Main House and Branch House

Hyuga Makoto grimaced in pain, but still forced himself to push away the people around him. He struggled to his feet and flexed his hands, which still weren't quite responding.

"I underestimated you. But you're just a brute with raw strength. In the face of the Byakugan and Gentle Fist, everything else is useless!" Hyuga Makoto threatened.

Toru paid no attention to his words. Instead, he focused on the differences between Hyuga Makoto and the other Hyuga around him.

Of the group, only Hyuga Makoto seemed to have no qualms about exposing his forehead. The others had covered theirs with headbands, bandanas, or other accessories.

If that were all, Toru wouldn't have thought it strange.

The problem was that the Six Eyes could see beneath the surface. Under those coverings, the brains of the other members of the Hyuga Clan had all been subjected to some kind of restriction, one that limited their vision and strength.

Perhaps that was why these people obeyed Hyuga Makoto without question. The restriction was likely a symbol of status, a sign of their subordinate position.

Toru didn't know the specifics, though. He planned to ask Clan Head Fugaku later. As a member of the Konoha High Command and head of a major clan, Fugaku would surely know.

While Toru studied the mystery of their foreheads, Hyuga Makoto recovered the use of his arms. They still tingled and hurt when he swung them, but he could move them well enough.

Hyuga Makoto formed hand seals. "Byakugan!"

The veins around his eyes bulged at once, and his gaze grew sharp in an instant.

Toru noticed a massive amount of Hyuga Makoto's chakra flow into his eyes. The strain on the area around them caused this effect.

Compared with the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan, the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan was much easier to use. Even the Ninja Academy students before him, who hadn't graduated yet, could activate it.

The Hyuga before him all activated their Byakugan. Hyuga Makoto, at their head, assumed the Gentle Fist stance. Tekka, Dohka, and the others, who had been thoroughly beaten by this technique, began to panic and hurriedly hid behind Toru.

Hyuga Makoto let out a cold laugh. "There's no point hiding. You can't escape these Byakugan!"

Hyuga Makoto lowered his stance, one hand held forward and the other back, ready to use Gentle Fist.

"Gentle Fist Art."

Hyuga Makoto's aura shifted sharply, putting Toru on guard as well.

The two faced off for a moment. Soon, Hyuga Makoto couldn't hold back any longer. He advanced with precise footwork and struck out rapidly with both palms. "Eight Trigrams Two Palms!"

Toru chose to avoid his attack, sidestepping out of reach.

Hyuga Makoto pressed the attack. "Four Palms! Eight Palms! Sixteen Palms! Thirty-Two Palms!"

After completing a full Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms, Hyuga Makoto was panting, having used up a great deal of energy.

Toru, by contrast, looked relaxed, as if he'd merely been strolling through a garden.

Still, deep down, Toru admired the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist. As expected of a major clan with a long tradition. They've clearly earned their place.

Toru copied Hyuga Makoto, concentrating chakra at his fingertips. He struck in an instant, jabbing a pressure point on Hyuga Makoto's chest and forcing him back.

Hyuga Makoto was startled. Why does that move look so much like Gentle Fist?

Little did he know that Toru had come up with the move on the spur of the moment, after using the Six Eyes to see through the principles of Gentle Fist and imitate them.

Hyuga Makoto had already lost his earlier confidence. He quickly called on the others to rush Toru all at once.

But Toru moved among them, slipping through their ranks like a leaf that never touched a flower.

Hyuga Makoto's complete Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms hadn't even grazed Toru's clothes. These rabble, with their patchy knowledge of Gentle Fist, stood even less of a chance.

Toru's agility owed much to the Six Eyes' keen perception and the powerful physique granted by the reinforcement of Cursed Energy. These two advantages he'd brought with him from his previous life had made him far stronger than his peers.

And Toru didn't just dodge. As he weaved between them, he jabbed his fingers into their pressure points. Even more cleverly, he exploited openings in their attacks to make them land their Gentle Fist strikes on each other.

Hyuga Makoto finally managed to rally and charge into the fray, but Toru quickly closed in and struck his pressure points. His whole body went numb in an instant. While he was paralyzed, Toru seized him and turned around, using him to block a palm strike from the round-faced Hyuga.

Hyuga Makoto nearly spat up blood. "What the hell's wrong with you? Are you blind?"

The round-faced Hyuga was terrified. He hurriedly apologized over and over, his manner utterly servile.

Toru showed Hyuga Makoto no mercy. He grabbed his arm and flung him away, straight at the round-faced Hyuga.

With a crash and two cries of pain, the pair collided hard and couldn't get back up.

Toru turned his gaze to the others. Their legs trembled, and for a moment none of them dared approach.

So Toru took the initiative. A few punches and kicks were all it took to finish them off. He piled them together, then plopped down on top.

Watching the scene, Tekka and the others tensed up. They'd ended up in the same position last time. They couldn't help thinking how lucky they were to have accepted Toru as their big brother. At least now, they wouldn't have to get beaten up again.

Of those watching, Dohka reacted fastest. He led the others in a shout: "Toru, you're amazing!"

Tekka and the others joined in. "Big bro, you're amazing! Big bro, you're amazing!"

Toru gestured for them to quiet down, and their shouts gradually died away.

Then Toru looked down at the people pinned beneath him. "Do you still want this field?"

The people underneath him didn't dare answer. They waited for Hyuga Makoto to speak. Pinned second from the bottom, Hyuga Makoto managed to say, "We don't..."

Satisfied, Toru stepped over their backs and got off the pile. The people stacked into a human tower scrambled to their feet.

Hyuga Makoto held his swollen cheek and gave Toru an unwilling look. If looks could kill, Toru would have died a hundred times over by now.

Toru noticed Hyuga Makoto staring and turned to look at him. Hyuga Makoto hurriedly looked away, then slunk off with the others.

On the way, he didn't forget to berate the lackeys beside him. He mentioned the Main House and Branch House, and said the Branch House should protect the Main House. Toru picked up on those words at once.

During the fight, the round-faced Hyuga's headband had come loose, revealing a green X-shaped Cursed Seal on his forehead. It was that seal that caused the restriction on brain function and vision that the Six Eyes had detected.

"A Cursed Seal, a Branch House, a Main House... The Hyuga Clan really is pathetic. Is this how they ensure the clan's survival?"

From those few clues, Toru had roughly deduced the Hyuga Clan's Main House and Branch House system.

He didn't think much of it. Such a system was practically strangling the clan's potential.

Compared with the Hyuga Clan's system and culture, Toru was fairly satisfied with the Uchiha Clan's.

The Uchiha had always respected strength. It didn't matter whose son someone was—if he was strong enough, he'd earn their recognition.

That was one of the reasons Toru had earned the clan's approval so quickly.