Gentle Fist

The next day, Riyue rose early and began training with Mizuki once more. Mizuki started teaching him the Gentle Fist.

Unlike the Strong Fist, which uses brute force to strike an enemy's muscles and bones, the Gentle Fist targets the body's meridian points and internal organs. The specific method involves using the Byakugan for assistance, then using the fingers to emit tiny needles of chakra to strike the enemy's pressure points, disrupting their meridian system and blocking the flow of chakra. Alternatively, one can use palm strikes infused with chakra to attack the enemy, causing shockwaves that vibrate their internal organs and inflict internal injuries.

Through the X-ray vision of the Byakugan, Riyue carefully compared the human anatomy. He found that the average person in the world of Naruto had the exact same physical structure as people from his past life. The structure of the nervous system was identical, with the same 720 nerve points, and the distribution of blood vessels and meridians was also the same, save for the terminology used for the points.

The only difference was that those capable of becoming ninjas possessed an additional meridian system that allowed for the circulation of chakra, totaling 361 chakra points. Most of these overlapped with the 720 nerve points, though there were exceptions, such as the eight gates involved in the Eight Inner Gates.

Riyue speculated that when the Sage of Six Paths founded the Ninjutsu Sect, he used Yin-Yang Release to create new chakra pathways to distribute chakra to the masses, resulting in these minor physiological differences. However, this chakra meridian system still largely coincided with the traditional meridian system of Chinese medicine. Riyue believed that with his superior understanding of meridians, he could improve the Gentle Fist and perhaps even create powerful new techniques.

The Gentle Fist emphasizes speed, accuracy, skill, ruthlessness, and fluidity. It seeks to strike with clever, rapid, and precise movements; often, a single light blow is enough to finish off an enemy.

Attacking pressure points with chakra needles condensed between the index and middle fingers yields different effects depending on the technique. For instance, sealing a point prevents chakra from passing through it. Stimulating a point can cause a sudden surge in the chakra flowing through it; if an enemy continues to channel chakra unknowingly, it can have miraculous effects, such as causing their ninjutsu to spiral out of control or their own chakra to rupture their meridians. Destroying a point can render that specific meridian useless. Depending on the location, pressure point strikes can also cause internal injury, paralysis, shock, excruciating pain, or even death. If one uses chakra-infused palms to strike the internal organs, the resulting vibrations can cause the organs to shift, tear, or even shatter, leading to death from severe internal trauma.

"Riyue, let's start practicing the Gentle Fist!" Mizuki said.

Under Mizuki's guidance, Riyue quickly learned how to identify points, strike with his fingers, and execute palm techniques. He decided to solidify the foundations of the Gentle Fist before incorporating his own ideas. The main branch refuses to share their secret techniques? Then he would create his own, and eventually, the main branch would be begging the branch family to teach them!

Riyue began his grueling training. Beyond constant physical conditioning, shuriken throwing, the Three Body Technique, hand seal practice, and chakra control, he also trained his Byakugan and practiced the Gentle Fist every day. He planned to activate his Byakugan four times a day—morning, noon, afternoon, and evening—using each six-minute window to hone his insight, X-ray vision, and visual range, all while sparring with Mizuki.

Riyue commissioned a wooden mannequin, precisely carved with all the pressure points and meridians. All 361 chakra points and 720 nerve points were marked, and the interior was fitted with various organs. Every day, he practiced striking the dummy and hitting the points. He even attempted to strike the points using only finger strength, without relying on chakra needles.

Riyue demanded of himself that he be able to accurately strike an opponent's points even without the Byakugan. Even if an opponent had a congenital deformity or chakra points that differed from the norm, a few seconds of Byakugan activation would be enough for him to hit the mark. Look at Haku from the Hidden Mist Village; he could strike Zabuza's points with senbon from a great distance with incredible precision. Since he possessed the Byakugan, a literal X-ray device, could he really be inferior to Haku?

A week passed, and Riyue made rapid progress. However, Mizuki had a new mission. Word was that the war was intensifying, and she had been assigned to escort supplies to the front lines on the border of the Land of Fire.

At the gates of Konoha, Mizuki had her gear ready. Nearby, the convoy was undergoing its final inspection.

"Sister Mizuki, please take care. Supply convoys are prime targets for enemy ambushes, so be careful," Riyue said with some concern.

"Don't worry, Tsunade is in charge of logistics and will send people to meet us," Mizuki smiled.

"Hmm," Riyue nodded. Tsunade's strength might not be at its peak yet, but she was certainly no slouch.

"I'm off. I'll be back soon. Goodbye," Mizuki waved.

As Mizuki turned away, Riyue noticed that her backpack zipper wasn't fully closed, revealing half of an envelope. On the envelope was a red logo—a ping-pong paddle, no, a fan. It seemed she had shoved the letter into her bag in a hurry and forgotten to zip it up.

