~"I believe you can hear me, Ddraig."
-"I do."
~"I hope you can help him with controlling draconic power."
-"What do you plan to do?"
~"I'll forcibly turn him into a dragon."
-"I see... Will his 'self' survive it?"
~"I will ensure no harm comes to his spirit, but without your assistance, he won't become a true dragon but a simple beast."
-"Yue, can you explain what you plan to do?"
~"Rias, if your pawn wants to grow in power, he must make Ddraig's power his own."
-"Is it dangerous?"
~"Yes. He must either shed his humanity and become a dragon or take control over the draconic body, bending it to his will."
-"Is there no other way?"
~"Let me be direct. He lacks talent, but his spirit is not weak. This is the best way I can see for him, or he will always lag behind your growth."
-"President, I want to try! I can't let you marry that guy!"
-"You... Sigh, fine."
~"I will take him into an isolated space. You don't have to worry about his safety."~I teleported Issei to a different area of the Simulated Realm.~"Meanwhile, I will start working with you all."
Creating puppets that will help them in training, I focused on the space where Issei was standing. Appearing next to him, I explained what would happen to him. After making sure he understood, I used Path of Abundance to change his body into that of a dragon.
The moment he regained the ability to move, he started to trash around, destroying everything in the vicinity. This was caused by an inability to control draconic impulses. Right now, he was a mindless beast that sought to destroy everything in its path.
In his inner world, I could see how his spirit, assisted by Ddraig, was trying to regain control over his body. His fight was not that dissimilar to what Jingliu went through to defeat her Mara. The biggest difference was the strength and Ddraig's assistance in keeping his inner world whole.
After looking for a few more moments, I confirmed that he would be fine, so I returned my focus to the rest of the trainees. Approaching them one by one, I continued to offer my advice where it was needed.
As the training montage was taking place, we arrived at the exam location in Konoha. Tsunade went to sit in the Kage Box, leaving us in the tribunes. We found a nice spot to sit in and began talking about upcoming matches while waiting for the exam to start.
Sometime later, we were interrupted by a group of children sitting in front of us, and noticing a familiar face, I greeted them.
~"Little Hinata, good to see you again."
-"Yes. Hello, Mr. Yue."
-"Hinata, your friend?"-Asked a girl with long blond hair.
-"No... I ran into Mr. Yue yesterday when I was running."
~"No need for Mr., just call me Yue. We are not well vested in the ninja way, so I hope you can explain to us what is going on on the stage later."
-"Sure! You can count on me."-Shouted an overly enthusiastic boy in a green tightsuit.
-"Ugh, Lee."-Reacted a girl with hair tied into two buns, shaking her head a little ashamed.
~"Thank you."
-"Haha! I hope you won't mind their behavior too much."-A larger version of the green boy spoke as he approached the children.
-"It's children's right to be cheerful."
~"Couldn't say it better, Shinobu."
-"It's indeed a good quote. I'm Asuma. Nice to meet you. He is Guy and the silent one is Kakasi."
-"I finally met someone who is as adamant in hiding his face as you, Yue. I'm Keqing. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
This started with everyone introducing themselves to each other, and by the beginning of the first duel, we were able to talk freely between ourselves. First to fight were two boys, one in a safety vest while the other had the same eyes as Hinata sitting in front of me.
~"Your friends?"
-"Yes! Neji is part of our team."
-"He is my cousin, Mr Yue."
-"Naruto is also our friend. He is part of Hinata's team."
~"I see. Who do you think will win?"
-"Neji is stronger, but Naruto is also not weak."
-"Very diplomatic answer."-Kirari nodded at Shino's answer.-"What do you as instructors think?"
-"I believe in Naruto."
-"If Kakashi is like that, then I can only believe in Neji!"
-"It's hard to say, but Neji has a slight advantage."
Kakashi and Guy supported their pupils, while Asuma tried to be objective.
-"What about your thoughts, Yue?"
~"Neither of them can tap into the power within them. Naruto, especially, is a mass of energy. If Neji is to end the battle quickly, then Naruto most likely won't be able to prevail. In prolonged battle, tables might turn."
-"Hou? I thought you were not knowledgeable in the world of ninjas."
