In the Past, My Fists Weren't Fast Enough, Much Less Ruthless

"Makoto, it's enough for you to train Miss Hinata. There's no need to drag me into this."

Deep in a forest in Konoha, Neji looked at Hyuga Makoto and spoke in a low voice.

He was in an extremely foul mood!

Hyuga Makoto had vanished without a trace on the second day after joining the Anbu. Neji guessed he must have been assigned some kind of mission.

He had been worried sick these past few days. After all, to him, the person closest to him in the Hyuga Clan was Hyuga Makoto.

Finally, after enduring a whole week, he received word that Hyuga Makoto had returned!

But while this made him happy, it also left him somewhat displeased.

Naturally, he was happy that Hyuga Makoto had returned safe and sound.

What displeased him was that his good big brother hadn't even come to see him!

Still, he hadn't thought much of it. He assumed Hyuga Makoto had other matters to attend to.

But he never would have imagined that when he was preparing to train, he would see Hyuga Makoto bringing Hinata out...

"All right, you little rascal."

Hyuga Makoto felt a little guilty, since he had genuinely forgotten about Neji.

Still, he reached out and vigorously ruffled Neji's hair.

"I've been exhausted for a whole week. Besides, when are you finally going to call me big brother?"

"That brat Naruto was right after all..."

Neji tried to break free, but he couldn't budge at all. He could only mutter,

"You really are a bastard!"

"Neji."

Hyuga Makoto stopped and rubbed his fists.

"I suddenly feel that my fists weren't fast enough in the past, and even less ruthless, so..."

"What are you planning to do?"

Neji instinctively took a step back. In front of others, he could still maintain his aloof demeanor.

But in front of Hyuga Makoto, it was truly difficult for him to do so.

"I've kept your secret for so long. Don't do anything reckless!"

"Kept what secret?"

Hinata looked at Neji curiously, while Hyuga Makoto was left completely confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"That you joined the Anbu."

Neji glanced at Hinata before speaking unhappily.

Hinata was the daughter of Hyuga Hiashi, after all. She would definitely know about this sort of thing, so he couldn't be bothered to hide it.

However, Hyuga Makoto nearly laughed in anger, and his fists began to crack ominously.

No wonder there hasn't been a peep from the clan. So you were the one throwing me under the bus, you little brat?

"Sure enough, my fists were far too soft back then!"

"Brother Makoto..."

At this moment, Hinata tugged at his sleeve and asked timidly,

"Don't we still have to train?"

"That's right. We still have to train."

Hyuga Makoto nodded, but he didn't lower his fists. Instead, his smile became even more sinister.

"You're not allowed to leave, Neji."

"..."

Neji pressed his lips together. He didn't want to train with Hinata at all.

Although he could see Hinata's kindness, he hated the Main Branch!

Yet when faced with his good big brother, he truly had no way out.

He could only snort before obediently remaining where he stood.

"Today, I'll teach you two something interesting."

Hyuga Makoto cracked his neck before speaking.

"You've both learned the Thirty-Two Palms of the Eight Trigrams Palms. I won't comment on how proficient you are, but have you ever felt that something was wrong?"

"Something wrong?"

Hinata looked somewhat bewildered, while Neji furrowed his brows.

"Is it incomplete, with many palm techniques missing?"

"That's not what I mean..."

Hyuga Makoto felt a headache coming on. This kid Neji really was too clever.

As expected of the person from his memories who had relied on his talent alone to comprehend the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and Rotation, techniques that only the Main Branch could learn.

Moreover, Neji had even developed the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms into the Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms. Talent like that was truly rare!

"Forget it. Attack me. That'll make it easier for you to understand."

"All right..."

Hinata nodded instinctively, but then she suddenly noticed Neji rapidly leaping backward!

Only then did she realize that Hyuga Makoto had attacked first.

Wasn't he telling us to attack him?

Hinata was still confused, but she quickly charged forward.

Before she could even reach him, Hyuga Makoto's second palm had already sent Neji sprawling!

