Six-Year Pact

Byakugan, activate!

Hyuga Hoshishaku took up the opening stance of the Gentle Fist.

He didn't let up with his words, either. "You're not even that old, and you only throw your weight around at home. You've got a little talent for acting like a king in your own house and bullying your own people, that's all."

"Do you spend all your time outside sucking up to kids from other clans? What kind of person are you, to call yourself the heir to the clan head?"

Hyuga Yueye activated his Byakugan as well.

The insults enraged him.

Trembling all over, he struggled to block Hoshishaku's attacks while shouting, "How dare you! How dare you! I'm only getting along with them because the elders told me to! I'm no one's dog!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Hoshishaku scoffed aloud, but inwardly he despised his foolish older brother even more.

Was sucking up to outsiders really the point?

The point was that he only bullied his own people!

Couldn't he even understand that?

Then again, he was a member of the rotten Hyuga Clan.

Bullying their own people was an old tradition.

Hoshishaku had meant to come to the training ground to familiarize himself with his new abilities, and he'd happened to run into this mess.

In the past, he hadn't been strong enough, so all he could do was watch coldly from the sidelines.

But now he had the strength to teach this annoying kid a lesson, and the rules openly allowed them to compete for the position of clan head. Why should he hold back?

So Hoshishaku treated his opponent like a living practice target and began getting used to the abilities Neji had given him.

First, he tried the beginner-level Gentle Fist he'd trained in for the past two years.

The Gentle Fist was somewhat similar to the Tai Chi he'd practiced in his previous life.

Or rather, it had simply been copied from Tai Chi.

As he attacked and blocked, their exchange took on the elegant balance of yin and yang.

However, Hyuga Yueye was more skilled in the Gentle Fist, and gradually gained the upper hand.

Seeing that he wouldn't get anywhere by continuing like this,

Hoshishaku decided he'd warmed up enough.

He was ready to use the Taijutsu Neji had given him: Air Palm.

Hoshishaku deliberately left an opening for his foolish older brother. Yueye shoved him back five steps with a palm strike, creating some distance between them.

Then Hoshishaku pushed off hard with his feet. His body abruptly turned and surged forward, accelerating into a sudden attack.

Air Palm!

Before Hyuga Yueye could react,

Hoshishaku struck his chest three times in quick succession, then followed with a fluid spinning kick that sent him flying into the air!

Before Yueye could recover, Hoshishaku drew strength from the ground and sprang up, following with a vicious kick.

The kick was brutally precise. It struck Yueye so hard that he briefly lost consciousness in midair before crashing heavily to the ground.

"You really can't take a hit. A piece of trash like you wants to be clan head?" Hoshishaku exclaimed, genuinely amazed.

At the same time, he thought, He was born in the Warring States period, and he's already nine. How can he not even withstand one Taijutsu technique from a Genin in the peaceful era of Konoha?

He hadn't even used Neji's Rotation or his ultimate move, Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

Hoshishaku glanced at his cousin, Hyuga Yunfei, who was staring at him with shining eyes.

He didn't act on his impulse to help Yueye up.

He knew that in a clan with a thousand-year-old tradition of the Main and Branch Families, being too kind to the Branch Family could bring disaster upon them.

And he didn't yet have the strength to decide everything.

So he could only abide by these ridiculous rules.

Hyuga Hoshishaku calmed his resentment and turned toward the cloth screen around the training ground. He called out loudly:

"Father, you saw just how useless Yueye was."

"If someone like him becomes clan head, he'll bring shame upon the Hyuga Clan."

"I suggest we mark him with the Caged Bird Seal right now, then send him to retire early as an elder in the Branch Family's back courtyard."

As soon as Hyuga Hoshishaku finished speaking,

Yueye, who was gradually coming to, was overcome with panic.

He had been born during the Warring States period and lived through the founding of Konoha, so he was mature for his age.

Though he had some flaws in his personality, he understood what his younger brother meant.

He wanted to make sure Yueye never had a chance!

If Father really listened to his younger brother, Yueye and all his descendants would be finished!

At the thought, Yueye began to pant unconsciously. Large beads of sweat welled on his skin, and his training clothes were soon soaked through.

But he didn't dare say a word. He simply waited in silence for his fate to be decided.

After a long pause, Hyuga Tianren's voice came from behind the screen, devoid of emotion:

"Hoshishaku, give your older brother another chance."

"After all, three years ago, when the elders were going to mark you with the Caged Bird Seal, he cried and knelt down to beg me to give you a fair chance to compete."

Hoshishaku was surprised to hear that.

That had happened three years ago?

He hadn't expected someone as foolish as Yueye was now to have cared about him once.

Memories of his childhood flashed through his mind.

Though they hadn't seen each other often, his cheap older brother had always been excited whenever they met.

Hoshishaku suddenly remembered that his older brother had been foolish back then, too, but in an endearing way.

Had the elders of the clan turned him into the annoying person he was now?

As Hoshishaku thought about it, his gaze softened as he looked at his older brother.

Still, for the sake of his plan to reform the clan—and for his brother's own good—

He was determined to become clan head!

Meeting Hyuga Yueye's pleading gaze,

Hoshishaku stood still for a moment, then turned and walked away.

Without looking back, he said, "In that case, I'll give him six years."

"If he can't defeat me six years from now, he'll have to give up his position as heir to the Main Family's clan head."

With that, Hoshishaku left the training ground.

By then, the elder on duty at the training ground had taken a roundabout route to reach the clan head.

Frowning, he quietly asked him, "Is six years too long?"

"Besides, the clan head's line has always..."

Hyuga Tianren raised a hand to interrupt him, took a sip of tea, and said calmly:

"The old rules were meant to prevent the Byakugan from being stolen."

"But Senju Hashirama protects the Hidden Leaf Village now. Who would dare covet the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan?"

The elder's face twitched. Intimidated by the authority of this clan head, who had made a name for himself back in the Warring States period, he could only bow his head and give in. "Yes, clan head."

Hyuga Tianren continued giving his orders:

"From now on, Hoshishaku will be first in line to inherit the position of clan head of the Main Family, and Yueye will be second."

"If he says six years, then it'll be six years. Starting today, the two brothers will switch their respective treatment, all the way until the succession duel six years from now. Understood?"

"Understood, clan head."

Hyuga Tianren waved the elder away.

"Then go."

Watching the elder on duty bow and leave, Hyuga Tianren's lips curled slightly.

"What childish boys... Six years is far too merciful, and far too confident."

"After all, fifteen is when a ninja's strength begins to surge. Hoshishaku, how do you plan to stand against your older brother?"

But it didn't matter.

To him, both boys were his flesh and blood.

Whichever one proved more capable would inherit the position of clan head.

That wasn't just the rule; it was also a promise he'd made to his older brother.

Back then, he had defeated his older brother by a five-year margin and won the position.

And his descendants would have to settle it the same way!