Setsuna's P.O.V.
In the end, it took me two days to learn how to cut the leaf using only my chakra. According to Sakumo this was about as fast as he learned to do it back in the day so this was not that bad a sign. He wanted me to increase my wind chakra power, but instead I asked if he could let me try something else for a little while. Namely, I put leafs all over my body, one in every tenketsu I had.
Using chakra control to let the leaves stay in place, I then tried to use just the chakra I was using to stick every leaf to instead cut them. It was a slow process for sure, to have such fine control with each tenketsu, but this should let me get a much better feel to wind transformation than just increasing the output and power of it.
I can leave that for later.
Honestly I am not too sure if this will have that big an effect, but maybe I can use this to later develop a chakra mode like what the Raikage can? This should more or less be the same principle anyways so why not try my luck.
Needless to say, by the time the week came to an end we had the final tests to graduate from ninja school and everyone in class passed, even Obito who missed almost as many classes as me. The difference was that I missed classes due to my apprenticeship under Tsunade and training in general, he missed because he was too lazy to show up.
Still, the tests were simple enough and I got first place in the genin group. Sure, even if I am hailed as a genius others still say Kakashi is much greater, but I can still beat the 'greatest genius in Konoha' so who cares.
Teacher Tsunade wanted to go out to celebrate after me and Shizune passed, to make it a celebration, but I couldn't be there in the end.
The reason? I was ordered by the clan to come over for a meeting ordered by the patriarch regarding the new genins.
Putting on the typical uniform the Hyugas wore, I feel that mine has really gotten a bit too short. I have been using the same since I was five and never bothered getting others since I never wanted to waste my money buying fancy kimonos to walk with on the clan compound. Still, the kimono feels like it just might break apart if I flex my muscles from how tight it is… which I admit would look pretty cool.
Maybe I can do something like that when I get back to the Senjuu compound, explode the kimono and let everyone check out my body. Pretty sure Shizune would enjoy that one, I have seen her looking at me a bit more than a normal eight years old girl would back in my old life.
Guess that people here mature early, huh.
Me and the other Hyugas from the genius class stand side by side at the door to the main hall.
Amongst us, just one is from the Main Branch, Hyuga Ko. The kid was quite a bit full of himself and all but led the other Hyuga kids including Iroha as if they were a pacy, but he at least was not the worst type out there and tried to be friendly. Even so, I find it weird that in ninja school we only faced each other once during the sparring and since then he avoids me like the plague when it comes to fighting.
I did heal his broken knee and his baby teeth grew back anyway, why he cried so much about it I have no idea. Compared to the sort of training that teacher Tsunade usually puts me through, that is pretty much a relaxing day.
… I guess training for years with a woman who thought that she could push me as much as she wants as long as she can heal it afterwards may have screwed my perception just a tiny little bit. Oh well, at least Ko showed a lot of clan spirit whenever I had to fight an Uchiha, he cheered me on almost as much as Shizune, Asuma, and Guy.
At the door, a maid stepped outside and opened the door.
"You all may come inside now."
Hearing this we four entered the hall.
The place was quite spacious. Looking ahead there were a total of 21 individuals with the youngest being in their twenties and the oldest being around eighty or so considering how he looks. They were divided in ten 'lines' of sorts, each being the ten highest ranking elders of the Hyuga Family and their direct successors to when they die… and Hizashi on the side in a corner as the sole representative of the side branch.
As we four new genins walked inside one of the members present walked forward. Hyuga Hiashi really was almost a perfect carbon copy of his twin, only the lack of anything covering his forehead and the much fancier clothes being any indication of there being a clear difference.
"First, I would like to congratulate you all about passing the academy exam tests. I am well aware you all worked very hard in your studies and some of you even accomplished our hidden mission to get closer to the child of the Hokage and the White Fang." Hiashi said this, his gaze in my direction as much as others. Heh, I am just happy those two were cool and it was not even anything resembling a chore becoming their friends (even if I doubt Kakashi would ever admit us being friends, that bucktooth tsundere). "… but this is not yet enough to be a Genin. You all may not yet be aware but every jonin instructor must pass a suitable test for their genin to see if they are worthy of becoming a genin. As your jonin instructor, if I judged you have not attained high enough levels on your taijutsu then you will go back to the academy."
