14 Working Hard and Night Pondering
Once back in the comfort of his living space, Hikari settled into the expansive room designated for his use.
After indulging in yet another opulent meal, a luxury afforded only to those of the Hyuga Main Branch, rich in proteins and meticulously designed to enhance both physical strength and chakra reserves gradually,
Hikari found himself surrounded by scrolls and paper materials that spanned the length and breadth of Hyuga clan techniques, he felt a sense of determination take over.
He took a moment to absorb the quiet around him, allowing the day's lessons and insights to fully sink in before turning his attention to planning.
Pulling a sheet of paper toward him along with an ink brush, Hikari began to strategize his short-term training routine.
The room, filled with the soft rustling of paper and the faint scent of ink, became a sanctuary of focus and ambition.
He decided that his days would start with the Gentle Fist training with Takumi. This session was going to get longer as his body got more used to the routines and he learned new techniques.
Takumi had mentioned the importance of doing this first thing in the morning. That way, Hikari would be fresh, and full of energy, and his chakra levels would be at their peak after a good night's sleep.
After wrapping up the morning session with Takumi, Hikari planned to take a short break. This wasn't just about resting his body but also about letting his mind absorb everything he'd learned.
Once he felt ready, he would move on to practicing chakra control. He knew this part of his training wasn't as physically demanding, so it could be done directly soon after that hard training, but it was just as crucial.
Hikari knew mastering chakra wasn't just about showing off big moves. It was about the small details: controlling how long and how much chakra he could push out from different areas and chakra points of his body. This skill was key for his Gentle Fist techniques to work.
To get better at this, Hikari couldn't just stick to the basics like tree climbing or water walking that most ninja kids in Konoha did. He needed something extra, something to push him further. That's why, following Takumi's advice, he got a set of "Chakra Balancing Stones."
These weren't just any stones. They were special, small enough to fit on the back of his hand or the tip of his finger, and they needed a steady flow of chakra to keep them balanced. And they could be placed at any chakra point or area of his body if they were bigger-sized ones.
Using these stones, Hikari had to constantly change how much chakra he used to keep them constantly steady. And that wasn't easy. It meant he had to get really good at controlling his chakra, understanding how it flowed through his body, and adjusting it on the fly many times.
After giving his body some time to recover from the intense morning training and chakra control exercises, Hikari would be ready to dive into the next part of his daily routine, the physical training.
The Hyuga clan had a set protocol for physical conditioning that all young members followed, but Hikari had a few tricks up his sleeve from his previous life that he planned to integrate into this training regimen.
For example, yoga, Hikari thought would help with flexibility and better breathing capacity for oxygen intake. Poses like a warrior and the downward dog would improve his movements in combat. For strength, he'd do push-ups, squats, and lunges to build muscle for stronger hits.
Endurance would come from running and shadowboxing. This would keep him going longer in fights and sharpen his strikes. Core balance exercises like planks would help keep him stable in fights, making it harder for opponents to knock him off balance. And to jump higher, he'd do box jumps and skip rope, making his legs stronger for quick movements and dodges.
Then, after completing his physical training, Hikari would take advantage of medical baths and pills provided by the Hyuga clan to speed up his recovery.
These traditional remedies, rich in herbs known for their healing properties, would help soothe his muscles and replenish his energy faster than usual.
Then, as evening approached and his body felt rejuvenated, Hikari would shift his focus to mental and spiritual development. He would dedicate next time to reading, delving into the vast collection of scrolls and books available to him.
That would not only expand his knowledge but would also help him accumulate spiritual energy. It was a well-known fact.
As the day wound down and Hikari finished his planning, reading, and all of the previous steps, he finished planning and wrote on a scroll earlier today, he turned his attention to one of the most critical aspects of his training regimen: exercising his Byakugan, his biggest gift.
He needed to do this only after he finished reading everything he wanted to read for the day due to obvious reasons.
This practice involved various exercises designed to push the limits of his Byakugan's range, clarity, and the precision of his chakra point targeting.
He would start by focusing on distant objects, gradually increasing the distance as much as possible, to expand his telescopic vision.
Then, he would shift to practicing his 360-degree vision, trying to capture as much detail in his surroundings as he could, improving his spatial awareness.
These nightly sessions would not only strengthen his Byakugan but also deepen his connection to his dojutsu, making him more attuned to its nuances and future potential.
Hikari knew that mastering his Byakugan was key to unlocking new levels of power and abilities that would set him apart from other people in this world.
After these rigorous exercises, Hikari began to meditate, allowing his eyes and body to rest and recover from the strain.
This meditation helped him consolidate the day's learnings and experiences, preparing him mentally and physically for the next day's challenges.
Meditation would also become a crucial part of his evening routine. Hikari would combine meditation practices from his past life with the techniques recommended in the Hyuga clan's meditation protocols. That would also calm him down just in time to go to sleep at night.
As darkness enveloped the village, Hikari concluded his day's rigorous training schedule. He found himself seated on the wooden floor of his room, gazing out towards the tranquil night that unfolded across his private courtyard.
Beyond, the imposing silhouette of the Hokage mountain loomed, bathed in the soft glow of the moonlight, with stars twinkling like distant, watchful eyes in the clear night sky. The scene was peaceful, almost serene, offering a stark contrast to the whirlwind of activities that filled his day.
