Reborn into Naruto World with Tenseigan

Two days later

Kuroto was organizing some documents at his home when there was a knock on the door of his house. He opened it and spoke to the person, “Come in, I’ve been waiting for you for a while now.”

It was none other than Neji at the door, “Sensei, you wanted to see me?” he asked as he walked inside and closed the door behind him.

Kuroto nodded, “I just wanted to talk to you about the past seven months of training under Uchiha Itachi, as well as your performance in the Graduation Exam.”

At the mention of the Graduation Exam, Neji became a little dejected. “I see.”

The two sat down in his study, and noting Neji’s expression, Kuroto asked, “Not satisfied?”

Neji nodded lightly, “Hmm.” Time and time again, he had expressed his intention to graduate as the top trainee of the year, yet he did not win all his fights. One of them ended up in a draw, which obviously meant that he would not graduate as the top trainee since Shion had won all the fights.

Back at the Konoha Ninja Academy, he and Uchiha Sasuke were hailed as the twin stars of the academy, the most shining figures among all the trainees of their year. However, neither he nor Sasuke managed to graduate as the top trainee. Moreover, the inexplicable impressive performances of Uzumaki Naruto, Rock Lee, Shimizu Mika, and Shion left him shocked.

Neji never expected that other than him and Sasuke, there were such amazing trainees in their year. He knew they were good but did not expect that they were this good!

The unexpectedly good performances of Naruto and Lee made him a little panicked and made him feel that his reputation of being an incredibly talented and genius child was simply false!

He fought to a draw against Naruto, and that was Naruto who didn’t even use Senjutsu or the power of the Nine-Tails! If Naruto had used Senjutsu or the power of the Nine-Tails, Neji doesn’t think he could have managed a draw either. He would have been defeated very badly!

Shion, too, Neji did not have the opportunity to fight against. However, after watching all her fights, Neji was a little spooked. He couldn’t determine the reason for this feeling, but he sensed that even if he were to fight against her, he wouldn’t be able to win. There was something inexplicable about Shion. These doubts made him feel that he was unworthy to be considered a genius, and he wasn’t even living up to his status as the disciple of the Hokage.

Reading Neji’s expression, Kuroto asked, “Are you blaming me for not personally training you?”

“That–!” Neji hesitated and quickly explained in a low tone, “Maybe a little… I mean, I understand that as Konoha’s Hokage, you have to watch over and protect Naruto, who is the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, to ensure that he doesn’t get taken away by the Akatsuki Organization. And you also assigned Itachi-Sensei to help with my training, and he taught me a lot of things during that time. But… but… I don’t know, Sensei. Maybe I am just envious of Naruto in that regard.”

Kuroto smiled and said, “That is understandable. In fact, you are not the only one envious. Uchiha Sasuke must have been envious of you since Itachi helped with your training but did not help him with his training. Someone else must have been envious of Sasuke since Kakashi helped with his training but did not help with others’ training. Someone else must be envious of Kurama Yakumo since Uchiha Shisui helped with her training but did not help with theirs. And so on. Envy and doubts are natural.”

“I… I see,” muttered Neji, pondering over Kuroto’s words. Kuroto continued, “Besides, the reason why I assigned Itachi as your instructor is because I consider him the most talented and wise shinobi in Konoha. In terms of raw talent and understanding of the world, perhaps only Yondaime Hokage surpassed him. Currently, there’s no one as talented as him in Konoha.”

Neji couldn’t help but question in surprise, “Not even you, Sensei?”

Kuroto scoffed at himself, “Me and talented? Not at all. You think too highly of me, I was just lucky that things worked out for me. If not for that…”

Kuroto wasn’t being humble, it was indeed the truth. If not for having the memories from his past life and being lucky that he did not die when he injected himself with that serum, Kuroto would have never become as strong as he is. He was never really talented as a shinobi, his talent shines in scientific research and discovery. He was lucky that Orochimaru was fascinated by that and took him under his wing. If not for that, the most Kuroto would have managed to accomplish in his life would be to become a Special Jonin or maybe a Jonin.

Kuroto added, “Besides, hasn’t Hizashi-sama already told you about my life experience?”

