thinking the same thing I am so I'm not sure you asked me. Neji would be able to train her well, I think."
Tsunade sighed, "I thought so too, I just wanted your input. Between Neji and Kakashi, they should be able to effectively train her and still go on missions. Do you know where Neji is right now? We saw him earlier but he left after we spoke."
"He's probably in our training field with Hinata. I'll take you there." He led us deeper into the estate until trees replaced homes. I began hearing fighting as we walked deeper into the woods. We reached a clearing and watched the two shinobi train for a while before Tsunade stepped in.
"Neji. I know you know I'm here. I'm sorry to disrupt your training but this is important." After a few moments, Neji stopped his fight with the girl fighting him.
"Hinata, you may take a break." Neji spoke to the girl before looking at us. Well, me. "You're still here."
"Neji, this is Artemis. She will be living amongst us now." She then began to tell Neji everything I had told her. Apparently, she hadn't told Hiashi everything in her message because as she told the story, his stoic face began to widen in horror. "She needs training. She has no one to mentor her on the Korigan. She'll need to figure out that on her own, but perhaps someone with visual prowess can help her figure out how to best utilize her powers."
"It's the Uchiha all over again." Hiachi said, horrified.
"Not exactly. It sounds like there was more than one person to wipe out the Elara clan. But I see your point, Hiachi." Tsunade acknowledge and then spoke to Neji, "What do you say? I'll ask Kakashi to train her as well so you can still go on missions."
Neji continued to study me before sighing, "I'll do it. I don't sense malice from her and her chakra flow intrigues me. It's a lot more chaotic like Naruto's although she's clearly not a tailed-beast."
"You can see chakra flow?" I asked.
"Yes. It's part of the Byakugan's power. We need to be able to see chakra flow in order to stop chakra flow."
"Oh," I said, "that clears up nothing."
"Look," Neji said, "Everyone has chakra and chakra flows in a circular fashion. Everyone's does, but those with more chakra tend to have a more chaotic chakra flow. Throughout the body, there are several chakra points. You plug a chakra point, you stop chakra flow. This is all beside the point right now, though. How the Byakugan works has little to do with you." He looked at Tsunade, "When do you want us to begin?"
"Now, if possible. I know you've been training Hinata and may be tired. You can wait if you need to."
"No. Now's fine." Neji cut in.
Tsunade nodded and left with Hiashi, leaving Neji and myself alone in an uncomfortable silence.
"You're going to need to tell me everything you know about the Korigan if you want me to train you." Neji finally said, crossing his arms.
I nodded, "Alright, I'll tell you what I can."