Arrival at the Hyuga, A Tentative Exchange

Chapter Forty: Arrival at the Hyuga, A Tentative Exchange

"Please stop. This is the Hyuga Clan."

Being stopped by Hyuga Clan ninjas was perfectly normal. This was the Hyuga Clan's territory, naturally guarded closely by their ninjas. Their Byakugan scanned the surroundings twenty-four hours a day; launching a surprise attack on the Hyuga Clan was simply impossible.

Besides, no one would come to attack the Hyuga Clan.

And since he had a legitimate reason to enter the Hyuga Clan, Uchiha Shangwu made no move. He merely said calmly, "I am from the Uchiha Clan. My name is Uchiha Shangwu, and I accepted the mission your Hyuga Clan issued."

Under the watchful eyes of the Hyuga ninjas, the maid Ying took out a mission commission document and handed it over. "According to the commission, Lord Uchiha Shangwu came here upon invitation. Please do not treat us as enemies."

Several Hyuga ninjas exchanged looks. They had indeed heard that the Hyuga Clan had issued a mission to the Uchiha, but they had not expected a young Uchiha clansman to arrive, accompanied by a maid who was clearly his servant.

"We will verify its authenticity immediately. We hope you will refrain from making any moves and wait here for the result."

"That is acceptable, but please be quick."

Ying handled the rest of the conversation. After all, it was impossible for Uchiha Shangwu himself to deal with every little matter.

Otherwise, what was the point of having a maid?

Before long, the confirmation arrived, and the Hyuga patrol ninjas stepped aside.

Upon entering the Hyuga Clan grounds, he was met with an ancient, worn-down atmosphere. A decaying smell rushed into his nose, making him wonder whether the Hyuga Clan had truly lived here for hundreds of years.

Even the Uchiha had relocated their clan grounds several times in order to survive more comfortably.

Yet the Hyuga Clan seemed to have genuinely resided here for centuries. Otherwise, there could not be such a heavy, stale odor.

Uchiha Shangwu's maid, Ying, was not qualified to remain in the place where the Branch Family head received guests, so she left with a Hyuga servant.

A servant led Uchiha Shangwu to the Hyuga Clan Branch Family's reception hall.

Hyuga Tensei appeared before Uchiha Shangwu, a woman who seemed to have stepped out of a painting.

"You are Uchiha Shangwu? I heard that you possess the Dead Bone Pulse. Can you show it to me?"

Having seen countless online goddesses in the information age, he had seen no shortage of beautiful women. Though he was surprised by Hyuga Tensei's pure and delicate beauty, as though she had emerged from a painting, Uchiha Shangwu steadied himself in an instant, without the slightest ripple in his heart.

However, upon hearing Hyuga Tensei's question, he frowned slightly. "Is that part of the mission?"

Hyuga Tensei nodded calmly. "The mission we entrusted to the Uchiha specifically named you because we wanted you to spar with me in taijutsu using the Dead Bone Pulse."

"If that is the case, then fine."

"If you have no objections, then follow me. I will take you to the place where we usually train. I hope to see on you the true Kekkei Genkai of the Kaguya Clan—the Dead Bone Pulse."

The Hyuga Clan truly deserved to be called one of the oldest clans in the Ninja World.

Their deep and extraordinary foundation was truly astonishing. A mere training ground was as large as a football field, filled with all kinds of training equipment, as well as the ninja tools, swords, and concealed weapons commonly used by ninjas.

Hyuga Tensei removed her cumbersome outer clothes, revealing the combat outfit she had already put on. She raised her hands into a fighting stance, and her delicate brows instantly turned fierce. Bulging veins spread from her temples toward the area around her eyes.

"Hyuga Clan, Branch Family head, Hyuga Tensei. Please enlighten me."

Uchiha Shangwu was already wearing combat clothes, so there was no need for him to change. He had merely handed his ninja tools and short sword over to the Hyuga guards, leaving him without a weapon he was accustomed to using.

However, the mission commission called for a taijutsu spar, so it was better not to use weapons.

"Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Shangwu. Please enlighten me."

This was neither a life-or-death battle nor a clash on the battlefield, so they still bowed to each other before fighting. Then, the two figures slammed into one another.

"You are not using the Dead Bone Pulse?"

Hyuga Tensei frowned, feeling somewhat displeased, as though she were being underestimated.

