Several minutes later, Hizashi deactivated his Byakugan.
The veins around his eyes receded as he stood silently before the wooden training dummy. Daichi had demonstrated every stage of the academy match, from the opening Clone Technique to Ren's final shoulder throw.
The answer was now clear.
Ren had not deceived the Byakugan itself.
He had used smoke, transformed into a wooden shuriken, and positioned himself inside the narrow blind angle behind Daichi's upper body. Whenever Daichi moved, Ren used his abnormal Substitution Technique to exchange places with another shuriken and remain outside his vision.
The strategy required knowledge, timing, and extraordinary control.
It also raised a disturbing question.
How did an eight-year-old civilian know about the Byakugan's blind angle?
"Hizashi?" Daichi asked cautiously.
Hizashi returned his attention to him.
"I understand what happened."
"Then how did he do it?"
"I need to consider several possibilities before giving you an answer."
Daichi lowered his gaze.
Hizashi saw the frustration and humiliation in his expression.
"Do not allow one defeat to poison your training," he said. "Victory and defeat are both common in a shinobi's life. The important question is whether you understand why you lost."
Daichi's fingers curled.
"I underestimated him."
"Yes."
"I assumed that seeing through his clones meant I had defeated the technique."
"Yes."
"And I became angry when he provoked me."
Hizashi nodded.
"Your Byakugan did not truly fail. Your judgment did. You trusted your eyes so completely that you stopped questioning what they showed you."
Daichi remained silent.
"The Byakugan is powerful," Hizashi continued, "but no dōjutsu can replace discipline. Return home, recover, and begin training again tomorrow."
"Yes, Cousin Hizashi."
Daichi bowed and left the courtyard.
Once the gate closed, Hizashi looked toward the damaged training dummy.
If Ren's knowledge had come from careful observation, the boy possessed frightening analytical ability.
If someone had taught him, Hizashi needed to know who.
The blind angle of the Byakugan was not a secret the Hyūga wanted spread throughout Konoha.
Hizashi remained in thought for another minute before returning the training equipment to its proper place. He changed clothes, stepped outside, and headed toward the main family compound.
This matter required quiet investigation.
---
"Achoo!"
Ren sneezed outside his front gate.
Rin, standing beside him, turned with concern.
"Are you getting sick?"
"I don't think so." Ren rubbed his nose. "It feels more like someone is talking about me."
"That's only a superstition."
"Then I'm probably getting sick."
Rin gave him an unimpressed look before glancing toward the road again.
It was already past eight-thirty.
She had exchanged her academy uniform for a light blue top and dark trousers. Without the schoolbag and standard clothing, she looked more relaxed—though the impatience on her face was becoming increasingly obvious.
"Obito promised he wouldn't be late."
Ren leaned against the fence with his hands behind his head.
"You believed him?"
"He sounded sincere."
"He always sounds sincere."
Rin checked the road one more time.
There was no sign of messy black hair or orange goggles.
"If we wait any longer, we'll be late too."
Ren had expected this outcome. Obito's inability to arrive on time appeared to be an unchangeable law of the universe.
The reason was usually not laziness. Obito had a habit of helping elderly villagers, carrying heavy packages, rescuing animals, and involving himself in every minor problem he encountered.
His intentions were admirable.
His time management was disastrous.
Rin finally exhaled.
"We're leaving."
"You don't want to wait another minute?"
"No. If he arrives late after I warned him, he can find the hospital himself."
They crossed the small bridge and followed the morning streets toward Konoha Hospital.
The village was already busy. Merchants opened their shops, shinobi moved across the rooftops, and civilians carried baskets through the market district.
Konoha Hospital stood several stories high near the administrative center.
Medical technology in the ninja world had developed unevenly. Chakra-based healing could repair wounds that would have been fatal in Ren's previous life, yet many basic diagnostic methods remained surprisingly simple.
The hospital itself felt familiar.
Patients waited in the courtyard. Nurses moved through the corridors carrying charts and trays of equipment. The sharp scent of antiseptic hung in the air, mixed with medicinal herbs and boiled bandages.
The smell became stronger as Ren and Rin approached the entrance.
They were about to step inside when a shout came from behind them.
"Rin! Wait!"
Both turned.
Obito sprinted across the courtyard.
His goggles sat crookedly on his forehead, sweat soaked his hair, and one shoelace had come undone. He nearly collided with a patient before swerving at the last moment.
Obito stopped in front of them and bent over with both hands on his knees.
"Ha… I made it…"
Rin stared at him.
"The class begins in five minutes."
"I know."
"You promised not to be late."
"I wasn't late when I left home." Obito struggled to catch his breath. "An old man dropped a box of groceries, and then a dog ran away, and after that—"
Rin closed her eyes.
Ren almost laughed.
Obito straightened and forced an apologetic smile.
"I went to your house, but your mother said you'd already left. I ran all the way here."
Rin drew a slow breath.
"Let's go inside. We can discuss your promise later."
Obito's face paled more than it had during his fight with Guy.
The three children entered the hospital lobby.
Rin studied the signs before approaching the reception desk. A nurse stood behind it, organizing patient documents.
"Excuse me," Rin said politely. "We're academy students registered to audit the Basic Medical-Ninja Course. Rin Nohara, Ren, and Obito Uchiha. Could you tell us which classroom we should go to?"
"Academy auditors?"
The question came from their left.
