Uchiha VS Hyuga

"Ningxiang, where are you going? Kurenai, let's follow her..."

Sato Hideaka watched as Hyuga Ningxiang suddenly left the group, feeling a twinge of worry. Although her Byakugan provided exceptional sensory capabilities, her chakra reserves were not vast, and she could not maintain the Byakugan for long. Furthermore, due to her young age and gender, her Gentle Fist could not yet unleash its full destructive potential.

In this treacherous Forest of Death, losing the strength of the team meant that even with Sato Hideaka's current ability, he could not guarantee his own safety, let alone that of a girl like Hyuga Ningxiang!

The two caught up to Hyuga Ningxiang. As she leaped through the trees, she looked back, a flash of gratitude appearing in her pale eyes. "Thank you both, thank you for coming to help me!"

"Aren't we on the same team? Of course we have to help each other. Ningxiang, you don't need to thank us. If we needed help, you would surely help us too, right?" Yuhi Kurenai smiled beside Hyuga Ningxiang, speaking with nonchalance.

Sato Hideaka added, "Ningxiang, you are the eyes of our team. If we lost you, we certainly wouldn't have acquired these scrolls as easily as we did. You have to remember, this three-person squad of ours is the strongest."

Hyuga Ningxiang smiled at them, wiped away the faint tears at the corners of her eyes, and with her Byakugan—veins bulging and expression unusually solemn—she turned back to lead the way in earnest.

The trio traveled in the direction of eleven o'clock for about fifteen minutes before Hyuga Ningxiang suddenly leaped down, landing on the ground and breaking into a sprint. Sato Hideaka knew they were nearing their destination; this was the tacit understanding they had developed over the past few days.

Leaping through the forest canopy allowed for faster movement and a wider field of vision, making it easier to spot distant situations and guard against potential ambushes. However, when approaching a target, the opposite was true.

If one remained at a height while nearing a target, it was easy to expose one's position and alert the enemy. To prevent this, they often returned to the ground when close to their destination, carefully using the underbrush for cover to facilitate a stealthy approach.

After running for another five minutes, Hyuga Xiangning suddenly stopped in front of a low bush. Sato Hideaka and Yuhi Kurenai crouched down and joined her, peering toward an open clearing ahead.

There were about ten people in the clearing. A man and a woman were locked in a standoff. The girl wore the grey-and-blue uniform of the Uchiha clan, her long, straight black hair flowing as her crimson eyes, marked by two tomoe, stared coldly at the man twenty meters away beneath a tree.

The man possessed eyes that looked like cataracts. He was handsome and dashing, yet carried a cold aura. Veins bulged at his temples, and he wore the standard kimono of the Hyuga clan, the cloud crest—the symbol of the Hyuga—emblazoned on the back.

As the three of them reached the bushes, the man consciously tilted his head slightly in their direction, seemingly discovering the presence of Sato Hideaka, Hyuga Ningxiang, and Yuhi Kurenai.

Sato Hideaka recognized these two. He had learned from Sarutobi Asuma that they were the two strongest of the new generation, rivaling Chunin: Uchiha Kaoru and Hyuga Ningbo. One represented the strongest of the new Uchiha generation, the other the strongest of the new Hyuga generation!

In the clearing, Sato Hideaka also saw Uchiha Kenichi and Inuzuka Jin, whom they had encountered three days ago. Uchiha Kenichi seemed to be in trouble; he was limp and being supported by Inuzuka Jin, his clothes disheveled as if he had just finished a battle.

Aside from them, there was another Hyuga clansman with white eyes, Shimura Masao—whom Sarutobi Asuma had mentioned—standing behind Hyuga Ningbo, along with a mysterious woman in sunglasses and a boy of about thirteen standing beside Uchiha Kaoru.

The eight people present seemed to have formed three factions led by Uchiha Kaoru, Uchiha Kenichi, and Hyuga Ningbo.

Uchiha Kaoru stood on a tree branch, the two black tomoe in her crimson eyes rotating slowly. She lifted her chin arrogantly, revealing her swan-like, slender neck, and said coldly, "Hyuga clansman, release Uchiha Kenichi's pressure points, and I might spare you!"

"Uchiha Kaoru, do you think someone from the Hyuga clan would do such a thing under the threat of your Uchiha?" Hyuga Ningbo bent his rear leg, extended his front leg, and placed one hand at his waist while the other was held forward, assuming a Gentle Fist stance, looking as if he were facing a formidable enemy.

"Then, you can be eliminated right now... Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Uchiha Kaoru leaped down from the tree, her hands weaving signs at lightning speed. After flipping in mid-air, she placed a hand to her mouth and continuously spat out clusters of scorching, crimson fireballs that flew toward Hyuga Ningbo!

Hyuga Ningbo glared with fierce eyes, concentrating the chakra in his body into his hands. He struck the air in front of him repeatedly toward the incoming Phoenix Sage Fire, his movements extremely earnest and solemn, as if he were striking actual targets.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. I didn't expect Brother Ningbo to have mastered the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. He truly is the number one genius in the clan."

Hiding in the bushes and watching the battle, Hyuga Ningxiang's eyes sparkled with a strange light, her words filled with undisguised envy.

Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm—what a familiar-sounding technique!

Sato Hideaka focused his gaze and saw that the Phoenix Sage Fire spat out by Uchiha Kaoru seemed to be struck by an invisible force, shattering completely in mid-air like fireworks. The Fuma Shuriken hidden within the flames were also knocked off course.

The Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm was a technique of the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist. It released a high-density, high-intensity chakra shockwave through the palm to attack long-range targets, compensating for the lack of long-range attacks in the Hyuga clan's taijutsu.

Clearly, Hyuga Ningbo had fully mastered this technique. All seven scorching fireballs containing Fuma Shuriken spat out by Uchiha Kaoru were dispersed by the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, and he had even aimed his strikes at Uchiha Kaoru, who was still suspended in mid-air.

The tomoe in Uchiha Kaoru's crimson Sharingan spun incessantly. Although the high-intensity chakra shockwaves unleashed by Hyuga Ningbo were invisible, they could not hide from the Sharingan; no chakra could escape its perception.

Using the recoil of the Phoenix Sage Fire, Uchiha Kaoru flipped several times in the air, dodging the force of Hyuga Ningbo's Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. Her lithe figure traced a graceful arc in the air before she landed back on a tree branch, saying coldly:

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, I never expected you to have mastered this technique!"