Naruto: Hyuga Warlord

Kosuke Maruboshi held a fairly confident view of his own abilities.

In fact, even among Konoha's renowned jonin, few were stronger than him—after all, how many jonin could claim to have been personally trained in ninjutsu by the Second and Third Hokages?

Therefore, when faced with the trial request from the official squad leader, Hyuga Soushu, Kosuke didn't hesitate in the slightest before accepting.

As a senior comrade, he felt it was time to pass down some hard-won wisdom to the next generation.

His right hand slowly drew the long sword strapped to his back, while his left hand gently pushed Might Duy behind him.

But unlike expected, Might Duy didn't retreat—he stood firm in place.

"Senior Kosuke," Might Duy declared firmly, "I believe in my youth and 'passion'!"

Because their time together had been short, Duy didn't yet fully understand Kosuke's strength. However, from Soushu's tone earlier, he could sense this old man wasn't ordinary—he might be one of those legendary cloaked masters described in ninja tales. He also sensed the quiet care behind Kosuke's movements.

Yet regardless, Duy had finally gotten a chance to join an official jonin combat team. He wanted to prove himself before the squad leader, to show his passion and courage—and earn the right to officially call him 'sensei!'

Mahiru Uchiha gave a soft chuckle, then flipped herself to the edge of the training field to observe.

She had no interest in playing along with any 'trial' game involving her beloved!

"Well then…"

Kosuke gave a slightly surprised glance at this teammate whose combat capability was nearly zero beyond his boundless 'enthusiasm', but said nothing more.

"Ahhh daa!"

Just as Kosuke began gathering chakra, Might Duy suddenly let out a loud cry from behind him, then sprang forward toward Hyuga Soushu like a charging bull.

"That kid!"

Startled, Kosuke hadn't even finished preparing completely yet.

Soushu could easily fight using his famous Torch Pole weapon—how could Duy charge in barehanded like this?!

[Whirlwind Kick!]

Leaping into the air, Might Duy spun mid-air like a whirlwind, his right leg slashing downward like a battle axe aimed straight at Soushu's head!

[Konoha Nagare Willow Style!]

With no other choice, Kosuke charged forward despite not being fully ready and unleashed his blade technique, channeling chakra into the sword strike.

A burst of sword beams—swift as willow leaves in the wind—shot out and encircled Hyuga Soushu in an instant. At the same time, the genjutsu effect tied the opponent's limbs in place.

"Crack!"

Soushu's body was simultaneously struck by both the sword beams and Duy's powerful kick—but then came a strange sound, like breaking glass.

"Oh no!"

Kosuke immediately felt alarmed.

Meanwhile, Might Duy's face flared with victory as his kick closed in on Soushu's head—only for his grin to shatter on impact and that strange sound.

"Pop!"

Hyuga Soushu's figure instantly dissolved into a puff of blue smoke, leaving behind a wooden log crackling and smoking in its place.

"Clone Jutsu, Substitution Jutsu, and—"

Kosuke Maruboshi twisted his body forward in an instant, sweeping his left arm upward to catch Might Duy before he hit the ground. Then he Body-Flickered backward.

"Hmph!"

The Explosive Tag stuck to the wooden post detonated instantly!

The powerful shockwave caused Kosuke Maruboshi—who had just Body-Flickered out of the blast range—to stagger slightly.

[Jumping Slash!]

Just as Kosuke Maruboshi was searching for Hyūga Soushu's figure, a blurred form burst out from the explosion area, swinging a torch pole downward fiercely toward him.

"Clang!"

With no time to spare and still carrying Might Duy, Kosuke Maruboshi raised his sword to block the strike.

"Just as I thought!"

True to what Kosuke Maruboshi had read in the Jonin Archives inside the Hokage Tower, his body went numb and momentarily lost control.

This was the dizzying aftereffect of Hyūga Soushu's e-skill [Counter Storm] triggering twice!

It lasted only a second—just like that time they cornered Danzō at the Daimyo's court. Even less than a second of dizziness was more than enough in elite Jonin-level combat.

However, this was only a team sparring match. So Hyūga Soushu simply extended his leg and gave Kosuke Maruboshi a skillful kick, then halted mid-motion instead of pressing the attack.

"What amazing strength!"

