Two Years Ago

Early the next morning, Fuyuki got out of bed when Hinata called to him gently and considerately. It was still dark outside, but by the time the Ancestor's coffin lid was hanging high in the sky, the Hyuga Clan was already brightly lit and preparing for morning training.

They started with a normal warm-up jog, then split into groups to spar, practicing Gentle Fist techniques and learning how to counter and set up moves. The clan's elders and strongest members watched from the sidelines. Once a winner emerged, they pointed out the weaknesses in each fighter's Gentle Fist and taught them how to correct their mistakes.

There was almost no difference between the Hyuga Main Family and the Branch Family when it came to training in the Gentle Fist. They even used the same Medicinal Bath.

The one difference was that members of the Main Family sparred with Jonin-level clan members!

The real difference between the Main and Branch Families lay in the Caged Bird Seal and the teaching of the Gentle Fist's secret techniques. The elders would never teach the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms or Rotation to members of the Branch Family, since those two techniques could be considered the Main Family's signature Nintaijutsu.

Other techniques, such as the Gentle Fist Technique, Pressure Point Strike, and Air Palm, could all be taught without holding anything back.

What if a Branch Family member secretly learned a forbidden technique?

The Main Family and the elders tacitly allowed it. They wouldn't punish or reprimand the person, or even ask about it. They would simply make a note of it in their little book, add the student to a list of people who needed special attention, and quietly offer them proper guidance.

The Hyuga Clan was conservative and old-fashioned, always following the family rules laid down by their ancestors. But they could also be innovative. When it came to secretly learning forbidden techniques, for instance, the clan leaders had adopted a compromise: they wouldn't teach them, but they wouldn't stop Branch Family members from learning them in secret, either.

They were so secretive about it, as if it were some blushing young maiden, when they were really just a clan of old hags with a thousand-year legacy.

After morning training, the elders summoned every clan member under the age of twelve to the Training Ground. They had them draw lots to determine their groups, and the monthly Martial Arts Tournament began.

At twelve, children were already considered adults in the Ninja World. If they ran into something they didn't understand, they had to ask for help themselves. The clan elders no longer doted on them as they had when they were younger.

That was why people over the age of twelve couldn't take part in these educational sparring matches.

The Hyuga Clan wasn't particularly large. There were only seven children between the ages of three and twelve, so there was no need to prepare a special arena for the Martial Arts Tournament. They could simply use the usual Wooden Dummy training ground.

This month's tournament, however, felt far more serious than last month's. For some reason, the Third of Konohagakure had unexpectedly visited the Hyuga Clan today. The Clan Head and all the elders had gathered at the Training Ground, where they appeared alongside the Third.

Fuyuki glanced at the Third without any particular emotion. After giving him the usual greeting, "Lord Third," he went to the Training Ground and waited for the Hyuga elder to announce the start of the tedious competition.

"Hyuga Fuyuki versus Hyuga Muraryo! Let the Martial Arts Tournament begin!"

At the Hyuga elder's command, the first match began.

As soon as Hyuga Muraryo heard the elder's whistle, he charged at Fuyuki without hesitation. Gentle Fist chakra lit up his hands as he prepared to strike first and prevent young Master Fuyuki from using ninjutsu.

Fuyuki retreated, forming Hand Seals as he gathered chakra and activated his Byakugan.

The Byakugan could be activated as long as one had chakra, but Hyuga who had only just awakened it still needed to form Hand Seals to gather their chakra. In other words, they weren't skilled enough with the Byakugan to activate and deactivate it at will.

Once his Byakugan was active, blue chakra also emerged from Fuyuki's hands. He began exchanging blows with Muraryo. Neither of them held back, because the point of a tournament was to demonstrate the results of one's training. If they didn't give it their all, how could the elders know what to teach them?

In a contest of Taijutsu alone, Muraryo was no match for Fuyuki with his Byakugan activated and all-out effort. Fuyuki's palms skimmed across Muraryo's chest and arms, and in an instant, Muraryo began breathing hard, his arms trembling weakly in a strange manner.

The duel continued until Fuyuki kicked Muraryo several meters away. Only then was the match stopped.

The Gentle Fist's chakra was somewhat like that of the Chakra Scalpel. Even a light touch or brush could damage an opponent's internal organs and muscles. That was the powerful Taijutsu that had allowed the Hyuga Clan to establish itself in the Ninja World.

Fuyuki also studied the Gentle Fist, but only its more offensively focused techniques, such as the Gentle Fist and Air Palm. He had only touched on techniques like Pressure Point Strike and medical support, without studying them in depth.

The Byakugan was enough for perception. Once he killed his enemy, there was no need to use Pressure Point Strike to restrict their chakra flow.

Besides, Fuyuki didn't think Pressure Point Strike was very practical. Against someone with ordinary levels of chakra, two slaps would kill them. Against someone with chakra-ton levels, even breaking a bone with a strike wouldn't help. They could simply use their chakra-ton to break through his Gentle Fist chakra; he wouldn't be able to strike their chakra-ton points at all.

"Wonderful Gentle Fist, Hiashi. This child must have quite a talent for it, right?"

At the edge of the training ground, the Third smiled broadly as he puffed away on his pipe, "pah, pah, pah," and spoke to Hiashi beside him.

Hiashi was still trying to figure out why the Third had come. His mouth twitched slightly as he replied, "My son's talent is only passable. He's nothing special. Please forgive me for disappointing you, Lord Third."

The Hyuga Clan were loyal supporters of the Hokage, but their formulaic response to the Third's obvious attempt at small talk seemed very out of place.

In fact, it was perfectly understandable. Everyone in the Hyuga Clan was deeply dissatisfied with the aging Shinobi Hero!

Two years earlier, when Kumogakure sent envoys to Konoha to negotiate a peace treaty, the talks had barely begun when Kumogakure's envoys took advantage of the Hyuga twins' birthday, when security at the clan compound was lax, to sneak into the Hyuga Clan.

Their target was clear: the Main Family, who lived at the heart of the Hyuga Clan Compound. The people from Kumogakure had used peace talks as a pretext to steal Konoha's Kekkei Genkai!

Fortunately, that night, Fuyuki had taken Hinata to ask Hiashi about chakra training. The Kumogakure envoy hadn't succeeded, and he was caught on the spot. He had, however, chosen to kill himself rather than be taken alive.

This had been Kumogakure's fault from the start. Anyone who wasn't blind could see that!

But faced with Kumogakure's unreasonable demands, the Third of Konoha had tried to avoid further trouble. He not only made the Hyuga Clan apologize, but also made concessions in the peace treaty!

Hiashi could understand the Third's reasoning. The Third treated everyone in the village like his own children, and sacrificing some wealth to prevent a war was hardly a big deal. But as the party directly involved, the Hyuga Clan was furious!

Kumogakure had clearly been the one to resort to dirty tricks. Why should the Hyuga Clan have to pay them off?

The Hyuga Clan supported the Hokage, but they weren't supporters of you, Sarutobi Hiruzen!

So, over the past two years, unless there was a specific reason, the Hyuga Clan had rarely visited Sarutobi Hiruzen in private. The clan members simply did their jobs, and in their free time, they'd rather slack off than accept missions.

Hiashi was surprised when Sarutobi Hiruzen came to visit today, but he still observed every courtesy. He was so impeccable that no one could fault him, yet the unmistakable sense of distance and estrangement was plain to see.