Practicing on Whom

"How did these two become a picture again...?"

Tsunade watched from afar and could not help being dazzled.

Whether it was Wuye standing motionless in the center or Kaguya dancing gracefully around him in slow motion, both seemed like part of the stream and woods.

Stillness and motion complemented each other, white-clad figures entering a painting.

"That was the first time. How much did you remember?"

Kaguya stopped moving.

Though Wuye wanted to show off with a Zhang Wuji-style, "I only forgot half of it," the desire to watch her perform it once more filled his mind.

"I only remembered most of it. Sister, could you perform it again?" he said.

"You remembered most of it? Very good. Faster than I was back then."

Kaguya nodded. Her slender fingers once again touched various points on his body as her willow-thin waist turned lightly, her snowy hair fluttering and her fragrance flooding Wuye's nose.

This wonderful experience engaged all four senses—sight, sound, smell, and touch—and was utterly addictive.

Finally, after Kaguya had performed it a third time, Wuye did not ask again.

"Sister, can I try?" he asked.

Kaguya withdrew her hands and stood still. Hearing that, she said in surprise, "You don't need time to digest it? You can perform it already?"

Not wanting to appear too shocking, Wuye thought for a moment. "I'm sure I remember the four acupuncture routes and the Eight Trigrams footwork, but I might make mistakes when combining them with the Gentle Fist."

"In that case, practice as I did before. Don't use the Gentle Fist yet; just touch the acupuncture points," Kaguya said.

Wuye seemed to hesitate. "Who should I practice on?"

"Of course..."

Kaguya instinctively wanted to say herself, but then froze.

Mm, there would be a little too much physical contact. Especially in slow motion, touching places like the lower abdomen...

Kaguya suddenly turned to Tsunade. "Hey, Tsunade, aren't you the teacher? Come over and be a target."

"Be a target?" Tsunade crossed her arms as she walked over, suspiciously asking, "What do I need to do?"

Kaguya replied in an offhand tone, "Just like Wuye did earlier. Stand still in the center of the Eight Trigrams diagram."

"Why don't you do it yourself?" Tsunade asked.

Kaguya continued casually, "I need to watch from the side to accurately point out his mistakes."

"I see..."

She had been too far away earlier to see the location of every acupuncture point clearly. Now that Kaguya's explanation sounded reasonable, Tsunade stopped doubting her.

"Come on."

She casually stood in the center of the Eight Trigrams diagram.

Wuye nodded, and his hands began to move. Starting from the point on her left shoulder, he moved while taking short steps within the Eight Trigrams diagram. Before long, his fingers reached her chest... Mm, they were caught between something soft.

Tsunade suddenly felt something was off, but it had already begun, so she could not exactly call a halt out of nowhere... Yet Wuye's hand continued moving lower.

If it had been a real strike, she would not have felt anything unusual, since it would have been a chakra impact. But this was slow motion, practically the same as caressing, and that was completely different.

Slowly, slowly, a tingling sensation rose within her body...

"No, Wuye, the lower abdomen point is too high. A little lower," Kaguya suddenly said.

She looked expressionless, but inwardly she was already delighted as she watched Tsunade's flushed, awkward expression. Good thing I didn't step in myself...

"L-lower?!" Tsunade cried in alarm.

Wuye also gave Kaguya a baffled look... He was not so shameless as to deliberately hit the wrong point just for another chance to touch that spot.

Kaguya suddenly winked at him... Mm, with only one eye.

Wuye's eyes widened slightly... That assist came out of nowhere!

"Yes, I understand."

His hand decisively moved down an inch.

Slap!

The soft sensation flashed by, but Tsunade knocked his hand aside the next instant.

"I'm a medical ninja! How could I not know whether there's an acupuncture point there?!"

Tsunade turned around in fury. "Kaguya, you're teaching him nonsense!"

"Ah? Is that so?"

Kaguya frowned as if taking it seriously. "Did I see it wrong?"

"Of course you did!"

Tsunade shouted, but her eyes suddenly narrowed. "You... weren't you doing that on purpose?"

Kaguya looked coldly at her, utterly disdainful. "What benefit would I gain from deliberately doing such a thing?"

Wuye held himself back and barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes, even with his Byakugan active... Big sister, do you realize your character setting has collapsed?

"Fine, then you be the target now."

Tsunade stepped forward.

Kaguya frowned again. "If I'm the target, who will watch whether he hits the right points?"

Tsunade crossed her arms and sneered. "You won't know whether they're right just because you're the target? Who are you trying to fool? Can't you sense it? Fine, even if that's the case, I'll watch whether he gets them right. I may not know the sequence, but I know the acupuncture points along the chakra pathways."

Kaguya: "..."

"What? Afraid now?" Tsunade continued to sneer. "So you deliberately set me up just now, didn't you?"

"Hmph, then I'll do it. You watch carefully!" Kaguya suddenly said.

Wuye remained silent.

The two of them were helping each other out, so of course he could not interfere.

This round, I'm operating on a whole other level!

"Wuye, stop practicing. Use the Gentle Fist directly. I won't resist," Kaguya said as she stood in the center of the Eight Trigrams diagram.

"Huh?" Wuye was startled. "What if I make a mistake?"

The corner of Kaguya's mouth secretly curved up. "You won't be able to finish it. With your current chakra reserves, you can only reach sixteen palms at most. You shouldn't get sixteen acupuncture points wrong."

Hearing that, Tsunade suddenly widened her eyes. "Isn't it One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms?"

Kaguya shook her head airily. "I just suddenly realized that he doesn't need to master One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms yet. Being able to use Sixteen Palms proficiently is more important."

"You... shameless!"

Tsunade's eyes nearly popped out of her head. Clearly, she had never seen Kaguya act so shamelessly before.

But could Hyuga Wuye truly not finish One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms? Really?

He silently loosened the bandage inside his left sleeve, stood a thin blade hidden within it upright, then slowly wrapped the bandage back around it.

"Hiss."

The blade sank into his arm, causing searing pain!

If Wuye were an NPC, the health bar over his head would surely have been constantly dropping, while "-1, -1, -1" continuously popped up above his forehead.

Youth knows not how to cherish life; spending one's lifespan must be done with caution...

"Sister, here I come."

He immediately lowered his body and assumed his stance.

Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!

At first, Kaguya remained expressionless, but when he continued after reaching sixteen palms, she was shocked...

Smack smack smack smack... smack smack smack smack...

Each set of four strikes came with a steady rhythm.

"Mm."

Almost the instant he finished and withdrew his hands, Kaguya's entire body went limp, and she happened to fall into Wuye's arms.

He hurriedly wrapped an arm around her slender waist. "Sister?"

Kaguya struggled to stand, but her body only went softer as she collapsed into Wuye's embrace.

Warm fragrance and soft jade, a delicate scent that intoxicated the senses.

Her smooth snowy hair brushed against his ear, and her pointed chin rested on Wuye's shoulder.

"All my chakra points have been sealed. I can't stand for the moment..." Kaguya's voice was unusually weak.

"Then I'll hold you, Sister. Hurry and use chakra to force the points open."

Wuye first pulled the blade from the bandage and tightly wrapped it back against his skin, then held her firmly with both hands.

Kaguya was only half a head taller than him. With her head resting on his shoulder now, they fit perfectly.

Countless shredded leaves had been swept up during the Eight Trigrams Palm strikes, and only now did they slowly drift down.

Tsunade watched the two white-clad figures embracing amid the silently falling leaves and sighed helplessly. "How did these two become a picture again...?"