Hiashi vs. Hizashi

"Gentle Fist—Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms ×2."

The two voices rang out beside Soji's ears at the same time.

Hiashi was the first to launch an attack. His right hand formed a palm as he stepped forward with his right foot, driving his palm toward Hizashi's left shoulder. At the same time, he drew his left hand back before his chest, palm facing forward, guarding against Hizashi taking the chance to strike his chest.

Seeing his elder brother go on the offensive, Hizashi did not choose to trade blows. Instead, he responded defensively. He first stepped back with his left foot and pulled his left shoulder backward, raising both hands to block Hiashi's incoming right hand.

"Two Palms."

As if he had anticipated all of this, Hiashi extended the left hand that had originally been guarding him, forming two fingers and striking two Acupoints on Hizashi's right arm.

The instant his Acupoints were struck, Hizashi's right hand trembled twice. It was a sign that his Chakra flow had become obstructed.

"Four Palms. Hizashi, show your true strength!"

Perhaps because Hyuga Soji, a member of the Main House, was present today, Hizashi's performance was even worse than usual.

When the two brothers sparred normally, Hizashi also focused mainly on defense, but never once had Hiashi found an opening so quickly.

Seeing his younger brother hold back so blatantly, Hiashi suddenly became angry!

Although Hiashi could usually tell that Hizashi was holding back when they fought, he would at least use seventy or eighty percent of his strength. But today, he might not even have used fifty percent!

"Lord Hiashi, I..."

Before he could finish, Hiashi cut him off.

"If you don't want Father to punish you tonight, then fight with everything you have!"

Hiashi truly hated that his younger brother refused to strive, and he hated the clan's rules as well!

It was nothing less than anger at his failure to live up to expectations!

Since his elder brother had said so much, Hizashi knew that if he continued holding back excessively, he would certainly anger the brother who had cared for him since childhood.

"Two Palms."

Hizashi likewise struck two of Hiashi's Acupoints, though that was only because Hiashi had not resisted.

"Brother, you..."

Hizashi did not know what to say.

"Now we're even. Continue."

Hiashi was delighted that his younger brother had finally found his fighting spirit.

"Four Palms ×2."

"Eight Palms ×2."

Watching from the side, Hyuga Soji heard the brothers' conversation as well. He was genuinely speechless. He had not expected that his presence would actually affect Hizashi's performance.

However, once Hizashi became serious, Soji found the match incredibly satisfying to watch.

Although the Gentle Fist used by the two brothers was far inferior to Hyuga Kumokawa's, it was still beyond anything he could compare to at present. Soji had not even fully grasped Sixteen Palms yet, while the brothers' performance showed that they had already brought Sixteen Palms close to perfection.

The two brothers in the arena had already exchanged blows for quite some time.

Soji could clearly sense the fluctuations of Chakra spilling into the air.

Both sides had now sealed eight of the other's Acupoints. Everything came down to the final Sixteen Palms—whoever sealed their opponent's sixteenth Acupoint first would win!

"Come on, Hizashi!"

"Brother, be careful!"

Both sides held their breath and attacked at the same time, Chakra gathering in their left and right hands.

"Sixteen Palms ×2."

At last, it was time for their final strike.

This time, Hizashi took the initiative. He formed two fingers with both hands, first thrusting his right hand toward Hiashi's lower abdomen.

Hiashi formed a palm with his left hand and two fingers with his right. He used his left palm to block Hizashi's fingers aimed at his abdomen, while his right hand countered toward Hizashi's chest.

"Hiashi is preparing a defensive counterattack."

Soji saw everything clearly from the sidelines.

Hizashi responded by pivoting on his right foot and spinning his body 360 degrees, dodging Hiashi's strike at his chest. At the same time, his left hand struck another Acupoint on Hiashi's right hand.

"Nice. So Hizashi's target from beginning to end was Hiashi's right hand."

At this point, not only Soji but even Hiashi realized that he had fallen into a trap.

The two continued fighting. Although Hiashi had suffered a hidden loss, Hizashi had exposed his back during that spin, so Hiashi struck two Acupoints in succession.

The current situation was that Hizashi had one more Acupoint sealed, but Hiashi's dominant right hand was nearly unable to move.

The match had not yet been decided, and the two sides continued their fierce struggle.

The intense Gentle Fist duel looked plain on the surface, but it was actually full of danger.

Against an enemy, Gentle Fist did far more than merely seal Acupoints—it could directly destroy the opponent's internal organs!

The match finally came to an end with Hyuga Hiashi's victory.

Hiashi sealed sixteen of Hizashi's Acupoints before Hizashi could do the same, while Hizashi had sealed fifteen of Hiashi's.

However, all fifteen Acupoints Hizashi sealed were on Hiashi's right hand. In other words, if the fight had continued, Hiashi's right hand would have been effectively crippled.

Hizashi, on the other hand, had sixteen Acupoints sealed across his body, including two on his back. The effect on his movements was not too great; at most, circulating Chakra through his body had become somewhat more difficult.

According to the rules of the match, Hiashi had definitely won. But if this had been a battlefield, Hizashi would certainly have been the victor!

"Ah, it's been a long time since I've fought so freely. Hizashi, I hope you'll keep today's attitude in future sparring matches as well."

Hiashi first revealed a satisfied smile, then spoke to Hizashi with great seriousness.

"Mm. Don't worry, I will, Lord Hiashi—no, Brother."

Hizashi hesitated for a moment before answering with equal seriousness.

"There still seemed to be a problem at the end of that match."