At the same time, Hyuga Makoto flashed in front of her, and she instinctively raised her guard.

However, Hyuga Makoto leisurely broke through her defense. Before she could react, one hand had already tapped her shoulder!

"You're still exactly the same..."

Neji climbed to his feet and couldn't help muttering a curse. Clearly, he was already used to this, but he soon became serious.

"That way you attack... I remember you used it against those two Anbu?"

"Brother Makoto, you..."

Hinata had also realized it by now. Hyuga Makoto's Gentle Fist was chaotic!

"Your memory is pretty good, Neji."

Hyuga Makoto withdrew his hand and folded his arms, smiling.

"This is what I want to teach you: a special way to use the Gentle Fist."

"But, Brother Makoto, every move in the Eight Trigrams Palms uses a different amount of Chakra. Mixing them up could easily cause serious problems!"

Hinata couldn't help asking softly. This was different from what her father had taught her.

Neji, however, was very direct. He asked in a low voice,

"How did you do it?"

"It's simple. Practice controlling your Chakra—achieve absolute control."

Hyuga Makoto glanced at Neji before turning to Hinata.

"Hinata, you're right. Following the sequence of the techniques allows their power to keep increasing. But what if you encounter a powerful enemy who understands the Hyuga well?"

"That..."

Hinata hesitated, but Neji understood what Hyuga Makoto meant.

"They'll predict your techniques. Even if they can't avoid everything, they only need to evade the most lethal attacks."

"Exactly."

Hyuga Makoto nodded at Neji approvingly before speaking seriously.

"Unless you become strong enough that even if others know your techniques, they still can't dodge them. But how many people can actually do that?"

Hyuga Makoto's words left them both silent. Hinata especially felt that even her father would have difficulty accomplishing that.

Neji's eyes, however, began to shine. In his view, using the Gentle Fist out of order was itself a challenge to the Main Branch!

He was extremely interested in this power...

"Since you both understand what I mean, let's begin training."

Hyuga Makoto found a random place to sit before speaking slowly.

"This training won't be easy. You'd better prepare yourselves mentally."

"Yes!"

Hinata and Neji were both extremely serious. They trusted Hyuga Makoto deeply.

However, they soon experienced the pain...

"Honestly, even climbing a tree is so troublesome. Back in my day, I finished it in one try."

Hyuga Makoto leaned against a rock and rolled his eyes as he watched Neji and Hinata's miserable appearances.

Actually, he really wanted to teach them something else.

But the Hyuga were simply like this.

Especially when it came to developing the Byakugan, there was even less choice!

"Once the Byakugan is awakened, it's basically reached its limit. But on the other hand, the neighboring Uchiha..."

The Uchiha had the Sharingan, progressing from one Tomoe to Three Tomoe, and even the Mangekyo and Eternal Eye.

If they were ruthless enough, they could even produce a Rinnegan!

The most talented person in the Hyuga was Neji, but in Makoto's memories, Neji was incredibly impressive in the early stages, began to fall off in the middle stages, and by the later stages...

Damn it, there weren't even any later stages!

"As for the Tenseigan, I'm afraid they don't even meet the basic requirements..."

Hyuga Makoto shook his head and couldn't be bothered to think about it further.

He glanced at the two who were still training, then simply activated his Byakugan and searched the surrounding area.

He hadn't forgotten that he had come out this time intending to find a suitable place to dig a hole!

"Hm?"

However, when his gaze swept across a nearby cliff, he suddenly spotted a familiar face.

"Uchiha Shisui?"

His expression became rather strange. Is this guy waiting for Uchiha Itachi?

Although he hadn't deliberately looked into the Uchiha's situation, he knew that this clan was becoming increasingly insane.

If nothing unexpected happened, Uchiha Shisui should have begun preparing to find a way to control Uchiha Fugaku and thereby prevent the coup.

"But once you reveal the ability of Kotoamatsukami, you've essentially picked out your own grave."

Hyuga Makoto rubbed his chin, pondering exactly when Uchiha Shisui had died.

But at that moment, his system suddenly flashed...