Huh? That's the Uchiha Clan crest, isn't it? Was that letter written to Sister Mizuki by someone from the Uchiha family? Riyue wondered.

"Sister Mizuki, your backpack zipper is open!" Riyue called out from behind her.

"Ah? Oh!" Mizuki hurriedly turned her bag around. Seeing the half-exposed envelope, her face turned bright red. She scrambled to stuff it back in, not daring to look at Riyue again.

"I'm going now, Riyue. You should head back..." Mizuki said, waving her hand haphazardly behind her while keeping her face turned away, and began walking forward quickly.

"Goodbye, Sister Mizuki. That... was a love letter, wasn't it?" Riyue suddenly shouted, waving his hand in farewell.

Mizuki, who had walked a few steps ahead, froze at his words. Her face flushed so deeply it looked like it was steaming, and she looked as if she might faint. Not daring to linger a second longer, she fled into the convoy.

"So it really was. Someone from the Uchiha family? Sister Mizuki is so shy... Hehe." Riyue held back his laughter for a long time before finally bursting out.

Watching Mizuki's retreating figure, Riyue hoped to grow stronger as quickly as possible, so he could protect himself and those important to him.

Riyue continued his training, working even harder each day. The massive chakra drain from the Byakugan didn't discourage him; instead, it fueled his fighting spirit. In the world of Naruto, those with Kekkei Genkai were stronger than the average person, but because of this, they relied too heavily on their bloodline abilities and lost sight of other things.

Riyue didn't want to rely solely on the Byakugan. He wanted to be able to fight with it, and without it. The Byakugan was merely a tool; the person who pushed it to its limit was what mattered. It wasn't the Byakugan that was strong, but himself. Not being able to use the Byakugan constantly actually allowed him to better train his other abilities, reducing his dependency. As one faded, the others grew stronger—this was not a bad thing for him.

His reaction and sensory training were going well, making him far sharper than the average genin. He practiced striking pressure points even more diligently, while also training his memory for the points, all of which helped compensate for the short duration he could maintain the Byakugan. Fate had closed a door on him, but he had opened a window for himself. This window would give him an advantage in combat, allowing him to use the Gentle Fist skillfully even without the Byakugan. It was a blessing in disguise.

Once he had built a solid foundation and mastered the Gentle Fist, Riyue decided to incorporate his own ideas.

For example, he believed he could use finger strength to compensate for the lack of destructive power in chakra needles, as the contact area of a fingertip is much larger. With enough finger strength, he could greatly increase his accuracy and the damage of his strikes; he could even block meridians using pure physical force. This was a key aspect of his daily practice on the wooden dummy.

Riyue possessed his past life's understanding of nerve points. There are 36 fatal points on the human body; for instance, the temple houses the vagus nerve, which controls the heartbeat—a heavy strike there could stop the heart. People in the Naruto world were no different. There were also peculiar points that could produce special effects when struck: causing excruciating pain that incapacitated the enemy, inducing paralysis or numbness, causing muscles to lock up, constricting blood vessels to stop bleeding, or inducing shock and a state of suspended animation.

Riyue could use pressure points to stop bleeding; in the absence of anesthesia, he could use chakra needles to numb an area; when capturing enemies, he could use them to immobilize them; and when he needed to interrogate someone without torture devices, he could stimulate their pain, laughter, or acid points—methods that wouldn't kill the enemy but would be unbearable. He could even induce a state of fake death to deceive others. These were areas the original Gentle Fist hadn't explored deeply. Riyue knew that others in the Naruto world were researching such methods, but compared to him, with his experience from a past life, he was clearly on a higher level.

Riyue also began practicing Taijiquan from his past life. He was no martial arts master, and his understanding was limited to what he could actually use; he couldn't simply fuse the Gentle Fist and Taijiquan into a new martial art. He only hoped to borrow some of the philosophies of Taiji to improve the Gentle Fist and create new techniques. He believed that the Gentle Fist was firm within the soft, while Taiji was soft within the firm; by incorporating Taiji, the Gentle Fist could achieve a balance of hardness and softness, reaching a new level of power.

When using the Gentle Fist, footwork is paramount. At first, Riyue practiced horse stances relentlessly, holding them for hours at a time, which significantly improved his stability, waist and leg strength, and control. Next, he began practicing the footwork of Taijiquan and Baguazhang. Taiji footwork is light, steady, and silent, like a cat stalking its prey, while Baguazhang footwork is like flowing water, turning with ease. Riyue planned to integrate these into his Gentle Fist, making his movements flexible, varied, elegant, and steady. He would keep his center of gravity stable even as his body shifted, achieving the state of being as still as a maiden and as swift as a startled rabbit.

Of course, Riyue had many more ideas, all of which would require time to refine; they couldn't be achieved overnight. He would build his foundation, prepare well, and continue to experiment and improve. Eventually, quantitative changes would lead to a qualitative leap!

Just like that, half a year passed, and Riyue turned five.