The next day, Hyuuga Nen went out into the courtyard of the base, ready to develop a new technique.
During his battle with Kakuzu, Hyuuga Nen had realized where he fell short: his attacks didn't have enough range.
Although he had the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm as a ranged attack, its range still wasn't satisfactory. He needed a technique that could reach farther.
Hyuuga Nen concentrated chakra in his fingers and tried to fire it out.
"Pew."
The chakra shot from his finger in the shape of a needle and struck the ground, leaving a small hole in the soft earth.
Hyuuga Nen frowned at the shallow hole. The technique was based on the same principle as Gentle Fist: Body Blow. It was useful for defense, but a little lacking when it came to offense.
To use it in battle, Hyuuga Nen needed to fire the chakra in his body like a bullet.
To do that, he would need not only to increase his chakra output, but also to compress the chakra continuously. He couldn't make a single mistake in the process, or his meridians would "blow out."
Even if Hyuuga Nen managed to meet all those requirements perfectly, his finger meridians still wouldn't be able to withstand a powerful, long-range attack. They would blow out all the same.
Hyuuga Nen tried several more times, adjusting the amount and density of the chakra in his fingers until he found his limit without injuring himself.
At his limit, Hyuuga Nen could fire a chakra pellet a few meters farther than the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, though it was considerably weaker.
After all, this technique required far less chakra than the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. Its pressure was higher, but its power was still much lower.
"If this hits an enemy in