NOVEL NEXT 45. The Five Years Later and New Techniques
Five years had passed since the Second Shinobi World War, and now 11-year-old Hikari Hyuga was slowly waking up in his elegant room still within the Seventh Elder's estate.
Hikari's mornings still always started with a dedication to training, a necessity he believed was crucial in this world.
Yet, the nature of his training evolved over the years. Rising from his large bed, he moved through the room's wooden floor to reach the familiar courtyard, a space that had become a significant part of his daily life.
Hikari had slowly become deeply connected to this world, his memories of his previous life on Earth fading into the background.
The courtyard, with its perfect balance of beauty and tradition, was where he tirelessly worked on his skills increasingly embracing his identity as a Hyuga and Main Branch member.
Over time, Hikari's training sessions with Takumi came to an end. Hikari had grown significantly in strength and experience, reaching a point where Takumi had little more to offer.
Furthermore, Takumi had already fully imparted the two fundamental, specialized tai-genjutsu techniques to Hikari, who had mastered them with remarkable proficiency.
According to Takumi, teaching Hikari more advanced techniques from his lineage would hinder Hikari's growth as a shinobi. This advice came after Takumi learned of Hikari's unique ideas for further development.
Takumi believed that for Hikari to truly flourish, he needed to leverage these innovative concepts and chart his course.
Immediately after completing his morning chores, Hikari began his day with light stretches reminiscent of the Gentle Fist style.
These movements were fluid and precise, serving as a warm-up for the more intricate techniques to come.
With his Byakugan activated, he transitioned seamlessly into executing a series of Gentle Fist techniques, stances, and movements.
Each motion was carried out with meticulous attention to detail, reflecting the depth of his training and dedication to the art.
Despite these being fundamental skills, Hikari understood the importance of practicing them daily.
To neglect these basics would be to allow the foundation of his skillset to weaken, something he could not afford.
Thus, he moved through the stances and techniques with a disciplined focus, ensuring each was performed to perfection.
This practice took place in his courtyard slash garden, a tranquil and inspiring setting that had witnessed countless hours of dedication.
The early morning air was cool and fresh, filled with the quiet sounds of nature waking.
As Hikari moved, the sun began its ascent, slowly illuminating the garden with a warm, golden light. The gentle rays filtered through the leaves, casting a soft glow over the scene.
Despite having mastered the foundational techniques of the Gentle Fist, including the recently fully mastered Twin Lion Fists, Rotation, and Wind Release: Rotation, Hikari now faced the challenge of integrating his new personal unique jutsu ideas into his repertoire.
The techniques he aspired to master were complex, requiring a deep understanding of both the Hyuga's traditional methods and the innovative application of Wind Release chakra.
By creating a small, dense sphere of chakra that rotated at extremely high speed, encapsulated by Wind Release chakra, Hikari would be able to launch it towards a target or area, where upon impact and after some time, it would explode into a full-sized Rotation.
That move he dubbed the "Wind Release: Celestial Rotation Sphere" embodied a fusion of offense and defense, extending the Hyuga's close-combat prowess to striking targets afar.
Also, it could even act as a sudden shield against attacks or projectiles coming your way, stopping them somewhere at the distant midpoint.
This made it especially useful in fights where staying away from the enemy was key.
The technique held a distinct difference from the "Rasengan", which is known for its chakra rotating in multiple directions to create a sort of chaotic, centrifugal force, making it a much simpler technique in its essence.
Moreover, when comparing his technique to the Rasenshuriken, which compresses the Rasengan's multi-directional spin into a throwable form that explodes upon impact, Hikari's technique takes a different approach.
It doesn't harness the chaotic spinning in multiple directions but focuses on the power of rotation in one direction.
This nuanced difference meant that while his technique might not match the raw force found at the core of the Rasengan or the destructive expanse of the Rasenshuriken, it offered a strategic versatility fitting Hikari's combat style and chakra reserves.
As Hikari practiced the motions in his courtyard, the depth of focus required for this technique was palpable.
For now, he could only envision the technique's potential, practicing the motions and focusing his chakra in the hopes of one day bringing the 'Wind Release: Celestial Rotation Sphere' to fruition.
Each movement was a step toward bridging the gap between concept and reality, requiring a seamless blend of chakra shape and nature transformations, precise chakra tenketsu point ejection mastery, chakra control, and the precision of the Gentle Fist's motor movements.
Therefore, eyes closed, each morning he would stand still, focusing deeply, attempting to synchronize the flow of his chakra with the subtle currents of the morning breeze that swirled around him.
Following this, Hikari faced the challenge of initiating a miniature Rotation in his palm. This required not just mental focus but a physical command over his chakra, directing it to compress and spin in a highly concentrated form.
Day by day, he practiced this motion, his palm outstretched, as he sought to coax the chakra into the beginnings of a sphere.
