Chakra Breath Holding Technique

In the world of ninja, there was no such thing as "easy," except for Minato Namikaze easily defeating his opponents and advancing into the top three.

From twenty to ten, he forced Kushina Uzumaki to withdraw.

From ten to five, he defeated Yamanaka Inoichi, who had little direct combat ability.

From five to three, Minato received a bye, enjoying the favoritism of the tournament's behind-the-scenes arrangements.

When it came down to three becoming two, Ei Yano Yu received a bye, while Minato faced Hizashi Hyuga.

What surprised Minato was that Hizashi Hyuga had actually made it into the top three.

The three young clan heirs of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, the young heir of the Hyuga Clan, the Senju Clan's current strongest genin, and three Uchiha ninja had all failed to make the top three.

Standing in the arena, Minato's clothes were spotless, while Hizashi Hyuga across from him bore more than a dozen bloodstains.

After Hatake Sakumo announced the start of the match, Minato did not rush to attack. He said, "I thought the ones who would make the top three would be Nara Shikaku or Senju Chihiro. Hizashi, you performed exceptionally well."

Hizashi Hyuga wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said:

"This is my final dance...

After the clan elders learned that I defeated my brother, they began waiting outside the arena. Once I finish the Chunin Exams, they will carve the Caged Bird Cursed Seal into me.

My talent surpasses Hyuga Hiashi's. Allowing me to grow freely for several years has already been their greatest indulgence.

The elders believe that talent is not a reason for the Branch Family to oppose the Main Family. The more talented a Branch Family member is, the more they should die protecting the Main Family.

To all of you, this is merely a competition. To me, this is the last time in my life that I can be myself. This is the final day of my life."

"No wonder. No wonder you were able to defeat Hyuga Hiashi and Nara Shikaku."

Everyone else had come to compete, but Hizashi Hyuga had come to risk his life.

In the original story, Hinata was abducted by Cloud ninja, and Hyuga Hiashi killed the Cloud ninja inside the village. Yet Hiruzen Sarutobi compromised again, and Konoha Village agreed to hand over the murderer to the Cloud Hidden Village. That was the head of the Hyuga Clan.

When it came to absurdity, Hiruzen Sarutobi truly took the crown. Unable to defeat the Third Lightning Kage, he gave the Cloud Hidden Village whatever it wanted.

The Konoha ninja had not yet given up, but the Hokage had already surrendered to the enemy.

In the end, Hizashi Hyuga committed suicide in Hyuga Hiashi's place. The two brothers looked very alike.

In the original story, Hizashi Hyuga was no less tragic than his son, Hyuga Neji.

The Byakugan gave its users a somewhat peculiar gaze, and Minato could not tell from Hizashi's eyes just how intense his emotions were.

He looked toward the stands and, sure enough, saw two stern-looking middle-aged Hyuga ninja. He said, "Hizashi, every ninjutsu has weaknesses. No ninjutsu is flawless. The Caged Bird may be infamous, but if you bear the Cursed Seal and study it, perhaps you can find a flaw."

"Heh." Hizashi Hyuga said:

"Countless members of the Hyuga Clan have thought the same way. In the end, they all died trying to remove the Cursed Seal on their own.

Come, Minato Namikaze.

Before my heart dies completely, let me see just how dazzling Konoha's genius truly is."

"Hizashi, as you wish."

Hizashi Hyuga assumed a stance, charged toward Minato, and swiftly struck out with his palms.

Minato formed a hand seal, and two Shadow Clones appeared beside him.

In the original story, Naruto used Shadow Clones to deal with Neji. It had to be said that his son's strategy was quite correct.

Recklessly approaching a Hyuga ninja would result in having one's acupoints struck, sealing the chakra pathways.

Minato refined enough chakra and divided it equally into three portions. Even then, each Shadow Clone still possessed chakra at the level of a chunin.

The original body remained in the rear, continuing to refine chakra, while the Shadow Clones stepped forward to probe him.

Hizashi Hyuga saw that the distant one was the original body. He had intended to quickly destroy the Shadow Clones, only to discover that they were unusually powerful.

Fighting these Shadow Clones brought pressure nearly equal to fighting Nara Shikaku?

These were called Shadow Clones?

Gradually, even the spectators noticed something was wrong.

Why did the blond boy's Shadow Clones keep appearing one after another? There seemed to be no end to them.

Though Hizashi Hyuga's movements were graceful and fluid, as if he were dancing, he could not shake off the Shadow Clones' relentless entanglement.

Minato stood in the rear, watching Shadow Clones advance one after another, only to have their acupoints struck by Hizashi Hyuga.

