Hiashi Hyuga frowned down at the girl on the ground beneath him. "Stand." he ordered.
Misa Hyuga grits her teeth and pushed herself to her feet, settling into a stance across from him.
"Again." Hiashi said.
Misa lunged towards him, lashing out with open-handed strikes as she danced through the movements he had been teaching the girl.
Hiashi easily blocked each of the strikes, but he nodded contentedly with each strike Misa attempted. The girl was learning quickly.
Hiashi had not expected much of her initially, but she had far surpassed his expectations and proved him wrong time and again. In a single semester, the girl had risen to be one of the best students in the Academy.
This, of course, was in no small part due to the constant instruction he gave her. Every weekend, Hiashi would either instruct her personally or oversee her training be conducted by another.
These lessons began as nothing more than a path through which the Hyugas could improve relations with the Nara Clan.
When Shikaku approached Hiashi for permission for Kagen Nara to train in his compound, Hiashi had not expected much to come of the arrangement.
He granted Shikaku's request because it would mean Shikaku would owe him a favor in the future, but events had unfolded in a far more beneficial way.
Hiashi gave Misa a scroll detailing the movements of a long-abandoned clan taijutsu style and helped her through the basics of the style. The style was nothing noteworthy for the Hyugas but still was good for others.
It was not a clan secret jutsu so he was not against giving it up. That was supposed to be the end of it. Out of a mixture of boredom and curiosity, Hiashi watched Misa and Kagen train together with his byakugan.
Kagen Nara took to the style like a fish to water, surprising Hiashi with his focus and dedication. As his training sessions with Misa progressed, he transformed the Flowing Fist from a defensive style to an effective means of attack when combined with his Clan's signature shadows.
Kagen Nara was incredibly gifted. The boy was enrolled in the Academy years later than his peers, yet he already outshone all of them.
He absorbed knowledge like a sponge and was nearly as rapid with his growth in physical disciplines. The boy was also creative. He had used nara shadows in ways that he had not seen. His use of chakra strings was also creative.
Hiashi had seen kids like them and he knew that Kagen would either rise to become a very strong shinobi, at least an A rank threat equal to him or he would die before he reached that point.
And as the boy rose to the top of the Academy, he brought Misa with him.
Even without his eyes that saw all, Hiashi would have noted the dramatic shift in Misa's performance. In her first years at the Academy, she, like the majority of his Clan, did not take her training seriously.
Hiashi had always been put off by the talent in his Clan that went to waste. So many youths were too concerned with trivial matters, thinking their training and growth unimportant. That was no longer the case with Misa.
Spending so much time in close proximity to Kagen Nara had a positive effect on Misa. She absorbed Kagen's work ethic and dedicated herself wholly to her training. Like so many of her Clanmates, the young girl had vast potential, and that potential was no longer being squandered.
Hiashi saw this, and immediately took action. He instructed the girl personally to see her skill grow even more.
Kagen had told her about trying to learning lightning release jutsu, Misa had asked Hiashi about this considering the traditions of Hyuga. Hiashi thought that it was time that Hyuga changed a little and thus he allowed it. He himself knew a few ninjutsus and he had realised how helpful they were. Some saved his life.
While Misa's lightning nature'd chakra presented problems in that the Hyuga Clan's library of lightning jutsu was not vast, Hiashi was already arranging for Misa to receive the instruction she needed from a prevalent practitioner of lightning release in Konoha.
For many years now, Hiashi had tried to cultivate the youth of his Clan into prodigies like the son of the White Fang, a boy so talented that he played a pivotal role in safeguarding Konoha during this past war.
Hiashi knew the Uchiha were attempting to cultivate their own prodigy, and he would not allow the Hyuga to fall behind.
Misa had potential. She had recently awakened a desire to thrive. Hiashi would mold her into a beacon of the Hyuga Clan. She was a part of main branch of Hyuga so the elders would not complain either.
"That is enough for today." Hiashi announced, seeing that Misa had grown exhausted. "Return home and rest."
Misa was breathing heavily, but she still straightened her back and bowed. "Hai, Hiashi-sama. Thank you for your tutelage." She turned around and slowly began walking home. Hiashi would watch her with his eyes to ensure there were no complications on her trek home.
Hiashi's lips pulled into a considering frown as he saw the girl home. Misa's skill presented many advantages for the Hyuga Clan. While she was young, it was never too soon to look towards the future.
She had improved magnitudes in a pittance of time. Hiashi believed that after another month of instruction, she would be prepared to graduate from the Academy. She would have several more months during the second semester of this year to further hone her skills, but she must graduate at the conclusion of the year.
It was no secret that Konoha's Elders were all applying significant pressure to Shikaku to have Kagen Nara graduate at the end of the year. They saw in the boy what Hiashi saw: The potential for Konoha to produce another Kakashi Hatake.
The boy's affinity for Yin chakra was no secret. His use of Nara clans to form corporal shadows was being seen as a future S rank ability.
While Kagen was much older than Kakashi had been when the White Fang's son graduated, Kagen had only been seriously training for a year and was already putting all of his peers to shame with his skill. He would graduate at the end of the year – it was a certainty, and Hiashi needed to ensure Misa graduated with him.
---------Author Notes--------
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