Eight Trigrams Palms: Rotation!
Hyuga Hoshishaku used Rotation to block the surging flames.
As soon as the flames died down, he swiftly stopped spinning and charged toward Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Since you're using lethal moves, I won't hold back!"
Thinking this, he activated the strongest taijutsu he currently knew, while Sarutobi Hiruzen looked on in shock.
Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!
In less than the time it took to draw a breath,
Hoshishaku's first strike cut off the flow of chakra through Sarutobi Hiruzen's body.
This left his opponent unable to use a ninjutsu to escape.
"Two palms!"
Another lightning-fast strike landed directly on his opponent's chest, disrupting the flow of his blood and preventing him from effectively using taijutsu to block the attacks that followed.
"Four palms!"
"Eight palms!"
"Sixteen palms!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was like a living practice dummy. Hoshishaku, who was only half his height, beat him back again and again, leaving him utterly unable to fight back.
Meanwhile, Hoshishaku's strikes grew more and more ferocious, his arms chopping toward his opponent like lightning.
"Thirty-two palms!"
Hyuga Hoshishaku's hands moved so fast they were nearly impossible to see.
"Sixty-four palms!"
As he shouted, his final palm was about to strike Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Suddenly, a figure appeared out of nowhere beside Sarutobi Hiruzen and grabbed Hoshishaku's striking hand!
"Teacher!"
A cry of alarm rang out.
Only then did everyone come to their senses, as if waking from a dream.
Hyuga Hoshishaku warily looked at the newcomer.
He had short white hair, red markings on his face, and wore armor from the Warring States period. He looked to be somewhere between twenty and thirty.
He was also addressed as "Teacher" by Konoha's F4.
There was no need to guess. The newcomer was Senju Tobirama!
Still, Hoshishaku used System Inspection on him.
[Name: Senju Tobirama]
[Vitality: 300]
[Spiritual Power: 200]
[Chakra: 155000]
[Techniques: Flying Thunder God Technique series, Water Release series, Sealing Technique series, Strength of a Hundred series...]
[Special Abilities: Mastery of all five chakra natures, mastery of Yin Release, mastery of Yang Release.]
After seeing Tobirama's stats, Hoshishaku's mouth twitched involuntarily.
A chakra reserve of 150,000, more ninjutsu than anyone could count, and terrifying mastery of every chakra nature.
Tobirama spoke.
"If that palm had landed, my student's meridians would have been shattered. He might never have been able to be a ninja again."
Senju Tobirama released Hoshishaku's wrist and caught the unconscious Sarutobi Hiruzen, explaining earnestly.
Then, looking at the other students gathering around him, he said in a grave voice, "Take Sarutobi to the hospital."
"Yes!"
The three of them worked in perfect unison, carrying Sarutobi Hiruzen toward the hospital.
The scene quieted down.
Senju Tobirama studied Hyuga Hoshishaku.
Hyuga Yunfei, who was a little older, clearly knew who Tobirama was.
He quickly stepped in front of Hoshishaku, blocking Tobirama's appraising gaze.
Hoshishaku grabbed his cousin's shoulder with an exasperated look and gently pushed him aside.
Then he met Senju Tobirama's gaze, wariness in his voice. "Sarutobi Hiruzen was the one who started it."
Senju Tobirama gave an interested "Oh."
Then he asked, "How did he start it?"
Hoshishaku thought about it, unsure how to answer.
He couldn't exactly say that he'd deliberately provoked his opponent to complete a duel quest, could he?
Besides, there was a chance this guy had been there for a while.
He might have seen everything clearly.
But given the situation, perhaps he could use this to his advantage?
So he replied without cowering or acting arrogant, "Why couldn't he mind his own business?"
Senju Tobirama's eyes narrowed, and his voice grew low. "Protecting Konoha's villagers is minding someone else's business?"
Hoshishaku scoffed. "It was just a scuffle between children. They should have been allowed to settle it themselves."
"It wasn't a big deal, but he insisted on interfering. It makes me wonder if someone's using underhanded tactics behind the scenes—deliberately telling the villagers that the Byakugan is monstrous, then further smearing the Hyuga Clan and using this incident to slander the next heir to the Hyuga Clan's leadership."
Senju Tobirama was taken aback, seemingly surprised that the matter had taken this turn.
