Konoha Year 59, a crisp autumn day.
On the outskirts of the Death Forest.
A gray-haired boy stood before a wooden training post in an open clearing.
The boy had delicate features and wore a brown short-sleeved shirt and shorts. A white bandage was tied around his forehead, and his pale eyes were particularly striking.
Staring straight ahead, the boy focused completely and assumed the opening stance of the Eight Trigrams Palm.
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms."
As his voice rang out—
The gray-haired boy suddenly sprang into motion, moving so fast that he left behind a trail of afterimages.
"Two Palms!"
"Four Palms!"
"..."
"Sixty-Four Palms!"
The gray-haired boy's footwork was light and graceful, while his palms flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water, making for a truly pleasing sight.
Thud, thud, thud...
For a time, palm shadows fluttered everywhere like butterflies dancing amid flowers. Every strike from the gray-haired boy landed solidly upon the wooden post, producing sounds like pearls falling onto a jade plate. Their wondrous rhythm was utterly entrancing.
As his voice faded—
The gray-haired boy panted slightly, but a delighted smile appeared on his face.
Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms—flawless!
The boy's name was Hyuga Hayato, and he was a member of the Hyuga Branch Family. Hayato was only twelve this year, yet he had already mastered a secret technique that supposedly only the Hyuga Main Branch could learn. Who would believe it if he told them?
However, Hayato was not getting carried away.
Originally, he had merely been an ordinary civil servant from China on Blue Star. With no connections and no money, he had lived like a salted fish with no bright prospects. He had thought that life would continue until the day he retired.
Forrest Gump once said, "Life