Hanabi's Rotation

After leaving Snake Auntie's secret base using the Flying Thunder God, Qiuyang pushed at full speed toward Konoha.

He returned to Konoha just in time to see Sakura punch Naruto into a wall, right as he was about to show Konohamaru his new Sexy Jutsu.

What a nostalgic plot point!

He sighed with emotion, choosing not to interrupt the reunion of the twelve genin.

Instead, just like at the beginning of the story, he stood in a tree with his arms crossed, watching the noisy crowd nearby with amusement.

This was the human warmth that belonged to the world of Naruto!

"Qiuyang, it's been so many years. I thought you would have rushed over to tell me how much you missed me the moment you saw your teacher!"

Jiraiya appeared on a higher branch at some point, his gaze fixed on Naruto in the distance as he spoke.

Qiuyang laughed, feeling incredibly relaxed at this moment:

"Teacher, come to my place for a drink tonight, and I'll tell you all about my 'longing' for you."

He whispered to the man above: I brewed a few jars of wine shortly after you and Naruto left, and they've been waiting for your return.

"Oh, oh, it's good of you to remember what your teacher likes. Tonight, I'll bring a few pretty young ladies along..."

Qiuyang: "..."

Teacher Jiraiya, can you not ruin this hard-earned, wonderful atmosphere?

Over there, Kakashi had already successfully met with Naruto. After receiving the yet-to-be-published Icha Icha Paradise, he took Sakura and Naruto to the original bell-testing grounds to evaluate their training results.

Hearing the commotion from that direction, Jiraiya asked with interest: "How about it? Do you want to have another bell-snatching battle with your teacher?"

"Next time, Teacher Jiraiya. I have something very important to take care of."

Jiraiya looked down at him: "What important thing?"

What could possibly be more important than testing his students?

Qiuyang nodded and gestured toward the ground beneath the tree.

Jiraiya followed his gaze and realized that a pretty little girl had been standing under the tree at some point.

Her white eyes were looking up, fixed steadily on Qiuyang.

"Oh, I remember... that's Hiashi's youngest daughter, right!"

Jiraiya clicked his tongue.

He had never agreed with the Hyuga Clan's practice of distinguishing between the main and branch families, and he had even heard rumors that the main family would harm members of the branch family for the sake of clan interests, which left him with a poor impression of the family.

After a casual greeting, he headed toward Naruto's group.

Qiuyang jumped down from the tree and looked at the little girl, who was already tall enough to reach his chest:

"How did Hanabi know I was here?"

There was no sense of estrangement between them, likely because Qiuyang had occasionally returned to the village over the past two years to tutor Hanabi.

"My sister told me Brother Naruto was coming back today, and Teacher, you haven't been back to the village for almost six months."

The little girl's tone was somewhat aggrieved.

Qiuyang hurriedly praised her for her excellent analytical skills, guessing that he would return if Naruto did, which finally made the little girl's expression soften.

"And didn't I tell you not to call me Teacher? Think about how much older I am than you."

"I don't care. Father told me to call you that, so you are my teacher!"

"..."

This Hiashi, you've really caused me a world of trouble...

Qiuyang sighed helplessly and brought this little tail along toward Naruto's location, though he wasn't there to watch the protagonist's bell-snatching battle, but rather...

Jingle, jingle—

When the two arrived at a spot not far from Naruto's trial, Qiuyang pulled a cute bell out of nowhere:

"See this bell, Hanabi?"

"Mm!"

"You've been studying shurikenjutsu for a long time these past two years, along with the ninjutsu I taught you. I don't know what your current strength is, so..."

As he spoke, Qiuyang hung the bell on his waist and put on his Konoha Headband.

Seeing this, Hanabi's white eyes instantly glowed with an endless fighting spirit.

Over the past two years, she had continued to study the Byakugan taijutsu taught by her father, while simultaneously learning the ninjutsu taught by her teacher.

Her father still emphasized that the Byakugan was the strongest, so she... was impatient to have a battle with her teacher to see if it was really as her father said.

A gentle breeze blew past.

Unlike the clash of blades he had with Sasuke, Qiuyang finished the hand signs for Shadow Clone the moment Hanabi squinted against the wind.