The Hyuga Clan were experts in chakra circulation. They could use secret acupoint-striking techniques to interrupt an enemy's chakra flow.

Minato continuously recorded the positions where Hizashi struck the acupoints, gradually identifying certain patterns.

Hizashi Hyuga's strikes appeared to land in constantly changing locations, but when those points were connected, Minato found that they were mainly concentrated along several chakra pathways.

Minato tried circulating his chakra and carefully sensed the changes within his body. When chakra was mobilized inside the body, it indeed flowed through several chakra pathways.

As for the chakra filling his muscles, aside from making them stronger, much of it dissipated.

In other words, if he wanted to concentrate chakra in his feet, the most efficient method was not to extract chakra and flood it toward his feet, but to concentrate it further and send it through the chakra pathways.

Most of the chakra flooded toward the feet dissipated around the muscles of the waist and thighs instead of fully reaching the feet.

Having figured out the trick, Minato tried to improve his Body Flicker Technique.

This time, he extracted a massive amount of Chakra, but instead of letting it spill out like before and blast the surrounding dust away, he concentrated it into his feet.

Unlike the impressive display from before, Minato's Chakra was far more condensed now.

Hatake Sakumo suddenly turned his head, his ponytail swinging uncontrollably to one side, revealing his surprise.

Some tricks were simple, but either they occurred to you or they did not. If they did not, you might never think in that direction for the rest of your life.

Hatake Sakumo suddenly noticed that Minato Namikaze's Chakra refinement and circulation had become more restrained. It no longer spilled out uncontrollably as it had before.

Only now did Hatake Sakumo begin to truly take Minato Namikaze seriously.

In Hatake Sakumo's eyes, Minato Namikaze had officially gone from a talented youth to a mature ninja, because he had already begun to grasp the essence of assassination.

Restraint, calmness, then a sudden burst like a crouching cheetah—this was the true meaning of assassination.

After grasping the trick to circulating Chakra in a restrained manner, not only was it more concealed, it also consumed less Chakra.

Minato concentrated his Chakra in his legs, then exerted force explosively and vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.

When he reappeared, he was already behind Hizashi Hyuga.

Hizashi Hyuga had been using his Byakugan to observe both Minato's Shadow Clones and his true body, searching for an opening. However, Minato moved too fast—so fast that he could not react at all.

Minato Namikaze gave him the feeling that his Chakra had somehow weakened by several degrees.

That was impossible. It had to be an illusion. Minato Namikaze could not have suffered such a drastic drop in strength just because of a few Shadow Clones.

A kick struck Hizashi Hyuga in the waist, sending him flying.

While airborne, Hizashi Hyuga stubbornly swallowed the blood in his mouth.

That blood had not been caused by Minato Namikaze's kick, but by the internal injuries he had sustained earlier when fighting Hyuga Hiashi desperately.

Even knowing that Minato Namikaze was stronger than him, Hizashi Hyuga would never admit defeat.

Today, he could only be beaten to death. He would never surrender.

Minato continued using Shadow Clones to probe Hizashi while he himself explored the tricks of mobilizing Chakra through the meridians.

Gradually, understanding dawned on him.

Hizashi Hyuga's tenketsu strikes were all concentrated on the Twelve Principal Meridians!

The three yin meridians of the hand ran from the chest to the hand; the three yang meridians of the hand ran from the hand to the head; the three yang meridians of the foot ran from the head to the foot; and the three yin meridians of the foot ran from the foot to the chest.

When he had read transmigration novels in his previous life, he had studied meridians and deliberately memorized the Twelve Principal Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. Unexpectedly, they came in handy now.

Just as Master Jianzhen, the Monk Who Crossed the Sea, had left behind many idioms, the meridians of the Ninja World were much the same as those he had learned about in his previous life.

Once he realized that the Twelve Principal Meridians were the key, Minato's Chakra became even more restrained, to the point that it was almost impossible to see from the outside.

In the stands, Orochimaru turned to Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya, at least you had enough self-awareness not to teach Minato your reckless, crude methods of using Chakra. Minato actually figured out the Breath-Holding Technique for Chakra circulation on his own.

For many techniques, self-realization and being told by someone else produce vastly different results."

"Breath-Holding Technique? That sounds pretty high-level! Orochimaru, was the old man playing favorites again? Did he give you private lessons again?

Sometimes I really want to take you both on! You two are too much—one plays favorites, and the other looks down on people!"

Orochimaru stopped paying attention to Jiraiya and ignored him. Watching the improved Minato, he saw him swiftly defeat Hizashi Hyuga.