With such harsh actions and attitudes from the Main Family, resentment was inevitable. All he could do was try his best to soothe it.
"You smashed those wooden posts outside, didn't you?" Hizashi Hyuga changed the topic and said with feeling. "Your progress is impressive. You even awakened the Byakugan through misfortune, but be careful with intensity and don't hurt yourself."
"You flatter me, Lord Hizashi." Yunchuan Hyuga remained polite but did not echo his words. He spoke calmly instead. "After all, I'm the only one left now. I can only rely on myself."
Hearing this, Hizashi Hyuga froze for a moment, and guilt and regret rose in his heart again. Seeing Yunchuan Hyuga's calm surface hiding real sadness, he found he could not bring himself to ask further questions.
What was there to ask?
Was he supposed to ask how someone once useless suddenly became so strong?
There was no need to ask. The death of a father, the loss of the only family, was enough to change a timid child.
Hizashi Hyuga pressed his dry lips together, suddenly realizing the child had not even prepared tea. In the end, there was still resentment in his heart, and all he could do was try to comfort him.
"All right. If you face any difficulties in the future, you can come to me." Hizashi Hyuga stood up. "I'll take my leave. You should be tired too, so rest early."
He did not leave immediately. Instead, he took out two scrolls and placed them on the table, speaking gently. "Since you have already awakened the Byakugan, you should have mastered Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms. These are the advanced Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms."
Yunchuan Hyuga glanced at the scrolls, his eyes flickering slightly. He knew that out of guilt and pity, Hizashi had truly gone all out on impulse.
The Hyuga Main Family wanted the Branch Family to be strong enough to protect them, yet not too strong. Aside from Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation, the secret passed orally among the Main Family, the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms was also a technique that required their permission.
While it meant little against the level of the Five Kage, it was extremely powerful against most close-range Jonin. At best, it slowed and blocked chakra flow, and at worst, it left the target unable to use ninjutsu at all.
Only Branch Family members who protected the Main Family and showed loyalty and obedience had a chance to learn it. As for the so-called Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms, it barely existed in records, making the Sixty-Four Palms likely the current limit of Gentle Fist.
If the Main Family learned that Hizashi had privately taught this technique, he would be severely punished. He would likely have to endure the soul-deep pain of the Caged Bird Seal once again.
The moment he took out the scrolls, Hizashi Hyuga already felt a trace of regret. Before he could say anything, Yunchuan Hyuga picked them up.
"Thank you." Yunchuan Hyuga lowered his head, his face hidden in shadow, his shoulders trembling slightly. "My father's scrolls and notes were taken away. Without you, I really wouldn't know how to go on."
Hearing this, Hizashi Hyuga closed his mouth, which had been slightly open as if to speak. After a moment of silence, he could only sigh. "Don't resent the Main Family. This is our fate as the Branch Family. Your father would not want to see you suffer like this."
Fearing he might regret it again and ask for the scrolls back, Hizashi finally took his leave.
Yunchuan Hyuga sat in the living room with his head lowered, the sadness on his face gradually fading. He looked up at the night outside the window as it grew deeper.
[Ding! Your lie has been judged as feigned emotion. Hizashi Hyuga experienced intense emotional fluctuation and reached the level of self-doubt. You gained 1500 Reality Points.]
[Remaining Reality Points: 12293]
"Today was quite rewarding." Yunchuan Hyuga looked at his points and sighed. "If more good people like Lord Hizashi and Senior Guy showed up, that would be even better."
Seeing his points become more comfortable, he felt restless again. To be safe, he decided to keep ten thousand points in reserve, since a little over a thousand was enough for trouble.
The first person he thought of was, of course, his most respected Orochimaru. "The scrolls in Orochimaru's hands seem ready to be adjusted."
To him, Orochimaru was a test subject, and a very useful one. He now had a bold idea.
After thinking for a moment, he silently said in his heart, "Manifest. Add follow-up content to the scrolls in Orochimaru's possession, sealed so they can only be read after mastering body transfer. The content will state that when a ninja with deep resentment dies, the soul becomes tangible."
He roughly described his request and soon received a response.
[Spend 100 Reality Points. Confirm manifestation?]
Since it was only text and a simple seal, the cost was low. "Confirm," Yunchuan Hyuga replied.
After confirming completion, his eyes flickered again as he thought of Neji Hyuga from earlier. Orochimaru was too far away, and results would take time.
There was no need to wait blindly. He could start with others, and Neji Hyuga was a good choice.
After some thought, he silently said, "Manifest. Clothing that conceals identity, blocks the Byakugan and other perception, and cannot be damaged."
[Spend 2000 Reality Points. Confirm manifestation?]
"So expensive." He frowned, then replied, "Yes."
[2000 Reality Points deducted. Remaining Reality Points: 10193]
As the system response echoed in his mind, Yunchuan Hyuga waited for an item to appear. Instead, he saw his shadow change.
Black liquid surged out from his shadow, crawling up his ankles like fluid and gradually covering his entire body. He raised his head and looked at himself in the mirror.
He was now wearing a hooded black robe. The edges flowed as if alive rather than cloth, and his face was hidden in bottomless darkness.
[Shadow Robe: A black robe transformed from shadow. It adapts to the host's body, interferes with most observation and perception, automatically repairs damage like liquid, and normally hides within the shadow. Bound.]
At that moment, Yunchuan Hyuga had only one thought. Those 2000 Reality Points were worth it.
The residence of the Branch Family clan head was dim, and the night air carried a cold edge. The courtyard lay quiet except for the muted sounds echoing within. Shadows stretched along the stone floor under weak lantern light.
Thump. Thump.
From the courtyard came steady, restrained blows. A boy with pale skin and a bandage wrapped across his forehead stood there, striking a wooden post with smooth, practiced fists. His movements were fluent, repeating the same forms again and again.
As he swung, the vacant look on his young face slowly twisted into something harsh. The calm he once had was gone, replaced by a sharp and ruthless edge, and the Gentle Fist in his hands grew fierce and violent. Each strike carried anger rather than control.
Not a trace of Chakra was used in any blow. This self-harming way of striking soon left his fists torn and bloody, and deep dents appeared in the wooden post, darkened by fresh blood. The marks spread as he continued without pause.
Rather than training, it was release. Even so, he showed no sign of stopping. His body kept moving as if driven by habit alone.