~"I'm not, but that doesn't mean I can't understand things when I see them."
-"Mr Yue, what do you mean that Neji can't tap into his power? He is one of the most talented members of the Hyūga Clan. Even my father thinks that his Byakugan is one of strongest in history."
~"I read little about those eyes in your village. Byakugan and Sharingan are fascinating, but I wondered why, despite being considered eternal rivals and equal to each other, only one could evolve beyond."
-"This..."
~"After seeing your eyes, I can tell that Byakugan also can evolve."
-"You should be careful what you speak, Yue. Some statements might bring you trouble."
~"Thank you for your worry, Kakashi, but I speak the truth. Hinata, close your eyes for a second."
Hinata, who was facing me, closed her eyes, and I put my hand over them. Mobilizing my power, I forcefully awakened her eyes while making sure she wouldn't have any sequelae despite my doing so.
~"Now, slowly open your eyes, but be careful not to put any chakra into them."
Hinata nodded and slowly lifted her eyelids. When others saw her eyes again, they were shocked, especially three trainers who quickly made sure no one other than us saw the change.
In place of the white featureless eyes, she now had pupils with a slight bluish-lavender hue with a flower pattern overlapping. Those eyes seem to emanate slight light, complementing their beauty.
~"How do you feel?"
-"I can see more things? That... Mr Yue, why do you have tails?"
~"It would seem that your eyes are more powerful than I thought. It's my secret, so I will explain later."
-"Can you explain what you did?"
-"Calm down, Asuma. While I'm also shocked, what he did is to Konoha's advantage in the end."
~"I just proved by theory."
-"You, sigh... Forgive him. Sometimes, he can't stop himself from testing his ideas."-Keqing bowed her head to Asuma, who was on guard.
Ignoring the slight chaos happening around, I focused on helping Hinata get used to her new eyes.
~"Little Hinata, those eyes are much more powerful than Byakugan, so you have to be careful when using them. You should wear this until you can control your eyes normally."
I created a small bracelet with my powers and imbued it with Sprirt Runes so that it could not only conceal Hinata's eyes but also seal their power partly. She wore it on her wrist but hung her head low after receiving it, as her ears turned red.
Returning my attention to others, I spoke to three instructors looking at me.
~"We can talk about this later. Now, let's focus on the exam. Those two are about to start."~When my sentence ended, the signal to start the fight rang out.
The fight was an intense one, especially as Naruto created many clones to besiege Neji, who showed absolute advantage in his abilities and techniques. I could hear from other spectators that Naruto was not popular in the village, and almost everyone aside from his friends looked down on him.
As the duel was nearing its conclusion, it still looked to be in full control of Neji. He was so sure of his victory that he spoke about Naruto's inadequates. His world seems to not only be targeted at his opponent, as Hinata also visibly reacted to them.
~"Little Hinata, do you believe in what he is saying?"
-"This... I don't know."
~"Well, he is not wrong in his thoughts."
-"Eh?"-My words attracted not only Hinata but also others here.
~"He might appear as conceited, but in truth, he wants others to be safe. Entering a battlefield means you will face death, and if you are too weak, you won't return. He lacks the ability to speak well, but his heart is there."
-"Then does Mr Yue think that talent is absolute? That we cannot change our destiny?"
~"The talent is indeed important, but one can overcome it. Destiny, on the other hand, is indeed something that one can't change. What you wanted to ask is if we can't change our future, and, to that, I can tell you that you don't have to change it. Just pick one you wish to achieve and move forward."
Hinata turned and looked at me, surprised by my words.
~"I can know all your futures possible, ones where you failed and those where you succeded in achieving what you wished for. Fate is like a river. Most people are thrown into the water and can't fight against the current, but that doesn't mean you can't be captain, steering ship of your life where you want to go."
Extending my hand, I pated Hinatas head.
~"Rather than worry about what if, just make sure you won't regret what decision you've made. You are young, Hinata. Maybe you just haven't found what truly your talent is."
She nodded and turned back to look at the fight, focusing on the Naruto, who was trying his best to stand up.
-"To think you would say so much to motivate her."
~"Are you jealous of a child, Keqing?"
-"Like hell I'm."-She rolled her eyes at my question.-"I'm curious if your world would change her future."