Hoshishaku wasn't simply making things up.
In the original story, Hyuga Hinata had actually suffered a similar experience.
He hadn't bothered wondering why Hinata, a member of the Main Family, had no Branch Family guards around her.
Nor why the village children had bullied her and called her a Byakugan monster.
But something like this had happened during the village's early days and continued for decades. He couldn't help but give it serious thought.
Those thoughts flashed through his mind, and Hoshishaku continued:
"And you, as their teacher, haven't tried to resolve the issue. Instead, you're standing here, making accusations before I can speak and pinning the charge of harming a villager on me. Tsk. Does the Senju Clan have no room for our Hyuga Clan?"
That accusation made Senju Tobirama's expression darken.
It wasn't because a child had talked back to him. It was because what Hoshishaku said made sense.
There might be something suspicious about this whole affair.
"I'll investigate. If someone really is behind this, I'll bring the truth to Hyuga Tianren, your clan leader."
With that, he vanished in an instant.
Was that the Flying Thunder God Technique? Hoshishaku wondered. When he turned around, he saw Yunfei standing there, dumbfounded.
He tugged at Yunfei's clothes.
"Come on. Why are you still standing there?"
As he spoke, he retrieved his coat, put it on, and walked off on his own.
Yunfei came to his senses and hurried after him.
"Young master, is someone really trying to harm our Hyuga Clan?"
Hoshishaku rubbed his chin. "There's a good chance."
"Huh?"
"What do you mean, 'huh'? The Ninja World is vast, full of all kinds of strange dojutsu, secret techniques, and unusual appearances. Why would those children call someone a monster just because they saw the Byakugan? Besides, the Hyuga were nobles of the Land of Fire during the Warring States period. Someone must have put those words into the children's mouths."
Yunfei frowned and nodded in agreement. "That's true. Even in Konoha, the Yūhi Clan have red eyes, and the Uchiha Clan have the Sharingan. Oh, and Lord Senju Tobirama had red eyes too. I also know some ninjas with yellow and green eyes. Looking at it that way, there really are all kinds of appearances in Konoha."
Hoshishaku clapped his hands. "Exactly. There must be some kind of conspiracy. Maybe someone doesn't want the Hyuga Clan to produce a Hokage in the future, or they're deliberately trying to suppress and persecute the Hyuga Clan."
As he spoke, he glanced at the building beside him with his Byakugan, which he hadn't deactivated.
Yunfei was still confused. "Huh? Why do you think that, young master?"
"Heh. It's not enough to be powerful to become Hokage. You have to earn everyone's recognition, just like Lord Senju Hashirama did."
"But there are far more civilians than ninjas in Konoha. If civilians who don't understand bloodline limits think the Byakugan is monstrous, then no matter how hard Hyuga ninjas work or how much they contribute, they'll never earn everyone's recognition."
He turned to Yunfei, whose face was full of anger, and continued:
"Because prejudice is a sin. When a prejudice takes root in childhood, it will grow like a plant, putting down roots, flourishing, and spreading to the next generation, and the one after that."
His words had a double meaning. They seemed to refer to the current incident, yet also hinted at the system of the Main and Branch Families.
It was hard to tell whether Yunfei had understood, but he was red with anger.
Hoshishaku rose onto his toes and patted the back of Yunfei's head.
"Come on. It's not too late to find out now. I'll tell Father as soon as I get back. If this can't be resolved, there'll be no place for the Hyuga in Konoha."
"At worst, we'll move back to the capital of the Land of Fire and become that prestigious noble clan again."
After the two figures, one tall and one small, had walked away, a muscular man with loose hair suddenly appeared atop a nearby building alongside Senju Tobirama.
The muscular man looked deeply troubled. His mood heavy, he asked, "Tobirama, was that Hyuga child telling the truth? The village has only been around for six years, and this has already happened?"
Senju Tobirama looked at his elder brother and sighed helplessly. "Brother, it's possible that the kid was using the incident to make a fuss over nothing, but we can't rule out the possibility that someone really is behind this. I've already sent people to investigate, and I'm sure we'll have an answer soon."
"Then I'll leave it to you. Notify me as soon as you have the results."
With that, Senju Hashirama vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
Senju Tobirama was left standing there alone.
"Ah, sometimes I really don't know which of us is the Hokage."
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