Subduing Ayane didn't take too much time or effort. After that, Shiraishi added another subject to his studies—the Hyuga clan's secret Gentle Fist.
Ayane unreservedly handed over all the scrolls containing the cultivation methods and theoretical knowledge of the Hyuga clan's secret Gentle Fist to Shiraishi.
If the Hyuga clan ever discovered this act of betrayal, Ayane would undoubtedly be executed.
But more than death, what she feared most now was the endless, dark days of the future.
Moreover, in her heart, she had already seen the light.
Her clan and village had become unimportant, even dispensable, in her eyes.
Therefore, giving the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist to an unrelated person was not an act of betrayal in Ayane's eyes, but a natural act of defiance.
Rather, the Hyuga clan, to Ayane, was an irrelevant existence.
Shiraishi understood that while Ayane had developed a sense of dependence and obedience towards him, he still needed to slowly and deeply imprint his image in her heart.
Meanwhile, Ayane, following his advice, openly expressed her anger and hostility when facing the Main House.
And just as Shiraishi had said, when the members of the Hyuga Main House saw Ayane's angry and hostile gaze, they merely glanced at her indifferently and paid no further attention.
Because Ayane was just one of many Branch House members who harbored hostility towards them.
Such Branch House members were countless.
Precisely because of this, the more hostile Ayane was towards them, the more at ease they felt.
What they feared were those Branch House members who concealed their hostility—those were the troublesome individuals the Main House needed to guard against.
◎
Everything requires sufficient power.
The strongest wielders of power in the ninja world are ninjas.
And the sources of a ninja's power are divided into many types.
All of this was knowledge Shiraishi had gained from books in the Ninja Academy library.
The Ninja Academy library had a rich variety of books, but many were also missing.
For example, the Hyuga clan's secret Gentle Fist, which was a family martial art not taught to outsiders.
There were many types of Gentle Fist in the ninja world, but the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist was definitely the strongest.
This greatly intrigued Shiraishi. He found that the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist was actually very similar to Tai Chi, even sharing many common theories.
However, the Gentle Fist scroll Ayane gave him was not the complete version.
As a member of the Branch House, Ayane could not access the core techniques of the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist.
The severity of the Hyuga clan's class stratification exceeded Shiraishi's imagination.
Therefore, Shiraishi could completely understand Ayane's intense hatred for the Hyuga clan.
But because the Main House had long held a transcendent position of superiority, the Branch House members dared not speak out, and some had even become true slaves who pledged allegiance to the Main House.
This portion of the Hyuga Branch House had lost their personal freedom and dignity.
They would not question whether the Hyuga clan's current traditions were correct; they only cared whether the Main House members were satisfied with their service.
They rejoiced at what pleased the Main House and raged at what angered the Main House.
Hence, the Hyuga clan's factions were not just two—Main House and Branch House—but three: the Main House faction, the Branch House faction that sided with the Main House, and the Branch House faction that was hostile and hateful towards the Main House.
Among these, the Main House's position was as solid as a rock, and the Branch House members, branded with the 'Caged Bird' seal, posed no threat to them.
"Shiraishi, don't you think Ayane seems to have changed a bit?"
These were Ruri's exact words.
On the training ground, the coldness on Ayane's face was no longer as severe as before; she could now talk and laugh with her classmates again.
But there was still a difference from the original Ayane.
Because Ayane's smile always carried an unresolved melancholy and inferiority.
"After going through something like that, it's only natural, isn't it?"
Shiraishi, who had been doing pull-ups, jumped down and said indifferently.
Ruri nodded. Indeed, the Hyuga clan's traditions were truly cruel to the extreme.
Even she, an outsider, found it a bit unbearable.
"Speaking of which, Ruri, does your Uchiha clan also have traditions similar to the Hyuga clan?"
Shiraishi seemed to be pondering something.
Ruri rolled her eyes in annoyance and said, "Our Uchiha clan doesn't have such rotten, condescending rules."
Shiraishi's mouth twitched. Coming from Ruri, such a statement held no persuasive power whatsoever.
Apart from him, most of the boys and girls in the class kept their distance from Ruri.
Not only that, Shiraishi had also seen other Uchiha students in the Ninja Academy. While their talent wasn't as good as Ruri's, their attitude towards people was even worse than Ruri's.
They constantly spoke of the Uchiha clan, as if afraid others wouldn't know their name.
In comparison, Ruri was actually the more low-key one, apart from her somewhat cold personality.
"Oh, right, let's do 'that' again tonight."
Ruri suddenly spoke, turning her face away, her neck flushed.
"That?"
Shiraishi blinked in confusion.
Which 'that'?
"Just 'that'..."
Ruri's voice suddenly became softer.
Seeing Shiraishi remain silent for a long time, and assuming he was unwilling, Ruri's eyes instantly turned fierce, her dark pupils glaring at Shiraishi:
"Don't you want to touch me? Do you have someone else?"
"..."
Shiraishi was speechless.
He finally understood.
She wanted him to formulate a suitable scientific training plan again.
After all, nearly a month had passed since the last time.
It's just that Shiraishi felt inexplicably guilty now.
Perhaps it was just his imagination.
"I'm with you all the time, how could there be anyone else? You're overthinking it, Ruri."
Hearing Shiraishi's weak explanation, Ruri nodded in satisfaction.
"Your method is very effective. Before, when I sparred with a jounin from the clan, he said my strength had surpassed most genin. At this rate of growth, I can reach chunin level by next year."
Hearing Ruri say this, Shiraishi could roughly gauge his own strength.
It was close to Ruri's, or slightly inferior, but not by much.
The best he had ever done was a draw.
It seemed he still had a long way to go to achieve his goal of 'offending superiors'.
"That's amazing."
"You too."
It's easy for boys and girls to grow closer when they share a secret.
Shiraishi used to not believe it, but now he did.
◎
"You want books on medical ninjutsu?"
Ruri was puzzled by Shiraishi's request.
"Yes, can you get them?"
Shiraishi looked at Ruri with a hopeful expression.
Although the school library had books on medicine, they couldn't meet Shiraishi's needs.
So he could only get them through Ruri.
Unlike Ayane, Ruri was not only a genius of the Uchiha clan, but the Uchiha clan also didn't have the same inhumane traditions as the Hyuga clan. The Uchiha elders were very supportive of a genius like Ruri.
Ruri pondered for a moment, then nodded, indicating her agreement.
Her status in the Uchiha clan wasn't extremely high, but it wasn't bad either.
Plus, she knew many Uchiha medical ninjas, who were all older individuals with no hope of awakening the Sharingan bloodline, defined as Uchiha clan members who could only serve as support personnel.
Their purpose was to serve the Uchiha elite, learning sealing jutsu, medical ninjutsu, and even barrier jutsu.
Ruri believed that with her request, as someone destined to become an elite Uchiha ninja in the future, they would be happy to oblige.
Furthermore, as long as she didn't pass on the Uchiha clan's secret techniques to Shiraishi, there would be no problem.
As far as Ruri knew, the clan and the village occasionally exchanged resources and ninjutsu.
Ruri acted quickly. On the weekend holiday, she went directly to Shiraishi's apartment to visit.
This was her first time entering a boy's private room.