~"I hope it will help her emerge from the dark place she is in."
-"Indeed."
The situation in the arena also changed as Naruto used some of the power sealed within him, starting a counterattack, which Neji had a hard time defending against.
Having his own inspirational speech, Naruto was able to defeat his opponent, showing how mistaken were the people who put him down. As he left the field, there were no boos, only cheers.
The next fight was something that fit Kirari's plate more, as rather than intense close combat and show of power, the strategy and reading of the opponent played a greater role. By the end, her cyan eyes and lips seemed to glow as her excitement was reaching its heights.
The only problem was the end, as the battle ended in the surrender of the victor, which surprised most people present, Kirari included. I could tell that she was dissatisfied with that ending, and if she hadn't been stopped by Lena, Shikamaru, who was about to return to his friends, would have had to survive her displeasure.
The fight that was to take place next was one that people around anticipated the most. The reason for that was Sasuke, who was the last living member of his clan. Cheers that happened when he appeared were noticeably louder, especially from girls his age, Sakura and Ino included.
But to me, the seal covering part of his body was much more interesting than the fight that was about to start. Despite its evil nature, this technique showed me that this world had more hidden than I expected.
This fight was much more similar to the first one, as Sasuke went all out on the offense while Gara tried to defend himself from his attacks. The fight was slowly reaching its culmination, but a sudden explosion of smoke in Kage's Box resulted in the halting of the exam.
At the same time, someone tried to put everyone on the tribunes to sleep. Luckily, most of the Konoha ninjas were able to prevent this jutsu from working on them. I shielded those around me from its effects, keeping our party awake.
-"This! Help the Hokage!"
~"You won't be able to join the fight. There was a barrier set up to keep others from interfering."
-"..."
~"Sigh, you should go and help evacuate the civilians."
-"Can you help us?"-Kakashi asked me while removing his protector from over his second eye.
Standing up, I turned to an empty space near us.
~"Heed my order."
-"Yes!"-Maiev Appeared there, surprising the ninjas present.
~"Shadows are to defend civilians from any stray attacks that fly their way. You are not to engage any ninjas in combat. Any ninja that was rendered incapable of continuing the fight is to be recovered by you and kept alive."
-"Yes!"-Wardens responded from all around, dispersing throughout the whole village.
~"Enemies are yours to beat. Is this enough?"
-"Thank you."-Kakashi bowed deeply before rushing into the combat.
Guy followed his friend, while Azama also bowed before joining the two. I looked at the young ones who were still in shock at what had just happened.
~"Come with us. You can't help in this fight."
While not happy, they followed our lead as we started heading toward shelters prepared in the village. Along the way, we would help those in need but never once engage in combat.
At the shelter, Keqin, with Kirari and Lena, got to work helping with organizing civilians in the shelter while I set up a field hospital to treat those injured. Young ones also started to help around. Hinata, Ino, and Sakura worked to assist me in healing.
-"This, how come Mr. Yue can heal people while not using Chakra?"
~"The world is much wider than you think, little Hinata. Sakura, please help that woman with her child."
-"On it!"
-"I'll bring more bandages from the hospital in town."
~"Take Shikamaru and Lee with you, Ino."
-"Sure!"
~"Hinata, can you go and help other doctors diagnose the patients?"
-"Will I be able to do that..?
~"I can see that you are not the greatest fan of fighting, so why not pursue healing instead? I feel your strong point is Chakra control, so you are well-suited for that role. And Byakugan would help you immensely with the healing."
-"Strong point?"
~"Have more confidence, Little Hinata. Go and help. I will speak to you after everything is done."
Despite being chaotic, the situation of civilians was mostly under control, and only ninjas were still fighting on the streets. The more troublesome was what was going on with the Kage.
Tsunade and Jiraiya were able to take part in the fight but were stopped by...
⌊ Abominations! Fox, let me go!⌉
⌊ Stop it, Wolf. It's not our fight.⌉
⌊ That man won't survive if you don't move.~⌉
⌊ I know.⌉
Turning my head to where the Kage was fighting, I could clearly perceive what would soon be the last moments of the Hokage. Shaking my head, I continued to heal people.