Neji nodded, “He has.” From his father’s words, Neji knows that Kuroto was not really talented during his academy days and was not an outstanding shinobi either in the beginning. But with time, he managed to get himself together and is now Konoha’s Hokage, well above all those talented people.

Kuroto smiled and said, “If you know that, then you must also understand that everyone has their own period of growth, and what I want you to learn from Itachi is not just jutsu but also the meaning of shinobi. The things that you can learn from Itachi, you won’t be able to learn from anyone else.”

“I understand,” nodded Neji.

Kuroto smiled, “Good.” Then he took out a scroll he was carrying in his pocket and handed it over to Neji. “Take this…”

Neji accepted the scroll handed to him by Kuroto with a curious expression. “Sensei, what is this scroll for?”

While Neji unfolded the scroll and read it, Kuroto explained, “You have already learned all the Hyuga Clan techniques that Hizashi-sama could teach you, and you have also created a few jutsu of your own. Now that you have good chakra reserves, it’s time to move on to some advanced jutsu.”

“The Byakugan Chakra Mode? I have never heard of this jutsu,” Neji expressed surprise after finishing reading the scroll.

“Mm-hmm,” nodded Kuroto, and explained, “Of course, you haven’t. After all, I am the one who created this nin-taijutsu, although I don’t use it that often. This Jutsu is not easy to master; in terms of rank, it can easily be considered a Rank-S. It requires extremely precise control over chakra and a very deep understanding of Shape Transformation. You would have to first master Shape Transformation to the utmost level before you can master this nin-taijutsu.”

“Is this jutsu that powerful?” asked Neji with an excited expression.

“It is,” nodded Kuroto, and added, “But it is also very taxing on the chakra reserves, so you have to be very careful about when to use this nin-taijutsu.”

“I understand, Sensei!” nodded Neji heavily. It’s basically a degraded version of the Tenseigan Chakra Mode, but unlike the Tenseigan Chakra Mode, it’s more difficult to learn and master. The current Neji obviously cannot learn the Tenseigan Chakra Mode, after all, he would need to have Tenseigan for that, which he doesn’t.

Neji could theoretically awaken that dojutsu if Kuroto were to inject the same Gene Fusion Serum into his body that he used. However, it’s too risky. Just because Kuroto got lucky and succeeded in awakening the Tenseigan does not mean that Neji would also get lucky and awaken the same; the chances of him dying are far too high.

Therefore, the Tenseigan is still too far for Neji. However, this does not mean that there are no other ways for Neji to improve his strength. Kuroto created the Byakugan Chakra Mode half a decade ago, and mastering this nin-taijutsu should be fine, allowing Neji to continue to get stronger so that he does not get left behind by his talented peers.

While Neji was excitedly reading the scroll, Kuroto smiled and asked another thing, “Also, for the Genin squad, do you have any preference for the instructor?”

Neji was confused and asked, “What do you mean, Sensei?”

Kuroto explained, “Well, once you become part of the Genin squad, an instructor will be assigned to lead your Genin squad. So, I was wondering if there is any person in particular you would want to be your instructor.”

Such a thing shouldn’t be asked of a Genin, as it could be seen as favoritism. But who made Neji Kuroto’s disciple? As the Hokage, can’t Kuroto give some preferential treatment to his disciples? Neji hesitated and asked, “Then… could it be you, Sensei?”

Kuroto smiled and shook his head, “That wouldn’t be possible. As the Hokage, I have other responsibilities and wouldn’t be able to lead any Genin squad. Anyone else?”

Neji understood Kuroto’s reasons and mumbled, “Itachi-Sensei would also be very busy since he is the Patriarch of the Uchiha Clan as well as the principal of the Academy, so it can’t be him either…” He answered after a pause, “If that’s the case, then I am fine with anyone you assign, Sensei…”

“Alright,” nodded Kuroto, not delving any more into the matter. The two talked for a while longer about various things, including the nin-taijutsu that Kuroto had given him. Neji had a lot of doubts, and Kuroto patiently cleared them up one by one.

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye, and Neji’s doubts were completely resolved. After that, Neji bowed to Kuroto and left. He was eager to start training the Byakugan Chakra Mode.