Mastering the Elements - Chapter - 84

The Pottaru estate was unusually loud that afternoon. From the inner courtyard, Harry could hear raised voices, feet stomping, and the unmistakable sound of Naruto Uzumaki throwing a full tantrum.

“I want to graduate this year!” Naruto shouted, his voice echoing off the stone walls. He stomped the ground so hard that Nawaki, who was napping nearby, stirred in his crib. Mikoto sighed, scooped up the baby, and shot Harry a look that clearly said deal with this.

Harry appeared in the courtyard, his arms crossed. “Naruto,” he said calmly, “what’s this about? You’re already training like a jonin. Why the sudden rush?”

Naruto spun around, his cheeks puffed out, eyes blazing with frustration. “It’s Gaara! He’s graduating this year! And we promised—no, we swore—that we’d see who becomes Kage first! If he graduates before me, he’ll have a head start, and that’s not fair!”

Harry blinked. “This is about Gaara?”

“Yes!” Naruto threw his arms in the air. “He’s my best friend, my rival, almost my brother! Every day he brags through the mirror—‘Oh Naruto, I’m gonna graduate soon. I’ll get missions. I’ll get stronger.’ And you know what? I can’t let him win! I won’t let him win!”

Hinata and Midori, who had been watching from the sidelines, exchanged a look. Midori snorted. “So this is what all the noise is about. You’re scared Gaara will beat you.”

Naruto pointed at her furiously. “I’m not scared! I just—don’t want him to get ahead!”

Hinata spoke softly but firmly. “Naruto-kun, you already train harder than anyone. But… I understand. If Gaara is moving forward, you should be able to as well.”

Harry rubbed his temples. He had assumed Naruto’s restlessness came from his new friend Rock Lee, but this… this was Gaara’s fault. Or rather, Naruto’s own pride. Still, Harry couldn’t ignore it. Naruto wasn’t wrong—he was already operating far beyond genin level. And if he denied him for too long, Naruto would only grow more rebellious.

“Fine,” Harry finally said.

Naruto froze. “…Fine? You mean—you’ll let me graduate?!”

Harry nodded, though his eyes sharpened. “Yes. But not because of Gaara. Because you’re ready. You’ve proven you can handle yourself. Just remember: graduation isn’t about winning a race. It’s about proving you’re ready to shoulder the burden of being a shinobi.”

Naruto’s grin spread ear to ear, his fists pumping in triumph. “Yes! Believe it!”

But before his excitement could settle, Midori stepped forward, fire in her eyes. “If Naruto graduates, I graduate too. We’re a team.”

Hinata nodded firmly, her cheeks pink but her voice unwavering. “Me too. We’ve trained together since the beginning. We work best together.”

Harry looked between the two girls. “You want to graduate just because Naruto is?”

Midori lifted her chin. “Not just because of him. Because we’re a dream team. Our teamwork is perfect. We cover each other’s weaknesses. If he’s going forward, so are we.”

Harry narrowed his eyes, studying them both. He knew they weren’t lying. The girls had grown immensely under his guidance, their skills complementing Naruto’s in ways even seasoned jonin teams struggled to match. Still, it wasn’t his call alone.

“Then it’s up to the Hokage,” Harry said after a long pause. “I’ll recommend it, but the final word is his.”


The Hokage’s office was quiet when Harry brought Naruto, Hinata, and Midori before Hiruzen Sarutobi. The old man leaned back in his chair, pipe in hand, watching the three children with a mixture of amusement and curiosity.

“So,” Hiruzen said at last, “you want to graduate early.”

“Yes, old man!” Naruto said, bouncing on his heels. “I’m ready! We’re ready!”

Midori added, “We fight like one. Put us against any genin team in the village—we’ll prove it.”

Hinata bowed politely. “Please consider us, Hokage-sama. We’ve trained under Harry-sama for years. We won’t let you down.”

Hiruzen exhaled a long plume of smoke. His eyes drifted to Harry, who stood silently behind them. Harry gave a single nod. That was enough.

