Unlike Naruto, who became the class dunce due to the interference of the Nine-Tails' chakra despite his immense potential, Izayoi, now possessing the Ōtsutsuki bloodline, not only had incredible potential—his foundation was also unbelievably strong.
The Byakugan of the Hyūga clan allowed one to see the chakra pathways, granting them a natural advantage in chakra control.
After awakening the Byakugan, Izayoi also unlocked the "Chakra Control" keyword.
Even before entering the academy, Izayoi had already learned tree-climbing and water-walking techniques.
Forget basic E-rank jutsu—he had even mastered the B-rank Shadow Clone Jutsu and some low-level elemental jutsu passed down from his parents.
Just like Itachi Uchiha, Izayoi had already achieved graduation-level ability before even entering the Ninja Academy.
Naturally, he took first place in the entrance exam without suspense.
As a result, he was placed in Class 1-A, alongside the Nine Little Powerhouses.
When he arrived at the classroom, many students were already seated.
Izayoi scanned the room, and his gaze locked onto a little girl who had also noticed him—her expression bright with delight.
With a slight smile, Izayoi walked toward her with a clear purpose.
The desks in the classroom were long, designed for three students.
The girl was seated in the middle seat, with no one on either side.
"Yo, we meet again."
Izayoi sat beside her and teased with a grin, "Not surprising for a runaway heiress like you—the entrance exam was no challenge at all, huh?"
"Izayoi-kun…"
The girl didn't dare meet his eyes. She looked down and fiddled with her fingers, but her heart was filled with joy and excitement.
She had guessed right—the name "Izayoi" on the admission list was indeed the same boy who had helped her years ago.
"Looks like we'll be desk mates from now on. I look forward to working with you—Hyūga… no, Hinata."
Izayoi looked at the girl whose cheeks and ears were turning red, and said her name with a gentle smile.
Hinata instinctively turned her head to glance at Izayoi.
The moment their eyes met, she quickly looked away and softly replied:
"P-Please take care of me… Izayoi-kun."
However, what she didn't notice was that Izayoi's gaze toward her carried a trace of burning intensity.
In Izayoi's eyes, five keyword bubbles floated around Hinata, each a different color.
The largest and most eye-catching was a red keyword bubble:
> [Princess of the Byakugan (Red)]
[Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan (Purple)]
[Jōnin Aptitude (Blue)]
[Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Blue)]
[Chakra Control (Blue)]
The keyword "Princess of the Byakugan" was the main reason Izayoi approached Hinata—and also why he had waited outside in the snow during Hiashi's funeral, expecting her to run away from home and gain her favor.
When Izayoi saw that keyword, he made up his mind to intercept Naruto Uzumaki, the chosen one, and Toneri Ōtsutsuki, the pitiful romantic rival.
Just like Asura and Indra's reincarnations—who could awaken the Rinnegan when their powers were united—
Toneri and Hinata only needed each other's power to awaken the Tenseigan.
And their bloodlines and Byakugan purity had regressed to such a high level, they were guaranteed to awaken it.
In the original story, Hinata only needed Toneri's chakra to rewrite her fate and defy the heavens.
Unfortunately, that condition was nearly impossible.
As a result, even though she had the "Princess of the Byakugan" and the Ōtsutsuki bloodline, her bloodline was only blue-tier, so her ceiling was merely elite Jōnin.
However, now Hinata's fate had begun to change.
Izayoi, with his Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Red), might be able to help Hinata rewrite her destiny with his chakra.
And Hinata's red-tier keyword could help Izayoi gain the power of the Tenseigan.
The two of them were practically a match made in heaven!
After greeting Hinata, Izayoi didn't continue speaking to her.
After all, this was only Izayoi's second time meeting Hinata.
At six years old, Hinata had already started learning Gentle Fist.
She probably couldn't beat Neji Hyūga and was gradually beginning to disappoint Hiashi, leading to her becoming introverted.
Three years ago, although Hinata was also shy, she still dared to look Izayoi in the eye.
Luckily, Hanabi hadn't matured yet, and Hiashi hadn't completely lost hope in Hinata or chosen to abandon the eldest daughter in favor of training the younger one.
All it would take was a bit of encouragement to boost her confidence, and she could change her introverted personality.
But that was easier said than done.
As the heiress of the Hyūga clan, Hinata rarely left the house except for classes.
Even when she did go out, she was always accompanied and guarded by clan members in green flak jackets.
It was almost impossible to be alone with her.
He needed to come up with a plan.
Izayoi rested his chin in one hand, the index finger of his other hand tapping gently on the desk.
At that moment, Hinata was secretly glancing at the pensive-looking Izayoi, the admiration in her heart bubbling back to the surface.
Yes, Hinata admired Izayoi.
They were the same age, yet she'd get lost just trying to sneak out of the house.
Meanwhile, he had wandered alone through the snowy night, speaking and acting with a maturity like an adult.
He even ranked first in the entrance exam.
If only she could be as outstanding as him, maybe her father wouldn't be so disappointed in her.
Besides Neji, Izayoi was the only other peer Hinata knew.
Even after three years, she hadn't forgotten the black-haired, blue-eyed boy with baby fat on his cheeks—Izayoi.
Longing for friendship, Hinata really wanted to say something to him.
But… she just couldn't do it.
She was just too disappointing!
Izayoi didn't know what Hinata was thinking.
By now, he had snapped back to reality—
Because he had spotted his next targets:
Naruto Uzumaki, and… Sasuke Uchiha.
Floating around them were keyword bubbles, just like Hinata's red ones.
Naruto Uzumaki's talent keywords were:
> [Body of the Sage (Red)]
[Kage-Level Aptitude (Gold)]
[Uzumaki Bloodline (Purple)]
[Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Blue)]
Izayoi didn't see any keywords related to Asura or the Nine-Tails in Naruto's list.
But the level of his "Body of the Sage" and the Uzumaki bloodline keyword indicated that Naruto's body was not the same as that of the Senju or standard Uzumaki clans.
It was on par with the pure-blooded Ōtsutsuki.
This type of "Body of the Sage" was something only Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo and his son Asura possessed.
In addition to those four keywords, Naruto also had the "half Nine-Tails" cheat.
In comparison, Sasuke Uchiha's talents were a bit inferior:
> [Eyes of the Sage (Red)]
[Kage-Level Aptitude (Purple)]
[Uchiha Bloodline (Purple)]
[Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Blue)]
A Byakugan Princess who hadn't evolved was nothing special.
Likewise, Eyes of the Sage that hadn't evolved were also unimpressive.
Without Itachi's eyes, and without awakening Indra's chakra, Sasuke would end up being a Kage-level ninja at best—blind and limited.
Only by obtaining the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, or truly awakening the Eyes of the Sage—Indra's chakra—would Sasuke gain nearly infinite ocular power without needing eye transplants.
Then and only then would his aptitude reach Super Kage level.
Just like how Uchiha Madara was always beaten down by Hashirama Senju, Naruto might seem like trash now, but once he starts unlocking his power, he could easily surpass Sasuke, who had trained hard for years.
This held true for all six years of the Academy, and even during the three years of Shippuden.
This was the difference between innate talent and external "cheats."