Sparring

"Uh, well, I'm here to train," Ning Xue answered honestly.

"Father told me to practice tree-climbing with chakra to improve my control and physical vitality. Besides, I watched your training just now; you're strong, stronger than anyone else our age."

At these words, the corners of Neji's mouth seemed to twitch. He glanced at the wooden post he had just struck, then at the tree Ning Xue had been climbing, before offering a mocking retort.

"Knowing how to climb trees is useless."

Ning Xue didn't react to the slight.

It wasn't that he didn't understand the jab, but rather that he didn't care. Why argue with someone who had just lost their father? Why look for trouble? It was better to just go along with him.

"I know," Ning Xue replied calmly, seemingly unprovoked by the words.

This calm demeanor caught Neji off guard. He had expected his words to sting, prompting the other boy to leave.

After all, he had his own training to attend to and no time to chat with a weakling from the Branch Family.

He struggled to his feet, brushed the dust off his clothes, and prepared to leave. His logic was simple: if he won't leave, I will.

But just as he turned, Ning Xue suddenly spoke up.

"Your Gentle Fist, your strikes are precise, but your force exertion seems too rushed."

Neji felt like a powder keg being ignited. He rounded on Ning Xue and demanded, "What did you say?!"

He had no intention of being questioned about his training results by someone who was still learning how to climb trees.

Ning Xue didn't flinch at Neji's bristling appearance. Instead, he looked Neji straight in the eyes and said, word for word, "I said your force exertion is too rushed."

"I've been watching you for a while. Every strike of your Gentle Fist uses your full strength, and while you're right to pursue that momentary penetration, the Gentle Fist is meant to be continuous. Even though you can sustain it longer than most, such rigid, forceful exertion might actually prevent you from driving chakra deep into the acupoints effectively. And... it puts a huge burden on your body." He pointed to Neji's still-reddened hands.

"You don't need to keep your whole body tense and exerting force; you should be like an Inch Punch, focusing all your power into a single, sharp burst."

While this conclusion wasn't entirely accurate, it did touch upon some of Neji's minor flaws.

The anger in Neji's eyes intensified. He stepped forward, closing the distance until he was almost right in front of Ning Xue. At four years old, Neji was slightly taller, and he looked incredibly imposing.

"You watch for a little while and think you understand? By what right do you judge my Gentle Fist?"

Facing Neji's angry interrogation, Ning Xue's expression remained unchanged. He simply tilted his head back slightly to look at him.

"I don't claim to understand. I'm just stating my opinion. If you think I'm wrong, you can pretend I never said anything."

Seeing Ning Xue's continued lack of expression, Neji felt as though he had punched a pile of cotton; he was frustrated and unable to vent.

So, he issued a friendly challenge.

Neji suddenly dropped into a Gentle Fist starting stance and said coldly, "What's the point of just talking? Come on, let me see what level your Gentle Fist has reached!"

"I refuse," Ning Xue replied without hesitation.

"You just finished training. You don't have the stamina."

In truth, Ning Xue was a bit nervous. He wasn't sure about his own level, and if he lost, his words would just be empty talk.

But to Neji's ears, that sounded like: You aren't good enough...

This only made him more annoyed.

He said coldly, "It doesn't matter."

"Fine," Ning Xue sighed, resigned, and took up a stance.

Once Neji had settled into his own stance, the battle began.

Wait... for... the... start.

Ready... set... go!!

Neji attacked first, a palm striking directly toward Ning Xue's chest.

Ning Xue chose to retreat, attempting to grab the other boy's wrist.

Unfortunately, he was too slow, so he decided to take the hit head-on.

Ning Xue blocked with his arm, but the moment Neji's strike landed, he felt as if he had been rammed by something, forcing him to take an involuntary step back.

Neji was surprised that he had blocked it, but immediately followed up with a second palm toward Ning Xue's shoulder, aiming to seal the acupoints on his right arm.

This time, Ning Xue saw it coming. Just as the strike was about to make contact, he exerted a sudden burst of force with his other hand and deflected it.

"Nani?"

He hadn't expected this boy, who was shorter than him, to be able to deflect his palm strike.

This forced him to take the fight seriously.

In the next few exchanges, Neji failed to land any substantial damage.

Ning Xue's strategy was to dodge whenever possible and only strike back when he couldn't.

Every collision with Neji's strikes left his hands and feet numb.

Under one of Neji's tricky blows, Ning Xue failed to dodge this time.

In an instant, he was knocked to the ground.

Neji seized the moment to press his advantage, and facing this strike, Ning Xue truly had no way to dodge.

So, he gambled big; as Neji's strike landed, Ning Xue's hand directly grabbed Neji's arm.

With his other hand, he struck Neji's elbow joint, immediately released his grip, and drove his palm into Neji's chest.

Seeing this, Neji's pupils constricted, and he hurriedly withdrew his hand to defend.

Yet, the palm strike still landed, and the force behind it was not light.

Neji instantly felt his chest grow stifled and painful from the blow.

He staggered back a few steps, his face filled with disbelief.

He, Neji, had actually been countered in a desperate situation by someone who looked even weaker than himself, but excitement followed, as few of his peers in the clan could trade blows with him.

"Very good! Again!"

After regaining his composure, Neji shouted at Ning Xue and resumed his combat stance.

Ning Xue struggled to stand up and began trading blows with Neji once more.

After this series of head-on collisions, Neji said to Ning Xue:

"You are more troublesome than I imagined."

He then knocked him to the ground with an even more powerful palm strike.

Neji flexed his still-numb arm and glanced at the spot on his chest where he had been struck; the fabric there even showed a slight indentation.

"That... method of exerting force you mentioned earlier."

Neji suddenly changed the subject; although his tone remained stiff, it carried a hint of curiosity.

"And that last move... how did you think of it?"

He was referring to the sequence of actions where Ning Xue struck his elbow to break his balance before following up with a counterattack.

Ning Xue managed to prop himself up, sitting on the ground as he replied to Neji's question.

"Your attacks are too fast. I was just reacting on instinct; if I break the power in one of your arms, you lose your balance for a split second, which allows me to follow up with a counter."

Neji fell silent for a moment, not denying it. He took another deep look at Ning Xue, as if re-evaluating this white-haired clansman.

"Hmph."

In the end, he let out a cold snort, acknowledging him as an opponent.

He reached out, pulled Ning Xue up, and said to him:

"Your fundamentals are still very poor." He didn't look back as he tossed out this final assessment, "But... your insight is not bad."

With that, he walked back to his wooden stake without looking back and continued his training, though he paused occasionally at his points of impact, seemingly lost in thought.

"Heh."

Seeing this, Ning Xue let out a soft chuckle before heading toward his own home.