The Gentle Fist

The Gentle Fist was a taijutsu used by the Hyuga Clan, who combined it with the Byakugan's penetrating vision to precisely inject Chakra into an enemy's body and damage their chakra pathways and internal organs.

A single strike often left an enemy dead or gravely wounded.

Dan's body was incredibly strong, practically impervious to blades, spears, fire, and water. But everyone knew that a person's internal organs couldn't be trained. A single hit from the Gentle Fist was just as deadly.

The Hyuga Gentle Fist was the bane of body-training ninja like Uchiha Dan.

Before making his move, the Hyuga Root Ninja had been utterly convinced of this.

But now...

After landing his strike, he immediately sensed something was wrong. His eyes widened.

Beneath Dan's skin lay a layer of fascia thicker than oxhide, suffused with Yang Release Chakra and forming a second line of defense for his body.

The Hyuga Root Ninja's Gentle Fist Chakra had pierced Dan's skin, but couldn't get through the fascia beneath it.

In fact...

Even if the Gentle Fist Chakra had reached Dan's internal organs, it still couldn't have dealt him a fatal wound. He had long since figured out how to train his internal organs.

That was why Dan dared to ignore the Gentle Fist attack.

The extent of his study and development of the human body was beyond anything these Root Ninja could imagine.

"Is that the Gentle Fist? Hyuga ninja hit like they haven't got any strength. And they have the nerve to claim they're Uchiha's equal."

Dan looked down at his opponent. His Sharingan grew even redder, like a tiger fixing its gaze on prey.

This was bad.

The Hyuga Root Ninja didn't dare look into Dan's eyes. He immediately leaped backward, retreating seven or eight meters.

But Dan stayed right on his heels.

Whoosh.

He reached out with one large hand, his five fingers trembling in an irregular, subtle, high-frequency rhythm. It was dreamlike as he reached for the Hyuga Root Ninja's throat.

Dan had used this move before while sparring with his nephew, Uchiha Itachi.

It was a secret technique he had spent ten years developing, called—

Yin Release Phantom Body Technique.

Buzz.

The Hyuga Root Ninja only glanced at Dan's palm, but immediately felt the world spinning. By the time he came to his senses, Dan's large hand was already clamped around his neck.

Like an eagle clutching a chick.

What happened? I never looked into his Sharingan. Why did I still fall under a genjutsu...

That was the last thought that crossed his mind. Then came a crack, and his neck snapped. Endless darkness surged over him like a tide.

Dan casually tossed the Hyuga Root Ninja's body to the ground.

Two remained.

Just then...

A long, slender shadow crept along the ground behind Dan, until it merged with his. An invisible force instantly bound him in place.

The last member of Root had made his move.

It was the Nara Clan's Shadow Imitation Technique.

Hm?

Dan looked down and saw the other man's shadow crawl up his legs, winding around his body like a rope and leaving him unable to move.

At the same time...

The Akimichi Root Ninja Dan had knocked back earlier leaped into the air and quickly formed Hand Seals.

Under the effects of the Expansion Jutsu, his body rapidly swelled. Then his head and limbs retracted into his torso, while his red hair hardened, lengthened, and covered his entire body.

He became a massive, spiked ball of flesh.

Rumble.

The ball came crashing down from above, rolling forward like a wheel with the force to crush everything in its path as it charged at Dan.

Ninja Art: Human Bullet Tank.

At that moment...

Dan's last two enemies both poured everything they had into drawing out their Chakra. One restrained him, while the other attacked, determined to fight him to the death.

Dan remained unruffled. Through sheer physical strength, he forced part of his body free of the Shadow Imitation Technique.

He raised his right foot and stamped down.

Boom!

His foot came down like a giant elephant's. A web of cracks instantly spread beneath him, breaking the ground into chunks of earth that all rose into the air from the force of the impact.

The shifting terrain severed the Nara attacker's shadow.

Dan was free.

Faced with the Human Bullet Tank hurtling toward him, he could easily have dodged, but chose not to.

Instead, he charged forward.

Dan stepped in, turned sideways, lowered his center of gravity, tucked in his shoulder and arms, and bent his legs—all in one fluid motion.

In an instant...

Every muscle in his body tensed. His hands and feet seemed to merge with the rest of him, each joint flowing seamlessly into the next. His entire body became as hard as diamond, like a solid slab of iron.

This move was called Iron Mountain Lean.

He didn't use his fists or feet. He made his entire body a weapon, like a giant leviathan crashing into a thousand-foot mountain.

The impact kicked up a fierce wind that howled across the land.

With a deafening boom...

Iron Mountain Lean slammed into the Human Bullet Tank.

Dan didn't budge. His legs seemed to have taken root, planted firmly in the ground.

His opponent, by contrast, was like a spinning Human Bullet Tank stuck in a swamp. No matter how hard it tried, the wheel could only spin in place, unable to advance another inch.

The stalemate lasted just one second.

Dan's strength erupted. The full force of Iron Mountain Lean took hold, and the Human Bullet Tank was sent flying backward like a cannonball.

Thud!

At last, the Akimichi Root Ninja slammed into the mountainside, arms and legs spread in an X.

Blood poured from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He died on the spot.

Whoosh.

Dan vanished from where he stood and appeared before the Nara Root Ninja the next instant.

He held his fingers together like a blade and swept them across.

The Nara Root Ninja instinctively tried to dodge, but before he could react, Dan's fingernails had already sliced through his neck. Blood sprayed into the air.

The last enemy was dead, too.

And so...

The elite Root squad Danzo had sent to attack Dan was wiped out.

The four enemies included Konoha's ace team, Ino-Shika-Cho, as well as a Hyuga Gentle Fist ninja supposedly able to "counter" Dan.

Root certainly was full of talent.

That old bastard Danzo had taken advantage of the Third Hokage's indulgence, using the excuse of training ninja for the Anbu to demand people from Konoha's major clans.

Over the years, almost no one had been able to escape his grasp. Every clan had lost gifted youths, whom Danzo had forcibly taken away and brainwashed into joining Root.

Speaking of which...

Dan had been a little surprised to find a Hyuga ninja among the attackers. The Hyuga Clan was highly insular, and he had hardly ever heard of them sending clan members to the Ninja Academy or into the Anbu.

But then he thought about it.

The Uchiha were the hardest clan in Konoha to deal with.

If even Uchiha Itachi, the clan leader's son, was about to be drawn into Danzo's camp, then it was hardly surprising that a member of the Hyuga Clan had joined Root.

With the battle over, Dan prepared to search the battlefield and take the four Root Ninja bodies to the Bounty Exchange.

He had used relatively restrained methods to kill them, avoiding overly brutal techniques so their bodies would remain as intact as possible.

That way, he could get a better price.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded again in the woods ahead.

Were there more enemies?

Dan turned toward the sound and saw Aburame Ryoma walking out from behind a large tree, his hands in his pockets.

Dan didn't know whether the man was exceptionally good at hiding his presence or simply had so little presence that he hadn't noticed him at all.

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