Satori Hyūga assumed the Gentle Fist starting stance, suddenly leapt forward, and launched the first attack.
His movements were as swift as the wind, his techniques grand and fluid, seamlessly flowing from one to the next.
Strike after strike landed in an unbroken chain on Hyūga Sounmei.
"Satori, your Gentle Fist has improved again," said Sounmei while raising his hands in admiration, palms creating afterimages as he met the assault head-on.
The two exchanged blows on the training grounds, each move precise yet flowing.
With every palm clash, a sharp metallic clang echoed through the air.
After a while, Satori was the first to leap out of the fight and stop.
"No more, no more."
"Grandfather, your strength remains incredible. Your Gentle Fist is at its peak; I can't keep up for now."
Sounmei was a Jonin-level ninja. Even with his best techniques, Satori wasn't certain he could defeat him.
Sounmei chuckled, praising, "You're not bad either, Satori. In a few years, you'll surpass me."
What he said was true—Satori had great talent, worked hard, and thought quickly.
If it weren't for inventing the [Replenishing Jutsu] himself, he might already have become a renowned prodigy within both the Hyūga Clan and Konoha Village.
Unfortunately, Satori preferred staying low-key and disliked drawing too much attention—something that aligned well with the Hyūga Clan's ideals.
"You've nearly mastered the Gentle Fist by now. Would you like to learn our clan's secret technique, [Rotation]?" Sounmei asked.
"[Rotation]… yes, I suppose it's time to learn that too."
Satori hesitated briefly before nodding.
Earlier, he had avoided learning it out of fear of being spread too thin across multiple techniques.
Now, although he couldn't execute the full sequence of Gentle Fist moves flawlessly in one go, he'd learned enough.
Learning [Rotation] would be a good way to expand his combat arsenal.
After all, team assignments were drawing near, and missions would follow shortly thereafter.
Learning one more ninjutsu meant gaining another advantage.
"Watch carefully and follow my movements. Don't miss a single step."
Sounmei took position, raised both arms high, chakra pouring outward from his body, then spun rapidly.
His form was textbook, the posture not complicated.
However, with his Byakugan activated, Satori could perceive the difficulty hidden in the [Rotation] technique.
It was an advanced technique rooted in the foundation of the Gentle Fist.
Using [Rotation], one must release large amounts of chakra from various tenketsu points throughout the body before spinning like a top, repelling all incoming attacks.
Among these steps, releasing chakra from numerous tenketsu points simultaneously was no simple feat.
Coordinating so many points and controlling chakra at once was extremely challenging.
Fortunately, Satori had a solid foundation in training and was highly skilled in chakra control.
After seeing it only once, he could already roughly replicate the movement.
"Grandfather, I think I've got the hang of it."
As Satori spoke, he positioned himself into the starting stance of [Rotation].
Chakra within his body surged along meridians toward his tenketsu points, then burst forth forcefully.
Balancing on the tips of his toes, his body spun rapidly like a whirling dervish.
It couldn't be called exactly identical, but he managed to grasp about seventy to eighty percent of it.
Hyūga Sounmei stood nearby watching with his Byakugan activated, nodding approvingly.
"Not bad. You picked up Rotation pretty quickly. There are still a few weak points, though. With diligent practice, you'll definitely get better."
"The leg, waist and other pressure points have gaps. Remember, your waist also needs to generate power as you rotate."
He pointed out the areas Satori needed to improve on. Seeing Satori nod and look deep in thought, he immediately stopped talking.
He had no doubt that Satori would eventually master it well.
When Satori was little, he had always been obedient, thoughtful and independent-minded.
In both daily life and studies, he always performed flawlessly without needing any extra guidance.
Because of this, Sounmei's attitude toward Satori was different from how other clan members treated their children.
There was no need for strict daily discipline—gentle conversation was enough.
Such a naturally harmonious relationship actually inspired envy among others.
After all, every family has its share of disobedient and disrespectful children.
"I've already gone over the details and fixed the previous flaws. Let me try again."
Satori shouted loudly, assuming his starting stance as he began his second attempt at Rotation.
This time, his execution of Rotation was now spot-on, practically all the flaws corrected.
His quick learning and ability to self-correct helped deepen his understanding of Rotation.
Watching Satori practicing repeatedly, Sounmei's eyes showed warm satisfaction.
Was the Main House finally going to produce someone who could rival the legendary Hyūga Tensei?
And it was his own grandson.
Satori himself didn't think that deeply about it, continuing to practice Rotation over and over again.
His talent wasn't extraordinary; his success stemmed mostly from relentless effort.
As a child, even before his body fully developed, he devoured books.
As he grew older, he began diligently training physically, cultivating chakra, and attempting to learn Gentle Fist techniques and ninjutsu.
If he couldn't master the Gentle Fist on the first try, he'd do it ten, a hundred, even a thousand times.
If progress seemed slow, he'd ask questions, then strive to understand and feel it firsthand.
He endured hardship without complaint and never hesitated to humble himself.
With a mature mind, he focused on flexible application.
Anything beneficial, he was willing to try.
As the sun dipped westward and the world gradually darkened,
Satori finally paused, completely drained of chakra, he started eating to restore his energy and stamina.
"It's been a while since I've trained like this freely."
Feeling the changes within his body, a slight smile lifted the corners of Satori's mouth.
The Feeding-Back Jutsu 2.0 worked surprisingly well. Even while practicing Rotation, the circulating chakra steadily strengthened his physique.
Although immediate results weren't visible, over time, remarkable changes would inevitably happen.
The Feeding-Back Jutsu functioned similarly to cultivating internal energy techniques, recycling chakra to nourish the body and restore vitality.
"But in battle, I should stop using it first, or my chakra reserves might not keep up with demand."
After carefully weighing everything, Satori set clear guidelines for when not to use the technique.
This was to prevent chakra from being extracted and simultaneously replenished back into his body during battle.
If it's just going to flow back into my body, then what the hell's the point of extracting it?
The following day.
Satori Hyūga slowly opened his eyes and became aware of the changes within his body.
"Not bad. Chakra extraction and consumption are stable — no anomalies."
He gave a satisfied nod.
He walked over to the dining table where today's breakfast and lunch had already been set out.
As usual, he grabbed his breakfast and hurried toward the Ninja Academy.
Hyūga Sounmei, the Third Elder of the Main House, bore a heavy daily workload, so he had left home early that morning.
The breakfast was prepared by members of the Branch House and delivered to the Main House for consumption.
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