Well, fuck. Do I have to work with the clan as a genin? That sounds like a terrible idea that would slow me down and… wait a minute.
Raising my hand I see that some of the elders furrow their brows as they see me interrupting the young patriarch.
Seeing Hiashi having stopped talking and indicating for me to ask, I spoke up.
"Lord Hiashi, we are-"
That was as far as I managed to go as pain flooded my head. I fell to the floor in anguish as my head felt like it was about to explode and my vision turned slightly black at this moment.
"ELDER DU!" Hiashi turned to the sixth elder, a man in his seventies and yelled towards the man who harrumphed before stopping the activation of my cage bird seal.
I could only stay on the floor at this, my breath hagged as I took deep breaths to try and calm down. I activated my Byakugan almost out of sheer instinct as I began to study just what had happened to me there. This was even worse than some of the worse poisons Tsunade made me eat to train my poison resistance, that was how bad it was.
"This brat dared not to address his betters with their proper title, this level of punishment was just a warning." Elder Du said, my gaze not even turning in his direction even as I felt pure disgust at the old man's words.
Hiashi furrowed his brows but, instead of talking anything about my torture for such ridiculous reasoning, he turned to Hizashi.
"Teach the side branch better next time, Hizashi."
"I understand, my lord Young Patriarch." Hizashi answers with a knowtown so deep his head is pressed against the floor.
Hiashi just nods and continues on as I slowly get back up, my face turning extra cold at this display. Not only putting me through that torture, short as it was, but doing so for such small 'transgression', I was truly right in staying as far away from the clan grounds at any and all times as I could manage.
Nothing good would come from interacting with them.
"So, what were you gonna ask?" Hiashi said.
"... My Lord Young Patriarch, we are four people and a genin team is composed of three. Did the Hokage change the rules for our clan?" I question, trying my best to stabilize more and correct my chakra flow at the same time.
"No, lord Hokage gave you to someone else not of the clan as the teacher." Hiashi said and I had to do my absolute best to not show my excitement over not having to be near the clan as much. "However, this does not matter. Even if you are not to be taught by me, you still represent the Hyuga clan and, as such, the same still applies. We will measure your skills and, if you are not capable enough, you shall not be allowed to become a genin."
Whatever, I know my own strength and any genin test he throws at me I can manage.
Hiashi, seeing the expressions of all four of us, took a distance and said.
"The first test. We have planted multiple open scrolls in this line." Hiashi said, pointing in a direction. "Your test is to use your byakugan and tell us the content of the furthest page you can clearly see."
We all nod and each of us recite what they can see. In my case I saw an interesting review of acupuncture practices on an open and somewhat faded scroll around three and a half kilometers away.
There was some dead silence from the elders as I finished that and Hizashi gave a slight smile at this.
"Good, you all pass. Next, you all must present your taijutsu achievements. Iroha must fight Hiru and Ko shall fight Setsuna."
I was somehow amused that Ko looked terrified as he heard this while Iroha and Hiru looked relieved. They really are just kids, they should not react so strongly to me just breaking some bones from them once in a while, I did heal them afterward so they may as well see it as just training to resist pain.
It would do them good later anyway.
Iroha and Hiru's fight was rather well balanced, they having had little true contact with the higher level secrets of the gentle fist they still learned some downgraded version of it thanks to their parents and probably watching Ko in the spars at the academy.
It took a good eight minutes until Iroha won by very, very little. Still, both did their best and it was clear they had good potential, shame they would not be properly taught higher end stuff and are like most of the rest of the clan, focusing far too much on just the Gentle Fist.
After this it was mine and Ko's time to fight. The kid looked like he was almost shaking in fear as he stood against me, so I decided to give him some incentive.
