The Byakugan.
The Hyūga clan's kekkei genkai—granting long-range vision, x-ray sight, and unparalleled perception.
Long-range vision turned the eyes into living telescopes.
X-ray vision pierced straight through solid objects, revealing the flow of chakra within the human body.
And in this world, everyone possessed chakra to some degree.
Which meant no one could truly escape the Byakugan's gaze.
Frankly speaking, the Hyūga clan was best suited to be snipers.
Who would've thought they'd insist on close combat instead?
No wonder the enemies were practically laughing themselves to death.
Coupled with near-360-degree vision—
Even if the Caged Bird Seal shaved off a single blind spot—
For long-range combat, it was completely irrelevant.
Akira stepped on a bandit's corpse.
Five shuriken appeared in his other hand.
With a flick of his wrist, they vanished.
And in the next instant—
They were embedded in five throats.
Notifications flashed before his eyes.
[EXP +13]
[EXP +11]
[EXP +10] …
Six kills.
Sixty-eight experience points.
Hyūga Hiashi and Hyūga Hizashi rushed up behind him.
Hiashi—whose expression had been ugly from the start—immediately snapped,
"Why didn't you follow orders?!"
His suspicious gaze landed on the spiked mace lying on the ground.
That just now… was that the Substitution Technique?
It had to be.
But then—
Why a mace?
Where the hell had Akira been hiding something like that?
Akira ignored the question entirely.
He stepped forward and picked up the mace.
After all, it was his substitution prop.
The Substitution Technique replaced the user with another object at the instant of attack, tricking the opponent into believing they'd succeeded.
Put simply—
You block with something else at the critical moment.
And Akira, having leveled Substitution to Lv.5, was no longer limited to logs.
"Answer me!" Hiashi barked, anger flaring when Akira refused to acknowledge him.
Akira continued calmly collecting drops.
[Silver: 8 taels]
That was everything combined.
"Too weak," Akira sighed inwardly. "They don't even drop anything worthwhile."
He turned, sharp gaze locking onto the Hyūga brothers.
"Try stealing my kills again," he said flatly, "and I'll kill you."
Hiashi completely lost it.
Though he didn't understand what stealing kills meant, he charged forward regardless.
Hizashi hesitated—
And stopped.
Watching from a tree, Tsunade shook her head.
"This generation's Hyūga main house is really hard to manage."
Mainly because of a certain someone who refused to play by the rules.
Still—
Starting internal conflict during a mission wasn't exactly a smart move.
The Hyūga clan had protected Hiashi far too well.
If it weren't for those unmistakable eyes, she might've suspected Akira was an Uchiha.
Facing Hiashi's sudden attack, Akira's eyes lit up.
He actually didn't activate the Caged Bird Seal.
He chose direct combat.
Akira had been waiting for this.
Veins bulged around Hiashi's eyes as he activated the Byakugan. His hands lashed out like whips, attacks falling in a storm—fast, relentless.
Gentle Fist.
The Hyūga clan's signature style wasn't truly a fist art—it was a form of precision acupuncture, striking chakra points directly.
Akira's hands moved just as fast.
He blocked every strike.
Like an unyielding rock in a raging tide—no matter how fierce the assault, not a single blow landed.
Frustration mounted.
Hiashi poured chakra into his palm and struck forward with full force.
Akira raised both hands to block.
If that hit connected, he'd be sent flying.
Bang!
"AAAAH—!"
The scream came from Hiashi.
His palm had slammed straight into the spiked mace.
The spikes punched clean through his hand.
Akira appeared behind him, lips barely moving.
"You really are useless."
Before Hiashi could react, Akira tapped his finger against Hiashi's temple.
Hiashi collapsed unconscious.
Hizashi rushed forward, palms flashing, followed by a sweeping kick.
Akira leapt back, narrowly evading.
"Relax," Akira said calmly. "He's still alive."
A mocking smile tugged at his lips.
He had no intention of becoming a Konoha missing-nin just yet.
Another notification appeared.
[EXP +115]
"Not bad."
Hizashi looked eager to continue—but after a brief pause, Akira decided not to pursue it further.
He turned and sprinted deeper into the mountains.
Hizashi exhaled in relief and hoisted Hiashi onto his back, staring at Akira's retreating figure with a complicated expression.
"Hyūga Akira…"
"Is that guy really a genius?"
He ground his teeth.
What kind of Hyūga uses the Substitution Technique?
With a spiked mace?!
What kind of ninja fights like this?
He'd heard Akira's reputation—undefeated among his peers, hailed as a Hyūga prodigy.
Now, he seriously questioned how those victories had happened.
Tsunade appeared beside them, disappointment clear on her face.
"Infighting during a mission," she said coldly. "You've both failed."
Hizashi protested, "But it was Hyūga Akira—"
"Enough." Tsunade cut him off. "I don't want excuses."
She had no interest in the Hyūga clan's internal mess.
And Hiashi's condescending attitude had already worn thin.
She truly didn't understand why the clan had forced these three together.
The conflict was simply too intense.
Akira didn't care what happened behind him.
If they didn't follow, even better.
Less competition for kills.
Ahead, more bandits appeared—far more than those at the mountain's base.
"Who's there?!"
"How did you get up here?!"
"That kid's a ninja!!"
They saw Akira leaning forward, arms swept back, charging at terrifying speed.
Then he stopped abruptly.
His arms snapped forward.
Shuriken flew.
The front line collapsed, blades buried in their throats.
"Enemy attack!!"
The scream echoed through the mountains.
But what awaited them—
Was a storm of steel.
A visible wall of shuriken tore through the air.
Necks. Shoulders. Chests. Arms.
Blood blossomed everywhere.
Akira stood in place, calmly throwing shuriken after shuriken.
Like a machine.
His inventory held more than ten full stacks of ninety-nine.
Watching the flood of notifications, his smile widened.
Then his gaze snapped to a three-meter ledge to the side.
A man leapt down, blade raised.
"I've been waiting for you."
Before the words even faded—
The man was riddled with shuriken and dropped dead.
This wasn't a fighting game.
This—
Was a shooter.