Chapter 26: Hinata, Are You Developing?

After more than two months, a mission outside the village had finally arrived! For Yagyu, this was fantastic news. Now that his Sharingan had evolved to the three-tomoe state, the only thing separating him from the level of a Jonin was combat experience.

To become an elite Jonin, Yagyu needed to undergo a long period of accumulation—building up battle experience, expanding his arsenal of jutsu and weapons, and developing numerous trump cards.

This was how individuals like Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy became who they were. Kakashi copied over a thousand jutsu and developed his own S-rank Lightning Release technique, while Guy created various taijutsu techniques and honed his body, gradually mastering the Eight Gates and extending their duration.

If Yagyu wanted to skip this period of accumulation, there were only two ways.

The first was to acquire a powerful trump card that could even pose a threat to Kage-level ninjas—essentially learning S-rank jutsu that require both immense talent and rigorous effort to master. The second method was to obtain a vast number of jutsu, talents, and kekkei genkai, compensating for quality with quantity.

Of course, if Yagyu could somehow evolve his Sharingan to the Mangekyō level in a short period of time, he wouldn't need to worry about the accumulation phase. Just by mastering the unique techniques of the Mangekyō Sharingan and being able to summon the god-like Susanoo, only the likes of Ōnoki, the strongest among the Five Kage, or Nagato, a gatekeeper of the super-Kage level, would be worthy opponents.

If Obito Uchiha hadn't reclaimed his left eye from Kakashi, he would only be able to provoke Yagyu for about five minutes—unless he used Izanagi to stretch it to ten.

This is because, the moment the Mangekyō Sharingan awakens, Ashura's chakra—Yagyu's golden legendary ability—will kick in.

However, since his Sharingan had just evolved to three-tomoe, there was no chance of it advancing to the Mangekyō level anytime soon. For now, Yagyu's best option was to expand his jutsu repertoire.

Yet, even expanding his arsenal was no simple task. He had already acquired the most valuable talent from Kurenai—the Illusion Expert—and learned several of the Yuhi family's genjutsu techniques. Even if Yagyu came up with excuses to challenge Kurenai in combat and won, there was little left for him to gain from her.

As for Hinata's Byakugan, Yagyu had been working hard for the past two months to try and obtain it, but he hadn't had any luck so far. And even if he did get the Byakugan, its benefits to him would be minimal since, until it evolves into the Tenseigan, or mutates into the Sharingan or Rinnegan, the Byakugan is just the lowest-level sensory eye of the Ōtsutsuki clan.

Regarding the insect techniques of the Aburame clan, Yagyu wouldn't merge with those even if he could acquire them.

With little help from those around him, Yagyu had to look outside the village for new targets. He didn't expect his mission to unfold like Team 7's, where they encountered strong enemies. He just hoped to pass through populated areas, run into some rogue ninjas, and maybe even encounter shinobi from other villages.

Thanks to his experience developing the Spiraling Water Tornado, Yagyu was well aware of how much the Chakra Control talent had boosted his growth. If he could acquire other chakra natures and jutsu and master their nature transformations, he felt confident he could advance the Rasengan or develop new, original jutsu.

With this goal in mind, Yagyu followed Kurenai as she led Team 8 to the Hokage's office in the Hokage Building.

"A C-rank mission, is it?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, wearing his Hokage hat, was sitting there smoking from a pipe, reviewing a report on Team 8's performance over the last two months. Nodding in approval, the Hokage spoke:

"From what I can see, Team 8's missions have all received high praise from the clients. Your teamwork is currently the best among your peers."

"It seems that your cooperation and team chemistry have reached a solid level. It's time for you to take on more advanced tasks."

Setting aside the report, Hiruzen pulled out a large scroll from beneath his desk. After unrolling it, he quickly found a mission for Team 8.

"A few days ago, a merchant caravan came to Konoha for business. They are concerned about being robbed on their way back and have requested an escort to bring them safely to the mining village in the Land of Rivers."

With a flick of his finger on the scroll, a puff of white smoke appeared, and a small scroll materialized in Hiruzen's hand. He tossed the scroll to Kurenai.

"Here is the information on the caravan leader. Kurenai, you can negotiate with him."

"Understood, Lord Hokage," Kurenai responded respectfully before leading Team 8 out of the office.

As they exited, Yagyu noticed that Sarutobi Hiruzen was watching him closely. It was clear that the Hokage knew about him and had probably been keeping an eye on him for some time.

But since Hiruzen didn't say anything, Yagyu also pretended not to notice, leaving without a word.

After exiting the Hokage Building, Kurenai opened the mission scroll and led Team 8 to an inn where they negotiated with a middle-aged man overseeing the caravan.

While this was happening, Yagyu, Hinata, and Shino stood nearby, observing. Soon, another middle-aged man, dressed in luxurious attire, emerged from the inn. Kurenai continued to discuss the mission details with him.

The man glanced over at Team 8, and his face lit up with excitement as his gaze lingered on Hinata.

Hinata, in a soft voice, said, "Yagyu-kun, it looks like that man is staring at me."

Before Yagyu could reply, Shino spoke calmly, "Yes, he's looking at you—but he's looking at your eyes."

Yagyu chuckled, "It's only natural. Your eyes, Hinata, are the most famous sensory eyes in the ninja world. With your Byakugan, we'll be able to detect any ambushes within a kilometer around us."

Upon hearing this, Hinata finally understood and nodded in realization.

Soon after, Kurenai finished the negotiations and said to the group, "You all have the day off. Go home and pack your things. We'll meet at the village gate tomorrow morning at 8 a.m."

"Yes, sensei," the three answered in unison before Team 8 dispersed.

"Hinata, want to train together?" Yagyu asked.

"Mm-hmm," Hinata responded with a nod.

As usual, the two headed to the market to buy ingredients, then went back to Yagyu's house, where his shadow clone started preparing dinner while they sparred in the training room.

Once again, Yagyu used his Sharingan to cheat during their taijutsu match, subtly manipulating Hinata into losing her balance during attacks so he could catch her in his arms.

Noticing that Hinata had grown more immune to such close contact, Yagyu decided to take it up a notch.

As he held Hinata close after she fell into his arms, he teased, "Hinata, have you... been developing recently?"

"Huh?"

At first, Hinata was confused, but when she followed Yagyu's gaze downward, her cute, delicate face turned beet red. Her head seemed to steam like boiling water, and a soft mist appeared around her.

In the next moment, Yagyu felt her body go limp in his arms. Hinata had fainted, her Byakugan eyes spiraling into little swirls.

---

Read 20+ Chapters ahead of WN:

Patréon.com/RoseWhisky