Chapter 315: Rigid

Chapter 315: Chapter 315: Rigid

Since everyone in Team 11 except Hyuga Kagami had been injured—Shisui in particular having suffered rather serious wounds—the Third Hokage gave Team 11 half a month off.

Taking advantage of the free time during his vacation, Kagami brought Shion and Ashiho around to tour Konoha.

During this period, Kagami also brought up his idea of sending Shion to the Ninja Academy with the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage likewise hoped that Shion, as the future ruler of the Land of Demons, would maintain friendly relations with Konoha. So when Kagami made the proposal, he agreed without a second thought and even said that he would instruct the Ninja Academy to give Shion some additional consideration.

After all, Konoha’s financial income came from two main sources.

One was financial support from the Land of Fire’s daimyō, which was more or less the same for all Five Great Shinobi Villages.

The other was the income earned from various mission commissions.

Although the Land of Demons was only a small country, it was still a country nonetheless.

Once Shion grew up and formally assumed control of the Land of Demons, Konoha would be able to receive a steady stream of all kinds of mission commissions from the Land of Demons alone.

After touring various parts of Konoha, Kagami brought Shion and Ashiho to the Hyuga clan compound.

Hizashi personally received Shion and led her to the main family’s residence.

At the training ground of the main family’s estate, Hinata and Neji, who were around the same age as Shion, put on a Gentle Fist sparring match for her—the fighting style for which the Hyuga clan was renowned throughout the shinobi world.

After the two little ones took their positions in the training ground, they bowed to each other.

"Byakugan!"

Once the formalities were over, both activated their Byakugan at the same time and assumed their Gentle Fist stances.

Neji said gently, "Lady Hinata, be careful!"

Hinata nodded. "I will, Brother Neji!"

Neji said nothing more and immediately launched his attack. His figure flickered as he struck toward Hinata with both palms, one leading and the other following!

At the edge of the training ground, Kagami’s gaze sharpened as he thought, "Not bad, kid!"

There was no questioning Neji’s talent for the Gentle Fist. Even though he was only six years old, his technique, footwork, rhythm, and even his use of the Byakugan were already far beyond those of his peers.

By comparison, Hinata was clearly much less impressive.

It wasn’t that Hinata’s talent was truly that poor. The main problem was that her personality was far too hesitant and indecisive, and that hesitation showed in her fighting style. Her strikes lacked decisiveness, the transitions between her movements weren’t fluid enough, and she left too many openings. Her intentions were also easy to read, allowing an opponent to see through her moves and launch a series of counterattacks.

Although the Hyuga clan’s Gentle Fist wasn’t as overwhelmingly forceful as the Strong Fist style, when it came to sheer lethality at close range, it was by no means inferior.

And what Hinata lacked most was precisely that sharp decisiveness. Because of it, her Gentle Fist seemed to be missing its very soul. It had the form, but none of the substance. In the eyes of an expert, it was little more than an empty shell.

Off the training ground, Shion leaned close to Kagami’s ear and whispered, "Big Brother, why are they only fighting with their fists and feet? Don’t ninja use ninjutsu? You know, those techniques where they can breathe fire from their mouths!"

Kagami smiled and explained, "Ninja are divided into many different schools and fighting styles. Our Hyuga clan, for example, specializes exclusively in the Gentle Fist."

Shion pouted. "Oh..."

Kagami chuckled. "Don’t underestimate our Hyuga clan’s Gentle Fist. Although it looks like ordinary taijutsu on the surface, every single movement involves the body’s chakra pathway system and the precise use of chakra. It’s an extremely complex and dangerous fighting style. When used properly, it can even kill an enemy without leaving any obvious traces."

Shion looked unconvinced. "Is it really that powerful?"

"Of course!" Kagami replied.

Thud! Thud!

With two muffled impacts, Hinata made a momentary mistake and was struck by Neji’s Gentle Fist, sending her flying backward.

Neji himself was startled. He had expected Hinata to dodge the attack, but to his surprise, she had practically run straight into it. He hurried forward, intending to help Hinata back to her feet.

"Don’t help her. Let her stand up on her own!"

At that moment, Hiashi’s cold voice came from the sidelines.

Neji could only remain where he was, looking somewhat at a loss, while Hinata bit her lip and climbed back to her feet.

Seeing that Hinata had been hurt rather badly, Hizashi wanted to let her rest for a while. But when he glanced at Hiashi beside him and saw his stern expression, he knew that if he suggested letting Hinata rest now, Hiashi would never agree.

So instead, he turned to Kagami and said, "Kagami, why don’t you go give Neji some pointers?"

Kagami naturally understood what Hizashi was trying to do. He smiled, nodded, and walked onto the training ground.

Taking advantage of the opportunity while Kagami instructed Neji, Hinata clutched her injured arm and withdrew from the field. She sat down beside Hiashi, but throughout the entire time, Hiashi didn’t spare her so much as a glance, as though Hinata didn’t even exist in his eyes.

On the training ground, Neji bowed to Kagami and said formally, "Big Brother Kagami, please instruct me!"

Kagami smiled. "Come at me with the determination to kill me!"

Neji nodded and took a deep breath. The veins around his Byakugan bulged even more prominently.

Whoosh!

With the sound of air being torn apart, Neji attacked!

It was obvious that Neji had been holding back during his spar with Hinata. Now that he was going all out, his speed was even faster than before, and the Eight Trigrams Palm strikes unleashed by his hands were so fast that they seemed to blur into afterimages.

And yet, even with all that, Neji’s palms couldn’t so much as brush the edge of Kagami’s clothes.

Kagami’s steps weren’t large, but every single one was taken at exactly the right moment and distance, allowing his body to perfectly evade Neji’s palm strikes. By the time Neji finished his entire sequence of Eight Trigrams Palms, he hadn’t managed to touch Kagami even once.

"Huff... huff..."

Neji breathed heavily as he stared fixedly at Kagami, his face filled with disbelief.

Kagami said, "You can actually move faster than that."

Neji lowered his stance and replied, "But if I do that, my technique will lose its proper form!"

"If your technique loses its form, it will indeed affect its power." Kagami paused before continuing, "But if your palms can’t even touch the enemy, then what use is all that power?"

Neji fell into thought.

Kagami glanced toward Hiashi and Hizashi at the side.

Those words hadn’t been meant for Neji alone. They were also meant for Hiashi and Hizashi.

The Hyuga clan’s way of teaching was far too rigid. From childhood, Hyuga clan members were bound by so many rules and conventions that they had little room to express their natural talents.

Hinata was a perfect example. Her natural disposition clearly wasn’t suited to the Gentle Fist, yet she was forced to practice it anyway. Throughout her upbringing, this caused her considerable physical and emotional harm, and as a result, her personality gradually became more and more timid.

As one of the great clans possessing a dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai, the Hyuga clan was clearly beginning to fall behind the times. In Kagami’s generation, aside from Kagami himself, there wasn’t a single member who could truly be considered outstanding.

The clan’s overall strength declined year after year. Compared to the Uchiha clan, which possessed enough power to stir up storms throughout the entire shinobi world, the Hyuga clan was hardly worth mentioning.

Even a rare genius of the clan like Neji, in the original timeline, ultimately became little more than expendable cannon fodder, dying an utterly senseless death...