Her fists and palms came one after another, fast and sharp, yet to Yunchuan Hyuga they felt unbearably slow. The blood in his body surged with heat, allowing his movements to keep pace with his thoughts.
It was as if he alone moved at normal speed within a stretched timeline. He drifted freely through it, while everything else dragged behind.
"What is going on?"
Seeing every strike avoided even with Yunchuan Hyuga's eyes closed, Hyuga Aoi's pupils tightened and excitement appeared on her face, though her movements grew increasingly rushed. Yunchuan Hyuga could "see" that beneath her fierce attacks, she exposed her side with every turn.
In the next moment, seizing that opening, his raised palm curved lightly from his chest and caught her wrist, his other arm bracing hers as force twisted along bone and tendon. There were two sharp sounds in an instant.
One was a joint dislocated, and the other was set back in place. The motion was smooth and practiced, leaving her only a brief flash of pain before she could even cry out.
Before she could recover from her shock, Yunchuan Hyuga moved again. His body trembled almost imperceptibly as a clear force traveled from his spine through his muscles to his arm, snapping it like a whip toward Hyuga Aoi.
A loud crack rang out, like bamboo bent to its limit and released, and a thin mist burst into the air. The strike landed on the arms she raised to block, sending her staggering backward several steps, on the verge of falling in an ugly heap.
That would be too messy to deal with.
Yunchuan Hyuga sighed, reached out, and grabbed Hyuga Aoi by the collar, yanking her upright without ceremony. "Had enough, Lady Aoi?"
He opened his eyes and looked at her trembling gaze, lowering his voice with a sharp edge. "If you truly want to go to the battlefield, then you should at least understand this."
"On land soaked with blood, and within this cruel clan, you live because many lives were given in sacrifice. Those who live must be worthy of that sacrifice."
"Unfortunately, in my eyes, you are not."
With that, he released her and pushed her away. Ignoring the shocked, fearful, and stunned looks around them, Yunchuan Hyuga gave Hyuga Aoi a small bow and turned to leave.
With his back to her gaze, his expression remained calm as his steps carried him outward. The moment he stepped out of the Training Ground, the sound he had been waiting for rang in his mind.
A chime sounded, followed by a notice stating that his lie was judged as insincere and misleading, causing strong emotional fluctuation and self-doubt in Hyuga Aoi, and granting him three hundred Reality Points.
"…Tch, that's slander."
The smile on Yunchuan Hyuga's face vanished as he muttered, "I am not capable of deceiving women."
After that joke, his eyes shifted and caught a familiar figure running out from another residence, a young face filled with resentment. It was Neji Hyuga.
"Oh, look at that," Yunchuan Hyuga said with a narrowed smile. "My protagonist has appeared."
At dusk, Konoha was quiet and calm. Night fell like a gray coat over the buildings, and the four faces on Hokage Rock stood like thin giants. They watched the land below in silence.
Inside a courtyard, Yunchuan Hyuga stood in the center wearing white training clothes. His eyes were closed, and he held his body still as if listening to his own breathing.
Wood chips and broken blocks were scattered everywhere in the courtyard. Every Root training post around him had been smashed apart, and the trimmed grass was torn up with pits and scars. On some of the broken posts, fresh blood stains had not yet dried.
"It's done."
Yunchuan Hyuga opened his eyes and looked at the panel in front of him, smiling. "I finally have long-range and heavy-attack taijutsu."
[Taijutsu: Gentle Fist · Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms (C rank), Eight Gates · Gate of Life (Forbidden Technique), Gentle Fist · Ichigeshin (B rank), Vacuum Strike (A rank)]
"I copied Kaguya Otsutsuki's Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, but with her body and talent, that move is probably just brute force for her."
He pulled his thoughts back and swept his eyes over the messy courtyard. After hesitating for a moment, he chose not to clean up and turned to walk into the house.
He had spent the whole morning in intense training with Might Guy, and the afternoon exhausting himself developing new taijutsu. Right now, he only wanted to get some rest.
Not long after he entered the house, a figure appeared outside the courtyard. The visitor could not help feeling shocked when he saw the scene inside.
What happened here?
The man frowned and quietly stepped into the courtyard. He stood in front of the door for a few seconds, then finally reached out to open it.
At the instant his hand touched the handle, the door suddenly burst outward. The force was so great that it boomed through the air and surged along the handle.
It felt as if it would smash him apart and scatter him across the grass. At the same time, it seemed like it wanted to rush into his body.
"Hm?"
The visitor froze for a moment and instinctively pressed his palm against the door. He instantly released the power of Gentle Fist and barely canceled out the violent force.
All the power dissolved like mud sinking into the sea, as if two opposing forces had neutralized each other.
Inside the room, Yunchuan Hyuga stopped his attack. He seemed to realize who the visitor was.
The door creaked open.
When Yunchuan Hyuga clearly saw the face outside, he was stunned as well. "Lord Hizashi?"
He quickly recovered and showed an apologetic expression. "Sorry, Lord Hizashi, I thought it was…"
"I should be the one apologizing for coming unannounced."
Dressed in a black kimono, Hizashi Hyuga waved his hand, hiding his slightly trembling arm behind his back. He looked at Yunchuan Hyuga with a trace of approval and smiled. "May I come in and sit for a while?"
"Please come in." Yunchuan Hyuga smiled and stepped aside.
"Thank you for the trouble." Hizashi Hyuga entered the entryway and glanced around the simple, empty interior. His gaze paused briefly on the open door of another room filled with training equipment.
"I already know what happened this morning. You acted cautiously when you saw someone intrude, and that was the right call."
They sat down in the living room, and Hizashi Hyuga sighed softly. "I just didn't expect someone to dare attack you inside the village. How is your injury?"
Noticing his gaze on his palm, Yunchuan Hyuga smiled. "I was lucky. It's mostly fine now."
"There are only the two of us here, no need to be so distant." Hizashi nodded. "Your father and I were close when he was alive. I neglected you, but seeing that you are safe puts me at ease."
Although he was the nominal head of the Branch Family, his reputation among them was fairly good. His attitude toward Yunchuan Hyuga was gentle, more like an elder than a clan leader.
Hizashi Hyuga asked about Yunchuan Hyuga's recent situation, but as they talked, he paused. After hesitating, he chose not to scold him for the defiance at noon, unlike what the Main Family elders had said.
Looking at Yunchuan Hyuga's young face, he thought of the boy's deceased father. He also recalled Neji Hyuga's current attitude toward the Main Family, and sighed inwardly.