Not a moment was spent mourning Uzumaki Naruto's fall before the next sound of impact arrived—
Thud!Thud!Thud!
One after another, students hit the ground in a chaotic rhythm, a symphony of falls echoing across the training field.
The Spinning Back Kick was meant to strike an opponent's lower body—an angle unreachable by a simple punch. Though it was easier than the more powerful Spinning High Kick, it still demanded a level of balance and body control far beyond what untrained academy students possessed.
For children who had never been through real training, even maintaining their center of gravity while turning was a challenge.
Except for those rare born geniuses, every ninja grew strong the hard way—by falling, standing up, and learning to control their body.
For members of the Hyūga clan, however, controlling body rotation came naturally. Many of their Gentle Fist techniques required spinning motions.
Especially their secret art—Rotation (Hakkeshō Kaiten). But only those who had awakened the Byakugan could train in it properly; the enhanced vision greatly reduced dizziness from spinning.
While Hinata practiced her back kicks with proper discipline, Hyūga Seimi was… a little too interested.
For him, the simple kick was just a starting point.
He tried chaining moves—adding another spin, following the low back kick with a spinning high kick.
After all, a back kick targeted the lower body. Once an enemy instinctively jumped to dodge, a high kick would catch them mid-air. Unless they had a replacement technique ready, even Iruka-sensei himself would take that hit full on.
It had to be said—Might Guy's Leaf Whirlwind was simple, brutal, and incredibly effective.
When Seimi managed to execute it smoothly, his eyes lit up with excitement. "Hinata, come on—let's spar a bit."
Hinata blinked in surprise, then nodded quickly. "O-Okay."
They walked toward Naruto's corner of the field, where there was more space to move without hitting anyone else.
Iruka, watching from nearby, noticed immediately—and so did everyone else. The idea of two Hyūga sparring drew attention from all sides.
Among the spectators were Shikamaru, Choji, and even Sasuke, standing a bit farther away.
Seimi and Hinata formed the seal of confrontation, then raised their arms into the Gentle Fist stance.
The Gentle Fist—Hyūga's hereditary art.
Thanks to the Byakugan's ability to see chakra flow within the body, the Hyūga had developed this taijutsu to strike at an opponent's internal organs and chakra network directly.
Hinata and Seimi hadn't yet awakened the Byakugan, but they had trained in Gentle Fist ever since learning to mold chakra.
Despite the name, the Gentle Fist was closer to a palm technique than a punch. Without the Byakugan, its effectiveness was limited—which was why Iruka allowed them to spar freely.
But after exchanging a few gentle blows, Seimi suddenly raised his hand and delivered an upward strike aimed at Hinata's chin—a move not from the Gentle Fist style.
Hinata's instincts kicked in; she tilted her head back just in time, barely dodging.
But that reaction wasn't ideal—by lifting her head, she lost sight of her opponent and exposed her torso.
In that instant, Seimi stepped back half a pace, perfectly adjusting the distance. His left foot drove into the ground, waist twisting powerfully—
Iruka's eyes widened.
"That's—! The Konoha-Style Taijutsu—Spinning Back Kick!"
Seimi's right leg sliced through the air, stopping just short of Hinata's ribs.
He didn't strike her, but the precision and power of the motion made the point clear. He grinned in satisfaction.
Even if his opponent were stronger than Hinata, he thought, I could just chain it into a Leaf Whirlwind… maybe even follow with a Fireball Jutsu if I had fire chakra.
Hinata exhaled in relief. Thank goodness he stopped in time.
"You… why'd you suddenly use a Steel Fist move?" she asked, still catching her breath.
"Steel Fist" referred to external, force-based taijutsu—everything other than Gentle Fist.
Seimi smiled. "Isn't it said that battles between ninjas are battles of information?"
"When people see our eyes, they immediately assume they shouldn't fight a Hyūga up close. In real combat, we spend half the time just trying to get close enough to use Gentle Fist. That's… inefficient."
He didn't lower his voice; anyone paying attention could hear him.
Choji stomped the ground to test the filled-in pit, then grinned at Shikamaru. "Hey, Shikamaru—everyone in the ninja world knows to watch out for the Nara clan's shadow techniques."
"Tch." Shikamaru stuffed his hands in his pockets and smirked. "Everyone knows about the Ino-Shika-Cho combo too. So what? Can they do anything about it?"
He wasn't criticizing Seimi's unorthodox thinking—just stating a simple truth.
The Byakugan of the Hyūga, the Sharingan of the Uchiha, the teamwork of the Ino-Shika-Cho… every famed technique existed for a reason.
Everyone knew not to make eye contact with the Uchiha in battle—but who could guarantee they'd never meet an opponent's gaze?
Likewise, Nara ninjas often hid the true reach of their Shadow Possession technique during early exchanges, baiting enemies into underestimating them before extending their shadows in a fatal strike.
The simplest tricks were often the most effective. On the battlefield, no one had time to think.
Back at the center of attention, Seimi continued explaining, with half the class now listening in.
"When enemies see our Byakugan, they instinctively guard against our hands. Just like a moment ago, Hinata—you never once expected me to kick, right?"
His logic was simple—a matter of human bias.
Every ninja was trained to be well-rounded. It's not like Hyūga couldn't use the Clone or Substitution techniques.
They just… didn't.
Because human nature was to keep strengthening what one was already good at.
Why bother practicing common ninjutsu when you had the Gentle Fist and Byakugan—unique powers no one else could match?
But that mindset had spread across the entire ninja world. Everyone—Hyūga and outsider alike—shared the same assumption: people with the Byakugan only used the Gentle Fist.
So when someone like Seimi came along—someone who mixed Southern Fist, Northern Kicks, and even considered adding ninjutsu—people didn't know what to expect.
Was learning a few Steel Fist moves or basic ninjutsu techniques hard? Of course not. But even a little time invested could create a crucial information gap.
And that single gap could mean the difference between life and death.
From this day forward, Seimi would likely become as famous among the Hyūga as Neji.
Except—one would be hailed as a genius… and the other, also as a genius.
[Through your efforts, Hinata Hyūga's attributes have changed!]
[Hinata Hyūga]
Age: 6
Chakra: 3
Ninjutsu: 1
Taijutsu: 5
Genjutsu: 0
Knowledge: 3
Favorability:Mutual Understanding – Friends
Evaluation:She now sees her path more clearly, but still craves recognition and trust.
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