Taming Ayane didn't take too much time or effort, and after that, Hakushi had one more subject to delve into—the Hyuga Clan's secret art, the Gentle Fist.
Ayane handed Hakushi the scroll containing the cultivation methods and theoretical knowledge of the Hyuga Clan's secret Gentle Fist with absolutely no reservation.
If the Hyuga Clan found out about this betrayal, Ayane would undoubtedly be sentenced to death.
But compared to death, what she feared more now was the endless darkness of days to come.
Moreover, in her heart, she'd already glimpsed a light shining in her eyes.
Family and the village, to her, were no longer important—even dispensable.
So, handing over the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist to a complete outsider was, in Ayane's mind, not betrayal, but an utterly justified act of resistance.
In fact, to Ayane, it was the Hyuga Clan itself that had nothing to do with her anymore.
Hakushi understood that, although Ayane had already developed dependence and obedience towards him, he still needed to shape his image more deeply into her heart, step by step.
As for Ayane, she followed his advice and no longer hid her anger and hostility when facing the Main Family.
Just as Hakushi had said, when the members of the Hyuga Main Family saw Ayane's eyes—now filled with anger and hostility—they only glanced indifferently and paid little mind.
Because, to them, Ayane was just one more of the countless Branch Family members hostile towards the Main Family.
The Hyuga Branch Family was filled with such people—too many to count.
Thus, the more hostile Ayane was to them, the more at ease they actually felt.
What the Main Family truly feared were those in the Branch Family who hid their hostility—those were the troublesome ones the Main Family needed to watch out for.
◎
Whatever you do, you need enough strength.
The ones with the greatest power in the Ninja Realm are the ninja.
And the sources of a ninja's power come in many forms.
This was knowledge Hakushi picked up from books in the Ninja School library.
The Ninja School library's collection was rich, but many books were still out of reach.
For example, the Hyuga Clan's secret Gentle Fist—a style strictly kept within the family.
There are many forms of Gentle Fist across the Ninja Realm, but the Hyuga Clan's is undoubtedly the strongest.
This intrigued Hakushi greatly, and he noticed that the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist was actually very similar to Taichi Fist—their theories were almost identical.
However, the Gentle Fist scroll Ayane gave him wasn't really the complete version.
Because, as a Branch Family member, Ayane could never access the core techniques of the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist.
The class stratification within the Hyuga Clan was even more severe than Hakushi had imagined.
So Hakushi could fully understand why Ayane's heart was filled with such hatred for the Hyuga Clan.
But due to the Main Family's long-standing, overwhelming dominance, the Branch Family only dared feel anger but not voice it; even some had truly become slaves loyal to the Main Family in every sense.
These members of the Hyuga Branch Family had already lost their personal dignity and freedom.
They never questioned whether the Hyuga Clan's traditions were right or wrong—what they cared about was whether the Main Family was satisfied with their service.
They rejoiced when the Main Family rejoiced, they were angry when the Main Family was angry.
Thus, the Hyuga Clan's factions weren't just Main Family and Branch Family, but rather, the Main Family, those Branch Family members who sided with the Main Family, and those whose Branch Family members opposed and hated the Main Family.
Within all this, the Main Family's position was unshakable as a rock, and the Branch Family—branded with the "Caged Bird"—was no threat to them at all.
"Hakushi, do you feel like Ayane's changed a bit?"
This was what Ruri said.
On the playground, Ayane's expression wasn't as frosty as before; she could once again chat and joke with her classmates.
But she was still different from how she'd been at first.
Ayane's smile always carried a hint of sadness and inferiority she couldn't shake off.
"After all she's been through, it's only natural."
Hakushi, flipping on the horizontal bar, jumped off and replied unconcernedly.
Ruri nodded—indeed, the Hyuga Clan's traditions were just too cruel.
Even as an outsider, she found it hard to bear.
"Speaking of which, Ruri, does the Uchiha Clan have any traditions like the Hyuga Family's?"
Hakushi seemed to be pondering something.
Ruri rolled her eyes, annoyed, and said, "Our Uchiha Clan doesn't have those stuck-up rotten customs, okay?"
Hakushi's mouth twitched. Hearing that from Ruri was not at all convincing.
Besides him, nobody in class—boy or girl—liked talking to Ruri; most kept their distance out of respect or fear.
Not only that, Hakushi had seen other students from the Uchiha Clan at Ninja School; while their talent didn't match Ruri's, their attitudes toward people were even worse.
Every sentence started and ended with "the Uchiha Clan"—as if the world didn't know their name yet.
By comparison, Ruri was relatively low-key—just a bit cold-tempered.
"By the way, let's do that again tonight."
Ruri suddenly spoke, face turned away, her neck flushed red.
"That?"
Hakushi blinked in confusion.
Which one?
"You know… that one…"
Ruri's voice suddenly got softer.
Seeing Hakushi keep silent for so long, Ruri assumed he didn't want to, and immediately glared at him with black, furious eyes:
"What, you don't want to touch me anymore? You got someone else now?"
"..."
Hakushi was at a loss for words.
And then it hit him.
She wanted him to make her a new scientific training plan.
After all, it had been nearly a month since last time.
Still, Hakushi suddenly felt a bit guilty for some unknown reason.
Maybe just his imagination.
"I'm with you all the time—how could there be anyone else? You're overthinking it, Ruri."
Hearing Hakushi's feeble explanation, Ruri finally nodded, satisfied.
"Your method really works. The last time I sparred with a Chunin from the clan, he said I was already stronger than most Genin. At this rate, I'll reach Chunin level next year."
Hearing this, Hakushi had a pretty good sense of his own strength as well.
About the same as Ruri, maybe a little weaker—but not by much.
The best he could do was a pipeline draw.
Looks like his goal of overstepping his elders was still a ways off.
"That's impressive."
"Likewise."
Having secrets together makes it much easier for boys and girls to get close.
Hakushi hadn't believed it before, but he did now.
◎
"You want books on Medical Ninjutsu?"
Ruri was extremely confused by Hakushi's request.
"That's right. Can you get them?"
Hakushi looked at tele Ruri, desperate for her help.
The school library had some books on medicine, but they were nowhere near enough for Hakushi's needs.
So his only option was Ruri.
Unlike Ayane, Ruri wasn't just a genius of the Uchiha Clan—her family didn't have the unfeeling traditions of the Hyuga Clan's; the Uchiha leadership actually took good care of her as a talent.
Ruri thought about it and then nodded in agreement.
Her position in the Uchiha Clan wasn't the highest, but it wasn't bad either.
Plus, she knew quite a few Medical Ninja in the Uchiha Clan—older clan members who failed to awaken the Sharingan, and were assigned to support roles.
Their purpose was to serve the Uchiha's elite—studying Sealing Techniques, Medical Ninjutsu, even Barrier Jutsu.
Ruri was sure that, as someone destined to be a future Uchiha elite ninja, they'd be glad to help her out.
Besides, as long as clan secrets weren't passed to Hakushi, there was no problem.
As far as Ruri knew, sometimes the family and the village would exchange resources and ninja techniques anyway.
Ruri acted quickly. On the weekend, she visited Hakushi's apartment directly.
This was her first time entering a guy's private room.