Still mid-air, Kosuke Maruboshi rolled as he landed to absorb the impact. At the same time, he shoved Might Duy off his arm and returned to his ready stance with his blade raised.

"Jonin Soushu, you've got nerve—I never expected you'd hide under the substitution log!"

Kosuke Maruboshi took a deep breath to ease the pressure in his chest.

By normal Jonin standards, Hyūga Soushu's move was undeniably reckless.

Although combining the Basic Three Techniques with Explosive Tags belonged to the most fundamental ninja operations, using them during training was somewhat dangerous. Let alone that he directly concealed himself right below the substitution log!

While such proximity provided better concealment, wasn't he afraid of being caught in the explosion?

After all, even a Jonin could suffer serious injuries if caught completely off-guard by an Explosive Tag!

"Don't worry—the tag I used earlier was a special smoke tag from the Uchiha Clan. It follows the 'smoke but no harm' rule."

Hyūga Soushu resumed a pre-attack stance as he said, "Unlike the Uchiha, who are nearly immune to almost all genjutsu, the Byakugan alone doesn't grant us such resistance… Frankly speaking, Senior Genji, your illusionary sword technique has no effect on me!"

"Truly worthy of being a noble-born Jonin!"

Kosuke Maruboshi complimented as he resumed Konoha's martial arts opening stance.

"Oh right, Duy."

Hyūga Soushu spoke again, "This is your first lesson—being overly reckless in battle can really cost you your life!"

"Yes!"

Might Duy clenched his teeth and rose back up, inhaled deeply, and assumed his fighting stance once again.

"That's right, on the battlefield—"

Kosuke Maruboshi had just begun to add something

[Flash!]

Without saying a word, Hyuga Soushu suddenly appeared behind Might Duy!

"Tenketsu!"

His left hand precisely struck the back of Might Duy's neck, freezing him in place. At the same time, he swung the flame-dancing torch at Kosuke Maruboshi.

"What incredible Body Flicker speed!"

Kosuke's expression changed as he quickly parried the torch attack with his sword. This time he was more cautious—he coated his blade with a thin yet resilient layer of chakra, attempting to block Hyuga Soushu's bizarre and paralyzing secret technique. What he didn't know was that Hyuga Soushu's special ability was still recharging.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Ignoring everything else, Hyuga Soushu furiously attacked with the torch, forcing Kosuke to continuously retreat while barely managing defense!

The [Merciless Combo] passive skill activated with those furious basic attacks!

Defending constantly, Kosuke felt as if Soushu's attack speed and strength kept increasing endlessly. Each block sent waves of numbness through his arms!

At this rate, he would definitely lose!

"Clang!"

Kosuke deliberately created an opening by loosening his grip and letting go of his sword. The momentum from Soushu's strike threw him slightly off balance.

At the same time Soushu pulled the torch backward, Kosuke leapt back to create distance and rapidly formed hand seals!

"Take this!"

Hyuga Soushu directly hurled the torch sideways!

Then, pushing off the ground with his back leg, he prepared to leap upward.

[Sweeping Leg Kick!]

Meanwhile, Might Duy—who had struggled and broken free from Hyuga Soushu's Gentle Fist point-strike paralysis—rushed forward and kicked Soushu around the waist.

Hyuga Soushu simply sidestepped and countered with a kick, sending Might Duy flying once again.

However, this briefly slowed down his own offensive.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

Maruboshi spat out a stream of water after puffing his cheeks. The current transformed into a chakra-infused dragon thrashing toward Soushu!

He took advantage of the weakness ninjutsu posed for Hyuga ninja!

[Jumping Slash!]

Instantly activating his Q skill, Soushu soared at high speed back toward where his torch had landed. Catching the weapon midair, he launched another attack immediately.

"Tscha!"

With a sharp cry, Kosuke redirected the water dragon to slam into Soushu's back just as he lunged forward!

If Soushu didn't dodge immediately, he'd hit Kosuke while getting struck from behind simultaneously!

[Smite!]

Yet, Soushu merely grinned and a beam of golden light rained down upon Kosuke's head, numbing his entire body!

Furthermore, because his body lost control, Kosuke couldn't adjust the direction of his summoned water dragon, which ended up launching him away with its own jutsu.

"Boom! Boom!"

With roaring splashes echoing throughout the training field, Kosuke got blasted all the way to the edge.

