Naruto: Limit Breaker

Chapter 125: Constructing Illusions

"Hyūga Neji failed his application for early graduation… looks like the Uchiha clan still holds the edge. Neji's a year ahead of Sasuke, but even so, he didn't make it."

"Hey, look! Inuzuka Kiba's challenging Hyūga Hinata again. Everyone's fired up."

"Man… who would've thought we'd get this much action in peacetime? Makes you wonder if kids back in wartime were also this eager to graduate."

...

With the Third Hokage's return and the official announcement of the alliance, the news spread like wildfire through Konoha.

Half the known forces of the ninja world—including a great nation like the Land of Wind—had signed on. This wasn't just another fragile ceasefire. This was real peace. The beginning of a new era.

The entire village rejoiced.

But the students at the Ninja Academy, untouched by war, hadn't the faintest clue just how rare and precious this peace was.

Instead, their attention was drawn elsewhere—toward rumors about Uchiha Sasuke.

Most had barely noticed when he'd gone on extended leave. But now, with the Hokage's return and the official confirmation, the truth was out: Uchiha Sasuke had graduated. Not only that—he'd been assigned to a team.

With Uzumaki Naruto, no less.

The autumn sun hung high, pouring scorching heat across the Academy training field.

Today, the elite class was undergoing its practical assessment.

"Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"

One by one, dull impacts echoed as Hinata moved across the field like a dance of precision.

The challenger lay sprawled before her, groaning in defeat.

His chakra pathways had been disrupted, his limbs limp and useless.

"In this match, Hyūga Hinata wins."

The new instructor—a jōnin with extensive experience in real missions—checked off her name with practiced detachment. He'd led genin and chūnin before, but this was his first time teaching children.

He still looked slightly uncomfortable with it.

"Now announcing the results."

His voice was sharp and professional as he read from the clipboard.

"Hyūga Hinata: 93 points in combat training, 90 in weapon proficiency, 96 in mission drills, and 93.0 overall. First place."

"Inuzuka Kiba: 93 in combat, 87 in weapons, 89 in mission drills, 89.7 overall. Second place."

"Hyūga Ryosuke: 85 in combat, 85 in weapons, 90 in mission drills, 86.7 overall. Third place."

...

With the previous top students already graduated, the title of "number one" now rested on Hinata's shoulders.

Though her technique still lacked polish and some of the Hyūga clan's deeper secrets remained beyond her reach, her bloodline awakening and her steady growth made her a dominant force among her peers.

From Ryosuke's perspective, the only one in the class who came close to matching her was Inuzuka Kiba.

But in this phase of training, most students hadn't yet developed unique styles or battle awareness. Victory still depended heavily on bloodline abilities and raw physicality.

"I swear, I'll beat you next time!"

Inuzuka Kiba stormed up to Hinata, tail between his legs but voice full of fire.

"You might be top of the class, but you're still too scared to apply for early graduation! One day, I'll surpass you!"

He bit back the word coward at the last moment, remembering she was a girl.

Akamaru, sitting like a hat on his messy hair, barked supportively.

But their exchange didn't come across as hostile. If anything, it reminded Ryosuke of the kind of schoolyard challenges he'd seen in his past life—almost nostalgic.

Hinata stood still, her face calm.

She gave a short, disinterested nod. As if Kiba's taunt wasn't even worth entertaining.

That made Kiba even more annoyed.

With a loud snort, he turned on his heel. Akamaru barked again, clearly sharing the sentiment.

Ryosuke watched him go, amused, until Hinata spoke beside him.

"Childish. It's just first place. What's the point of fighting over it?"

Ryosuke raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?" he said, with a teasing tone. "Didn't someone work very hard to become number one in the class?"

Hinata froze, her confident expression cracking.

Then, flustered, she turned away and muttered, "Let's just go."

Ryosuke chuckled and dropped the topic, leading the way out of the classroom.

After returning from missions, he liked to stop by the Academy before heading home. It helped ease him back into daily life—something about the rhythm of the schoolday grounded him, gave him time to reflect and mentally transition from battle to training.

This time, though, he hadn't expected to return right in the middle of the class assessment. With his strength constantly improving, it was getting harder to keep his performance low enough not to draw attention.

Instinct sometimes took over.

He stepped out into the sun, but paused when he noticed something.

Hinata hadn't followed.

He turned and found her still standing in the classroom doorway.

Her long hair cascaded gently over her shoulders. Though her face was turned away, she was sneaking glances at him—eyes darting, fingers twitching.

Ryosuke blinked, confused.

What's going on with her?

There was no one else around. The rest of the class had already left—either home or to the training fields.

Then it clicked.

He sighed, smiling to himself.

Walking back to her, he gently took her hand in his own.

"Let's go?"

Her fingers trembled slightly in his.

"…You can still be saved," she whispered under her breath.

"What?"

Ryosuke tilted his head, pretending not to hear.

"Nothing!" Hinata snapped, her cheeks flushed.

But as she walked, her steps felt lighter. Less burdened than they'd been when they'd returned from the mission days ago.

Ryosuke didn't know if she was happy, or just less unhappy. Either way, it made his heart ease.

He didn't ask.

But inside, he felt it too—the cold edge of combat slowly melting away.

For the first time in days, he felt… warm.

Next… it should be enough to simply train and improve my strength in peace.

That was the thought lingering in Ryosuke's mind as he and Hinata stepped out of the Academy gates.

"Ryo—! Master Ryosuke!"

A familiar voice, panicked and hoarse, called out behind them.

Hyūga Neji rushed out from the gate, face pale and expression stricken.

