"Ah—!"
Hyuga Neji stood there, completely dumbfounded.
He stared in disbelief at the scorched, devastated ground.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes—
He simply wouldn't have believed that this was caused by the Hyuga clan's secret technique—Rotation.
"This is Rotation after integrating fire-nature chakra transformation. But since I'm not yet fully proficient with Rotation, there are still some flaws…"
Akira's spirit—
Returned to his own body.
He handed control of the body back to Neji.
"..."
Looking at the lifeless, charred land around him—
This level of power… still has flaws?
Neji's eyelids twitched.
But deep inside—
What he felt more was excitement and joy.
Whether it was the Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms that Akira demonstrated for him—
Or the Hyuga clan's secret technique, Rotation—
Or even the fire-enhanced Rotation with vastly increased power—
All of it—
Had pointed out a path forward for him.
It allowed him to see—
The direction he should strive toward in the future.
Especially when Akira used his body to perform those techniques—
That indescribable sensation—
Was as if he himself had executed them.
It etched itself deeply into his memory.
If he trained diligently from now on—
He was certain he could achieve twice the result with half the effort.
With a complicated gaze—
He looked at Akira.
Unable to hold back, he asked:
"Akira… are you really human?"
"Am I? Hahaha…"
Akira burst out laughing.
"Alright, I won't disturb you anymore…"
He waved his hand and walked toward the village:
"From here on, train well!"
"Akira, thank you so much for your help…"
Neji clenched his fists.
Looking at that figure—
Though the same age as himself, yet already far ahead—
His eyes were filled with gratitude.
He couldn't help but shout:
"Is there anything I can do for you!?"
"Hm?"
Akira turned around.
Seeing Neji's serious and expectant expression—
He tilted his head, thought for a moment, then smiled:
"Your cousin Hinata is my designated little girlfriend. Just treat her better and don't bully her."
"Miss Hinata?"
Neji froze.
He looked at Akira in shock:
"Don't you already have Tenten?"
He remembered—
Back when Akira was still in the Ninja Academy—
Tenten practically had her eyes glued to him every day.
And Akira's attitude toward Tenten—
Was clearly different from how he treated other girls.
There was also that young lady from the Yamanaka clan—
He seemed quite close to her as well.
"Is there a rule in the ninja world that a man can't have multiple wives?"
Akira puffed out his chest confidently:
"I'm going to become the King of a Harem!"
He had always practiced what he preached—
Constantly striving toward his grand goal—
Never giving up, never slacking.
"..."
Neji fell silent.
He nodded lightly:
"I understand."
Once—
He had truly cared for that cousin.
He treated her like a younger sister—
And swore to protect her with his life.
But because of those past events—
Their relationship had gradually grown distant.
Even though Neji knew—
It wasn't her fault—
The resentment and unwillingness in his heart—
Still made him harbor hatred toward his uncle, the clan head—
And even the entire main family.
However—
With Akira's monstrous talent—
Neji couldn't even imagine how far he would go in the future.
If he truly had intentions toward Hinata—
Then even Hyuga Hiashi—
Or the entire Hyuga clan—
Probably wouldn't be able to stop him.
"Work hard!"
Akira said with a smile as he left.
Helping Neji remove the Caged Bird—
Was merely a casual favor between friends.
He wasn't actually worried that Neji would hurt Hinata someday.
He just didn't want Neji constantly talking about repaying his kindness—
So he casually made that request.
After all—
With him "buffing" her in the future—
Even if Hinata wanted to stay weak—
It would be difficult.
Now that he had returned—
And happened to run into her again—
He certainly wouldn't let this "little cabbage" slip away.
"Hm? She's not at the Hyuga residence?"
Thinking of this—
After sensing Hinata's chakra slightly—
Akira revealed a faint smile.
"Peacock Mystic Art · Feather Transformation Wings!"
He formed a hand sign.
Under Neji's astonished gaze—
A powerful surge of chakra erupted behind him—
Transforming into dazzling chakra wings.
"See you!"