"Youngsters lack martial etiquette..."

Soaked and weak, Kosuke muttered a couple words before finally passing out.

Inside the Hokage Office, Konoha's F3 looked at each other speechless, unable to say anything.

Watching the defeated and unconscious Kosuke Maruboshi inside the crystal ball, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two advisors wore grim expressions.

Truthfully speaking, they were actually pleased when Kosuke Maruboshi joined Hyuga Soushu's team.

For today's Konoha, every expert with Jonin-level strength was extremely valuable; especially a veteran warrior like Kosuke Maruboshi.

Yet because Kosuke firmly refused promotion, he had remained at Genin level all along. Furthermore, according to Konoha's regulations, missions ranked B-class or higher required leadership by high-ranking Ninja of Tokubetsu Jonin level or above. Therefore, Kosuke—remaining perpetually a Genin and always working alone—was undoubtedly a huge waste for the village.

Moreover, according to Third Hokage's plan, adding Kosuke to Soushu's team would create an excellent opportunity. Through his unique charisma and strong embodiment of the Will of Fire, he could influence Soushu—who had unfortunately been drawn into the Martial Faction's ideology due to family injustice and wartime trauma—to change his ways entirely and become a new man.

Then, with proper support, Hiruzen could promote this "new" version of Soushu, making him another spokesperson for the Will of Fire. This would achieve multiple goals at once: planting a wedge within the Hyuga Clan, drawing Danzo's attention elsewhere, and fragmenting some members from the Martial Faction.

At the same time, this wouldn't be bad for Soushu either. With increasing reputation and the Hokage's support behind him, even the Hyuga Main House wouldn't dare go against public opinion to harm a respected Branch House Jonin with notable battle achievements.

But now...

"He knocked out his own subordinate!"

Homura Mitokado said, his lips twisting in discomfort.

That Water Dragon Bullet slamming directly into Kosuke during his technique must've hurt like hell!

"He's still too young,"

Koharu Utatane shook her head. "Should we just recall Kosuke?"

"No need for us to get involved. Let's see what Kosuke wants to do first."

Hiruzen offered his evaluation: "Actually, perhaps after years of only doing low-rank missions, Kosuke has indeed become somewhat lax."

"Yes, he was careless not to dodge!"

Homura nodded in agreement.

Still, who could've predicted that Hyuga Soushu's techniques would be so strange?

Though the Third Hokage didn't say more, one question kept turning over in his mind.

Was this ability shown by Soushu a secret jutsu he developed himself?

If so, it only proved he possessed exceptional talent, certainly worth preserving inside the Scroll of Seals. But if not, then things became far more complicated.

Could it mean that the Byakugan—the Hyuga Clan's bloodline limit—had mutated?

The old monkey really wanted to know.

"Huh!"

Under Might Duy's care, Kosuke Maruboshi quickly regained consciousness.

"Genji hasn't fought against any ninja for quite some time, right?"

"Let me tell you something honestly," Hyuga Soushu said, breaking the silence and pulling Kosuke Maruboshi out of his awkward predicament. "Fighting too many weak ninjas will just make your skills and instincts go soft. You need to step back into a real bloodbath and feel that edge between life and death — that's where true growth happens."

"Captain Soushu flatters me," Kosuke Maruboshi replied as he shook water from his ears. "I still have the courage to admit when my abilities come up short!"

"He's just a junior who abandoned the Ninja Way and resorted to trickery and ambushes!" 

Hyuga Soushu smiled then. 

By addressing him as "Captain," Kosuke had effectively signaled his willingness to follow Hyuga Soushu's battle commands—at least for the duration of their time together in the squad.

Soushu gave a slight nod, stood up, and helped Kosuke to his feet before turning to Might Duy, whose expression looked somewhat uneasy. "You did pretty well too."

"Really?!"

Might Duy's eyes lit up instantly!

Before the hot-blooded kid could get all teary-eyed, Hyuga Soushu quickly added, "But you'll have to keep your head cool on the field. Otherwise, you won't last three days out there!"

"You got it, Captain!" Might Duy immediately straightened his posture and shouted with all his might. "I won't let you down!"

<><><><><><><><>

Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!

~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!

<><><><><><><><>

~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!

~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!

patreon.com/Tansnovel

<><><><><><><><>