In this quiet moment, the reality of his situation began to truly sink in for Hikari. He had crossed the boundary between worlds, leaving behind everything familiar to embark on a life in a world that, until recently, had existed only in stories.
As the second day in this new reality drew to a close, he couldn't help but reflect on his solitary journey.
Despite his cold, calculating nature and a disposition that leaned towards ruthlessness, Hikari wasn't immune to the sense of isolation that his unique circumstances fostered.
However, solitude was not a stranger to him; it had been a constant companion in his previous life as well. Yet, the loneliness he might have felt was overshadowed by the oddity of his new existence.
The moon that hung overhead, a celestial body he knew to be an artificial creation housing a sealed entity, served as a stark reminder of the strangeness of this world.
The knowledge that he alone possessed about the true nature of the moon, among other secrets of this world, added layers to his sense of detachment.
Yet, it also fortified his resolve to navigate this world with the same cold, strategic approach that had defined him.
As Hikari's gaze met the moonlit sky, his thoughts ventured toward the possible paths to personal power he could take in the future.
Amidst this contemplation, fundamentally, a profound sense of thankfulness washed over him. He recognized the rarity of his birthright, being part of a lineage genetically directly connected to those celestial beings, the 'Otsutsuki clan'.
This connection wasn't just a matter of pride; it was a significant advantage in a world where one's innate qualifications and bloodline often dictated their potential and end-place in life.
The Byakugan, Hikari's inherited Kekkei Genkai, held a significance that transcended typical bloodline abilities. That's why Hikari placed such a high emphasis on specifically training it.
Unlike strange 'genetic mutation' type Kekkei Genkai, manifesting accidentally thanks to specific unique environmental circumstances for some individuals in history and then getting passed on to their offspring, or other unique developments, like Jugo's clan for example.
Also, unlike more 'elemental' Kekkei Genkai, which emerged through the innovative merging of two distinct chakra natures by some talented ordinary shinobi in the past, resulting in new elements then passed down genetically to their descendants - The Byakugan stood apart.
The Byakugan wasn't birthed from human circumstances or ingenuity. Instead, it represented a far more esteemed heritage, one not from human hands but directly from celestial origins.
And it wasn't just about Byakugan, it was also about the more advantageous DNA of Hyuga clan members fundamentally.
Nevertheless, possessing even an 'elemental' Kekkei Genkai, a product of human creativity and chakra manipulation, significantly elevates inheritor above the civilian shinobi at least hundreds of times in terms of potential, and also puts them way above the clan shinobi from clans that merely transmit unique, secret techniques, such as the Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, and others.
However, the Byakugan was of a different caliber altogether, a direct heirloom from the extraterrestrial beings who were the ones who even introduced chakra to this world.
This realization filled Hikari with a deep sense of fortune, knowing he was among the descendants of Kaguya Otsutsuki—part of an elite lineage that included the six families that included Senju, Uzumaki, Hyuga, Uchiha, Kaguya, and Toneri's clan living on that Moon.
This lineage wasn't merely about possessing a formidable power; it was about the potential to ascend to unprecedented levels of strength, to the revered 'Six Paths' level.
Achieving such a pinnacle of power, was Hikari's 'dream', because it could transform one from being a mere pawn of fate to a master of one's destiny in Hikari's opinion.
Had he been born a civilian, it would've been at least hundreds of times more difficult for Hikari to achieve his dreams, or even fully impossible. So, he was truly thankful for that.
Even someone as highly intelligent and power-hungry as Orochimaru, who was always pushing the boundaries of what it meant to be a shinobi, struggled to surpass his 'human limitations' in the original story.
Despite his unique advantage from exploring the Ryuichi Cave, he still couldn't break free from being 'just a human' with an 'ordinary strong' power level. This fact made Hikari realize how daunting the challenge was for everyone else who didn't have the Otsutski DNA traces in them nearly the entire population of this planet.
Take Might Guy, for example. He only touched that legendary power level for a brief moment, risking his life in the process, and even then, he barely scratched the surface of the Six Paths level for a few minutes.
And Kakashi also temporarily achieved such heights only through the borrowed power of the Otsutsuki's Sharingan.
This all highlighted to Hikari the sheer difficulty of reaching such a pinnacle of strength without the genetic advantage of Otsutsuki DNA. The stark deterministic reality of this world was not lost on him.
However, inheriting one of those six legendary genetic legacies doesn't automatically guarantee prominence or ultimate power—it merely places one at the starting line of a vast and challenging arena.
Achieving the exalted Six Paths level remains an endeavor as hard as climbing the heavens. This reality was illustrated clearly within the Hyuga clan, where despite the prestigious Byakugan, many members fall into mediocrity, blending into the background as mere footnotes in shinobi history.
And that phenomenon wasn't unique to the Hyuga; the near complete disappearances of the Senju, Uzumaki, Uchiha, Kaguya, and Toneri clans in the original story revealed it all the best.
Possessing immense power often invites envy, fear, and greed, leading to downfall and destruction from both within and without in this world.
Therefore, Hikari's gratitude for his Hyuga lineage over the others stems not only from the bloodline's inherent potential for the future but also from the clan's strategic low profile.
Unlike the Uchiha, whose prominence and assertiveness led to their catastrophic and embarrassing demise, the Hyuga's survival strategy has been one of discretion and restraint.
In this world, where the line between survival and annihilation is as thin as the edge of a kunai, Hikari recognizes the wisdom in Hyuga's approach, especially given the alternative.