"Miss Hinata!" he added quickly, seeing her by Ryosuke's side.

Before Ryosuke could say a word, Neji dropped into a deep bow in front of him.

"I'm so sorry! I overestimated myself… I've brought shame upon the Hyūga clan!"

His voice cracked with guilt and self-blame. Neji didn't dare look up.

"...Shame?"

Ryosuke blinked, momentarily confused.

But a second later, it clicked.

Earlier that week, Neji had applied for early graduation—likely out of pride, not wanting to lose to Uchiha Sasuke.

But now… judging by the rumors floating through the Academy, it was obvious. Neji had failed the exam.

If he'd stayed quiet, it wouldn't have mattered. With Sasuke now graduated, and Neji still in school, they wouldn't be compared directly.

But because Neji had applied and failed, while Sasuke had passed—

Now it looked like the Hyūga clan's top genius had been beaten by the Uchiha.

No wonder Neji looked like he was about to fall apart.

In his young life, the burden of representing the clan weighed heavily on his shoulders.

Ryosuke gave a quiet sigh, glanced around at the students still lingering at the school gate, and said, "Let's not talk about it here. Walk with me."

"Y-Yes!"

Neji straightened quickly, realizing his emotional outburst had drawn attention. When he lifted his head, Ryosuke noticed faint streaks on his cheeks—he'd clearly cried somewhere out of sight.

Ryosuke didn't say anything. Neither did Hinata.

The three of them walked in silence until they entered the Hyūga clan's territory.

"...I didn't watch the fight myself," Ryosuke said at last, "but judging from the damage, it wasn't easy."

He cast a sidelong glance at Neji. His uniform was torn in several places, and though the injuries weren't severe, it was clear that the proctor—likely a Chūnin—had held back enough to avoid real harm.

Still, the implication was obvious: the Chūnin had controlled the fight from beginning to end.

"I couldn't do anything," Neji said quietly. "That examiner… he kept his distance right from the start. He used ninjutsu expertly, and he was incredibly fast. I couldn't even touch him."

"I tried to get close, but he avoided all my attacks. I didn't even get a proper chance to use the Eight Trigrams Palm."

"So you've already learned it?" Ryosuke asked.

"Yes. My father taught me," Neji said with a nod. "But using it repeatedly drains chakra quickly… and my reserves just aren't enough yet."

"I was completely suppressed. He anticipated everything. It felt like he knew our clan's techniques inside and out."

His tone wasn't bitter—just honest.

He went on to describe the entire battle: the techniques the proctor had used, how he responded, what tactics failed, and why. He recounted the flow of the fight with painstaking detail, even adding a post-fight analysis of his mistakes.

Throughout the conversation, he treated Ryosuke like a superior—someone worthy of reporting to.

It wasn't just deference. Neji had learned through his father just how highly Ryosuke was regarded within the main family. To him, Ryosuke wasn't just Hinata's fiance —he was the future of the Hyūga clan.

He's only a little older than me, Neji thought, but even Father said he was someone special.

So Neji swallowed his pride and spoke with nothing but sincerity.

Ryosuke listened attentively.

"What did the examiner look like?"

Neji blinked. "Around… one-seventy-three centimeters tall. Lean, but muscular. You could tell he trained regularly."

"And the fight location?"

"Training Ground Three, at the Academy."

Ryosuke nodded thoughtfully.

He began constructing a mental image—piecing together the battlefield through Neji's words. The terrain. The distance. The opponent's speed. The angle of attacks.

It was almost instinctual now—his ability to project battle scenarios in his mind, part combat experience, part yin-release illusion technique.

"You remembered a lot," Ryosuke said, impressed. "You blamed yourself, but you studied your opponent carefully. That means you took this seriously."

"There's nothing shameful about doing your best."

Before Neji could respond, they arrived at a small training ground near the branch family residences.

It was late afternoon—close to dinnertime—and the grounds were mostly empty.

"Master Ryosuke… are you going to guide me?"

Neji asked cautiously.

He assumed Ryosuke wanted to help him recover from the embarrassment of his failed exam—perhaps to sharpen his skills and win back some pride.

Ryosuke gave him a sidelong look.

"…Something like that."

Then he turned and reached out.

First, he gently tapped Hinata's closed eyes.

Then Neji's.

"Wha—?"

When they opened their eyes again, the practice ground had changed.

The flat courtyard of the branch family was gone.

Now, they stood in Training Ground Three of the Academy.

Neji stood at the center of the field, his younger self opposite the faceless, burly Chūnin proctor.

The scene was identical to the battle Neji had described.

The distancing. The speed. The missed attacks.

Every moment, every movement, unfolding in perfect clarity—like a memory being replayed in real time.

An illusion.

"It's just a simple genjutsu," Ryosuke said casually.

He hadn't even activated his Byakugan.

This wasn't a traditional genjutsu used to confuse the enemy. It was something entirely different—an illusion constructed from his understanding of yin-release chakra and refined combat analysis.

No physical impact. No chakra disruption.

Just a simulation. A memory brought to life.

The strength of this illusion doesn't lie in its power, Ryosuke thought, but in its clarity.

He turned to Hinata.

"Father doesn't want us graduating early. I understand that," he said. "But at the very least, I think it's important you see what a real fight looks like. Especially when the enemy is trained to counter our clan's techniques."

"Familiarity is our biggest weakness. Anyone who's studied the Hyūga knows our strengths and our limitations."

The constructed illusion continued to play.

And as it did, Ryosuke's voice remained low and calm.

"But if you can learn how to see it—how to adapt—then it doesn't matter what style they use."

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