Hyuga Satoru had officially placed chakra nature transformation onto his training schedule.
Putting aside the actual use of ninjutsu for the moment, the most basic foundation of this training was learning how to add chakra's nature transformation while releasing it.
Simply put, it was similar to Asuma's Wind Blades, or how Uchiha Sasuke and Killer B channeled lightning chakra into their weapons during battle.
That level of control—the ability to infuse chakra's elemental properties into an attack—was considered the first stage of nature transformation training.
Yet even reaching that first stage was something few shinobi ever accomplished. Those capable of doing it without hand seals were even rarer—countable on one hand.
Even within the Hyuga clan, due to differences in their training system, there were almost no shinobi with that degree of mastery.
Satoru's greatest support in Konoha was naturally his clan, but even with Hyuga Hiashi's influence, it was impossible to find him a suitable instructor in this particular field.
Partly because such experts were scarce to begin with, and partly because most of them were jonin—shinobi currently dispatched on missions amidst the lingering tension after the Third Great Ninja War. Even with the Hyuga's prestige, they couldn't simply order these people to abandon their duties to come teach Satoru.
Thus, Satoru could only rely on himself.
Fortunately, he wasn't training alone. Uchiha Shisui, who was about the same age as Satoru, also wanted to experiment with chakra nature transformation.
Two geniuses with the same goal—it was only natural that they became the best of training partners. Whenever their team had downtime and no missions, they'd spend their days either sparring to hone their taijutsu or sitting together to study chakra transformation theory.
For this, Satoru even asked Hiashi to procure five special kunai for him. Each was forged with rare conductive materials, allowing chakra to flow more smoothly through them—making it a bit easier for him to learn.
Of course, true mastery meant being able to imbue chakra nature transformation into even ordinary weapons without relying on special tools.
Time passed quickly as the group immersed themselves in training.
Satoru was still young—and as a member of the Hyuga Main Family, Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato didn't wish to disturb his focus.
The current situation on the frontlines was relatively stable. All the great ninja villages had suffered heavy losses in the past years of warfare, and for now, there were no missions that absolutely required Satoru's team to participate.
When Hiashi had first arranged for Satoru to become a special jonin, it was mainly so that his son could accumulate real combat experience. He feared Satoru's growth might stagnate due to overprotection.
But now that Satoru had found a new goal to pursue, Hiashi no longer pressed for missions.
"Sharpening the blade won't delay chopping wood," he thought—if Satoru could continue growing at this pace, there was no need to rush him into battle.
For someone Satoru's age, training and learning were still the top priorities.
Thus, since becoming a special jonin, Satoru had only carried out one mission outside the village before returning to his peaceful, steady routine.
Thanks to Satoru, his teammates also enjoyed a rare reprieve. Even the ever-restless Might Guy found himself content in this balanced and fulfilling life.
However…
Sometimes, no matter how much you wish for peace, trouble has a way of finding you.
Konoha Year 50.
Under the capable leadership of Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato, the village had slowly but surely begun to pull itself out of the quagmire of war.
Two years earlier, in the aftermath of the Nine-Tails' rampage, the other hidden villages had sensed weakness in Konoha and prepared to strike while the iron was hot.
But Minato, foreseeing their intentions, immediately contacted his mentor—Jiraiya—and asked him to lead a Konoha strike force to preemptively engage the Mist-nin harassing the borders.
It wasn't a full-scale war—just a clash between several dozen elite shinobi—but Konoha won decisively. That swift and brilliant victory served as a stern warning to the other villages eager to stir up conflict.
The Cloud-nin had also intended to attack Konoha during its moment of chaos. However, they were already engaged in hostilities with the Rock-nin, and just as Konoha's counteroffensive succeeded, disaster struck within their own village—the seal on their Two-Tails jinchuriki began to fail, causing the beast to go berserk in the Valley of Cloud and Thunder.
Fortunately, the rampage occurred far from any populated area, preventing catastrophic damage to Kumogakure.
Their response was swift. The Fourth Raikage, A, a man capable of fighting tailed beasts with his bare hands, personally subdued the creature and restored order.
It was clear now—the problem of unstable jinchuriki was not unique to Konoha. Other villages suffered from it as well.
Just a few years ago, the Sand Village experienced something similar. Their own One-Tail's host was notoriously unstable, causing periodic rampages. Only in the past couple of years had the situation improved somewhat.
Recently, Konoha's relations with the Cloud Village had also been improving. With the Rock Village still a common threat, the Cloud-nin sought to repair diplomatic ties, fearing that Konoha and Iwagakure might one day form an alliance against them.
Negotiations for a peace treaty had been ongoing since the beginning of the year. High-level communications had become increasingly frequent, with discussions taking place every few weeks.
The details were confidential, but the change was visible to the people of Konoha—the streets were livelier than ever, the atmosphere lighter.
The village had finally begun to emerge from the long shadow of war, and everyone cherished this fragile, hard-won peace.
However…
Peace outside the village did not mean harmony within it.
Using the excuse that "the jinchuriki might lose control again," Danzo had rallied the village's advisory council and even drawn one of the Legendary Sannin—Orochimaru—into his political faction. Together, they pressured Minato to have the jinchuriki "relocated" for strict containment.
But both Hiruzen and Minato stood firm, rejecting their proposal outright.
That didn't stop Danzo. Behind the scenes, he began courting various clan leaders, trying to build a united front to pressure the Hokage.
To be fair, his reasoning wasn't entirely wrong—he was acting under the banner of "Konoha's security."
After all, it had only been two years since the Nine-Tails' attack, and other villages had also suffered from similar jinchuriki incidents. Danzo's fear-mongering found willing ears, and he managed to rally quite a few supporters—putting real pressure on both Minato and Hiruzen.
As for the Hyuga clan, they stayed out of the political conflict. They had their own troubles to deal with lately.
"Another funeral?"
"This time… eight people died?"
White mourning banners fluttered across the Hyuga compound.
Pulled from his daily training by Hyuga Keisuke, Satoru entered the ancestral hall and froze at the sight of eight coffins laid out before the altar. His expression darkened, and he let out a quiet sigh.
In the past two years, he had already lost count of how many Hyuga funerals he had attended…
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