Gentle Fist

Though Yamashita Taiji was a little older, he was very obedient. He basically did whatever Ming Jing told him to do. Thus, Ming Jing sat upright in the government office, issuing orders one after another. Yamashita Taiji carried them out one by one, and before long, he had arranged the lives of the more than fifty thousand disaster victims outside.

It was not until midnight that he finished dealing with everything at hand. Ming Jing stretched, intending to have Yuexi prepare something for him to eat. But when he looked up, he saw Qing Yan standing beneath the lamp like a rock. He immediately shook his head with a bitter smile. He had left Yuexi in the Royal Capital...

Ming Jing rose and walked out of the room. He saw Hizashi Hyuga standing in the open space nearby as well. The handsome middle-aged man was gazing up at the moon, looking as though he missed his son.

"Mr. Hizashi." Ming Jing walked over, greeted him as he stood at Hizashi Hyuga's side, then joined him in staring up at the starry sky at a forty-five-degree angle.

"Finished?" Hizashi Hyuga withdrew his gaze and asked casually.

"Yeah!" Ming Jing nodded and said with a smile, "Now that I'm free, how about we discuss how to deal with Mr. Hizashi's situation?"

"How do you want to deal with it?" Hizashi Hyuga asked in return.

Ming Jing tilted his head in thought, then said with an utterly harmless expression, "How about Mr. Hizashi tells me about the Gentle Fist? I'm very interested in the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist!"

"Heh. Are you joking? I'm quite interested in your Kurama Clan's genjutsu too!" Hizashi Hyuga said with a sneer.

"Mr. Hizashi," Ming Jing suddenly turned serious. "If it weren't for Hinata, to be honest, I wouldn't be all that interested in the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist. Besides, Mr. Hizashi has been trying to improve the Gentle Fist, hasn't he?"

"It seems you know quite a lot!" Hizashi Hyuga frowned. He and Hiashi had indeed been working hard to improve the Gentle Fist, though the results had not been very good. The Eight Trigrams Revolving Palm he had used earlier was one product of those improvements.

"Mm, I've merely dabbled in it." Ming Jing smiled as he watched Hizashi Hyuga.

Hizashi Hyuga stared into Ming Jing's eyes, then suddenly remembered that the fellow before him did not even have the Byakugan. Even if Ming Jing learned the Gentle Fist, he would not be able to see chakra points! So what the hell was there to worry about?! Besides, merely explaining the things he had summarized should not be a problem. He could even use it to make up for his earlier negligence!

"The Gentle Fist is the Hyuga Clan's most closely guarded taijutsu, as well as one of Konoha's two great taijutsu styles. To summarize it, the Gentle Fist consists of the 'Four Natures' and the 'Six Methods.' The Four Natures are the sensitivity of observing one's opponent, the natural fluidity of vitality, the instinctive sense of measuring distance with one's steps, and the balance of initiating and halting movement. The Six Methods are: fists strike seventy percent and kicks thirty percent; the mind comes first; exerting short and long force; grasping the right moment; and unifying waist and stance." As he spoke, Hizashi Hyuga demonstrated in the open space. After observing him up close, Ming Jing realized that Hizashi Hyuga's Gentle Fist was completely different from Neji Hyuga's. Neji Hyuga's Gentle Fist relied more on the Byakugan's advantages, whereas Hizashi Hyuga had delved much deeper. He had studied the Gentle Fist extremely thoroughly.

Ming Jing could not help asking, "What does Mr. Hizashi believe are the Gentle Fist's shortcomings?"

"It relies too heavily on the Byakugan, lacks long-range attacks, has limited defense against ninjutsu, lacks techniques capable of killing in a single blow, and lacks skills for group battles." Hizashi Hyuga withdrew his fist and walked over to Ming Jing.

"Mr. Hizashi, are you joking? Once you make up for all of those shortcomings, are you planning to save the world single-handedly?" Ming Jing sighed helplessly. Then he thought about it and suddenly realized that someone actually had accomplished that—Kaguya Otsutsuki, the Hyuga Clan's ancestor!

Oh, right, there was another person who had done it too. Ming Jing had forgotten his name—a pervert who liked collecting Byakugan. He would definitely beat the crap out of him in the future! How dare he compete with Ming Jing for Hinata.

"I haven't thought of that. I just feel the Gentle Fist can be strengthened further." Hizashi Hyuga shook his head. How could he possibly voice such an embarrassingly over-the-top wish?

