Piloting a Gundam

"Teacher Yama, sorry to keep you waiting."

The moment Kirito saw the Byakugan user, he quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said with a smile.

Hyuga Yama, a Jonin of the Hyuga Branch Family, was Kirito's taijutsu teacher.

For the past two years, Kirito had trained in taijutsu under his guidance, naturally learning the Gentle Fist.

Hyuga Yama had become Kirito's taijutsu teacher because of a deal between the Senju Clan and the Hyuga Clan.

After Nawaki's early graduation incident, Kirito learned that he had been granted the same allocation of resources as Nawaki. Shamelessly, he told Mito that he wanted to learn Konoha's finest taijutsu. The very next day, the Hyuga Clan sent Hyuga Yama to teach him the Gentle Fist.

In exchange, a female member of the Hyuga Main House became Kirito's nominal junior apprentice sister and came here with Kirito and Nawaki to study Sealing Jutsu under Mito.

"Begin."

Hyuga Yama said coldly.

As he spoke, he activated his Byakugan and assumed the opening stance of the Gentle Fist.

Seeing this, Kirito immediately took the same opening stance and attacked Hyuga Yama with the Gentle Fist at full strength.

They were only sparring with the most basic forms of the Gentle Fist. Kirito was responsible for attacking, while Hyuga Yama defended.

Every move they used was simple and unadorned.

However, their attacks and defenses were terrifyingly fast. Ordinary Chunin could not even clearly see their movements, and every strike was powerful and heavy. Each collision created a sonic boom and sent shockwaves through the air.

Gradually, both of their hands became covered in blue chakra, and the balance between offense and defense reversed.

Under Hyuga Yama's storm-like barrage, Kirito could only struggle to parry, without even the slightest chance to counterattack.

In the end, one of Kirito's chakra points was accidentally struck by Hyuga Yama. A flaw appeared in his movements, and Hyuga Yama immediately sent him flying with a palm strike, ending their Gentle Fist spar.

"Teacher Yama, how much of your Gentle Fist strength did you use against me this time?"

Kirito bared his teeth as he got up from the ground, rubbing the spot on his chest where he had just been hit.

"Fifty percent."

Hyuga Yama stepped forward and used the Mystical Palm Technique to treat Kirito's injuries as he answered coldly.

"Still fifty percent? Looks like my Gentle Fist hasn't improved much lately."

Kirito scratched his head in disappointment.

"Give up. Your Gentle Fist foundation is extremely solid, and your Strength and Speed are both good. But without the Byakugan and the subsequent training methods, you cannot bring out the Gentle Fist's true power."

Rather than encouraging him, Hyuga Yama dealt him a blow.

"If I can't bring it out, then I can't bring it out. I won't be relying solely on the Gentle Fist to fight enemies in the future anyway. But I won't give up on it. The Gentle Fist is an outstanding taijutsu, and it can still greatly improve my strength. Look, Teacher Yama—I've already successfully opened every chakra point in my arms."

Kirito shrugged indifferently.

As soon as he finished speaking, he demonstrated the latest result of his Gentle Fist training to Hyuga Yama.

The next moment, chakra seeped out from the chakra points in Kirito's right arm. Under his exceptional chakra control, a Chakra Arm Guard formed over his arm, made from highly condensed, materialized chakra.

"Clang!"

The Chakra Arm Guard was crude and not at all refined, but when Kirito forcefully stabbed it with a kunai, he could not pierce it. Instead, it produced the sound of metal clashing.

Then, Kirito slammed a fist into the ground.

Boom!

A large crater covered in cracks instantly appeared in the ground.

"The defense is pretty good, and it gives a decent boost to Strength too. Unfortunately, the chakra-condensing method I've mastered is only average right now, so I can't form tougher blocks of chakra. Otherwise, both the defensive power and the Strength enhancement would improve even further."

Kirito grinned proudly at Hyuga Yama, whose face showed a trace of shock.

