Chapter 12: Signing In Again, Ino and Sakura Come Knocking!
Seeing Hanabi return with a peculiar tree branch in her hand.
Hiashi couldn't help but feel curious.
"Hanabi, what is that you're holding?"
Hiashi asked curiously when he saw his daughter holding a strange branch.
"This? An older brother was fighting just now, and Hanabi waited until they finished to secretly pick it up from the side!"
Hanabi said with a face full of pride.
Hiashi:... One can only say, as expected of Hanabi; only she could pull off such a quirky stunt.
It wasn't just the Hyuga Clan; the influence of Wood Release was simply too great, and all the clans in Konoha, large and small, had received some news.
Afterward, they naturally instructed their younger generation to pay more attention to Byakuya.
The Nara Clan.
Shikaku Nara and Shikamaru Nara sat on the floor and began to play a game of Shogi.
They discussed the events of the day while playing.
"Father, do you think we should strengthen our ties with Byakuya?"
Shikamaru found his father a bit hard to read.
Was it worth gambling the fate of the Nara Clan for a possibility?
"Hokage-sama is already very old, and our Ino-Shika-Cho Clan Alliance must also consider what comes next!"
Shikaku Nara knew full well that their actions today were a gamble.
Did he not know who had made a move to harm Byakuya today?
He knew, but he couldn't say it; once spoken, it would make the Third Hokage completely lose face.
If the Third Hokage really wanted to restrict Danzo, today probably wouldn't have happened at all.
"But, is it worth investing in Byakuya? As far as I know, Byakuya has a very strong personality."
As a classmate, Shikamaru was naturally very familiar with Byakuya.
"There's no need to worry about that. We've looked into Byakuya before, and besides, our Ino-Shika-Cho Clan Alliance didn't choose Byakuya for anything else."
Shikaku naturally knew that Byakuya was someone with a strong sense of self.
Otherwise, Byakuya would have already become Inoichi's son-in-law.
"You can interact with Byakuya more in class."
Shikamaru nodded in acknowledgement; he understood this point, of course.
"However, we're about to be assigned to squads, so thinking so much now is actually redundant."
Shikaku had already calmed his mind.
Regarding this matter, the Third Hokage had likely already made a decision.
For the following week, Byakuya simply took leave to stay home and study the system.
As for the reason for his leave, it was simple enough.
The last attack had given him a fright, making it impossible for him to attend school for the time being.
In Byakuya's home.
"System, sign in again!"
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Steel Release, Steel Transformation!"
After seeing the rewards from signing in, Byakuya was speechless.
It was possible that the two consecutive top-tier entries from before had used up all his luck.
This resulted in him getting nothing but useless Ninjutsu or Kekkei Genkais for the entire following week.
Although these Ninjutsu were already unattainable existences for ordinary people.
But for him, who possessed the strongest Wood Release, they were practically useless.
"System, how many low-level entries do I have now?"
"Ding! The host now has seven low-level entries. Would you like to synthesize them into a high-level Trait?"
"Synthesize!"
Keeping these low-level entries was useless anyway; it was better to synthesize them all. Who knows, he might get something good.
In any case, he had plenty of these Ninjutsu, and he didn't care about dismantling one or two.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining a unique Trait: External Incarnation!"
"External Incarnation?"
Seeing it was a unique Trait, he knew he had definitely profited.
"System, explain the function of this External Incarnation!"
"Ding! External Incarnation is a new type of Ninjutsu. The Shadow Clones the host splits off can cultivate on their own, absorb Chakra, and can remain for a long time without disappearing!"
Following the system's explanation, Byakuya had a general idea in his mind.
This was a Ninjutsu more advanced than the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
However, it didn't help Byakuya much, because once you have Wood Release, you'll find out how great it is.
Wood Release can destroy and it can heal.
He could even unleash a Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence upon encountering enemies.
Wouldn't the effect of that be much more shocking than what a clone could bring?
"Knock, knock, knock!"
Byakuya was preparing to study the experience of using the Senju Clan's Kekkei Genkai that he had taken from the Third Hokage.
The sound of knocking came from outside the house.
"Sakura, why did you follow me to Byakuya's house!"
"Who followed you? I saw that Byakuya hasn't come to class for a long time, so I came to take care of him!"
Alright, done!
Now, Byakuya knew who it was even without opening the door.
"You two, if you don't want to be thrown out by the neighbors, you'd better keep your voices down!"
Byakuya said helplessly after opening the door.
"Byakuya!"
"Byakuya!"
Sakura and Ino were extremely excited upon seeing Byakuya.
"So, what brings you two to my place so late at night?"
After leading them into his room, Byakuya asked with a headache.
Were their parents really this relaxed about letting them out so late?
Little did he know, Inoichi Yamanaka was actually hoping something would happen so he could rightfully become a grandfather.
"It's like this, Byakuya. Since you've missed class so many times, I compiled the recent key points and brought them for you."
Sakura said softly.
Byakuya took the notes from Sakura and skimmed through them. He could only think, 'As expected of a top student.'
The pages were densely packed with information. After looking at it for less than three seconds, Byakuya decisively gave up.
"And you, Ino? Don't tell me you're also here to deliver study notes?"
He didn't believe Ino possessed the same studious attitude as Sakura.
"No, I was just worried about you, so I came to check."
Ino said shyly, her hands clasped behind her back.
"Sigh..."
Byakuya hadn't expected his casual excuse for taking leave would make the two of them worry about him.
"Oh right, there's another important thing to tell you. The Graduation Exam is tomorrow!"
Ino remembered the other purpose of their visit.