"Hearing that sentence, Sasuke's expression turned somewhat gloomy. Indeed, excessive use of the Mangekyo Sharingan had side effects. Each use would cause bleeding, and long-term use would lead to blindness. To preserve one's eyes, one needed the Mangekyo Sharingan of a close retive. This was the reason why the Uchiha were called a cursed cn.

  Sasuke wanted to become strong, but he also didn't want to see his beloved older brother get hurt, which was why he was downcast.

  Was there really no foolproof solution? "Although ordinary ninjas don't have kekkei genkai that they can spontaneously combine, they can use specific ninjutsu to perform combination techniques. For example, Wind Release and Fire Release can be combined to form more powerful Fire Release, Water Release and Lightning Release can have stronger control, and Earth Release and Wind Release can create high-speed attacks."

  ...

  Amidst such expnations and demonstrations, a year passed just like that. The students had all skillfully mastered the characteristics and counters of chakra, and under Kakashi's guidance, they first created various pns or hypotheticals for countering different elemental techniques with their own ninjutsu. Their individual training also allowed everyone's strength to improve.

  Now, it was time for practical application.

  "Sasuke, you're teamed up with Naruto and Haruno Sakura to fight against Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio will fight against Shino, Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Haru. Spread out and try to use appropriate ninjutsu and tactics. The first team to capture the opposing team wins. After one round, we'll rotate, and Haru will also be regrouped. Begin!" This year of teaching had changed Neji's perception of Kakashi somewhat. Although he strongly disliked Kakashi's tardiness, he did admire Kakashi's effort. Of course, all of this was based on his recognition of Kakashi's strength.

  ...

  "Kakashi, does effort... really work?" This was the first time Neji's resolve wavered after studying theory with Kakashi for half a year.

  "Oh? Why would you suddenly ask that? Isn't fate irreversible?" Kakashi, surprised, also wanted to regain the face he had lost back then, so he deliberately made things a bit difficult.

  "Sorry. I was born into the Hyuga branch family. I strongly resent and resist the restricted eyes and the controlled life, but I'm powerless to do anything about it, so I developed this idea of irreversible fate."

  "Then I'll tell you, that caged bird on your forehead... you are the cage."

  "What does that mean? Isn't the branch family a bird imprisoned for life?" Neji was hearing this kind of statement from Kakashi for the first time. Since ancient times, the Hyuga branch family had always believed that they were controlled by the main family. Not only was the Byakugan's ability restricted, but the Caged Bird Seal could also be used by the main family to instantly destroy the branch family's brain, and this had always served as a deterrent, ensuring the safety of the Hyuga main family. Neji's resentment towards the seal and this fate deepened after witnessing his own father die in pce of Hinata's father to protect the main family and prevent the Byakugan from being leaked.

  "Not bad. But what if you are the cage? All branch families, in the initial concept, were born to protect their main family. But there will always be those who are dissatisfied and incite the branch family, and what has been passed down is the idea of the branch family being the bird. Imagine yourself as the cage, take protecting Hinata and the main family as your fate, and strive for it. Wouldn't that feel a little better? Also, effort definitely works. If you don't believe it, you can go spar with Rock Lee. He used to always be suppressed by you, but that was because the Gentle Fist countered the Strong Fist. What if he breaks through the limitations of the Strong Fist through effort? If you still believe in the idea of genius and fate, then first make yourself a genius of effort. From now on, your goal is Lee."

  Seeing that the foundation of Neji's "fate" had been shaken, Kakashi seized the opportunity to overturn his concept of fate and the branch family. Of course, all of this was traceable. As a high-level Konoha technician, he had the right to know this information.

  After this, although Neji was still somewhat unfriendly towards Kakashi, he no longer sneered at his cssmates. Instead, he and the training fanatic Lee ran all over Konoha every day.

  ...

  Having studied and pyed together for a year, although they hadn't truly fought each other, the thirteen of them had a decent understanding of each other. No one rushed to attack first.

  Except for two people.

  Naruto and Kiba attacked almost simultaneously.

  Shadow Clone Technique! Beast Mimicry Ninjutsu: Beast Human Clone!

  The two impatient individuals charged towards the opposite side, each supported by their own clone.

  However, Naruto's speed, in front of Lee and the others who specialized in taijutsu, was like an old woman strolling down the street. Lee slightly crouched first, his right leg forward and left leg back, adopting a bow stance; his right hand stood upright to block in front, his left hand behind his back; then, with a stomp of his foot, his whole body rushed into Naruto's sea of clones at an extremely high speed!

  In just a few breaths, the sea of shadow clones that had been shouting loudly just now was drowned out by a series of "bang bang" sounds.

  "Naruto, come back quickly!" Sakura screamed nervously. If Naruto was taken out first, with her strength, their team would definitely lose.

  Fortunately, after feeling his clones being taken out one by one, Naruto sensed the danger. With a few backflips, he returned to Sasuke's side.

  Looking back at the sea of clones he had created with a rge amount of chakra, only a pile of lingering white smoke remained.

  "Idiot."

  "Hey, can you not say sarcastic things right now? Sasuke, you big idiot!"

  "Tch. Then go yourself." However, even as he said this, Sasuke followed Naruto, charging towards the cloud of white smoke. After all, during this past year, all their free time had been spent training with Haru. And in their two-on-one practice, the two of them had also developed their own combination ninjutsu.

  "Naruto, let's go!" Sasuke gave the command, and Naruto received it in time. The two of them began to prepare simultaneously.

  Sasuke first located Lee within the white smoke, then suddenly accelerated! Fire Release: Fme Foot! This was a new C-rank ninjutsu that Sasuke had developed under Kakashi's guidance, according to his own ideas. It could be used as an auxiliary skill for acceleration or to enhance the damage of taijutsu.

  And right now, it was perfect for a surprise attack.

  "Lee! Be careful!" Outside the white smoke, Neji had been watching the movements inside with his Byakugan. By the time he noticed Sasuke approaching at high speed and directly warned Lee, it was already too te.