In the Hyuga Lineage, the Electromagnetic Cannon Teaches You a Lesson

In less than a week, Uchiha Rin handed him the custom-made metal crossbow.

Hyuga Satoru was incredibly excited. Uchiha Rin truly was someone who kept her promises.

The ninja tool he needed had been made in such a short time.

After school, Hyuga Satoru excitedly headed into the forest behind the mountain.

He wanted to test the power of the Electromagnetic Cannon!

When he had first conceived of the Electromagnetic Cannon, his Electromagnetic Force had only been LV1. Now that it had risen to LV2, he wondered whether its power would be even greater than he had anticipated!

Hyuga Satoru opened the wooden case.

Inside lay the ninja tool he had been hoping for.

It looked like a metal crossbow, yet it was vastly different. Set into the middle of its body was a specially made metal acceleration rail. The arrows were also specially made—long and slender, making them easy to accelerate with a magnetic field.

Hyuga Satoru took a deep breath, dispelled the excitement in his heart, and picked up a metal arrow to begin testing.

The principle behind an Electromagnetic Cannon was quite simple: a metal projectile underwent electromagnetic acceleration within a magnetic field, giving it an extremely high initial velocity.

The crucial part was the acceleration process—the so-called electromagnetic propulsion.

Hyuga Satoru remembered that in his previous life, the Eagle and the Rabbit had engaged in an arms race, and electromagnetic cannons had been among the weapons involved. The major technical hurdle had also been the electromagnetic propulsion process.

To accelerate a projectile to the desired level of power required an enormous amount of electricity. The Eagle had been limited by this issue and had been unable to put electromagnetic cannons aboard its aircraft carriers for a long time.

The Rabbit, on the other hand, had overcome that technical obstacle and far surpassed the Eagle in applying electromagnetic cannons.

He drew the bow and nocked an arrow. Blue currents flowed along his arm as he created a propulsive magnetic field, altering the metal arrow's magnetic field and granting it even greater acceleration.

Back when his Electromagnetic Force had been LV1, he definitely would not have managed this sequence so easily. But with LV2 Electromagnetic Force supporting him, every movement flowed smoothly.

His Byakugan was already activated, and everything within a thousand meters lay within his sight.

When the electromagnetic propulsion reached its peak, Hyuga Satoru released his fingers. A sharp explosion rang out, and the arrow transformed into a blue arc of electricity before vanishing from sight.

Whoosh!

A streak of lightning flashed past in an instant.

Hyuga Satoru's mouth fell open.

The metal arrow had nearly exceeded the limits of his Byakugan's vision. Like a bolt of thunder, it sank deep into a tree so thick that three people would have needed to link arms to encircle it.

"Within a thousand meters, this shot poses an enormous threat to any ninja!"

By his rough calculations, the Electromagnetic Cannon he had developed gave the arrow an initial velocity close to three times the speed of sound.

A conventional anti-materiel sniper rifle bullet had an initial velocity of around 850 meters per second, still well short of triple the speed of sound. Its initial kinetic energy was nowhere near that of this arrow.

Its attack range was roughly 1,600 meters, about the same as the effective range of a conventional anti-materiel sniper rifle. Any farther, and both accuracy and power would decline.

If he could achieve this much at his current limits, wouldn't he be unstoppable once his Electromagnetic Force grew stronger in the future?

Maybe he could even control an arrow to turn in midair. Had anyone ever seen a sniper rifle that could track its target?

Ninjas were all fragile little things—high attack, low defense. Against an unexpected ultra-long-range snipe, aside from a health tank like the Third Raikage, even Shadow-level experts would probably have to avoid its edge!

Hyuga Satoru exhaled slowly and carefully retrieved the arrow. This ability would count as one of his trump cards from now on.

On the way back, Hyuga Satoru felt much more relaxed. The shadow of the Third Shinobi War had been weighing on him, leaving him unable to relax for even a moment.

Now that he had developed a low-grade Electromagnetic Cannon with considerable power, his ability to protect himself had greatly increased, and the tension in his mind eased somewhat.

Just as he was about to reach home, he suddenly stopped, his brows knitting slightly.

From a distance, he saw a figure standing at the entrance, which had originally been empty. It seemed as though the man had been waiting there for some time.

Looking at a face eighty or ninety percent similar to that man's in the ancestral hall, Hyuga Satoru vaguely formed a guess.

The man smiled kindly at Hyuga Satoru. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Hyuga Hizashi. Could we have a chat?"

Hyuga Hizashi. As expected... Hyuga Satoru's heart tightened.

He walked past Hyuga Hizashi, opened the door, then turned back to look at him.

"Lord Hizashi, please come in."

Hyuga Hizashi followed Hyuga Satoru into the room and curiously looked around. One corner was piled with battered metal objects, and aside from basic living necessities, there was no other furniture.

"I usually don't have time to tidy up because of training. Please forgive the mess, Lord Hizashi."

Hyuga Satoru dragged out a chair and gestured for Hyuga Hizashi to sit.

Looking at Hyuga Satoru's maturity, so unlike that of someone his age, Hyuga Hizashi suddenly felt a pang of sorrow. With a sigh, he said, "Yuntaki has been gone for so many years. You must have suffered quite a bit, haven't you?"

Hyuga Satoru raised his brows slightly. Hyuga Yuntaki was the original owner's father. It seemed Hyuga Hizashi had known him, though as a transmigrator, Hyuga Satoru's memories of the man were extremely vague.

When Hyuga Satoru said nothing, Hyuga Hizashi assumed he was immersed in the pain of his father's death and continued.

"I heard from the clan members that your grief over your father's death was so great that it awakened your Second Bloodline?"

Hyuga Satoru's mouth twitched slightly. He had made that up in the ancestral hall to bluff his way through, yet it had apparently spread everywhere—even Hyuga Hizashi knew about it.

"Why have I never seen you train with the other clan members?" Hyuga Hizashi asked.

"I awakened the Second Bloodline, so I'm considered an outsider within the Lineage. It's better for me to train alone."

Hyuga Satoru said this, and it was indeed what he thought. His path differed from that of every other clan member, so it was better to have less contact with them.

To his surprise, the moment he finished speaking, Hyuga Hizashi sighed. With a trace of unwillingness in his voice, he said,

"You think awakening the Second Bloodline makes you an outsider? No. I once believed the Lineage was like a stagnant pool, one that would never change, until I heard about you."

"You, who awakened the Second Bloodline, are absolutely not an outsider. You are a variable, proof that the rotten ancient tree of the Hyuga lineage still possesses new vitality."

Hearing the obvious deeper meaning in Hizashi's words, Hyuga Satoru's expression grew more serious.

"Lord Hizashi, did you come here today for something?"

Hyuga Hizashi gradually reined in his emotions. He shook his head, his voice becoming much gentler.

"No. I simply wanted to see you—to see the fresh green leaf growing from this rotten ancient tree."

"Perhaps I was being somewhat presumptuous."

With a sigh, he rose from the chair.

"I'll take my leave for now. If you need anything with your training in the future, you can come find me."

Watching Hyuga Hizashi's departing back, Hyuga Satoru's gaze shifted with complicated emotions.

In the original story, Hyuga Hizashi should have deeply hated his status as a branch family member. He had even been punished with the Caged Bird by his own brother after showing murderous intent toward Hinata. In the end, he had died by suicide in place of Hiashi.

Every one of those things showed his hatred for the Hyuga Lineage's rotten system.

Hyuga Satoru had a feeling that he would come looking for him again.

Even if only for the variable he spoke of—the fresh green leaf growing from a rotten ancient tree.