With ample funds, freedom from the Ninja Academy, and strength on par with an ordinary Chunin, some things Neji had been unable to do before could now be put on the agenda—such as building his own research laboratory.
Neji planned to build his first laboratory beneath his home. After making a rough estimate, his house and courtyard covered around six hundred square meters, nearly one mu of land. Hollowing out part of the underground space would be enough to build a fairly large laboratory, sufficient for his current experimental needs.
The more troublesome issue was how to transport the excavated soil away. But as he thought about it, Neji laughed at himself. He was building a laboratory, not conducting human experiments right away. He could simply say he was constructing a cellar and do it openly, without being so secretive.
After sorting this out, Neji found a construction crew that afternoon and explained his requirements. The crew promised to produce a preliminary blueprint the next day. If there were no problems, construction could begin. The cellar would have two levels, totaling eight hundred square meters, with six rooms, two halls, and other functional areas. Including the interior work, it would cost five million, and they promised to finish within two months. Neji did not haggle over it. He paid the deposit and signed the contract. For the next two months, his home would become a construction site and would not be suitable for living. After some thought, he rented a small courtyard nearby for two hundred thousand for two months. Once he had moved the important belongings there, Neji immersed himself in training again.
During that time, Neji ordered a batch of laboratory equipment, including common devices and supplies such as small centrifuges, microscopes, petri dishes, culture tanks, and separators. Another five million was spent in a flash. He suddenly realized his funds were getting tight again. Fortunately, he had no major expenses coming up, or it would have been a real headache.
There was another troublesome matter. At present, it was basically just him and his Shadow Clones working together. He had no real helpers or assistants. It seemed he would have to cultivate some trusted followers or subordinates when he had the chance. But his age was also a problem. Who would work for a seven-year-old brat?
Setting those issues aside, his current priorities were still increasing his strength and accumulating knowledge. Improving his strength was a gradual process.
His accumulation of knowledge had now entered its second stage. Over the past two years, Neji had already read, memorized, and understood every book on the market related to ninjas, ninjutsu, medicine, biology, and similar fields. More advanced knowledge was either hidden away by the various clans, required certain qualifications to borrow, or could only be accessed by joining particular forces. None of those options were available to Neji at present. That was why he wanted to build his own laboratory: to conduct research based on existing knowledge, discover new knowledge, and slowly move step by step toward the "Gene Completion Plan."
He picked up the manuscript his father had left behind once more. It recorded some advanced knowledge of the Gentle Fist, including Kaiten, Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, and Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. Neji had already mastered Kaiten, but he had always found Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms difficult to understand.
His father had introduced Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms this way: with the Byakugan's three-hundred-and-sixty-degree vision, place the opponent within the Eight Trigrams Formation, then attack the sixty-four major acupuncture points on their body and seal them.
The core of this technique was undoubtedly the "Eight Trigrams Formation." If he simply struck sixty-four points on the opponent's body, it would not be much different from ordinary Gentle Fist Art.
The Eight Trigrams Formation had also been recorded in Neji's previous life. It was said to be a more intricate formation derived from the Taiji diagram. There was a saying: "Taiji gave birth to Liangyi, Liangyi gave birth to the Four Symbols, and the Four Symbols gave birth to the Eight Trigrams."
The most famous practical use of the Eight Trigrams Formation was by Zhuge Liang, the military strategist of Shu in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. By using the movement and shifting positions of the soldiers forming the formation, he caused the formation within the Eight Trigrams Formation to continuously open and close, changing the positions of commanders and the power within the formation. This made enemies who entered it lose their judgment and become unable to calmly assess the situation, creating psychological pressure that weakened the enemy army's combat effectiveness.
Thinking this,
Neji was instantly enlightened. The core of Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms was precisely the Eight Trigrams Formation. By sending chakra through his feet across a certain area and controlling it to form a formation according to the Eight Trigrams Formation diagram, he could use the formation's power to disrupt the enemy's mind, blind their senses, and restrain their movements, then combine it with Gentle Fist Art to injure or kill them. The strength of the chakra released beneath his feet and his understanding of the formation determined the degree of control he had over the enemy. In the original work, Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms did not seem to have displayed any particularly outstanding achievements.
Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, meanwhile, was one of the Hyuga Clan's rare long-range attacks. Its principle was roughly this: place the opponent within the Eight Trigrams Formation, use the Byakugan to observe and sense their position, then release a high-strength, high-density mass of chakra from the palm at a distance to attack a faraway target. It was quite similar to an air cannon.
After Neji gained a preliminary understanding of the Eight Trigrams Formation, Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm came naturally. The only question was how powerful the Empty Palm he released would be.
However, becoming proficient in the Eight Trigrams Formation and using it flexibly was not something that could be accomplished in a short time. It required long-term accumulation and dedicated study, especially regarding the art of its variations.
With that, the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist Art and its offensive techniques could be considered initially mastered. What remained was to constantly refine and deepen them.
As for Steel Fist, Neji's physical training weights had now reached four hundred kilograms. If he did not use chakra to assist his movements in daily life, he would basically sink into the dirt with every step.
At this stage, Neji's Steel Fist training was still primarily meant to temper his body. As for so-called techniques, Neji could only chuckle. In his view, "strength creates miracles" and "under heaven, no martial art can overcome speed" were the true principles.
When strength was great enough and speed was fast enough, everything else was trash!
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