Konoha Notes

Chapter 395 Immortal Arts Experiment
Five o'clock in the morning.

Sunlight filtered through the paper windows, casting a pale blue-white glow on the tatami mats.

Neji opened his eyes.

Kai told him yesterday that he was going to the western outskirts of the village today.

He changed his clothes and tied his long hair back. He opened the door and stepped out of the house.

Neji was also informed that Hyuga Hiashi would also be going to the western suburbs.

Kai didn't say anything deeper, but Neji understood that this meant the main family members were also trainees.

Hiashi Hyuga was already standing under the porch, wearing a Jonin vest with his armband neatly trimmed.

"Hizu-sama."

"Neji," Hiashi replied indifferently, "Let's go."

The journey from the Hyuga clan's territory to the western outskirts of the village was quite long, and Hiashi walked slowly, with Neji keeping pace.

As they approached the western suburbs, Ri Zu slowed his pace slightly.

Neji looked ahead and saw an old house standing in the morning mist at the end of the slope. It had black tiles and wooden walls, with ivy climbing all over the courtyard. The house was large, yet it exuded an air of antiquity.

“This is where the Senju clan lives,” Hiashi said.

Thousand Hands.

For Neji, it was a name that was both strange and familiar. It was familiar because as long as he knew the surnames of the first two Hokage, he knew what it referred to.

The strange thing is that even within the ninja academy, there is no one named Senju now.

Neji did not raise any questions.

Hiashi continued, "For certain reasons, this clan no longer uses Senju as its surname."

Neji's gaze fell on the old house's courtyard wall.

"You mean the Hokage?"

The current Hokage, Tsunade, the granddaughter of the First Hokage, is the only person he can still think of.

"It's not just the Hokage, but also some people who have changed their surnames and moved away. But the branch that hides its surname is the true main line, and Mr. Shuji who lives here is one of them."

It turned out to be the case.

"Are you telling me all this because you're afraid I'll offend you?" Neji wondered.

But Riji didn't say anything more, he just quickened his pace.

The old house is getting closer.

Two people were sweeping in the open space outside the courtyard wall. When they saw Hiashi and Neji, they merely nodded slightly without stopping what they were doing.

Ri stepped into the courtyard.

No one greeted him, no one offered a word. The head of the Hyuga main family stood still in the courtyard, his back still straight, his hands hanging naturally at his sides, waiting like this.

Neji confirmed that Hiashi's previous words were motivated by his concern that Hiashi might offend the clan that had produced three Hokage.

After all, even if he had gone to the Uchiha clan, Hiashi Hyuga wouldn't be in his current state.

So he stood in the courtyard like Rizu, without uttering a word.

Then Guy arrived. He entered the courtyard, saw the two standing there silently, and, not understanding what was going on, simply patted Neji on the shoulder and then said to Hiashi, "Mr. Hiashi."

Riji nodded: "Kai."

Next to enter was Choza Akimichi, who smiled憨厚ly upon seeing the group: "You've all arrived."

“Choza.” Hiashi nodded.

Ding stood down next to Hiashi. The four of them stood in a row in the morning light, and no one spoke.

Finally, there was the sound of running footsteps.

Karin rushed into the courtyard, her long red hair sticking wildly up behind her head, her breathing a little rapid. When she saw the people standing in a row, her eyes widened, and she hurriedly stopped in her tracks.

Late?
She caught a glimpse of Neji's straight back, then looked at Hiashi's solemn profile, and subconsciously shrank her shoulders, moving to the spot next to Guy and standing carefully.

Shuji came out of the house.

He was dressed in simple black casual clothes, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and his hair was still a little damp, as if he had just washed his face. He was carrying a rolled-up white towel, wiping his hands as he walked.

"Just sit anywhere when you get here," he said, his voice still slightly hoarse from just waking up. "It's not like you're being punished, no need to be so serious."

Only then did the people in the courtyard begin to move.

Kai plopped down on the nearest stone bench. Ding sat down slowly, the bench groaning slightly. Hiashi chose a spot on the side, his back still straight as he sat down.