That fierce frontal collision, a contest of physique and strength alone, left Uchiha Shangwu greatly surprised. This slender woman possessed explosive strength greater than that of ordinary ninjas.

Uchiha Shangwu looked at her in surprise. "What incredible strength. But if this is only a taijutsu spar, there is no need to use the Dead Bone Pulse yet."

"Fine. Then let me see just how formidable the Uchiha Clan's taijutsu truly is. I hope you will not disappoint me."

"Gentle Fist! Thirty-Six Palms!"

An Eight Trigrams Domain spread beneath Hyuga Tensei's feet, fixing yin and yang, the five elements, earth, fire, water, and wind. She repeatedly struck at Uchiha Shangwu with her palms, every attack carrying chakra.

The power the Hyuga Clan relied upon to survive in the Warring States Ninja World was the Gentle Fist. It was a martial art that used softness to overcome hardness, primarily attacking the enemy's chakra-flowing meridians.

The chakra wrapped around the palms not only increased the force of the attacks, but also precisely blocked the flow of chakra through the enemy's meridians at the instant of impact.

What did it feel like to be struck by the Thirty-Six Palms of the Gentle Fist? It was simply too fast. Before he could even count how many blows he had taken, he had already been sent flying.

"What fast Gentle Fist!"

"At least one-third of the chakra in my body is unusable."

"I underestimated you."

The instant Uchiha Shangwu landed, he discovered that the chakra flow in one-third of his body had been obstructed. In other words, his chakra capacity had been reduced by a third. He could still use ninjutsu, but not in the same amount as before.

"I only used the Thirty-Six Palms and sealed nearly one-third of the chakra within your body. The effect on you should not be too severe."

"Now you should use the Dead Bone Pulse, right?"

"Or do you still think that I am unworthy of witnessing your full strength?"

By the time she reached the end, anger was plainly visible on Hyuga Tensei's face.

It seemed that his failure to use the Dead Bone Pulse from the start had greatly angered this Branch Family head of the Hyuga.

Uchiha Shangwu rose to his feet with a frown. He had originally wanted to test whether he could fight Hyuga Tensei with his own strength alone, without using the Dead Bone Pulse.

But he had not expected to be completely suppressed in the very first exchange. The Gentle Fist had locked him down instantly, and he had endured the basic Thirty-Six Palms, with one-third of his meridians struck and their chakra flow blocked.

"I was too arrogant. I thought I could fight you without using the Dead Bone Pulse. I never imagined that my opponent—you—would possess such formidable taijutsu."

Hyuga Tensei said, "My surname is Hyuga, and the taijutsu I know is only the Gentle Fist. Yet you are the first person who has dared to look down on the Hyuga Clan. Perhaps that is also a common flaw among the Uchiha Clan."

"Arrogant and conceited. You never truly regard ninjas from other clans as equals."

Hyuga Tensei had a poor first impression of Uchiha Shangwu. However, remembering what her elder brother Hyuga Tennin had said before, she did not reveal her dislike immediately, even though she felt it in her heart.

After all, in the Warring States Ninja World, strength was supreme. It was not about who was handsome, who had a good temperament, or who knew how to talk.

Only strength was real.

Uchiha Shangwu nodded. "I admit that I was arrogant. Next, as you wish, I will use the Dead Bone Pulse to spar with you."

"You are finally willing to reveal it? Whether an Uchiha like you truly possesses the Dead Bone Pulse, I will use these eyes to confirm it beyond all doubt!"

Hyuga Tensei eagerly anticipated seeing the Dead Bone Pulse for real, because that would mean the Hyuga Clan had not made the wrong choice.

After steadying herself, Hyuga Tensei suppressed the excitement in her heart and said calmly, "Very well. Please show it to me—the Dead Bone Pulse possessed by the Uchiha Clan. Let me see exactly how it differs from the power wielded by the Kaguya Clan."

The Hyuga and Kaguya Clans had always enjoyed a close relationship. Both were ninja clans proficient in taijutsu, and for two or three hundred years, their clans had continuously supported one another.

But when it came to the clan's future and survival, the Hyuga Clan could choose to abandon the Kaguya Clan. For the sake of growing stronger, they could even raise their blades against the Kaguya Clan.

Let alone seeing the Kekkei Genkai that belonged exclusively to the Kaguya Clan on another ninja.