"Please be careful." Hyuga Yuzuru also smiled, his expression calm and unhurried. He didn't even bother with the Gentle Fist starting stance. Instead, he casually pulled out two kunai and held them up for Hyuga Homon to see before flicking them forward.
In the next instant, the two kunai whistled through the air.
"So fast!" a child exclaimed.
For a standard genin, this throwing speed would've been considered average at best. But considering Hyuga Yuzuru's age...
Homon was surprised to see his young cousin displaying such a level of throwing speed—it was already on par with an average genin. Still, he didn't find it troublesome.
With a flick of his White Eyes, he raised his kunai and deflected the attack with two sharp clangs. But the next moment, he was startled by Yuzuru's sheer speed.
In the brief moment it took to block the kunai, Hyuga Yuzuru had already closed the distance.
Chakra gleamed vividly from his fists, arcs of light crackling along with them. Every Gentle Fist strike came with a sharp whoosh of wind.
Hyuga Hiashi narrowed his eyes as he watched. "I didn't expect Yuzuru to have grown this much already, Hizashi."
Unbeknownst to him, Hizashi was just as surprised. He had only known how hard his son trained, but never realized how far he had come.
Just from his speed and strength, it was clear—Hyuga Yuzuru already possessed the combat capability of a genin.
And if things kept up...
Hizashi's expression turned grave.
"Haah!" Homon grew more frantic with each clash. He felt a mounting pressure from Yuzuru. This child—just four years old—had more speed and strength than he did?
Impossible!
Just as he braced himself, trying to think of a way to turn the tide—
"The match is decided!"
A single fist broke through his defensive rhythm and stopped right in front of his face.
Hyuga Yuzuru smiled. "Thank you for the match."
"Winner: Hyuga Yuzuru," Hiashi announced with a smile.
Cheers and applause erupted behind him.
"Well done, little Yuzuru!"
"A genius from the branch family!"
"Yuzuru!"
But Hyuga Yuzuru didn't walk away. Amidst the applause, he stood motionless, his eyes locked on Hiashi.
He adjusted his black-rimmed glasses and, still smiling, said something that caught everyone off guard:
"Lord Hiashi, um... may I have another match?"
"I have something else I'd like to show everyone," he said with polite eagerness. "Please."
The applause froze mid-air. Even Homon, who had been sulking in defeat, looked up at his opponent in disbelief.
Several sharp, unfriendly gazes zeroed in on Yuzuru. Some of the Hyuga from the main house exchanged tense glances. You could just make out the murmurs in the crowd.
Things like, "He got lucky beating Homon," or "Doesn't know when to quit," floated around with irritation.
Hiashi glanced over at Hizashi, who remained silent. With a half-amused, half-regretful look, he responded, "Is that so? But the match roster is already finalized, so…"
"I'd like to spar with Senior Hyuga Shinon."
That sentence silenced the entire Hyuga clan.
Still smiling, Yuzuru gently touched his glasses and continued:
"I want to see just how strong a Hyuga who has mastered the clan's Gentle Fist and Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms really is."
"Please, Lord Hiashi."
For the first time, Hiashi saw something sharp and defiant within Yuzuru's otherwise gentle eyes.
A genius...?
Hiashi's thoughts were complicated.
On the one hand, having a genius like Hyuga Yuzuru, who possessed at least genin-level strength at only four years old, was a blessing to the clan. The Uchiha had been producing many outstanding shinobi in recent years, and while the Hyuga had numerous jōnin, they lacked a prominent figure on the level of "Shunshin no Shisui," "Yellow Flash," or even the famed "Sannin."
On the other hand, having such a genius emerge from the branch family... it was a powder keg. Unless he was content with mediocrity, conflict with the main family was inevitable.
Foolish boy, Hiashi thought. If you wanted to learn these techniques, you could've asked Hizashi to teach you in secret. Why make it a public challenge?
He sighed to himself. No matter what, Yuzuru was his nephew, and the future head of the branch family. Bending some rules wouldn't have been a big deal.
But he's still too young to understand that.
Then, Hizashi spoke sharply: "Yuzuru, Shinon is a Chūnin. He may even be promoted to Jōnin soon!"
"Don't let pride cloud your judgment!"
Hiashi turned his head. "Shinon, what do you think?"
The man called Hyuga Shinon stood expressionless among the crowd. A war-hardened shinobi, he had long since learned to keep his emotions in check. But even so, Yuzuru's challenge rubbed him the wrong way.
You're calling me out by name… confident you can beat me?
He stepped forward, his white eyes meeting Yuzuru's. "I will follow Lord Hiashi's orders."
"Why not let Shinon go ahead and knock some sense into him?" Hizashi huffed coldly. "Let him know his place."
