Chapter 26: Hyuga Kiyoshi

White traceries etched the sky, transforming into falling snowflakes.

Jin caught a snowflake in his hand. "It's snowing."

The ground was covered in a layer of white. Though he'd only changed into long sleeves and pants, he didn't feel the cold. One of the benefits of the Foundation Training was immunity to temperature extremes.

He walked down the street, observing the ninjas. Their clothing was also thin; their resilience was due to training, not chakra. From the beginning, the Academy trained ninjas to endure extreme temperatures and pain.

He reached his usual spot—the abandoned training ground, now covered in snow. Only a small area around a wooden post was clear, where a figure relentlessly pounded the wood.

"Kiyoshi!" Jin called out.

Kiyoshi, dressed in white, adjusted his headband before turning.

"Jin," Kiyoshi greeted him. "I thought you'd stopped coming here." He'd been training here alone. He hadn't seen Jin, Minato, or Kushina in a while.

Jin shrugged. "We've been doing those childish missions." Caring for the elderly, babysitting, moving goods, planting rice, harvesting crops… It felt like playing house.

Kiyoshi's smile was strained. He also longed to do those "childish" missions with his teammates.

Jin, seemingly oblivious to Kiyoshi's discomfort, asked, "Where are your teammates?" He'd been asleep during the team assignments.

Kiyoshi fell silent, staring at the snow-covered ground, as if buried beneath it. The Hyuga were like that; the branch family was buried alive. He looked up at Jin.

"Jin, let's spar."

"Bang!" Kiyoshi crashed against the wooden post, which snapped, sending him sprawling onto the ground. Staring at the falling snow, he began to laugh, his laughter growing louder.

Tears streamed down his face. The physical pain was nothing compared to the ache in his heart. "Such a huge gap… you monster." He hadn't even reacted. A single blow had defeated him.

"I wouldn't call myself a monster," Jin said, looking down at him like an insurmountable mountain. The Uchiha… truly terrifying.

"I'm not interested in your Hyuga drama. But if you want to be a punching bag, I'm happy to oblige." Kiyoshi's state was clearly due to his clan issues. Every year, a Hyuga student suffered an emotional breakdown, usually after receiving the Cage Bird Seal. Most became withdrawn and silent. Kiyoshi's breakdown, happening after graduation, was unusual. He'd repeated two years. Jin had seen this before.

"I see," Kiyoshi said, his laughter fading. "Jin, you're a genius at creating jutsu, right?"

"So what?"

"Can you create a jutsu to remove the Cage Bird Seal?"

Jin didn't answer, looking up at the sky. Kiyoshi also looked up, recounting his story. "I didn't care about the Cage Bird Seal. I just wanted to stay away from the main family. Distance meant freedom." "But I couldn't escape." "My uncle assigned me to protect Hyuga Hiashi, a main family member. Protection… more like a slave." "He told me to be grateful for the clan's kindness! Hahaha! Isn't that funny?" His face contorted.

"My parents died for the main family. Am I supposed to follow in their footsteps?"

"Why?!" Just because he was from the branch family, he had to sacrifice everything for the main family. His parents had already died for them! Wasn't that enough?

Jin looked down at the rage-filled Kiyoshi. How deep did the hatred within the Hyuga clan run? What would happen if the Cage Bird Seal was removed? That… sounded interesting.

A smile played on Jin's lips. "Value. What can you offer me?"

Kiyoshi stared, realizing this wasn't just a casual conversation. "You can…" he began, wanting to ask if Jin was serious. He'd heard about Jin's exploits within the clan—the Foundation Training, the Four Styles. Many were desperately earning merits to acquire the technique. He was touted as a hidden genius, a prodigy on par with the Second Hokage. Many titles.

What if… what if Jin could achieve the branch family's ultimate dream? Kiyoshi stood up and knelt in the snow, banging his head against the ground. The snow was stained crimson. "Hyuga Kiyoshi offers his everything to Jin-sama!" He was willing to gamble everything for the chance to remove the Cage Bird Seal.

"No, not now," Jin said, shaking his head, an almost sinister glint in his eyes. "If I succeed… I expect you to keep your word." He hoped the Hyuga clan was prepared for the consequences.

Jin stepped onto a relatively intact wooden post, watching Kiyoshi leave. He was confident he could remove the Cage Bird Seal. He had a cheat, after all. But the seal affected the soul. It wouldn't be easy. He glanced at the instructions Deduction had provided: transplant the soul, then remove the seal. That was essentially a death sentence.

"Jin, what are you thinking about?" Kushina and Minato arrived, finally. "Just saw Kiyoshi. He didn't seem too happy."

"Kiyoshi? Haven't seen him in a while." Minato said, looking at the retreating figure. They often saw other classmates on missions, but never Kiyoshi. There was talk of internal clan issues. He wasn't aware of the Cage Bird Seal; it was kept secret. "I have to ask him about it."

Kushina also wasn't aware of the Hyuga's issues; such matters were rarely discussed outside the clan.

"Hopefully," Jin said, glancing at the two, dressed in their usual simple, unassuming outfits. The same attire all year long. How odd.

"What are you teaching us today?" Kushina asked excitedly.

Jin rolled his eyes. "I'm teaching Minato. You can learn too, if you can keep up."

"Hmph. Why would I want to?" Kushina said, sticking her tongue out at Jin, then pushed Minato forward.

Minato smiled awkwardly.

"Minato, what's the name of your technique?" Jin suddenly asked.

Minato's face brightened. "Gale Dance Rapid Wind Song Four Styles! Cool, right?"

Jin: ( ಠ_ಠ )

Kushina: ( ಠ_ಠ )

"What a terrible name!" Kushina said, completely appalled. Why so long?

Jin rolled his eyes. "Change it. You'll be dead before you can finish saying it."

Minato scratched his cheek, embarrassed. He liked the name.

"From now on, it's Step Slash," Jin said, pulling out a kunai.

"But…" Minato wanted to protest. "Slash" sounded like a sword technique.

"It suits the technique I'll be teaching you." Jin smiled meaningfully. "Let me demonstrate."

"I'd like to see that." Minato also drew his kunai.

They clashed, sparks flying. Kushina sat in a tree, observing.

Jin moved past Minato, a wisp of wind surrounding him. Minato frowned, feeling his chakra decrease. They clashed again, separating quickly. Minato saw the wind swirling around Jin; his chakra had decreased further. "Strange jutsu."

"Watch carefully, Minato," Jin said, holding his kunai and slashing downward.

"Slash Spark!" A blue blade appeared, flying towards Minato with a high-pitched whine.

Minato's eyes widened. He barely reacted in time, using Step Slash to ride the wind current and narrowly avoiding the attack. The blade carved a path through the forest behind him.

"I created this to compensate for your technique's lack of offensive power," Jin grinned. The technique sealed a chakra-absorbing jutsu within the kunai, activating upon contact and absorbing the opponent's chakra. Then, his own chakra was transformed into wind, combining with the absorbed chakra to create a two-layered, stabilized blade. It had to be released quickly before the sealed chakra dissipated. The power depended on the user's mastery and control over their own chakra and their opponent's, giving it a significant upper limit.

His cheat was amazing. He'd created the technique in under ten seconds but spent the entire night mastering it.

"Amazing!" Minato exclaimed.