As the saying went, onlookers saw more clearly. Soji, standing at the edge of the arena, had seen more than the brothers fighting within it, but he did not point it out directly.

"Soji, did you see the Gentle Fist Hizashi and I used clearly? Do you want to try it on the wooden post over there?"

While they rested, Hiashi asked Soji, who had been watching from the side for so long.

"Ah, Young Clan Head, Brother Hizashi, I'd like to spar with you after you've rested."

Soji made his request with a serious expression.

"Hm? Soji, are you serious?"

Hiashi did not believe that five-year-old Hyuga Soji had the strength to spar with the two brothers.

If anything went wrong and they injured the little fellow, that would be troublesome. Even though he was the Young Clan Head of the Hyuga Clan, Soji was also the sole heir of the Main House's third branch. In terms of status, Hiashi was only half a rank above him at most.

As for Hizashi, if a Branch House member injured someone from the Main House, the Caged Bird curse mark activating would be no joke.

"Of course I'm serious."

Soji then opened his Byakugan before the two brothers.

His eyes turned pale blue-white, thick veins bulging around them, while black markings appeared within his pupils.

Wasn't this the Hyuga Clan's Kekkei Genkai—the Byakugan?!

The two brothers were stunned when they saw Soji activate the Byakugan!

Soji was only five years old!

The two brothers had attended the Ninja Academy and undergone arduous training before they finally awakened their Byakugan at the age of eight. Even then, they had been called geniuses of the Hyuga Clan.

So what did that make Soji?

A genius among geniuses?

The brothers were beginning to doubt their lives.

Comparisons really did make people furious!

"Soji, when did you awaken your Byakugan?"

Hiashi's feelings were complicated as he looked at Soji before him.

"I awakened it shortly before I fainted this time. The sudden awakening of the Byakugan consumed too much Chakra, so I passed out. But I suppose it was a blessing in disguise."

Soji smiled indifferently. He truly did not care, because compared with the goals he had set for himself, the Byakugan would become increasingly inadequate later on.

Without some great opportunity, the best a Hyuga Clan member could hope for was becoming an Elite Jonin. Reaching Kage-level strength with the Byakugan alone was truly difficult.

In the original story, Neji Hyuga, hailed as a genius of the Hyuga Clan, had only barely reached the level of an Elite Jonin by the time he died.

From the Warring States period to the present era, there had been only a handful of Hyuga Clan members who had reached Kage-level strength. Even by the time of Boruto in his previous life's original story, no famous Kage-level or stronger Hyuga Clan experts had emerged.

Of course, Boruto had to be excluded first, because he was not part of the Hyuga Clan! His surname was Uzumaki!

Those Hyuga Clan ancestors who had reached Kage-level strength had all encountered some sort of opportunity, even relying on wondrous things such as ninja tools or other items.

According to Hyuga Clan records, the clan's last Kage-level expert had been born near the end of the Warring States period, in the same era as Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju.

However, that Hyuga Clan ancestor who had reached Kage-level strength had died before Konoha was founded.

Perhaps he had been killed by either Madara Uchiha or Hashirama Senju, or perhaps he had died of natural causes. The clan records did not mention it.

But even a Hyuga Clan ancestor with Kage-level strength would have been little more than an ordinary person before Madara Uchiha, the Shura of the Ninja World, and Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi. If they wished, the aftershocks of either god's battles could kill him at any time...

Therefore, while reaching the strength of an Elite Jonin was already the lifelong pursuit of most people, Hyuga Soji was not among them.

Knowing how deep the waters of this world ran, Soji understood all too well what level of strength he needed just to protect himself.

Without exaggeration, if he wanted to survive the Second and Third Ninja World Wars, Kage-level strength was the minimum. There was no absolute safety below that; even Elite Jonin could perish during the Second and Third Ninja World Wars.

As for the period after Konoha's sixtieth year and before the Fourth Ninja World War, he would need strength far beyond that of an ordinary Kage just to protect himself. At that time, even Kage-level fighters could die at any moment.

Whether it was the Fourth Kazekage, the Third Hokage, the various Jinchuriki, or even those Akatsuki Organization members with Kage-level strength, they died like dumplings falling into a pot.

To protect himself, he would need strength at least on the level of Jiraiya in Sage Mode.

Someone might say that Jiraiya had died too, hadn't he?

That was because he had recklessly barged alone into the Akatsuki Organization's headquarters in the Land of Rain. When facing the Pain Six Paths, he had even managed to kill three of them.

With that level of strength, if Jiraiya had wanted to run, even the Pain Six Paths could not have kept him!

During that era, if they did not flee, anyone among the living characters who had appeared so far would die if they went there!

So during that period, as long as he possessed strength comparable to Jiraiya in Sage Mode, he would be safe.

As for the Fourth Ninja World War, that was truly brutal!

Even possessing the strength Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju had while alive would have been completely useless. When it was time to die, they would still die!

Without reaching the Six Paths level, one could not even speak of safety!

Madara Uchiha being stabbed through the heart by Black Zetsu did not really count, to be honest. With the strength Six Paths Madara possessed at the time, no one could have stopped him if he wanted to leave. And if he had been wary of Black Zetsu, he would not have become the vessel for Kaguya Otsutsuki's rebirth!

By the time of Boruto, Six Paths-level strength should have been enough.

The only difference between Six Paths level and Kekkei Mōra was the amount of Chakra; there was not much difference in actual combat power.

It was even entirely possible for someone at Six Paths level to kill a Kekkei Mōra user.

After reaching the Six Paths level, one's life form had already undergone a leap. They could be said to have transcended the very concept of being human.