Luck

"You don't understand Danzo."

Uchiha Akira spoke as if it were only natural. "He inherited the Second Hokage's iron-fisted nature, but not the Second Hokage's compassion. In his eyes, the village is very important, but who lives within it is not."

"What he wants is merely a vessel to realize his ambition of dominating the Ninja World in Konoha's name."

From beginning to end.

In Danzo's eyes, there had only ever been himself and the name "Konoha."

As for who died and who lived, it did not matter.

"Unforgivable!"

Uchiha Itachi's eyes turned cold. "I will never let Danzo go! No, I can't do that. This is the peace Shisui fought so hard to protect. I... can't destroy it."

He thought of Shisui.

His voice was dry. Hatred surged in his eyes like drifting clouds and mist, yet beneath it lay a trace of restraint and clarity.

"Itachi, you don't need to concern yourself with this. When the time comes, Shisui will naturally come find you."

Uchiha Akira waved a hand, turned, and left.

This trip had brought him tremendous gains. He had obtained Indra Chakra, and opening the Rinnegan was only a matter of time. Moreover, his Dojutsu Power had already reached the limit of the Mangekyō Sharingan, profound and abyssal!

When he returned home.

His gaze froze. "Neji, why are you still here? And Asuma, what the hell do you know about the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist? Why are you teaching him nonsense?"

He had previously told Neji to go home on his own, not wanting this matter to affect him.

Asuma Sarutobi gave an awkward laugh. "I know a little, don't I? I just didn't expect Neji to be this talented. His future achievements won't be inferior to mine!"

He had come to train in Sage Mode.

Without Akira by his side, he truly did not dare train alone.

"Teacher, the Hyuga Clan's Clan Tournament is coming up soon. I want to train a little longer."

Hyuga Neji wiped the sweat from his forehead, his youthful face filled with stubborn determination.

Like a bird striving desperately to break free from its shackles.

His brows furrowed tightly. "Teacher, I don't know why, but my Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms always feels a little lacking. I can't fully master it."

He clearly had the meridian diagram and his teacher's demonstration.

Yet he was always just one step short.

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms?!"

Asuma Sarutobi was stunned, his mouth falling open. "Isn't that the Main Family's secret technique? You... you're saying Big Brother taught it to you? How... how is that possible?!"

He was not Neji, still only a child.

As the Hokage's son, he understood perfectly well what this meant. The Uchiha Clan had stolen the Hyuga Clan's secret technique. If it were discovered, it would certainly provoke the Hyuga Clan's fury. The two great clans would be impossible to reconcile!

Even the Hokage would be unable to suppress it.

"What are you so shocked about? Neji figured all of this out himself."

Uchiha Akira paid no attention to Asuma's astonished expression. "Come on, Neji. Show me once."

"Yes!"

Neji immediately performed the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms once.

Sure enough, there were no problems at the beginning, but at the end, Neji's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms always became disjointed, as though something were missing.

But he was an Uchiha.

He truly did not understand the Hyuga Clan's secret techniques.

"Mm, Neji, wait here. I'll go find someone to ask."

Akira rubbed his chin, and his figure vanished in an instant.

A minute later, he returned with a masked figure at his side. Even the man's eyes were covered with special material, making them impossible to see.

"Come on, explain this to me."

Akira said to the masked man beside him:

"Why can't Neji's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms ever be fully mastered?"

The masked man's voice was calm and matter-of-fact, precisely identifying the problem with uncanny familiarity. "Because the Branch Family's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms is incomplete to begin with, making it harder to train, especially in the final stages."

"For the final twelve palms beginning at the Tanzhong acupoint, although they are still delivered with palm strikes, the Chakra output must increase slightly with every palm. Only then can it achieve softness containing hardness and seal the enemy's Chakra."

"Otherwise, if the Chakra output is insufficient, not only will the speed be too slow, the enemy will also be more likely to break through the seal!"

He recited the key points as though they were second nature.

Hyuga Neji understood at once and hurriedly performed the technique again. This time, his Gentle Fist contained hardness within softness, accompanied by howling winds and an unceasingly oppressive force!

After finishing the sequence.

He felt completely refreshed, the pent-up frustration in his heart entirely dissipating!

He respectfully bowed to Akira and spoke with utmost sincerity. "Thank you, Teacher!"

If not for his teacher.

He did not know how long it would have taken him to learn the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

"All right, I understand. You can leave now."

Uchiha Akira waved a hand in satisfaction.

"Yes, Lord Akira!" The masked man smugly vanished into the dense forest.

"Gasp, that guy... he must be from the Hyuga Clan..."

Asuma Sarutobi stammered, staring wide-eyed with his mouth agape. Before he could finish, Akira silenced him with a look, and he hurriedly shut up.

But the shock in his heart could not dissipate.

Damn!

That guy knew the Hyuga Clan's secret techniques like the back of his hand and explained them so sharply. He was obviously a Hyuga Clan expert. From the looks of it, he had clearly been controlled by an Illusion Technique. Big Brother was incredible—he had actually controlled someone from the Hyuga Clan just to teach Neji!

He had always thought the Hyuga Clan's system was absurd.

So not only did he think it was not wrong, he completely approved of it.

"Neji, you're really lucky."

He patted Neji's shoulder with mixed emotions.

"You found a good teacher. Study hard."

If he had met a teacher as good as Akira when he was young, he would probably have mastered Sage Mode by now, right?

Neji did not understand, but he still revealed a radiant smile.

"Stop talking so much nonsense when there's nothing to say."

Akira glanced at Asuma indifferently. "Come here. Today, you need to meditate on it for at least two hours. That's already your limit."

The power of natural energy was far too great. For someone like Asuma, who basically had no chance of learning it, two hours was already the limit.

As he spoke.

He created a Shadow Clone, then turned and walked outside himself. A Shadow Clone was enough to teach Asuma.

"Big Brother, where are you going?"

Asuma froze. Normally, at this time, Akira loved lying on the roof and basking in the sun.

"To the Uchiha Clan. Something is going to happen today."

Something was going to happen at the Uchiha Clan?

Asuma did not think much of it. He nodded and continued training.

But not long after Akira left, a figure hurried over. "Akira! Hurry back to the clan! The Uchiha Clan is practically in chaos now! Stop coming to the Senju Clan every day!"

Uchiha Yashiro was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, yet he could do nothing about it.

But what else could he do?

Akira's father had been his close friend. How could he neglect this ordinarily talented child? If he often failed to attend clan meetings, there would surely be criticism within the clan, which would seriously affect Akira's reputation in the future.

Just like Itachi!