Neji remained standing. Karin glanced at him, then at the person who had sat down, hesitated, and moved to the stone bench next to Guy before carefully sitting down.

After wiping his hands, Shuji draped the towel over the railing under the eaves. He walked to the courtyard gate and looked at the people sweeping outside.

"Thank you for coming so early." One of them stopped sweeping the bamboo broom.

“Lord Taohua is getting on in years, and you are busy. The old house cannot be left to outsiders to manage.” The man said, “It is only right that we come.”

Shuji nodded, said nothing more, and walked out, saying, "Let's go."

The four people who had just sat down stood up again.

Neji followed at the back.

The six walked to the woods behind the old house. A clearing had been created there; the ground was level, and the surrounding trees had been carefully trimmed.

"The matters concerning natural energy and the cultivation of immortal arts were already explained when the notice was issued," Xiu Si said, standing in the center of the open space. "There's no need to go into details again."

He took a kunai from his ninja tool bag, made a cut on his finger, and summoned a slug.

After the slug was summoned by the spirit, it split into four.

Three of them climbed onto Kai, Hiashi, and Choza. The other one stayed on Shuji.

"Karin".

"Yes, Captain!" Karin stood up straight immediately upon hearing the call.

“Your task is to sense,” Shuuji said. “Remember their chakra before they absorbed natural energy, and sense the changes after they absorbed natural energy.”

Karin nodded vigorously and closed her eyes.

Shuji turned to Neji: "The Byakugan cannot see natural energy, but it can see chakra."

"I need you to observe all the changes in chakra before and after it is mixed with natural energy."

"Especially after their bodies become deformed and their limbs swell, the difference in chakra."

Karin's eyelids twitched, and she opened her eyes.

Body deformity? Limb swelling?

She looked at the three people in the room.

Kai grinned and gave her a thumbs up. Hiashi remained expressionless, his white pupils revealing no emotion. Choza scratched his head, his憨厚 smile unchanged.

Not a single person showed any hesitation.

Neji didn't have it either.

He stood there, veins bulging around his white eyes, the lines of his veins spreading menacingly. Those eyes were already locked onto Hiashi.

Even the main family has to risk participating in this training.

This is an opportunity.

As Hyuga Neji, as a member of the branch family, as a caged bird, he has the opportunity to become stronger.

Karin closed her eyes again.

Focusing his attention on the three people in front of him, he noticed Kai's fiery passion, Hiashi's solemnity, and Choza's gravitas.

Three distinct life forces formed a clear picture in her mind.

Then, the heterogeneous substance infiltrates.

Something unseen seeped into their chakra, like water droplets falling into a pan of boiling oil. Their aura began to expand, surge, and twist…

Beneath Kai's skin, the muscles bulged unnaturally. Dark blue lines appeared on the side of Hitotsu's neck. Dingza's body swelled slightly, the fabric taut.

But just as things were about to spiral out of control, wooden branches simultaneously sprouted from the ground beneath their feet and wrapped around their calves. The branches had a pale green sheen on their surfaces.

“Hmm…” Shuuji’s voice rang out, “Kai-senpai can continue trying. Hiashi-sama and Mr. Choza, you two should rest for now.”

Hiashi let out a long sigh of relief, and then, like Hiashi, opened his Byakugan and looked at Kai.

Ding sat to the side.

One bump after another began to swell up on Kai's body, only to disappear as the Wood Release absorbed his energy.

"Stop it."

The moment Shuji's voice fell, the bulges on Kai's body disappeared like the receding tide.

"Today was just our first encounter." Shuuji retracted the slug. "We'll continue at the same time tomorrow."

Training is over.

Hiashi stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and looked at Neji: "Let's go."

The two walked out of the woods, through the courtyard, and onto the western outskirts slope. The morning mist had dissipated, and the sun was beginning to blaze.

When they reached the middle of the slope, Hiashi said, "Come to the main family after the special training course is over."

(End of this chapter)