He wouldn't go easy on the little girl; this match was merely to test her strength. Therefore, as soon as his five *Shadow Clone*s appeared, they quickly hid in various concealed positions.

Hanabi, wanting to test the strength of her Byakugan, did not use Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, choosing instead to rush forward and finish Qiuyang off with taijutsu the moment she spotted him.

One... two... three...

Yet, gradually, she began to feel that something was wrong.

Why was it that every time she struck down an opponent, it turned out to be one of her teacher's shadow clones? Over a dozen shadow clones had already vanished into smoke at her hands.

After such a struggle, she was drenched in fragrant sweat, panting heavily.

The drawbacks of focusing solely on taijutsu training with the Byakugan were now becoming apparent.

If one's strength had not yet reached the level of using Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm for long-range attacks, it was easy to be kited and drained of chakra by a nimble enemy.

Seeing that her stamina was nearly exhausted, Qiuyang's true body, along with the shadow clones hidden in the shadows, simultaneously hurled shuriken, kunai, and other ninja tools at Hanabi.

Because of the dynamic vision assistance provided by his Sharingan, he and his clones intentionally coordinated the trajectories of the ninja tools, so what appeared in Hanabi's eyes were these weapons flying toward her at high speed from every possible blind spot.

Although Hanabi relied on her Byakugan to barely dodge the first few, the sheer number of those following was far beyond what she could avoid through dodging and parrying alone.

With a sharp clack, the hair tie holding her long hair was sliced through by a kunai, and her hair cascaded down like a waterfall.

Qiuyang, observing the little girl's state, was just considering whether he should use Flying Thunder God to rescue Hanabi from the center of the battlefield.

He did not expect the girl to suddenly spin at high speed.

As the rotation accelerated, a semi-circular white chakra field formed around her, enveloping her entire body and blocking all the incoming kunai and shuriken.

Huh? Isn't this move the Hyuga Clan's...

Qiuyang was astonished, his Sharingan tomoe observing the flow of the chakra mass below with intense focus.

He had not expected Hanabi to unleash Rotation in a moment of crisis.

"Eight Trigrams Palms: Rotation."

Only after blocking the assault did Hanabi's body slowly stop spinning.

The ground centered around her had been plowed nearly half a meter deep by the Rotation, and the various ninja tools that had been aimed at her were scattered messily all around.

Clap, clap, clap...

Watching her teacher appear in front of her, clapping, the little girl's body was extremely fatigued, yet the corners of her mouth curled up into a wide arc.

"Brother Qiuyang, I never expected that I would grasp the method for the Eight Trigrams Palms: Rotation—something I hadn't mastered after two years of practice—during this spar with you."

Hanabi stopped calling him teacher, opting for a much more intimate address.

How could she not be happy?

Her father often muttered about how Neji had already learned Rotation and Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms at such a young age, while she and her sister struggled even to execute Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms.

Now, she had finally lived up to her father's expectations.

"Student Hanabi, do you think learning Rotation makes you very impressive, hmm?"

"I... isn't it?"

Qiuyang weighed his words, deciding to demonstrate instead, and assumed the stance for Eight Trigrams Rotation himself.

"Come, attack me using the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique I taught you last time."

Brother Qiuyang's stance... could it be that he also knows the Hyuga Clan's Rotation??

That's simply impossible.

Hanabi pulled a handful of shuriken from her ninja pouch, threw them, and quickly formed hand seals.

"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"

The original shuriken, which had been just one, multiplied into two, then four... eventually generating a full sixty-four shuriken flying toward Qiuyang.

The quantity could not compare to the 256 that Brother Qiuyang had generated when demonstrating the jutsu to her, but this was the limit of what she could split at the moment.

Qiuyang did not dodge; instead, he closed his eyes as if he hadn't seen the shuriken at all.

Simulating the chakra flow he had just recorded with his Sharingan when Hanabi used Rotation, he released chakra from the various tenketsu on his body and began to spin.

"Eight Trigrams Palms: Rotation..."

It wasn't just Hanabi; even Jiraiya and Tsunade, who had been drawn in and were watching secretly from the shadows, were shocked.