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Leaving his house, Seimei headed straight for "Food Street."
It took him about two hours to satisfy his hunger, indulging in a feast that hit all the right spots.
But afterward, he didn't rush back home to train.
For one, as he'd noted earlier, he had plenty of time today—no need to hurry.
For another, he wanted to take the chance to stroll through the village and get a feel for any changes.
Sure, his shadow clone's memories gave him a decent grasp of things, but those memories couldn't compare to seeing it all with his own eyes.
Plus, to save chakra and avoid drawing attention, he'd limited his shadow clone's movements. Aside from necessary interactions, the clone rarely left the house.
That meant Seimei wasn't as tuned in to the village's subtler shifts.
So, with time to spare, he figured a walk around the village wouldn't hurt.
It'd keep him connected to the place.
Lost in these thoughts, Seimei found himself wandering toward the Ninja Academy.
Peering through the school gates at the kids playing on the field, he felt a wave of nostalgia.
Just over four years ago, when he first arrived in this world, he'd been at this very school.
Back then, the academy wasn't like this—full of carefree energy. It was all training, day in and day out, or heading off to the battlefield.
Oh, right. The village assigned me two teammates back then. What were their names again?
For a moment, Seimei drew a blank.
After racking his brain, he murmured, "Shizuko Mizutani… Ryosuke."
It hit him that both teammates had been gone for three years now. Their teacher, Furukawa—that stern but kind-hearted jonin—had also died during a retreat mission.
"So, I'm the last one left from Team 17, huh?" Seimei muttered, standing still as his thoughts drifted.
A small, high-pitched voice snapped him back to reality.
"Big brother, do you wanna go inside too?"
Seimei felt a tiny hand tugging at his pants and looked down.
A little kid was staring up at him, eyes full of curiosity.
When Seimei didn't respond right away, the kid spoke again. "Big brother, why aren't you talking? Do you wanna go play inside too?"
The kid glanced toward the school gates.
Seimei couldn't help but chuckle at the innocent words. The faint sadness that had crept up on him faded away.
Teammates, teacher—they were gone. But the living didn't need to drown in grief forever.
Besides, this world was only his second home. If he stuck to his plan, he'd leave this place someday.
The bonds forged on the battlefield were precious, sure, but not enough to hold him back.
If anything, their deaths only strengthened his resolve.
One day, he'd surpass everyone, surpass this world, change everything, and transcend it all!
With these thoughts flashing through his mind, his determination—his Will of the Way—grew even firmer.
Coming back to the moment, Seimei looked at the tiny figure by his feet, about to say something, when a worried female voice called out from a distance. "Neji, where are you?"
Neji?
The name caught Seimei off guard. He glanced at the woman approaching, then back at the small figure.
The kid raised a hand and shouted, "Mom, I'm here!"
It really is Neji!
Seimei's curiosity piqued. He looked at Neji's forehead—no sign of the "Caged Bird" seal that would mark him later.
Then again, it made sense. Hinata hadn't even been born yet, so Neji wouldn't have the branch family seal.
Still, ninja kids grow up way too fast in this world!
Neji wasn't even a year old yet, by Seimei's calculations, but here he was, running around and talking fluently.
Is this just how geniuses work? Seimei wondered, shifting his gaze to the man beside Neji's mother.
If he wasn't mistaken, that was Hizashi Hyuga—twin brother of the Hyuga clan head, Hiashi, and Neji's father, an elite jonin of the Hidden Leaf.
Like most Hyuga, Hizashi had a serious demeanor, not cracking a smile.
No need for Seimei to force one either.
He stood quietly, waiting as the two approached.
Soon, they reached him. Neji's mother gave Seimei a quick nod, then scooped up Neji and started scolding him softly to the side.
Hizashi, meanwhile, studied Seimei without saying a word.
Seimei returned the silent gaze.
Time ticked by, a subtle pressure building between them, enough to make passersby feel uneasy.
Thankfully, it didn't last long.
Moments later, both eased their auras.
A faint smile appeared on Hizashi's face. "Not bad. You're Seimei, right? The village's famous genius."
"You're too kind, Lord Hizashi," Seimei replied modestly, offering a smile of his own.
They exchanged a few more words before Hizashi, his wife, and Neji said their goodbyes and left.
Neji waved enthusiastically. "See ya, big brother!"
Seimei waved back, watching the lively little Neji and comparing him to the fate-obsessed Neji of the future.
This Neji's definitely cuter, he thought with a quiet chuckle.
As the Hyuga family walked away, Seimei's smile faded, his mind turning serious.
Running into Neji at the Ninja Academy was unexpected, but it sparked something in him.
Up until now, he'd been focused on adapting the Mind's Reflection Technique to boost his Byakugan's evolution.
But he'd overlooked something: the Hyuga clan didn't just have the Byakugan—they had to train hard to awaken it.
True, from what he knew, their methods only helped awaken the Byakugan, not advance it further.
But that didn't mean he couldn't borrow their approach.
His Mind's Reflection Technique had started out weak, hadn't it? But by grinding its proficiency, he'd turned it into a tool for evolving his Sharingan.
So, why not learn the Hyuga's training methods?
He could study them, refine them, and eventually develop something akin to the Mind's Reflection Technique to evolve his Byakugan.
As for where to learn? Seimei already had an answer: the Hyuga clan's private training grounds.
The Hidden Leaf had plenty of public training fields, but each major clan also had secret ones for training their own.
Not every clan member attended the Ninja Academy. Many were trained in these exclusive grounds from childhood.
After all, the academy's instructors alone couldn't produce the thousands of ninja needed to sustain the village's forces. Ninjas were a high-risk profession, and even in peacetime, casualties were high. The academy's graduates couldn't possibly keep up with the demand.
So, if Seimei could find the Hyuga's secret training grounds, he could observe and learn their methods for awakening the Byakugan.
And that wasn't too hard.
These "secret" grounds weren't that secret. The village wasn't that big—everyone had a rough idea where they were. It was just an unspoken rule not to interfere with each other's spaces.