Leaving (Part 1)

Time flew by, and two years had already passed since the Nine-Tails Rebellion.

Although the damaged buildings and grounds had been repaired, the scars left in people's hearts remained, difficult to heal.

Hyuga Yizhe had spent four years at the Ninja Academy.

Worth mentioning was that during the latter two years, he had mastered the nature transformations of both Wind and Water chakra. He had also learned the technique of Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, fulfilling his father's wish from before his death.

He no longer wanted to remain at the academy, because no matter what achievements he made, neither his father nor his mother would see them. He no longer had anyone to please.

So, he planned to go out and travel.

A boy from the Uchiha Clan had also graduated from the Ninja Academy alongside him. His name seemed to be Itachi.

At such a young age, he had already displayed extraordinary talent. He had reached graduation level after just one year at the academy, making even the prideful Yizhe admit he was inferior.

"Yo! What brings you here, kid?" Hizashi, who was sitting in the courtyard, spotted the young man entering at once.

The two adorably dazed children playing in the yard also turned toward the gate upon hearing his voice.

A young man in white entered with a bright smile.

The newcomer was Hyuga Yizhe.

"Big brother—" "Big brother—" The two children wobbled as they ran toward him.

"Have you two been well, Neji, Hinata?" Feeling the extra "accessories" clinging to his legs, Yizhe bent down and gently ruffled the two little ones' hair.

"Mm!" The children looked up at him with narrowed eyes, like little kittens, their faces brimming with happiness.

Both children had been born two years ago. The boy was Neji Hyuga, Hizashi's son; the girl was Hinata Hyuga, Hiashi's daughter.

Whenever Yizhe came here, he would play with them. Over time, he had grown close to the two children.

"Have you been eating properly? Why does it feel like neither of you has gained much weight?" Yizhe scooped one child up in each arm and walked toward Hizashi.

"I eat until I'm full every meal! I want to grow up quickly and become a powerful ninja like Father!" Neji declared his dream proudly.

"Mm!" Hinata was rather shy. She merely gave a soft hum and nodded.

"What made you suddenly come here?" Hizashi took the children from him and asked quietly.

"There's something I want to discuss with the clan head." Yizhe smiled slightly without explaining, then sent the two children off to play.

"Come to think of it, it's strange. Why are these two so close to you?" Hizashi looked at the children's retreating backs with great frustration.

After all, one of them was his own son! Yet he felt his son was not even as close to him as he was to this big brother.

Yizhe snorted with laughter. "Maybe it's because you two fathers are too stern! I'm their big brother, of course I won't keep a straight face all day like you do! You two are the very image of strict fathers!"

"Am I?" Hizashi widened his eyes and cried out.

"Don't you know that yourself?" Yizhe teased.

"Maybe... a little," Hizashi's voice involuntarily weakened.

"Where's the clan head? Is he inside?" Yizhe glanced toward the rear courtyard, no longer continuing the discussion about the children.

"Sigh! Come with me!" Hizashi sighed, rose to leave, then suddenly turned back to instruct the two children in the courtyard. "You two little ones stay here and play. Don't go anywhere!"

"Okay—" "Got it!" came the children's childish replies.

Hizashi led the way toward the rear courtyard with Yizhe, and the two chatted as they walked.

"You haven't come to practice taijutsu with me in a long time. How has your training been?" Hizashi asked softly.

Strangely enough, although Yizhe preferred all sorts of bizarre ninjutsu, his talent in taijutsu was not bad either. After several exchanges, even Hizashi had been amazed by the speed of his progress.

"Compared to you, Uncle, I'm naturally still far behind! But I've made some small accomplishments," Yizhe said confidently.

"Oh? You're that confident?" Hizashi became even more curious.

He wanted to see just how far Yizhe's martial arts had progressed.

Before long, the two arrived at the rear courtyard.

Several training dummies stood in the yard, their bodies marked with prominent vital meridians and acupoints. They were models specially used by the Hyuga Clan to practice the Gentle Fist.

One person stood in the middle of the yard. Dressed in white training clothes, he bore an extremely close resemblance to Hizashi in both build and features, and he was staring intently at the dummy before him.

This person was Hyuga Hiashi.

"Shh!" Just as Yizhe was about to speak, Hizashi hurriedly made a gesture for silence.

"Ha!"

Hiashi shouted and abruptly opened his eyes wide, entering the Byakugan's combat stance. He launched a fierce assault at the dummy before him.

The dummy seemed caught in a violent storm, swaying as though it might collapse at any moment.

No one knew how many blows Hiashi had unleashed. Those countless attacks made Yizhe feel as though an entire century had passed, but in truth, that incomparably swift barrage flowed like drifting clouds and running water, ending within only a few breaths.

Only after Hiashi withdrew his stance did the dummy let out a tearing sound and crumple to the ground.

There was not a single intact spot on its entire body!

Having finished, Hiashi finally noticed Hizashi and Yizhe entering the yard.

"Yizhe?"

"Kid, my brother called you!" Hizashi tugged at Yizhe, who was staring blankly at the dummy on the ground.

"Hmm?!"

"Greetings, Clan Head!" Yizhe finally came back to his senses and solemnly bowed.

He had been completely absorbed in the terrifying chain of strikes Hiashi had just displayed.

Yizhe had no idea how many attacks the clan head had launched, and judging by the dummy on the ground, every one of Hiashi's strikes had hit a vital acupoint or meridian.

This made Yizhe think more highly of the clan head, whom he rarely met.

"That was Eight Trigrams: Three Hundred Sixty-One Palms." Seeing that Yizhe was still fixated on the ruined dummy, Hiashi explained.

"So Clan Head, you attacked three hundred and sixty-one times in an instant?" Yizhe clicked his tongue in amazement.

Though he had known that Hiashi's number of attacks had been high, he had never imagined it would reach such a terrifying figure.

Hyuga Hiashi nodded, tacitly confirming it.

"This is an advanced technique of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. Once you have thoroughly mastered the basic Sixty-Four Palms, you can consider advancing to the One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms," Hizashi added.

"So only after mastering the One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms would it be possible to learn the Three Hundred Sixty-One Forms?"

Just the sheer number of attacks made Yizhe's teeth ache, and he could not help feeling somewhat discouraged.

"By the way, what did you come here to see me about?" Hiashi stopped discussing the Eight Trigrams Palm and asked instead.

"Clan Head, I..." Yizhe hesitated.

"Kid, spit it out!" Hizashi was getting impatient with the young man's stammering.

"I want to leave and train!" Yizhe gathered his courage and spoke what was in his heart.

"The war has only just ended. I'm afraid things outside are still far from peaceful! Are you sure you want to go out?" Hiashi was somewhat surprised by the young man's courage and spirit.

"Kid, have you lost your mind?" Hizashi was equally shocked.

"I feel that I've reached a bottleneck and find it difficult to break through, so I want to travel and train for a while, to see whether I can improve further. At the same time, I want to get out and clear my head," Yizhe explained softly.

"This is because of what happened to Huo Jian and the others, isn't it?" After pondering for a moment, Hiashi understood the crux of it.

He then turned to Hizashi. "Test his skills and see how capable he really is, if he dares make such a decision!"

"Gladly!"

Hizashi had not sparred with Yizhe in a long time. When he heard Yizhe claim he had made some progress, he had already been itching to try him. Naturally, he was delighted by his elder brother's assignment, and with a Body Flicker Technique, he arrived in the middle of the yard.