"Impossible! How could Neji possibly know the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms?!"
Hyuga Hiashi's eyes filled with disbelief, and he nearly rose to his feet!
His icy gaze turned toward Hyuga Liuhuo at his side.
"Please rest assured, Clan Head. Hyuga Neji absolutely could not possibly know the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Cold sweat streamed down Hyuga Liuhuo's forehead. "I've kept my eye on him this entire time. He absolutely has not learned any of the Hyuga Clan's secret techniques!"
He patted his chest in assurance.
Thinking back on his surveillance over this period...
Hyuga Neji had done nothing but basic, simple training from beginning to end.
Even if his strength had improved slightly, it was nowhere near enough for him to have learned the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!
At that thought, he could not help but feel relieved. At the same time, he cast a cold look at Hyuga Neji. He had clearly warned him from the very beginning, yet Neji still insisted on doing as he pleased!
Once this was over, he would definitely teach Hyuga Neji a harsh lesson!
"Good."
Hyuga Hiashi nodded, finally putting his mind at ease.
He had just picked up the teacup before him when his pupils abruptly contracted. "How is this possible?!"
He shot to his feet and stared at the Training Ground in utter disbelief.
Hyuga Neji moved with the grace of a swimming dragon. His movements contained softness within strength and strength within softness, every palm strike flowing seamlessly into the next. This was clearly the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
Every palm struck Hyuga Hinata with a dull thud.
But he could tell...
Hyuga Neji had held back. He would not cause Hinata much harm, but this was still like a vicious slap across his face!
"How did he learn it?!"
Hyuga Hiashi's expression turned incomparably ugly.
"Hyuga Liuhuo, is this the result of your surveillance?!"
Hyuga Neji, whom he had obstructed at every turn from learning the Hyuga Clan's secret techniques, had already mastered the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. Yet Hyuga Hinata, whom he had personally taught, had shown no improvement whatsoever even now.
His face burned hotly.
Especially Neji's final palm strike—each palm fiercer than the last, each one faster than the last!
Even he could not find a single flaw in it.
This was the essence of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
Without guidance from the Main Family, Hyuga Neji had discovered its mysteries on his own and mastered it to such a degree. It showed that Neji's talent was no less than his own, perhaps even rivaling Hyuga Tianren in his prime!
"Hinata, you still need to train harder."
Hyuga Neji extended a hand to Hyuga Hinata and pulled her up.
"Your movements are far too hesitant. The Gentle Fist does not only have a flexible side; it also has a forceful side. The true essence of the Gentle Fist is the balance of softness and strength!"
His teacher was a member of the Uchiha Clan.
Yet for him, his disciple, his teacher had stolen the Hyuga Clan's secret techniques and willingly taken such an enormous risk.
Hinata, standing before him, was his sister. From beginning to end, she had never done anything excessive to him. She had even always secretly helped him.
He could not place Hyuga Hiashi's mistakes upon her.
At that moment...
Hyuga Neji suddenly felt his heart grow lighter and broader, his eyes gaining a trace of understanding.
"Neji, who gave you permission to secretly learn the Hyuga Clan's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms?!"
Hyuga Liuhuo roared, his eyes filled with anger and resentment.
"This is a secret technique that only the Main Family may learn! As a member of the Branch Family, you can only learn the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms after coming of age!"
It was over.
Everything was over.
Today, Neji had made the Main Family lose all face. Only by ruthlessly suppressing Neji today could the Main Family recover its dignity, and only then could he avoid being removed from his post!
He walked forward step by step, already taking the stance of the Gentle Fist.
"Today, I'll show you what rules truly are!"
But in the next moment, Hyuga Hinata stepped in front of Neji.
"This has nothing to do with Brother Neji. I'm simply inferior to him!"
Hinata's eyes trembled slightly, but she remained unwaveringly resolute.
"Young Lady, this has nothing to do with you."
Hyuga Liuhuo revealed a calm but dismissive expression.
She was merely an untalented member of the Main Family. The younger Hyuga Hanabi had already displayed her exceptional talent. Once they came of age, Hinata would be no different from him, a member of the Branch Family!
As he spoke, he stepped past Hyuga Hinata, his palm crashing down with the force of thunder!
He could not dodge!
Hyuga Neji's expression changed drastically.
Hyuga Liuhuo's attack was too fast, and he was only seven years old. His physical condition was far from strong enough. Even if he could see through his opponent's movements, his body could not evade them!
If this strike landed, he would definitely be seriously injured!
Heh.
Disappointment filled Hyuga Neji's eyes as his gaze swept over the members of the Hyuga Main Family present.
Not one person tried to stop it.
There were only pairs of indifferent eyes, as though it were only natural for him, someone who had overstepped the Main Family, to receive such punishment. But this was clearly a tournament held by the Main Family. If they would not even allow him to display his strength, then why had they brought him here?
But in the next moment...
A figure stood before Hyuga Neji and casually raised a hand. That palm carrying the force of thunder was lightly blocked, as if it had struck a mountain.
A dull sound rang out.
A gentle breeze brushed his face. Hyuga Neji's eyes slowly widened, and the black-clad youth before him stirred something deep within his heart.
"T-Teacher, why are you here?"
He spoke in disbelief, stammering, "Th-this is the Hyuga Clan's tournament. Y-you shouldn't be here."
Though he was still young, he understood how absurd and offensive it was for a member of the Uchiha Clan to interfere in the Hyuga Clan's Clan Tournament.
This would affect his teacher!
"Uchiha Akira!"
Hyuga Liuhuo shouted furiously. It was the youth before him who had made him lose all face. If Uchiha Akira had not taught Hyuga Neji, how could the Main Family have been humiliated? How could his future have been ruined?!
"You entered my Hyuga Clan without any announcement. Do you know what that means?!"
Uchiha Akira did not even spare him a glance.
He looked at Hyuga Hiashi with a faintly mocking smile.
"As the head of the Hyuga Clan, you instructed your subordinate to bully a child of only seven. Is this the tolerance of the Hyuga Clan Head?"
Hiss—!
Hyuga Liuhuo's expression became incomparably ugly. His body shot forward like an arrow released from its bow. "What kind of attitude is that?! Is Lord Hiashi someone you can question so casually?!"
His eyes were bloodshot.
First, he wanted to demonstrate his loyalty. Second, he could not stand Uchiha Akira's attitude toward him, as if he were an ant!
He might be from the Hyuga Branch Family, but he was still a member of one of the three great clans. Outside, any commoner who saw him respectfully called him a noble. What gave Uchiha Akira the right to look down on him? His fist had already reached Uchiha Akira's face.
"When the master speaks, servants should not interrupt."
Uchiha Akira's eyes were indifferent, a faint sneer curling at his lips. A pair of scarlet Three Tomoe Sharingan appeared in an instant.
His fist stopped an inch before Uchiha Akira's pupils. Hyuga Liuhuo looked blankly ahead, his body trembling.
Yet that inch of distance was like an impassable chasm.
He could not move even a fraction closer!
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