“Well,” the Hokage said slowly, “I have long resisted the idea of early graduation. The battlefield is merciless, and enemies will not spare you because of your age. But…” He smiled faintly, his gaze softening. “You three are unlike any genin I have ever seen. If Harry believes you’re ready, then I trust his judgment.”

The three children’s eyes lit up, and Naruto let out a loud cheer. “Yes! Thank you, old man!”

Hiruzen chuckled. “Do not thank me yet. Tomorrow, you will face a graduation test like any other academy student. If you succeed, you will graduate. If you fail, you return to the academy until you are truly ready.”

Naruto grinned fiercely. “We won’t fail!”

Hinata smiled softly. Midori smirked confidently. Harry crossed his arms, watching them with quiet pride.

As they left the office, Naruto whispered to his friends, “Gaara better watch out. ’Cause when I tell him I graduated too, he’s gonna flip!”

Midori rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible.”

Hinata giggled behind her hand.

Harry just shook his head, muttering under his breath, “This is going to get interesting.”



The academy classroom fell silent the moment the door opened. Naruto strode in first, grinning ear to ear, Hinata just behind him with quiet confidence, and Midori walking with her usual proud smirk. Every single student turned in their seat, their whispers loud enough for the trio to hear.

“Is that… Naruto? What’s he doing here?”
“He’s not supposed to graduate yet. None of them are.”
“Special treatment because he’s the Fourth Hokage’s brat, I bet.”

The words were not meant to be kind. Many of the students looked bitter, jealous even. But there were a handful who knew better.

The Uchiha students shifted uneasily. They remembered Midori training in private clan grounds, flames roaring so hot they nearly cracked stone. She was not a normal academy student—they all knew that.

One figure rose from his seat in the back. Neji Hyuga walked with calm grace, but his eyes glowed with pride. His forehead, bare of any cursed seal, shone for all to see. He bowed respectfully before Hinata.

“Lady Hinata,” Neji said firmly, “it is an honor to welcome you to our class. The Hyuga clan has awaited this day.”

Gasps rippled through the room. Neji’s words carried weight. Some students muttered in shock—Neji never gave respect lightly, least of all to Hinata, who was from the main branch.

Hinata’s cheeks turned pink, but she bowed back with equal respect. “Thank you, Neji-niisan. I will do my best not to bring shame to our clan.”

Naruto tilted his head, confused. “Oi, Neji, what’s with all the bowing and ‘Lady Hinata’? She’s just Hinata!”

Midori smirked, folding her arms. “Idiot. That’s called respect. Something you should probably learn, Naruto.”

Naruto pouted but didn’t argue further.



Neji Hyūga still remembered it as though it had happened only yesterday.

The Hyūga compound’s main hall had been packed that evening. Elders sat cross-legged, their pale eyes cold as stone, while the branch family knelt along the edges of the room. Neji remembered the weight of the silence, the fear that hung in the air.

A little girl—no older than seven—had been brought forward. She was crying softly, her parents weeping behind her. Neji had watched, helpless, because he knew exactly what was coming. The cursed seal. The same one that burned on his own forehead.

The seal master prepared the jutsu, and Neji’s stomach twisted with rage and despair. Another life chained… another fate sealed.

But then a small voice broke the silence.

“Stop.”

Every head turned. It was Hinata. The heiress who rarely raised her eyes, let alone her voice. Yet there she was, stepping forward into the center of the hall, her fists trembling but her chin lifted.

Neji remembered the shock in the air. The gasps. The way even his uncle Hiashi had narrowed his eyes.

“Lady Hinata,” one elder said sharply, “you will not interfere. This is tradition.”

Hinata shook her head, her Byakugan flaring in defiance. “It is cruelty. Harry-sama already gave the Uchiha a seal that protects their dōjutsu after death. We do not need this curse anymore. We do not need to enslave our own family!”

The words had shaken Neji to his core. No one had ever spoken against the seal—not aloud, not in front of the elders.

“Silence!” another elder barked. “You are a child. You do not understand the weight of this clan.”

But Hinata did not falter. She walked to the girl, knelt, and wrapped her arms around her. “I will not allow it.”

Neji had never seen Hiashi look so conflicted. The clan head’s eyes were hard, yet for a moment, just a moment, there had been hesitation.