"Don't worry, I will only use the Gentle Fist I learned mostly by self study and learning medic knowledge, so I won't be using my strange force technique, chakra threads, or anything else." I said and, thankfully, this seems to have calmed the boy down. Wanting to calm him down a bit more, I decided to give him the usual assurances. "Don't worry, if you get injured from this I can heal you after and-"
"I FORFEIT!" Ko said, stunning the crowd as they never expected someone from the main branch to just forfeit at such a moment without even trying to fight.
"KO! WHAT YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!" The Eighth Elder shouted at his son who shivered as he heard this.
"I-I refuse to fight with him. Let me fight two, even three genins from the side branch, I don't mind, but just not him. Not again, please." Ko said and I could only scratch my cheeks as I noticed so many people turning in my direction.
Hiashi, finding the whole experience weird, questioned.
"Young Setsuna, why exactly is little Ko so afraid of fighting you?"
"... Maybe it is trauma? I did break his legs accidentally during our first and only sparring session, but I healed him right after and the others who went through it never acted like that later. We are friends, right?" I said, giving my professional smile towards the other two who nervously nodded their heads in agreement.
"You, YOU DARE HURT MY SON!" The eighth elder shouted and seemed to be about to jump at me when the clan head spoke up.
"Sit down, Elder Kuu. It was a sparring match, injuries are normal and if your Ko was healed after then no harm was done in the end. If anything, your son's cowardice right now greatly displeases me and we are lucky it is only us that see this… however, I do agree that some form of punishment should be given for harming one of us from the main branch." The clan head said trying to be diplomatic.
The elders smiled when they heard I would still be punished for winning a spar.
As for the patriarch, his gaze turned to me and said.
"I have long since heard of your talent as well as the training you have undergone under the Senjuu Princess. You shall fight a Chunin designated by the Eighth Elder and you must defeat him, otherwise we shall talk with lord Hokage and explain you shall not join the Konoha fighting force as a shinobi, instead becoming another of the guards protecting the clan compound."
Well, fuck you too.
Still, I may still win. But I have to make sure of something.
"If it is like this, then can I fight with all I have or not?"
"... What says you, Eighth Elder. Are you willing to let this child who had only started training three years ago to use everything he knows against who you sent after him?" The patriarch questions and Kuu looks slightly constipated at this before he nods his head with clear reluctance.
"He can do as he pleases, he is just a brat after all. How strong can he even be?" The eighth elder said and I noticed from the corner of my eyes Hizashi's lips twitching in amusement at the elder's words.
Heh, it seems teacher Tsunade may have spoken more than she should have. Oh well, better it is Hizashi who knows it then the Eighth Elder, defeating a Chunin with only my Gentle Fist would be perhaps a bit complex after all. Not that hard, of course, but certainly difficult since all of my techniques were more or less self taught with what knowledge I had from the show as well as the basics from the scroll the clan gave me and my medical knowledge from both worlds.
With my current physical limitations, defeating a chunin specialized in taijutsu using just that would be far more complicated than I would prefer depending on how actually strong the chunin is.
3° Person P.O.V.
It was not until half an hour later that the fight was to start. That time was mostly so the Eighth Elder could decide on just who to send as the chunin representative for this fight since he wanted to be sure that, whoever it is he sends, they would decidedly be able to win this.
As for Setsuna, he was not truly idle either. He has already seen the clan elders and how prideful they were, even if Setsuna was about to win it would not be strange for him if they were to cheat to win this since it was 'destiny' that they were always victorious. Sure, it might just be pointless worries and they would be honest about it, but Setsuna was not willing to just blindly believe in the words and honor of those assholes.
Considering this, Setsuna excused himself into the bathroom and used his summoning technique to bring out his little friend. The little guy looked slightly annoyed at having been summoned as it spoke up.
'I was eating, couldn't you call me later?'
"You DO know you are always either eating or sleeping, right? If I wait for a time you are neither I may as well not summon you at all." Setsuna said to which Bebe shrugged.
'Gramps said it was normal for me to be like this.'