A boy several years older than them stood near the corridor. He wore a Konoha forehead protector and had dark markings around both eyes. A thick anatomy book rested beneath one arm.
He looked over the three younger students.
"I'm attending that class too. Follow me."
Rin bowed her head.
"Thank you."
"I'm Momogi," he said as he turned toward the hallway.
"Thank you, Momogi," Ren replied.
Obito hurried after them before Rin could remind him not to run indoors.
Momogi led them through two connected corridors and up a short flight of stairs. They passed treatment rooms, supply closets, and a ward where two medical-nin examined a wounded Chūnin.
Ren deliberately slowed as green chakra flickered around one medic's hands.
Before he could see the technique clearly, Momogi turned a corner.
No system notification appeared.
The encounter had been too brief—or Ren had not observed enough of the technique to establish a connection.
Soon they arrived at a classroom containing approximately fifteen students.
Most were teenagers.
Several wore the emblem of Konoha's Medical Corps, suggesting they were newly assigned trainees expanding their knowledge. Others were Genin preparing to specialize.
Three academy children immediately attracted attention.
Momogi ignored the curious looks.
"Sit wherever you find space. The lesson is about to begin."
He walked directly toward the front row.
Most students had gathered in the middle seats, leaving the front and back relatively empty.
Obito glanced hopefully toward the last row.
Rin headed straight for the front.
His shoulders sank.
Ren followed her, and Obito reluctantly did the same.
They sat beside Momogi.
Only then did Ren notice they had not been given textbooks. Momogi placed his own book between them and pushed it closer.
The title read Basic Human Anatomy and Trauma Identification.
"You can share mine today," he said.
"Thank you," Rin replied.
Momogi shrugged. "I only graduated recently. You don't have to treat me like an instructor."
The classroom door closed.
A middle-aged medical-nin stepped behind the lectern. His forehead protector was tied around one arm, and faint burn scars crossed the back of his left hand.
He cleared his throat.
"Last week, we studied the skeletal and muscular structures of the head and neck. Today, we will cover the torso and its internal organs."
Rin immediately opened a notebook.
Obito stared at the first page of Momogi's textbook as though it were written in code.
The instructor pulled aside a cloth covering a large anatomical chart. A human torso had been illustrated in detailed layers, showing the heart, lungs, liver, stomach, spleen, and major vessels.
"We'll begin with the heart," he said, raising a pointer. "It lies in the mediastinum behind the sternum, with most of its mass slightly left of the body's midline. Its apex points downward and to the left."
He moved through the circulatory pathways, the chambers of the heart, and the surrounding structures.
A skeletal model stood beside the chart to demonstrate the protection provided by the ribs and sternum.
The material was advanced for beginners.
Most young shinobi received only limited formal education outside mission knowledge, basic mathematics, and combat training. Terms such as portal circulation, mesenteric vessels, and thoracic cavity quickly overwhelmed several attendees.
Rin listened with absolute concentration.
Her pen moved constantly, filling page after page. Whenever the instructor introduced a new vessel or organ, her brow furrowed as she tried to fit the information into a complete mental picture.
Obito lasted seven minutes.
Then his posture began collapsing.
He shifted in his seat, rubbed his neck, and stared at the anatomical chart as though it had personally offended him.
After ten minutes, he propped his chin on one hand and began stealing glances at Rin's notes.
After fifteen, he stopped pretending to understand and simply watched Rin write.
Ren, in contrast, found the lecture comfortable.
His mother's work at the library had given him access to basic medical books from childhood. His memories from his previous life filled in many gaps left by the simplified lesson.
He did not need to take extensive notes.
Instead, he watched the instructor closely and waited for a medical technique to be demonstrated.
Theory alone did not satisfy the system's encounter requirement. Ren needed to witness chakra being shaped and released.
The first hour passed without a single jutsu.
When the instructor finally announced a short break, several students slumped over their desks.
Rin lowered her pen and rubbed her aching wrist.
She studied her notes, then turned toward Ren.
"When the instructor explained the branches of the celiac artery and the return path of the splenic vein, I lost track of the diagram."
Ren pulled her notebook closer.
"The chart made it more confusing because it omitted several connections."
He pointed to the upper abdomen she had sketched.
"The celiac trunk has three major branches: the left gastric artery, the splenic artery, and the common hepatic artery. The splenic vein doesn't drain directly into the inferior vena cava. It usually joins the superior mesenteric vein to form the hepatic portal vein."
Rin followed the path with her pen.
"So the blood passes through the liver first?"
"Exactly. It flows through the liver's portal system, then leaves through the hepatic veins and enters the inferior vena cava."
Understanding replaced the confusion in her eyes.
"That makes much more sense."
Momogi had been drinking water beside them.
He slowly lowered the cup.
"You understood all of that from one lecture?"
"I've read about it before," Ren said.
Momogi looked at the clean notebook in front of him, then at the detailed correction Ren had drawn in Rin's.
"You're really an academy student?"
Before Ren could answer, the classroom door opened.
The medical instructor returned carrying a shallow metal tray covered with white cloth. A second medical-nin followed him, green chakra already glowing around one hand.
Every conversation stopped.
Ren's system chimed.
[A chakra-based medical technique has entered observation range.]
[Encounter conditions partially satisfied.]
The instructor placed the tray on the demonstration table.
"Break is over," he announced. "Now that you understand the anatomy, we'll begin today's practical lesson."
His hand moved toward the cloth.
[Potential target detected: Unknown Medical Ninjutsu.]