"It's over. Genye's definitely going to get beaten to a pulp by that petty jerk!"
Mei covered her face, unable to watch.
"Clan Head, you have to punish Hyuga Genye severely and avenge Takashi!"
Hyuga Takashi was thrilled.
Genye had sent him flying with a single palm strike earlier. He'd been waiting to get even today...
Boom!
With a loud explosion, Hyuga Takashi watched in horror as Hyuga Yuansheng... went flying too!
(ﾟДﾟ≡ﾟДﾟ)!
Hyuga Takashi stared. The Clan Head had flown even farther than he had!
"Clan Head!" he wailed.
"Whew." His arm hurt like hell, but seeing Yuansheng soar into the distance put Genye in a sunny mood.
That felt great!
After yesterday's reinforcement, his physical abilities were nearly at the level of an elite jonin. His combat experience still wasn't there yet, but his hardware was up to par.
With three times the force behind that punch, he'd put at least twenty years of power into it. How could Hyuga Yuansheng possibly block that?
"Pfft!" Hyuga Yuansheng crashed to the ground in a sorry heap and spat out a mouthful of blood.
The entire field fell silent...
"You've got to be kidding. The Clan Head's as strong as a jonin, and a kid barely into his teens just sent him flying with one punch?"
"This is bad. The Main Branch has lost face. How are we supposed to handle this?" Many Branch House members looked uneasy.
"You bastard! How dare you hurt the Clan Head!"
Hyuga Hiashi was furious. After ordering two clan members to help Hyuga Yuansheng up, he turned livid and activated the Caged Bird Seal on Genye.
He's panicking. He's really panicking. Can't take a loss, huh?
After the bloodline reinforcement, the Caged Bird Seal could no longer control Genye.
What had once been an unbearable torment now felt more like a head massage.
Still, Genye put on a pained expression and collapsed to the ground, secretly laughing so hard he shook.
"Brother Genye!"
Mei had just lowered her hand when she saw Genye on the ground, trembling in pain.
Her heart clenched too.
But wasn't it the Clan Head who told him to go all out?
Mei wasn't the only one thinking that. It was what most of the Branch House members were thinking, too.
"Hyuga Genye!"
Looking at his father, who needed help just to stand, Hyuga Hiashi pointed at Genye and snapped, "Clan sparring has always been about pulling your punches. Yet you attacked with the intent to injure. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Exactly. The kid fought dirty," Hyuga Yuansheng chimed in, still spitting blood. "I let my guard down. I didn't dodge."
"Genye... Genye... was wrong."
Genye seemed to be speaking in broken gasps from the pain. In reality, he was struggling so hard to hold back his laughter that he nearly cracked.
"Genye was too foolish and misunderstood the Clan Head's meaning."
"So when the Clan Head repeatedly told me to go all out, what he really meant was that I shouldn't go all out, and that I should pull my punches!"
"You!" Hiashi was left speechless. Genye nearly drove him to his grave.
How could he not hear that Genye wasn't admitting fault at all? He was clearly mocking him and his father.
But with everyone watching, Hiashi couldn't punish Genye unfairly. All he could do was secretly intensify the Caged Bird Seal, wishing he could kill the brat on the spot.
"That Main Branch father and son are shameless. They're the ones who aren't strong enough, but they insist on blaming someone else."
"Heh. The Main Branch can never be in the wrong. It's always the Branch House's fault. It's been that way for a thousand years. What's surprising about that?"
Noticing the increasingly strange looks from the clan members around him, Hiashi's expression shifted.
He knew that punishing Genye now would turn everyone against him. He couldn't keep it up.
"Since you admit your mistake, I'll dock a month's pay. Any objections?" Hiashi released the Caged Bird Seal, intending to wrap things up quickly.
"None," Genye replied indifferently.
He earned almost half a year's worth of the clan's pay for completing a single mission.
What a joke. He didn't care about the money at all.
Too bad. That head massage felt pretty nice. I'll have to find a way to get into trouble again next time.
Hiashi glanced over the crowd and said sternly, "No one is to speak of what happened today. Anyone who does will be severely punished!"
"Yes!" the Branch House members answered. Mei also breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
"Damn it, damn it!" Hyuga Takashi gritted his teeth.
Why is Hyuga Genye so strong? I... I really admire him!
Before long, the story of Hyuga Yuansheng being sent flying with one punch by a young man spread throughout the village.
Don't ask. Genye was the one who spread it.
Training Ground 8.
Asuma nudged Genye with his elbow. "I heard you punched your Clan Head so hard he spat blood?"
"I did." Genye nodded with a smile. "I hadn't even put any power into it, and he was already flying."
"Get out of here. Don't give me that crap!"
Ever since meeting Rin-to, Asuma had taken to calling himself "this great man" whenever he was in a bad mood. Genye suspected he was going through puberty.
"If you run into trouble, come find me. I'll have my old man take care of it!" Asuma said.
Yuhi Kurenai chimed in too. "That's right, Genye. Come to us if anything happens. My father and the Hyuga Clan Head are on good terms."
Genye felt a warmth in his heart. "Let me thank—"
"Cut it out!" Asuma immediately interrupted him. "Don't let me hear any sappy stuff!"
"You're impossible!" Genye said, exasperated.
Just then, Shimura Hefeng walked over from the edge of the field and beckoned them over. "All right, enough chatter. Get over here. I have something to announce."
"Sensei, do we have another mission?" Yuhi Kurenai asked.
"No. For now, focus on training. I'm planning to recommend you for the next Chunin Exams," Shimura Hefeng said.
"The Chunin Exams?" Genye wasn't very interested.
Genin in Konoha were so strong. Why lower his power level by becoming a Chunin? That made no sense at all.
Suddenly, Genye seemed to realize something. He grinned. "Sensei Hefeng, don't tell me you've got into it with Namikaze Minato again?"
Everyone knew their teacher and Namikaze Minato didn't get along. It wasn't anything new.
When Team Minato completed a C-rank mission, their team had to complete a B-rank one. When Team Minato completed ten assignments, their team had to complete twenty.
For all they knew, this time, too, their teacher had decided to compete with Namikaze Minato over the Chunin Exams.
"You talk too much!" Shimura Hefeng shot Genye a sidelong glance, but didn't deny it.
The three exchanged glances. Well, looks like that's probably what happened.
"What a pain. This great man has no interest in getting mixed up in your rivalry," Asuma grumbled.
With that, he turned to go train by himself, not giving Hefeng the slightest consideration.
He was the Hokage's son. Who was he supposed to be afraid of? His dad was the Hokage, after all.
Shimura Hefeng didn't get angry. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly as he said, "If you all pass the exams, I'll approve half a month off for you."
Asuma stopped in his tracks.
He turned around and said without a change in expression, "I'm taking the Chunin Exams for myself. It has nothing to do with you, Shimura Hefeng."
Genye covered his face. Asuma was all talk, and only talk.
But credit where it was due: Shimura Hefeng's offer had definitely motivated all three of them.
Even Genye was looking forward to it.
He'd get to take the exams alongside Kakashi and Obito—and maybe even compete against them!
Tsk, just thinking about it sounded fun.
Before you continue