"Whatever. Just find teacher Tsunade and mister Sakumo and tell them to come over to the Hyuga Compound please. Explain that the elders are making me fight a chunin of the clan if they are to accept me graduating and becoming a proper genin of Konoha, and also tell teacher that one of the Elders used the Cage Bird on me." Setsuna said and Bebe nodded his head.
'Fine, but you must give me some more chakra later.'
"Get going you glutton. And later I can see if I can get some missions to fight boars or beasts around Konoha so you can eat them." Setsuna said, making Bebe's eyes sparkle in excitement.
The little guy really was just a glutton, but then again he was just very much a baby at this point in time. Bebe jumped out of Setsuna's hands and burrowed into the ground, behind him his tail moved such that, moments after he passed, the tunnel would collapse and little could be noticed of him passing by.
Nodding to himself Setsuna simply used the time until the fight started to seriously consider how exactly the Cage Bird Seal works. He knows the reason why it was created, but the seal itself makes little sense. The seal was said to have been created to ensure that their eyes would not be stolen or desired by other clans, so why include a natural weakness in the seal? That blind spot would make no sense if the seal's objective was protecting the eyes from others, protecting the clan so to say.
And that pain, Setsuna can still feel the terror of it, but that pain also made little sense. The chakra circulation of Setsuna's body was thrown into chaos temporarily, but the chaos it was generating was not strong enough to create such a reaction in his brain. Heck, even the imbalance of Yin and Yang was minimal and from what Setsuna could identify chemical reactions from his brain did not indicate anything wrong was happening.
"... Maybe, the seal focuses on the nerves?" Setsuna thought, remembering what information he had of that vertebra.
That vertebra relates intensely with all the commands to the arm and hands, the place where the Hyuga Clan most focuses on. Creating a blind spot, a weakness, there of all places in the body makes absolutely no sense if it was intentional since any attack that manages to hit it would mean that the Hyuga clansman becomes useless.
No, the seal's counter effect of the blind spot was not intentional, so maybe the capacity for pain was also unintentional? Regardless, Setsuna decided he would do one more reassurance before this fight to make sure that the elders were incapable of intervening subtly if he seems to be close to winning.
Doing some hand signs, Setsuna's hands turned green as he touched them into his body. His body suddenly felt somewhat uncomfortable, but it was the best way in his head to ensure things would not end up with him losing because of some elder or another not wanting to accept any sort of loss.
Feeling the effects settle in, Setsuna nodded his head before moving onto the exhibition hall because of course the elders wanted to make this a spectacle. What better way to show the side branch that they were fated to not get a good ending, no matter how genius they might be, if they dare to challenge the main branch in any way?
As for Hyuga Ko, the kid had already defeated the designated adversary the clan arranged for him. While the kid was still a bit cowardly, he did work hard for many years and had long since learned part of the techniques from the main branch and could easily defeat a side branch member who lacked the same secret techniques if the two were around the same power level.
Setsuna, sighed at the stupidity of this all as he decided he might as well dispel the shadow clone that was training in wind elemental transformation even at this moment. It took another ten minutes for the representative the elders selected to walk up into the stage, surprisingly it being the grandson of the Ninth elder, Meng Hyuga. He was not any great genius but he was still a Chunin of the main branch and was around 16 years old. He was the type that many would assume can reach Jonin rank soon.
"Don't feel bad child, it was just your fate to lose to me just as it was your fate to be born who you are. Fighting against it is useless, accept it." The guy said with a confident and smug tone that Setsuna had to try really, really, really hard not to roll his eyes at.
"... Thank you for the advice." Was all Setsuna said, not wanting to waste words with someone like this.
They were just about to start when a commotion from the outside began.
"You can't come in! Elders orders!"
"Fuck your elders, just try and stop me if you can." Came a brash and loud voice making Setsuna smile a bit as he saw the proud Hyuga clan opening a corridor since none wanted to try and stop this.
After all, the last Senjuu was well known for her temper when provoked and what was happening right now very much provoked the woman. However, what surprised Setsuna even more was that Tsunade did not come alone.
