Yun Xi's Trump Card

"How could this possibly happen?!"

As he watched the chakra flowing through Yun Xi's body, Hyuga Hiashi began to question everything he knew.

Most shinobi's chakra was concentrated in their abdomen, then flowed through their chakra pathways. If those pathways were damaged, they might become unable to use chakra.

One of the Hyuga Clan's attack methods, the Gentle Fist, exploited this very trait to strike enemies.

Using the Byakugan, they could see the exact locations of their target's chakra pathways, then send their own chakra into the target's body with the Gentle Fist, temporarily robbing them of their ability to fight.

That was what Hyuga Hiashi had intended to do earlier: teach this brat Yun Xi a lesson.

But...

What he hadn't expected was...

This boy in front of him simply refused to play by the rules!

Earlier, Hyuga Hiashi hadn't put much chakra into Yun Xi's body.

But some of it had indeed entered Yun Xi's chakra pathways.

Even if Yun Xi was exceptionally gifted and had a powerful physique that could withstand some damage to his pathways,

he should still have experienced at least some numbness or pain.

But as Hyuga Hiashi carefully examined the spot he'd attacked with his Byakugan,

he saw that his chakra had indeed entered Yun Xi's body.

And it had struck the corresponding chakra points...

But...

Yun Xi's body hadn't been affected at all.

What Hyuga Hiashi hadn't expected was that the energy flowing through Yun Xi's chakra pathways wasn't chakra!

Under normal circumstances, chakra appeared pale blue to the Byakugan.

But not Yun Xi's...

The energy flowing through Yun Xi's chakra pathways was a mysterious red.

And his actual chakra...

had been driven into some secondary pathways by that red energy...

"Brat, who exactly are you?"

Even Hyuga Hiashi, slow on the uptake as he was, could tell that the boy in front of him was different.

A strange chakra pattern...

An unusual ability.

And words that sounded utterly unbelievable.

All of it...

instantly made Hyuga Hiashi realize just how mysterious this boy was.

"I told you already. I'm just an ordinary civilian from Konoha. I came here for a simple reason: I just want you to become my ally."

When Hyuga Hiashi asked who he was, Yun Xi didn't dwell on the question.

Instead, he came straight out with the reason he'd come.

"Do you know the current state of the Uchiha Clan?"

Unlike Yun Xi, Hyuga Hiashi merely scoffed at the reason he'd come here. "You may be different in some ways, but such arrogance will cost you dearly. It may even get you killed..."

"That's my business."

Yun Xi smiled, then continued, "Won't you at least consider it?"

"If the two great clans of Konoha join forces, I guarantee the Konoha High Command won't dare treat you the way they do now."

"And..."

"Your clan..."

"Everything connected to you..."

Each offer Yun Xi laid out was like a devil's whisper, steadily stirring Hyuga Hiashi's heart.

But unfortunately...

Hyuga Hiashi showed no intention of agreeing. He only regarded Yun Xi with a strange look.

After a long pause, Hyuga Hiashi finally spoke. "Many people say that countless geniuses have emerged within the Hyuga Clan."

"But among all the juniors I've met, I think you're the true genius."

"If Uchiha Fugaku himself had said what you just did, I might have agreed..."

"But you..."

"No."

His calm words did little to conceal the turmoil in Hyuga Hiashi's heart.

The truth was, Hyuga Hiashi had been tempted.

If the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan truly joined forces,

they would control nearly two-thirds of Konoha's power.

It was a tempting prospect.

But...

Hyuga Hiashi had neither the means nor the reason to stake everything on a boy he'd never met.

"Go back. Let's pretend you never came here today and that we never met. There are things you can't decide or involve yourself in."

After giving Yun Xi this warning, Hyuga Hiashi turned to leave.

"This guy really is cautious."

Watching him, Yun Xi pondered.

Before coming here, Yun Xi had already expected that the Hyuga Clan wouldn't agree to his request so easily.

After all, as the typical representatives of the conservative faction, Hyuga Hiashi was definitely timid enough!

But Yun Xi wasn't planning to give up...

Because he still had a trump card!

A trump card powerful enough to drive the entire Hyuga Clan wild!

After a long silence, Yun Xi suddenly smiled.

"So you still don't trust me, huh, old man? Then what if I add a secret about the evolution of the Byakugan within the Hyuga Clan?"

"Would you ally with me then...?"

The devil's whisper rang out again. This time, Yun Xi's words were like a vast net, waiting for Hyuga Hiashi to fall into it.

"What did you say?!"

Hyuga Hiashi swallowed instinctively to steady his nerves.

If Yun Xi's earlier offers had been nothing more than glory, status, and power,

then now...

The secret of the Byakugan was something that could drive Hyuga Hiashi—and the entire Hyuga Clan—mad!

Why couldn't the Hyuga Clan surpass the Uchiha Clan in reputation, status, or influence?

Population? The Hyuga Clan had both a main family and a branch family, so it had far more people than the Uchiha Clan.

Wealth?

Sorry, the Hyuga Clan was Konoha's leading financial powerhouse!

Ultimately, it was because the Byakugan couldn't compare to the Sharingan...

When they first awakened, during the Genin-to-Chunin stages, the Byakugan could temporarily give its clan members an edge over the Sharingan with its ability to see through things and pierce obstructions, combined with the Gentle Fist's attacks.

But once the Sharingan reached the two-tomoe stage,

the Byakugan's advantage disappeared. In some respects, it even fell short of the Sharingan.

And that was before the Sharingan advanced to even more powerful stages, like the three-tomoe and Mangekyo Sharingan.

Now someone was telling Hyuga Hiashi that he knew the secret of the Byakugan's evolution...

How could Hyuga Hiashi possibly refuse?

It was as if Yun Xi had grasped the deepest desire in his heart...

"Is what you're saying true?"

Hyuga Hiashi had stopped in his tracks. He stared at Yun Xi, trying to read his thoughts from his expression. Then...

he spoke. "If you're only saying this to trick me into becoming your ally, I'll make you wish you were dead..."

"Don't worry. I never lie..."