Hinata: What Are You So Proud of, You Peeping Tom?!

The Hyuga Clan Grounds were especially quiet in the early morning.

But whenever Hyuga clan members passed by the Clan Head Residence, they could not help glancing into the courtyard, their expressions carrying a hint of unease.

Thud! Thud! Thud!!

A rapid, powerful series of blows against wooden posts echoed from deep within the courtyard.

And whenever passing clan members turned their eyes toward the courtyard, the pounding only grew more violent.

The sound seemed to be saying:

—Huh? What are you looking at? Looking for a beating?!

"Younger Hinata... sigh, such a good, obedient child, driven to this by the Clan Head..."

Hearing the sounds, the clan members showed regret and confusion. After sighing inwardly, they quickened their steps and left the residence entrance.

Inside the courtyard, flying wood chips and splinters lay everywhere.

Even more shocking, the wooden posts all around had been beaten apart, while the carefully tended lawn was scarred with pits and holes.

Some of the broken post remains were still stained with blood that had yet to dry.

Younger Hinata wore a black training outfit. Her eyes shut, she stood quietly in the middle of the courtyard.

Several broken wooden posts hung in the air, densely packed together, their sharp ends all aimed at her.

Whoosh!!

Hinata gently released the thin cord in her hand that connected all the wooden-post mechanisms.

In an instant, the razor-sharp broken posts came hurtling at Younger Hinata from every direction at astonishing speed, accompanied by shrill whistles of tearing wind.

With such visible force behind them, they would have been enough to pierce straight through her small, immature body.

"Hinata, you..."

Just as Younger Hinata let go, Hiashi happened to come around from the other side of the residence.

"Not good!!"

Seeing this horrifying scene, Hiashi's words caught in his throat.

Terror filled his face, veins bulging around his eyes as he sprinted toward Hinata.

At the same time.

Faced with the deadly wooden posts flying toward her, Younger Hinata finally opened her tightly shut eyes.

Bulging veins nearly covered the upper half of her face, making her resolute expression look somewhat fierce.

Yet deep within her pupils, which should have been pure white, a sky-blue light bloomed, gleaming with a soul-stirring radiance.

Thud!!

Hinata moved, her figure incredibly swift.

Her entire body turned into an afterimage. With the sound of wind splitting around her, she actually charged toward the incoming sharp posts.

Though the wooden posts were fast, their trajectories and angles were perfectly clear from Hinata's perspective.

Hinata stared directly at the post hurtling toward her. Her gaze was calm, yet it carried a trace of excitement.

She narrowly twisted aside to avoid its sharp end. Blue Chakra wrapped around her palms as both arms became afterimages, lashing out with a burst of wind pressure.

They struck the right side of the wooden post directly.

Thud!

The wooden post exploded from within, scattering splinters everywhere.

Thud! Thud! Thud!!

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen sharp wooden posts were blasted apart one after another, shattering into pieces.

Hinata's movements flowed as smoothly as water.

She was clearly using the Gentle Fist, yet there was a straight, tyrannical force behind it.

Swish!

At that very instant.

Two wooden posts covered in vicious spikes shot toward Hinata from an extremely obscure angle.

"Hinata!!"

Seeing that Hinata seemed not to have noticed them, the rushing Hiashi's eyes nearly split apart. He clenched his teeth as Chakra rapidly gathered within him.

"Eight Trigrams. Void..."

"Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists!!"

A flash of deep blue gleamed in Hinata's eyes. A massive amount of Chakra gathered in her hands, transforming into two ferocious lion shapes.

Boom!!

This technique had greater striking power and a wider attack range. The two wooden posts were blasted directly into pieces!

One flying fragment even smacked against Hiashi's stunned face with a slap.

Yet he paid it no attention. His gaze was vacant as he muttered:

"Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists... how is that possible..."

This was one of the advanced secret Taijutsu techniques passed down within the Hyuga Main Branch.

Compared to the ordinary Gentle Fist, it added shape transformation to the Chakra in one's palms, greatly increasing both its attack range and destructive power. It could devour all of a target's chakra pathways.

It was also extraordinarily difficult to learn. Even the slightest error in Chakra control would result in failure.

It required superb Chakra control and Byakugan ability to use.

Even some Hyuga jonin found it difficult to learn, so how had Hinata learned it...

No! That was not the most important thing!!

Though the shock still lingered in his heart, Hiashi came back to his senses.

"Hinata!!"

The Main Family Head, normally calm and composed, had completely lost his composure. He roared at Hinata, "What exactly are you doing?!"

"Breaking the wooden posts is one thing, but you actually... you actually dared to!!"

Hiashi panted heavily, his chest rising and falling as he stared fixedly at the expressionless Hinata. His heart was filled with lingering fear and rage.

Some time ago, after Hinata came into contact with that Masked Man, the Hyuga Clan had examined her body several times and found nothing wrong.

In the end, even the Matron of Konoha Hospital and the Third Hokage could find no problem.

On the contrary, the Chakra in her body had grown denser by the day.

"Don't worry, Hiashi. For now, it seems to be doing no harm. We will also do our utmost to find the Masked Man who infiltrated Leaf Village."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had patted his shoulder and told him there was no problem, promising that the Masked Man would be captured as soon as possible.

What else could Hiashi do?

He could only nod and say that as long as Lord Hokage was satisfied, that was fine.

Hiashi had thought the matter was over.

But not long ago, during one of Neji and Hinata's routine sparring matches.

Hinata had spent the first half retreating as she fought, hesitant and restrained, while Neji pressed forward step by step as if venting his emotions, though he still held back appropriately.

Just as Hiashi frowned and sighed inwardly, Hinata seemed to have been provoked by something.

"Tch! What are you so proud of, you peeping tom?"

Her originally timid expression suddenly turned dissatisfied. After muttering that, veins bulged around her eyes and spread across the upper half of her face.

Her entire aura changed. Her speed and strength both surged, and her attacks became incomparably ruthless and domineering, gradually reversing her disadvantage.

That unstoppable momentum, as though she would crush anything standing in her way, made a glint of surprise flash through Hiashi's eyes.

The deadlock lasted half an hour. In the end, she actually found an opening in Neji's defense and sent him straight to the ground with a single palm strike.

"What happened?"

Neji looked utterly bewildered, still unable to recover from that palm strike.

But when he looked up at Hinata, he saw the disdainful expression on her face.

I lost?

I lost to this weak Main House young lady?

Neji's fragile, sensitive heart was instantly pierced.

"Impossible! How could I lose to her?! She suddenly ambushed me and disrupted my offense!!"

His expression twisted. After getting back to his feet, he tried to charge at Hinata again.

This time, he no longer held back. He even intended to use Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms, and the killing intent rolling off him was completely undisguised.

"Good!!"

A flash of battle-hungry excitement passed through Hinata's eyes. She assumed her stance and was about to meet him head-on when—

"Ahhh!!"

Neji suddenly clutched his head and collapsed to the ground, howling in agony.

"Neji, how dare you—"

Hiashi's expression was stern. He formed a hand seal with one hand, clearly having activated the Caged Bird.

But before he could say anything else, Hinata turned toward him with an angry expression and shouted:

"Old Man! I don't need you interfering in my battle! And I certainly don't need that shameful Cursed Seal!!"

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