And then—

Hinata moved.

No one expected it. The heiress stepped forward, faster than anyone could react. Her form was precise, fluid, terrifyingly graceful.

“Stop!”

But the elders ignored her words. They gestured to restrain her. Two elder guards approached, confident they could subdue the girl.

They never reached her.

Hinata’s stance shifted—gentle fist combined seamlessly with another form. A form none had seen her use before. Gentle Step.

She moved like flowing water, a storm contained in human form. Her palms struck with pinpoint precision, and within moments both elders were on the ground, their chakra systems locked.

The entire hall gasped.

“Seize her!” one elder barked. Dozens moved to obey.

Hinata’s chakra flared. Her body split into thirty shadow clones, the room flooding with copies of her. Gasps of disbelief spread through the crowd—shadow clones were high-level jutsu, far beyond what anyone expected of her.

The clones darted like dancers, surrounding the elders. Hinata herself struck from the center, a whirlwind of gentle step and ninjutsu, capturing the elders one by one. They could not even get near her.

The branch family, usually silent, watched in stunned awe. Neji felt his breath catch. This is not the shy girl I knew… This is someone else entirely.

When the dust settled, every elder lay restrained. Hinata herself walked calmly among them, eyes glowing with the power of her Byakugan.

And then—she did the unthinkable. She raised her hand and began marking them. One by one, she inscribed the cursed seal onto the elders’ foreheads.

Cries of outrage filled the hall.
“You dare—!”
“This is blasphemy!”

But they were powerless.

Only three remained without marks: Hinata, her younger sister Hanabi, and her father, Hiashi. The clan head stood frozen, silent, watching his daughter overturn centuries of tradition.

When the last seal was placed, Hinata laughed—a sharp, almost manic sound. “For years, you tormented your own family with this curse. Now you will taste it yourselves.”

She activated the seals. Elders screamed as the burning pain of the caged bird erupted across their foreheads.

Neji had never seen such reversal of power. His eyes widened, not in horror, but in awe. For the first time, he felt like someone had fought for them—someone had fought for him.


Sixteen members of the main branch—the same elders who had long enforced tyranny with the caged bird seal—fell. Not by outsiders, but by their own seal. Their screams still echoed in Neji’s mind.

It was Hinata who activated the seals, cold and resolute, turning the cursed mark upon the oppressors themselves.

Some had begged for mercy. Others had cursed her, calling her a traitor to tradition. But one by one, they died, executed in the very hall where they once decided the fate of countless branch members.

The rest of the clan, horrified, finally bent their heads. They promised to change, to end the centuries of slavery that had divided them.

Neji, who had once accepted his fate as nothing more than a caged bird, could scarcely believe it.


Hinata raised her hand once more, but instead of pain, there was release. She began removing the cursed seals from the branch members. The mark that had chained them since birth dissolved under her chakra.

Gasps of disbelief filled the room. Men and women wept openly as the symbols faded from their foreheads.

In place of the cursed seal, Hinata inscribed something new—something Harry Pottaru had given her in secret. An invisible protective seal. One that acted like the seal placed upon the Uchiha clan’s dōjutsu: it would safeguard the Byakugan from being stolen upon death, but it carried no power of control, no chains of slavery.


Hiashi Hyūga, her father, had stood still through it all. His face had betrayed shock, then awe, then something that might have been pride. He had not interfered. Perhaps he knew the old ways were crumbling. Perhaps he had always doubted them.

When the purge was over, when the seals were changed and the elders lay dead, he simply said,

“From this night forward, the Hyūga clan is reborn.”


When Konoha was first formed, the First Hokage himself had approached the Hyūga clan. The offer had been simple: join the new village, be part of its strength. But the Hyūga clan head had placed a single, binding condition—

“What happens within the Hyūga compound stays within the Hyūga compound. No Hokage, no council, no village law will interfere with our customs or our politics.”

The First Hokage, desperate to secure the clan’s loyalty and their powerful dōjutsu, had agreed.
And so the pact had stood for generations, carved into the history of the village.

That was why no one outside knew what happened that night.