When Nao finally broke free from Kyusei's arms, panting lightly, she fiercely wiped her lips.
Damn it—this lecherous little brat!
Kyusei stood up, looked at the black-haired girl glaring at him angrily, and chuckled.
"A woman won't lose to a man."
"Isn't Sister Tsunade the best example?"
"How many men dare say, with absolute confidence, that they can beat Tsunade?"
There was also that one on the moon—also a woman.
"Doesn't Nao want to become stronger?"
"With enough strength, you can protect what you want to protect."
Kyusei looked at her seriously.
Nao was different from kaoru.
kaoru lived entirely for him.
Nao, on the other hand—while she did like him, did have feelings for him, and gave him a place in her heart—
That didn't mean he was her entire world.
Kyusei was very clear about that.
Rather than saying Nao chose him in defiance of social norms, it was more accurate to say—
She liked him, and so she chose him.
Regardless of what others thought.
She wanted it, so she did it.
Aside from him, the Hyūga clan also occupied an extremely important place in her heart.
Perhaps in the original timeline, after giving birth to Hyūga Hanabi, she died early—
That, too, was tied to this.
Her Byakugan was taken.
She lost the position of clan head.
She married someone she didn't love.
Maybe she had already lost the will to live.
A failed life needs no explanation.
"And then?"
"What are you trying to say?"
Nao looked at Kyusei, suddenly feeling unaccustomed to his seriousness.
"I've actually always been curious."
Kyusei looked toward a large tree in the distance of the training field.
A golden longbow materialized in his hand as he loosely clenched his fist.
"With vision that spans several kilometers, why does the Hyūga clan favor close combat?"
He drew the bowstring.
Golden chakra condensed into an arrow.
Then—he released it.
The arrow streaked like a beam of light and instantly nailed itself into the distant tree.
"Shouldn't long-range combat be what you excel at the most?"
Nao froze.
She hesitated, then explained somewhat awkwardly,
"That's because… the Byakugan can see the body's tenketsu…"
"And the Hyūga clan isn't without ranged attacks."
As she spoke, chakra gathered in her palm. She assumed a Gentle Fist stance and thrust forward at the same tree Kyusei had aimed at.
A powerful palm wind burst forth.
The tree collapsed with a loud crash.
Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm—
one of the few long-range techniques of the Hyūga clan.
Having found justification for Gentle Fist, Nao seemed to regain confidence.
Kyusei scratched his head as he looked at her stubborn expression.
"The Gentle Fist attacks by using the Byakugan to observe the opponent's tenketsu, sealing their chakra through precise strikes, then damaging the internal organs."
That was common knowledge throughout the shinobi world.
"But I once thought—"
"If you can already land your palm on their tenketsu…"
"Why not just stab them with a kunai?"
"Thirty-Six Palms, Sixty-Four Palms, One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms…"
"If you can hit them that many times, wouldn't stabbing them be simpler?"
"Even I'd be dead after being stabbed twenty or thirty times."
Kyusei was genuinely baffled.
While Gentle Fist did seal chakra, the cost-benefit ratio was terrible.
You endured enemy fire just to get close, unleashed a full combo, sealed their chakra—
Instead of just stabbing them outright.
The only truly outstanding technique, in Kyusei's opinion, was Rotation.
"Huh?"
Nao stared at Kyusei blankly.
Thinking carefully… it actually made sense.
Some clan members had complained before—
They landed a full combo, yet the enemy didn't die and still pulled out a kunai to counterattack.
But the old conservatives in the clan always blamed it on lack of skill.
Still, Kyusei's words were hard for Nao to accept.
Had the Gentle Fist she'd trained since childhood… really been that flawed?
"Uh… Gentle Fist does have its advantages."
Seeing that she seemed shaken, Kyusei hurried to add,
"Against physically powerful shinobi, techniques that directly damage internal organs are actually a hard counter."
"And also…"
"Uh, also… Rotation…"
Watching Kyusei desperately trying to comfort her, Nao smiled.
"Kid, you don't seriously think I'd be crushed by that, do you?"
"I'm Hyūga Nao."
"The next head of the Hyūga clan."
"If I don't even have confidence in myself, what right do I have to become clan head?"
Seeing her regain her composure, Kyusei smiled as well.
"Yes, Clan Head-sama."
"You're mocking me?"
"Looking for a beating?"
Nao flushed slightly and instinctively reached out—only for Kyusei to dodge away instantly.
"You dare run?!"
"You just said I didn't have to listen to you!"
Kyusei bolted.
"That was then! This is now! Stop right there!"
Nao chased after him, completely unreasonable.
"Heh—women's mouths are liars!"
"Only an idiot would stop!"
Kyusei shouted back.
"You—! You bastard!"
Nao stomped in fury, but still chased relentlessly after the red-haired brat ahead of her.
Hatake Sakumo sat on a tree branch, biting into his popsicle as he glanced at the chasing pair below.
Youth really is nice…
Land of Earth
It was the Land of Earth's annual parade festival.
On this day each year, the Earth Daimyō rode in a carriage through the capital in a grand procession.
Even with the shinobi world teetering on the brink of war, it failed to deter the daimyō's stubbornness.
The Earth Daimyō waved warmly at his lively citizens.
Yet no one noticed—
A plainly dressed man was subtly tracking his movements.
At a corner, the man moved.
A kunai wrapped in a burning explosive tag shot forward at terrifying speed toward the Earth Daimyō!
"Assassin!"
"There's an assassin!"
The escorting shinobi reacted instantly, knocking the kunai away!
It detonated midair!
The sudden explosion threw the crowd into panic, plunging the streets into chaos.
Even the horses pulling the carriage were spooked and bolted wildly!
Then—
As the carriage passed an intersection, two kunai whistled out of nowhere, slicing through the air toward the Earth Daimyō and the lady seated beside him!
Blood sprayed everywhere!
Crimson instantly stained the escort's vision red.
"Lock down the entire city!"
"Not a single fly leaves!"
The escort—clearly a man of great authority—barked the order.
Over a dozen figures vanished in an instant.
An incident like this, at such a time, meant far more than a simple assassination.
Standing there, the escort—
Kurotsuchi… no—
Huangtu, son of the Third Tsuchikage—
had already seen the battlefield littered with corpses that was about to come.
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