Hiashi paused, then nodded. "Very well. We'll allow a temporary match. Shinon, don't injure him."
"Yes," Shinon said, his pale eyes narrowing at the blue mark on Yuzuru's forehead.
Even if you're Hizashi's son, remember this—
Even a genius can't imagine the gap between main house and branch!
Yuzuru, however, bowed gently. "Thank you, Lord Hiashi."
Then he turned to Shinon and said earnestly, "Please fight me with your full strength."
"Alright." Shinon raised his hands calmly. His eyes gave away nothing.
Let's end this quickly.
The power of Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms—
The strength of the Hyuga main house—will show you despair.
The crowd watched in a daze as a sixteen-year-old stood opposite a four-year-old child barely tall enough to reach his waist. Yet both formed the Seal of Confrontation like true warriors.
Everyone thought the same thing—
Aren't we just bullying a child at this point?
"Begin!"
The command had barely echoed when Shinon sank into a horse stance, his Byakugan flaring as veins bulged. He whispered low—
"Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms!"
The invisible domain of the Eight Trigrams unfolded beneath his feet. From the perspective of his White Eyes, Yuzuru's tenketsu were all perfectly visible.
But Yuzuru only smiled and slipped into a basic Gentle Fist stance.
Like Neji, learning this so-called "secret technique" of the main house through observation?
Unnecessary.
To him, all Hyuga taijutsu—no matter how elaborate—was still fundamentally about pinpointing chakra points using Gentle Fist and Byakugan.
The most challenging part of the Sixty-Four Palms? Striking in the right order, and maintaining that eerie octagonal domain.
But from a Byakugan's view, the "domain" was just a concentrated 360-degree scan of nearby chakra flow. A focused visual radius that predicted enemy movement.
To be honest, he'd already developed something similar just from watching Itachi.
As for the strike sequence? Once you've experienced it…
You'll know it.
"Haaah!" Shinon roared as he rushed forward.
Two fingers extended on each hand, his strikes came with explosive speed.
Yuzuru didn't dodge. His Byakugan flared, and he blocked passively.
"Eight Trigrams, Two Palms!"
"Eight Trigrams, Eight Palms!"
"Eight Trigrams, Sixteen Palms!"
"Thirty-Two Palms!"
"Sixty-Four Palms!"
The ferocious barrage left the untrained kids in the crowd completely dazzled. They couldn't even tell what had happened.
But among the Hyuga, whose Byakugan were all activated—
They held their breath.
He blocked it!
Even though it was his first time facing the Sixty-Four Palms, Yuzuru's extraordinary reflexes and deep understanding of the human chakra network allowed him to anticipate Shinon's pattern.
Sometimes he used his hands. Other times, his arms. Sometimes, his shoulder.
By the time it was over, half his body had been hit, chakra sluggish and disrupted. He knelt on one hand, pushed several meters back, looking worse for wear.
But he hadn't fallen.
He rose slowly, his eyes thoughtful.
Shinon's face twisted in frustration. He had the basics of the Sixty-Four Palms down, and still—still he couldn't take down a four-year-old?
Humiliating.
But his battlefield instincts told him—this was the moment to end it.
You endured Sixty-Four Palms, fine. But your chakra flow is a mess now.
You're basically a training dummy.
Fall already, branch genius!
He leapt up and swung his leg down hard—no mercy left.
Even if Yuzuru got hurt—
"Rotation!"
A young yet steady voice rang out.
Shinon's eyes went wide in disbelief.
Impossible. His chakra should've been—
Wait, did he say... Rotation?
"What!?"
Hiashi's calm mask finally broke. He stared at the radiant blue vortex forming in the arena.
The entire crowd, both branch and main house, erupted.
The blue whirlwind spun for a full second or two before fading.
Shinon was sent flying, flipping in mid-air before landing on one knee and standing up shakily.
"Who taught you Rotation!?" he shouted.
Yuzuru adjusted his glasses. "Self-taught."
"Liar! No one can self-learn Rotation! You're just—" Shinon stopped himself before blurting "just four years old."
But Yuzuru only smiled kindly. "Senior Shinon, the match isn't over."
He took a step forward. Then stopped.
He raised his palms—mimicking Shinon's exact stance from earlier.
"Thank you for your instruction. Now, please witness what I've learned… from you."
"Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms!"
So you see—
These so-called Hyuga secret techniques…
As long as you have the Byakugan, and a basic knowledge of chakra points—
They're actually really easy to learn!
"Two Palms!"
Even as Yuzuru's strikes approached, Shinon still thought it was a bluff.
But when his chakra froze and his limbs went numb—
He realized it too late.
Hyuga Yuzuru…
Wasn't bluffing at all.
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Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 200, 400 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!