Sometimes, a faint movement in the air around his hand was the only indication of progress, yet the sphere itself proved elusive, a constant reminder of the skill's demanding nature.
In his heart, Hikari held onto the vision of what was to come: the launching of the sphere, guiding its path with wind chakra, and the moment of its explosive impact. These future successes were beacons in the distance, guiding his present efforts.
Similarly, the second envisioned technique, the Wind Release: Armor of the Heavenly Spin posed its own set of challenges.
This technique aimed to wrap the user in a continuous, protective layer of spinning wind chakra, reacting instinctively to threats.
It was an ambitious blending of offense and defense, demanding not just mastery over chakra flow but an innate connection between the user's will and the chakra itself.
As Hikari moved through his forms, he imagined the protective armor forming around him, feeling the hypothetical rush of wind as it spun in harmony with his movements.
The concept of an armor that acted independently, yet in perfect unison with his intentions, was fascinating but daunting.
Each step, each breath, brought him closer to understanding the subtle interplay of forces required to make this technique a reality.
The initial step involved enveloping his body in Wind Release chakra, setting it into a gentle rotation. This rotation needed to be subtle, a mere whisper of movement that wouldn't distract him or drain his resources during combat.
In the calm of the courtyard, Hikari attempted to cloak himself in a veil of wind chakra. The goal was to achieve a continuous, soft rotation that melded seamlessly with his body's natural chakra flow.
He focused on maintaining a light, an almost imperceptible layer of spinning chakra, one that would not demand his constant attention yet remained ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.
The next phase of the technique—synchronizing this rotation with his chakra pathway system—loomed ahead as a challenge he had yet to tackle.
This synchronization would allow the armor to instinctively react to any disruption in chakra flow, such as that caused by an incoming attack.
Hikari envisioned how the armor would detect an assault and respond by rapidly accelerating the rotation at the point of impact, creating a barrier capable of deflecting or neutralizing the threat.
However, the overarching reason Hikari delved deeply into developing those two new unique techniques was his discovery concerning 'chakra potency' during his extensive research.
Chakra potency referred to the amount of chakra one could utilize in a brief period. It was essentially about how much of one's chakra reserves could be employed for a single jutsu, akin to measuring "how fast you could run" rather than "how long."
This concept stood in contrast to 'chakra reserves,' which dealt with the total amount of chakra available within an individual's body for performing jutsu.
Chakra reserves were about endurance, akin to "how long you could run before you passed out," not how intensively you could exert yourself at any given moment.
That's precisely why the Uchiha clan could unleash such potent Fire Release techniques despite not having as large chakra pools as the Senju.
They could utilize more of their chakra for a single jutsu than their overall reserves might suggest, enabling them, at times, to match the Senju in short-term confrontations.
This characteristic was demonstrated repeatedly by various members of the Uchiha clan in the original series.
Genetically, the Uchiha were predisposed to have a higher chakra potency, which is the capability to use their chakra more effectively in a concentrated manner, whereas clans like the Senju and Uzumaki were known for their larger "chakra reserves," or the overall amount of chakra they could draw upon.
Hikari quickly recognized that his own Hyuga clan represented the other side of this dichotomy, stemming from Hamura Otsutsuki, just as the Uchiha descended from Hagoromo Otsutsuki.
This meant that the Hyuga also possessed a naturally higher chakra potency rather than extensive chakra reserves.
Understanding this, Hikari saw the value in incorporating elemental chakra releases into his repertoire.
Such techniques would allow him to expend a large amount of chakra in the short term when necessary, leveraging his clan's innate chakra potency to its fullest potential.
This realization opened up new possibilities for Hikari's development, guiding him toward strategies that aligned with his clan's unique strengths.
This understanding of chakra potency versus chakra reserves explained why, at his peak performance, Hikari's strongest Wind Release: Rotation attacks could achieve a devastatingly wide range of motion extending over 10 meters in radius already and even more in the future.
His innate ability to concentrate a significant amount of chakra into a single technique allowed him to amplify the power and scope of his attacks beyond the average limitations of his chakra pool.
Then returning to the rationale behind Hikari's decision to incorporate various Wind Release moves into his arsenal next stemmed from the logistical challenges of maximizing his chakra potency through Gentle Fist taijutsu alone.
In the heat of battle, where rapid responses were crucial, trying to manually eject such large 'chunks' of his available chakra through Gentle Fist taijutsu alone would be impractical, if not impossible.
Wind Release, on the other hand, offered a more efficient and effective way to leverage his peak chakra potency.
It allowed for a faster way to convert his chakra potency into sheer power that the Wind Release still provided faster as it used much less created energy, in general, to produce the similarly devastating results on the battlefield as his ordinary chakra ejections in higher quantities.