Without turning back, he waved.
Then—
Controlling the chakra wings—
He flew toward where Hinata was.
"Akira…"
Watching his figure disappear into the sky—
Neji stood there for a long time.
He couldn't help but murmur:
"What kind of existence… are you?"
The mystery and power of that person—
Had far exceeded his imagination.
...
In a deserted forest—
A little girl sobbed quietly.
Like pear blossoms bathed in rain—
She looked delicate and helpless.
"Oh? Isn't this Hinata?"
A not-so-tall figure descended, wings fluttering.
Startling the girl like a frightened cat.
She hurriedly turned around—
Secretly wiping away her tears.
But upon seeing who it was—
Her pale eyes widened:
"Akira… big brother?"
"So amazing!"
Noticing the dazzling chakra wings behind him—
Hinata was both shocked—
And somewhat dazed.
Such beautiful wings—
Akira seemed just like an angel.
"At this hour, why are you here alone?"
With a gentle expression—
Akira patted her head and smiled:
"Aren't you going back to rest?"
"I…"
Little Hinata's face flushed red.
She became flustered—
Almost steaming with embarrassment.
She couldn't possibly say—
That after getting out of school early today—
She had practiced Gentle Fist with her father, Hyuga Hiashi—
And was harshly scolded for poor performance.
He had even said—
She wasn't as good as her four-year-old sister Hanabi.
Feeling wronged and heartbroken—
She ran here alone to cry.
If she said that—
Wouldn't Akira, who had been recognized as a genius since childhood—
And even taken as a disciple by one of the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade—
Laugh at her?
"Let me guess…"
Seeing her disheveled state and training clothes—
Akira immediately understood.
He asked gently:
"You look a bit messy—just finished training and drenched in sweat? Did you perform poorly and get scolded by your family?"
"Ah…"
In an instant—
Hinata's heart skipped a beat.
Her eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at him.
But soon—
She lowered her head timidly—
Her expression dejected as she softly replied:
"…Mm."
"Little Hinata, the world is so big—everyone has their moment to shine…"
Akira Ren gently rubbed her head and comforted her with a smile:
"Life is long. Everyone has their own brilliance. You must be brave in facing setbacks—you can't give up so easily!"
"Be brave in facing setbacks… and not give up?"
Hinata felt her heart tremble.
She stared blankly at the gentle Akira before her.
That not-so-tall figure—
Seemed incredibly great in her eyes.
Her face flushed deeply—
Lowering her head shyly, she asked softly:
"Akira… big brother… am I… really that useless?"
At this moment—
She felt utterly ashamed.
She thought—
He must look down on her—
Crying over something so small.
Thinking of this—
Her heart grew dim.
"Not at all…"
Akira shook his head.
Gently patting her head, he guided her warmly:
"Everyone has moments of weakness. Even crying loudly is fine. But what matters is that we don't get defeated by that weakness. After crying, we must become stronger!"
"In my eyes, Hinata has always been a very cute, kind, and strong girl!"
"Re-really?"
Hinata's voice trembled.
Her eyes lit up.
She looked straight at Akira—
Handsome and gentle—
Her gaze filled with hope.
"Of course!"
Akira smiled.
Patiently comforting her:
"So—you have to become strong!"
"Akira… big brother…"
Her cheeks flushed red.
Hinata shyly turned her head away.
But then—
As if thinking of something—
Her expression dimmed again.
Lowering her head, she said dejectedly:
"But… as the eldest daughter of the main family… I can't even learn the Gentle Fist properly…"
"That just means your method is wrong…"
Gently cupping her soft cheeks—
Wiping away the tears at the corners of her eyes—
Akira looked straight into her watery eyes and smiled:
"If you only train blindly—even if practice makes perfect—you'll still get half the result with twice the effort, wasting more time and energy than others."
"You need to learn to reflect on your failures. Find out why you failed, fix your shortcomings, and strive to do better next time!"
"In this world, not everyone is a genius—but hard work will never betray you…"
"But you can't just work hard blindly!"
...
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