"Mm..." Ming Jing rested his chin on one hand and pondered. When it came to the Gentle Fist, the first things that came to mind were the three great internal martial arts represented by Tai Chi, Xingyi Quan, and Bagua Zhang. However, aside from knowing the names of moves such as "White Crane Spreads Its Wings," "Carry Water in a Bamboo Basket," "Embrace Tiger and Return to Mountain," and "Grasp Sparrow's Tail," he knew nothing at all about internal martial arts.

"Has Mr. Hizashi ever considered setting aside the Gentle Fist and creating another style of martial arts?" Ming Jing asked as he looked at Hizashi Hyuga.

"Creating another style? But aside from the Gentle Fist, there's only the Steel Fist!" Hizashi Hyuga said, somewhat confused.

"But the Gentle Fist and Steel Fist didn't fall from the sky either! Since those before us could create them, why can't we?" Ming Jing asked with a smile.

That made so much sense!!!

Hizashi Hyuga froze, unable to think of a response for a moment. His mind was in utter chaos. It was fair to say Ming Jing had opened a brand-new door for him, but he had forgotten how to walk through it.

After thinking for a moment, Ming Jing continued, "I once read a passage in an ancient text. Perhaps it may help you, sir. 'The eight trigrams are arranged in rows, and the images lie within them. Thus they are doubled, and the lines lie within them. Firmness and softness push against each other, and change lies within them.'"

Hizashi Hyuga came back to his senses and asked excitedly, "Ming Jing, what was that just now? Say it again!"

"The eight trigrams are arranged in rows, and the images lie within them. Thus they are doubled, and the lines lie within them. Firmness and softness push against each other, and change lies within them." Ming Jing repeated it, utterly baffled. This was one of China's explanations of the concept of Taiji in Xi Ci - Part 2. Ming Jing felt that China's stuff was all ridiculously awesome, filled with that tsundere attitude of, It's not my fault you don't understand. Your IQ just isn't high enough. And if you selectively memorized two or three passages, the effect when showing off outside was absolutely first-rate.

Just like Ming Jing now. After casually reciting one passage, Hizashi Hyuga had fallen into a state of "enlightenment." Although Ming Jing had no idea what exactly he had "realized," that did not stop Hizashi Hyuga's impression of him from rising considerably once again.

"Qing Yan, let's go!" Ming Jing wanted to see what Hizashi Hyuga could "realize," but he was exhausted now. He should rest first. Judging by Hizashi's posture, he would not "realize" anything anytime soon.

"Are we just leaving Mr. Hizashi standing here?" Qing Yan followed Ming Jing and asked worriedly.

"Mm... As a taijutsu-type ninja, he probably won't catch a cold, right?" Ming Jing thought about it. With Hizashi Hyuga's constitution as a jonin, what was one night of standing around?

"Ah-choo..." The next morning, Hizashi Hyuga sat across from Ming Jing with a sallow face, sniffling constantly. He stared at Ming Jing excitedly and asked, "Where is that ancient text? Lend it to me for a while so I can study it!"

Ming Jing stared blankly at Hizashi Hyuga, unable to believe it. "Hey, hey, hey, Mr. Hizashi, you caught a cold? You actually caught a cold?!"

"I'm human. What's wrong with catching a cold?" As he spoke, Hizashi Hyuga sniffled again.

Ming Jing felt something inside him shatter. The image of the Hyuga Clan as the people who valued etiquette and appearance above all else was gone forever.

"Forget all this nonsense. Where's that ancient text? I feel like I've found my inspiration!" Hizashi Hyuga said impatiently.

Uh... Ming Jing had a headache. Where was he supposed to find a copy of Xi Ci - Part 2 for Hizashi Hyuga? He himself only flipped through that thing whenever he felt interested, then tossed it aside once he lost interest. He had barely remembered any of its contents at all!

"Mr. Hizashi, the most important thing in life is to be... to be content. That ancient text concerns the secrets of my Kurama Clan's genjutsu. Are you sure you want to borrow it?" Ming Jing thought for a moment, then asked with a faint smile.

"Mm..." Hearing Ming Jing say that, Hizashi Hyuga hesitated. Just as he had refused to share the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist with Ming Jing and had only been willing to explain the things he had summarized himself, this passage must likewise have been something Ming Jing had personally summarized!

"I'm sorry. I overstepped." Hizashi Hyuga was no ordinary man. He quickly adjusted his mindset and sincerely apologized to Ming Jing. Yet his gaze became even firmer. At the very least, he had found a direction. That was far better than being completely lost as before!

Thus, Hizashi Hyuga solemnly thanked Ming Jing again. "Thank you, Lord Ming Jing!"