Hyuga Setsuna

"Too amazing!!"

"Is this guy really a ninja student in our class?!"

This time, it wasn't just the girls standing nearby.

Even the boys who had already been knocked out were letting out exclamations of amazement.

It was true.

Because this was wartime, the students at the Ninja Academy had all received solid basic ninja training.

But against these kids who hadn't even reached Genin level, Hane barely needed to use the String-String Fruit or any other advanced ninjutsu.

His powerful physique and Taijutsu alone were more than enough to crush the Ninja Academy students with ease.

Maybe...

Only that guy Shisui can make me bring out my true strength.

As he thought this, Hane faced one simple attack after another and grew even more determined to apply for early graduation once he had mastered all the basic ninja techniques.

After all, he hadn't joined the Ninja Academy to waste time or play the fool while hiding his strength. He wasn't interested in playing these childish games.

"Are you Yakushi Hane?"

But just then, a cool voice rang out.

Hane snapped back to his senses. A white figure swiftly took down several nearby Ninja Academy students and appeared in front of him, blocking his path.

"Let's see what kind of strength you have, since you're able to outshine the Uchiha Clan's genius, Shisui..."

"Show me what you've got!!"

He had long, black hair, a black kimono with white trim, and an unexpectedly handsome face.

But what caught Hane's attention was the boy's pair of pure white eyes.

He was clearly a member of Konoha's oldest noble clan—the Hyuga Clan!

"Hyuga Setsuna?"

Facing the Hyuga Clan boy who had suddenly appeared, Hane's usually calm gaze finally turned a little more serious.

Among the students in his year at the Ninja Academy, aside from Uchiha Shisui, who was assigned to another class, this boy named Hyuga Setsuna was the strongest.

He was a Hyuga Clan prodigy who had never been mentioned in the original story.

"Byakugan!!"

Without another word, the Hyuga Clan boy in front of Hane formed Hand Seals.

His pure white eyes snapped open, and bulging veins appeared at his temples.

"He's already awakened the Byakugan at such a young age?!"

As Hyuga Setsuna activated the Byakugan, Hane felt as though those sharp eyes could see right through his entire body. A trace of surprise appeared on his face.

The Byakugan was the Kekkei Genkai of Konoha's oldest noble clan, the Hyuga Clan.

Although awakening it wasn't as difficult as awakening the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, the fact that this Hyuga Clan boy had awakened it at his age showed just how gifted he was.

"Watch out! Gentle Fist!!"

After activating his Byakugan, the Hyuga Clan boy saw that Hane seemed distracted. He called out a warning, blue chakra already blooming over both his hands.

Gentle Fist was the Hyuga Clan's secret art, and the strongest Taijutsu style in Konoha.

It could strike the chakra pathway system directly, and when combined with the Byakugan, it could also strike a person's chakra points.

"So this is... the Gentle Fist of the Hyuga Style?"

As Hyuga Setsuna's hands blurred into afterimages, striking at him again and again, Hane retreated, continuously dodging the blue chakra around the boy's hands.

Unlike the Konoha-Style Strong Fist that Hane was currently training in, the Gentle Fist of the Hyuga Style focused on upper-body movements, while its stances usually kept the lower body firmly guarded.

Using their unique Gentle Fist, practitioners sent chakra into their opponent's body to damage their meridians and internal organs.

After all, even the strongest people in the ordinary ninja world couldn't train their internal organs. Internal injuries caused by the Gentle Fist were usually fatal.

That is, unless you had reached the Six Paths level, possessed Senju Hashirama's Sage Body, or had an immortal body like Hidan's, which had been granted to him by the Jashin Cult.

Konoha Style Strong Fist, on the other hand, focused more on lower-body movements. Its techniques were usually wide and powerful, relying mainly on kicks.

By using chakra to give the body greater explosive power and destructive force, its movements were fierce and swift, its attacks forceful and overwhelming, causing direct physical damage to the enemy.

Simply put, these two different styles each had their own strengths.

So if Hyuga Setsuna's Gentle Fist hit him—even if it only grazed his skin—he could use the unique chakra damage of the Gentle Fist to injure Hane's internal organs and meridians.

"Looks like Neji wasn't the only one in the original story..."

"The Hyuga Clan's branch family had other outstanding prodigies, too."

Watching Hyuga Setsuna's fierce Gentle Fist attacks, Hane could feel that the boy's strength was clearly on an entirely different level from the other Ninja Academy students.

For a moment, Hane was filled with amazement and his thoughts began to wander.

According to the original Naruto story, the Hyuga Clan didn't seem to have a single noteworthy figure who could compete with the Uchiha Clan from beginning to end.

Among the Uchiha's younger generation, there was the greatest genjutsu ninja, Uchiha Shisui, followed by Uchiha Itachi, who reached Kage Level at thirteen.

Even Uchiha Sasuke, who had seemed unremarkable early on, powered up later on and awakened the soul of Indra's reincarnation, receiving the Sage of Six Paths' legacy and becoming one of the strongest in the Ninja World.

And that wasn't even counting Uchiha Madara, who looked down on the world, or the underdog who rose to greatness, Obito Uchiha. In short, throughout the Uchiha Clan's history, there had been far too many brilliant figures.

By contrast, the Hyuga Clan...

Aside from Hyuga Tenin, who was only briefly mentioned in the original story, the clan hadn't produced a single Kage Level powerhouse in nearly a century in Konoha.

The only prodigy, Hyuga Neji, was the first of Konoha's new generation of Konoha 12 to become a jonin.

But because he didn't have the protagonist's plot armor, he tragically died in the Fourth Shinobi World War, becoming the only one of the Konoha 12 to fall.

So the appearance of the prodigious Hyuga Setsuna was a little unexpected to Hane.

The real Naruto World truly had many people and events that had never been mentioned in the anime.

"It's over!"

Just as Hane's gaze wavered for a moment, Hyuga Setsuna, who had been continuously using the Gentle Fist of the Hyuga Style, suddenly roared.

A sharp glint flashed in his pure white eyes. He spread his hands before him, one in front and one behind, and struck a strange pose.

"You're already within my Eight Trigrams Domain."

Feeling an invisible domain envelop his body, Hane's eyes widened as he faced Hyuga Setsuna's Gentle Fist stance. "This is..."

"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!!"

Before Hane could react, Hyuga Setsuna roared, his voice low.

He lunged straight into Hane's arms.

His hands instantly unleashed the Hyuga Clan's secret Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Palms.

Like a violent storm, he struck with all his might at thirty-two chakra points across Hane's body.

"No. You're the one who's finished!"

Facing Hyuga Setsuna's fierce, seemingly fatal attack, Hane's expression finally turned serious. A glow of lightning began to radiate from his body.