Chapter 21: Konoha Year 60, A Luxurious Panel

  Time flies, and the years pass like a swift shuttle. In the blink of an eye, childhood was drawing to a close.

  Late March, Konoha Year 60. The most special generation of newcomers was finally facing their graduation season.

  "Izayoi-kun, wake up. We have the graduation assessment today."

  Izayoi, uncharacteristically, had slept in. Immersed in dreamnd, he was gently pulled back to reality by a soft female voice. The owner of the voice was right beside him, yet hadn't startled him awake, demonstrating the complete trust and ck of defensiveness Izayoi felt towards her.

  Opening his eyes, through hazy vision, the silhouette of a young woman gradually sharpened. A pretty and delicate face, having shed its childishness, came into view. Her jet-bck hair, intentionally grown long since six years ago, cascaded like silk over her shoulders, reaching her waist. Her fair skin, visible outside her white windbreaker and bck fishnet undershirt, was as white as snow. Her Byakugan, distinct from those of other Hyūga cn members, held a faint, almost invisible vender tint, making her beautiful eyes resemble translucent, sparkling gemstones. The corners of her cherry-colored lips turned slightly upwards in a faint smile as she leaned over the just-awakened Izayoi, her hands csped behind her back.

  Meeting Hinata's gaze for a few seconds, Izayoi felt a momentary sense of nostalgic disconnect, as if her younger, baby-faced countenance was just yesterday. But soon, his gaze shifted downwards, and a mischievous grin spread across his face. "Hinata, have you grown bigger again?"

  "Ah!" Hinata let out a startled cry, suddenly realizing how improper her leaning posture was. She quickly zipped her windbreaker up to the very top, turned away with a blush warming her face, and stammered, her voice trembling slightly, "I-Izayoi-kun, hurry and wash up! I brought you breakfast." With that, the young woman hastily exited the room.

  Izayoi, having habitually teased his childhood friend, sat up, stretched nguidly, and headed to his room's private bathroom to wash up. While brushing his teeth, he examined his reflection in the mirror. Six years had passed. The bck-haired, blue-eyed child with a baby face was gone, repced by a handsome young man whose features were sharply defined, as if sculpted. His short bck hair, just covering his ears, was slightly tousled from sleep. His blue eyes, the same color as Naruto's but deeper, shimmered like a deep ocean under the light.

  The next second, however, these blue eyes abruptly turned white, identical to Hinata's, also exhibiting that faint vender tint under the light. Notably, the bulging veins near his temples, which used to appear whenever he activated his Byakugan in the past, no longer manifested. This change had begun earlier this year, at the start of Konoha 60.

  Izayoi narrowed his eyes slightly. Then, a light screen, visible only to him and unreflectable even by mirrors, materialized out of thin air before him.

  【Host: Izayoi】

  【Talent Traits: ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Red), Sage Eyes (Red), Prince of the Byakugan (Red), Six Paths Aptitude (Red), Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan (Gold), Chakra Control (Gold), Uzumaki Bloodline (Purple) [+], All-Affinity Constitution (Purple) [+], Medical Genius (Blue) [+]】

  【Points: 12391】

  Six years at the Ninja Academy had made his status panel even more luxurious. In addition to his initial ōtsutsuki Bloodline, he now possessed three more Red-rank traits: Sage Eyes (Red) obtained from Sasuke Uchiha; Prince of the Byakugan (Red), acquired from Hinata two years ago (the name automatically changed after fusion); and finally, Six Paths Aptitude (Red), which he had apparently cultivated or elevated himself.

  While others possessed only basic ninja aptitude, or perhaps not even a single talent trait, Izayoi now boasted four traits of the highest currently known rank (Red). Even the Son of Destiny, Naruto Uzumaki, with his Ashura chakra, half of Kurama, and Uzumaki bloodline, fell far short in comparison.

  However, a closer look at the panel revealed something interesting. It had been nearly five full years since Izayoi fused the Sage Eyes (Red) trait. Yet, his trait list still hadn't unlocked Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan (Purple) or Uchiha Bloodline (Purple). The reason, naturally, was his Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan, which was now Gold rank.

  In te June of Konoha Year 58, Izayoi had received a beted birthday gift, finally obtaining the Red trait from Hinata. After fusing it (at which point its name changed to Prince of the Byakugan), his chakra reserves began to increase dramatically almost every month for the next nearly two years. He didn't know precisely how astonishing the chakra reserves of the Sage Body were, but Izayoi was quite certain that if Naruto Uzumaki cked half of Kurama and hadn't suffered from malnutrition, his Sage Body alone would grant him chakra reserves far inferior to Izayoi's current capacity. This vast, sea-like chakra naturally included Yin Release chakra.

  If Izayoi's Yin Release chakra were converted into a numerical value, it had long since reached the level required to awaken the Sharingan, perhaps even enough to evolve it into the Mangekyō Sharingan. And yet, he hadn't awakened the Sharingan. The Yin Release chakra secreted by his brain was being entirely absorbed by his Byakugan, preventing it from pooling in his eyeballs to give rise to a new dōjutsu.

  However, his Byakugan, having absorbed all this Yin chakra, quietly upgraded itself from Purple rank to Gold rank sometime during Konoha Year 59. Furthermore, ever since fusing the Prince of the Byakugan (Red) trait, the range of his Byakugan's vision had also periodically increased. Currently, his Byakugan's long-range vision reached an astounding eighty kilometers. This included 360-degree full-range vision and penetrative sight, a scope even more terrifying than the Uzumaki cn's Kagura Mind's Eye. Undoubtedly, Izayoi's sensory abilities had reached the pinnacle of the current era.

  Nearly a year had passed since his Byakugan upgraded to Gold rank.

  "Soon..." Izayoi murmured after rinsing his mouth and drying it with a handkerchief. He unconsciously touched the corner of his right eye, gazing at the vender-tinted Byakugan in the mirror. "I have a premonition... the first stirrings, they'll happen very soon now." (He uses a metaphor comparing it to the first fetal movements felt during pregnancy, implying the imminent awakening of the Tenseigan).

  Izayoi assessed that his current configuration was undoubtedly far superior to Toneri ōtsutsuki's at the same age. By the age of nineteen (as depicted in the movie), Toneri's potential had rgely been realized; his ōtsutsuki bloodline, like the Sage Body, was developed to a high level. This was why he could awaken the ultimate dōjutsu, the Tenseigan, mere days after transpnting Hanabi's Byakugan.

  Currently, however, neither Izayoi nor Toneri had fully realized their potential. Even if they were to transpnt Hinata's or Hanabi's Byakugan right now, neither could achieve the movie's feat of evolving it into the Tenseigan in just days. But, if both were to receive transpnted eyes simultaneously, Izayoi was absolutely confident he would awaken the Tenseigan far faster than Toneri. The Sage Eyes (Red) trait was his decisive advantage, his backing.

  Possessing both Sage Eyes and Prince of the Byakugan was like having two acceleration cheats active simultaneously. Awakening the ultimate dōjutsu at the age of twelve... was a distinct possibility. This was even more outrageous than Itachi Uchiha awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan at eleven.