No, with her there was quite a collection of people since she still called her friends to celebrate the fact her disciples were not official genins. As such, beside Tsunade there came Jiraya (who had to walk strange considering his penis has been broken by the woman and she was the only medic that could heal it right, so he had to try and get her to do it) as well as Kushina, Shizune, Sakumo, Duy, Kakashi, Guy, Asuma, and even Orochimaru.
This combination, even if the Hyuga Clan was extremely prideful they knew they had absolutely no chance to resist and win if a fight did break out. Sure, the kids might be able to be taken hostage, but even the stupidest of the elders was not yet quite so brain dead to do this.
"Kukuku, it seems my new student will be able to show me a good show even before we begin training." Orochimaru said and Jiraya smiled as he said.
"Yeah, yeah, the kid must be very strong if he was taught by our magnificent and wonderful princess Tsunade." The frog sanin really, really wanted her to fix his dong. What was the point of life if he could not even use it properly?!
What would the poor whores across the elemental nations do if he can't provide for them?
It was a lot of shouting, many elders displeased but the Clan Patriarch was not stupid. He was one of the few Hyugas from the main branch that fought in the front much like the members of the side branch, this being a responsibility and duty of the Patriarch line, so the patriarch knew it well.
Regardless of politics, of posturing, of nobility and anything else, this was ultimately still a world where strength is the final word. Sakumo, Tsunade, Jiraya, Kushina (when using the bijuu chakra) and Orochimaru all had the strength needed to sit in the position of Hokage, thus being five of the seven 'Kage' level individuals in Konoha. If this group really acted the Hyuga Clan might be exterminated before any external help shows up, if they show up in the first place since most other clans would not want to face these five working together.
So, with great reluctance, the clan patriarch ordered for proper seats to be given to their honored guests and gave a signal for the grandson of the ninth elder to not be too heavy handed. This was the patriarch giving face to those five, especially Tsunade seeing as she was the teacher of Setsuna.
What he did not quite account for was just how strong Setsuna was. After all, the only ones in the clan that actually interacted with him were Hizashi and his classmates, and even Hizashi who knew him best had no true understanding of how strong precisely Setsuna was. The most he and the others knew was that he was a great doctor and have had access to the most basic and limited version of the Gentle Fist, the watered down version of a watered down version of an watered down version of what the main clan members were taught.
Jiraya, sitting beside Tsunade, could not help but ask her if this was alright? He has had no contact previously with Setsuna after all, he only knew he was her student and was about to become a genin in Orochimaru's Team.
"Will it be fine, Tsunade?"
"Humph, don't worry."Tsunade said with a smirk. "This kid, even if I compare him to your student, I am sure mine is more talented."
"Hoh, those are some fighting words. Do you want to bet on him winning then?" Jiraya asks with interest and Tsunade's eyes shined at the thought of a gamble, opening her eyes and-
"NO!" Shizune said loudly, jumping on Tsunade's back and covering her mouth, making everyone stop and stare at the little girl. "If you bet on Setsuna, he might die!"
Tsunade, who was about to remove Shizune, froze when she heard this and turned a murderous gaze to Orochimaru and Jiraya who started to laugh at the scene. Even Kushina on the side had to do her best to hold back from laughing too much, fearing it might trouble the baby or something (she was only on book 13 of 57 she found that talked about pregnancy and she was still not absolutely sure what was good for the baby, so she was worrying over nothing).
After a bit, when he finally managed to get his laughter under control, Jiraya said.
"Let's do as the little cutie said then. We won't bet anymore, happy?" Jiraya said the last part turning to Shizune who started blushing up a storm as she saw everyone looking at her.
"Y-Yes. Thank you, lord Jiraya." Shizune said bashfully, making Jiraya laugh again as he patted her in the head.
His laughter, though, died shortly after when he heard Tsunade mutter.
"Just one broken limb is not enough. The knees have to go too."
Suddenly, his fight or flight instinct started to act up, making Jiraya's body tremble until his most important and primordial instinct took over.
He still had to get his dick fixed, so even if this may lead to his death he would have no choice but to stay.
The woos of being the main bread provider for hundreds of poor little whores across the ninja world.