By training in the Gentle Fist, opening chakra points throughout his body, then materializing chakra through an exceptional chakra-condensing method, he could eventually create Chakra Armor that covered his entire body, possessed astonishing defensive power, and greatly enhanced both Strength and Speed.

This was the direction Kirito had chosen for developing the Gentle Fist after learning it. The inspiration naturally came from the Uchiha's Susanoo, and his ultimate goal was, of course, to pilot a Gundam.

Unlike the Uchiha, who piloted Gundams through the ocular power of the Mangekyō Sharingan and would go blind from overusing it, he only needed to meet several conditions: open chakra points throughout his body, possess sufficient chakra, have an excellent chakra-condensing method, and maintain outstanding chakra control.

Hearing Kirito say this, Hyuga Yama was deeply astonished, but he also felt ashamed.

He was astonished that Kirito's chakra control and development of the Gentle Fist had reached such a level. He was ashamed because Kirito had openly revealed the new Gentle Fist technique he had developed, while he himself had never told Kirito about the various subsequent training methods of the Gentle Fist.

Of course, it was not that he was unwilling to tell Kirito about the advanced knowledge of the Gentle Fist. He simply did not have the right.

Only members of the Main House were qualified to teach Kirito the subsequent Gentle Fist techniques, such as the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms, Sixty-Four Palms, Whole-Body Strike, and Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. As a branch family member, he could never teach them to Kirito directly, even if he had figured out some of those moves himself.

After two years together, Hyuga Yama was extremely satisfied with his nominal disciple's talent. Though Kirito did not have the Byakugan, he had equally sharp eyes. He was also exceptionally intelligent and possessed extraordinary learning ability.

After being taught the basic Gentle Fist combinations once, he could learn them in one go. After closing his eyes to recall them, he could already perform them convincingly the second time.

Over the past two years, under Hyuga Yama's watchful gaze, Kirito had built an incomparably solid foundation in the Gentle Fist. By now, he had reached the point where it was difficult to improve any further and had no choice but to develop new Gentle Fist techniques himself.

In terms of Gentle Fist fundamentals, Hyuga Yama believed that none of the younger members of the Hyuga Clan could compare to Kirito—not even the Main House heir whom he was also teaching.

An outsider had learned the Gentle Fist better than the heir of the Hyuga Main House. He had surpassed them in merely two years, and now he had independently developed a new application for the Gentle Fist. Such talent could no longer be called genius. Monster was more fitting.

If he were a member of the Main House, the Hyuga Clan would surely rise within Konoha.

Hyuga Yama felt endless regret.

But he quickly discarded that foolish thought.

Because if Kirito were a member of the Main House, he would never have been able to create new Gentle Fist techniques like this. He would have been bound long ago by the Main House's stubborn and conservative ideology.

"Do not bring out such crude things again in the future. The Gentle Fist is not meant to be used this way. Today's training ends here."

Hyuga Yama continued coldly.

As a branch family member, he had no control over his own fate. Thus, this was the only way he could avoid Kirito's goodwill and protect him.

It was best for Kirito not to get too close to someone from the branch family like him. Otherwise, the Main House might misunderstand.

"Yes, yes, I understand, Teacher Yama. Oh, this is for you. It's not for you, though—it's for Karen. Please give it to her when you get back. She let me look over the class notes for the lessons I missed today, so this is a thank-you gift. There's just some tasty food inside. You can have a little too. Oh, and let me tell you—Karen was amazing in Practical Combat Class today. She took down that guy Nawaki without even using the Gentle Fist."

As Hyuga Yama was about to leave, Kirito quickly called out to him, handed him a Summoning Card, and explained with a smile.

Karen Hyuga was Hyuga Yama's youngest daughter.

When Hyuga Yama heard Kirito mention Karen, his cold heart trembled. He gave Kirito a deep look, silently accepted the Summoning Card, and immediately left using the Body Flicker Technique.

After spreading out his senses and confirming that Hyuga Yama had left, Kirito suddenly struck his palm through the air at a wooden post ahead of him.

The next moment, a block of highly concentrated chakra burst from his palm, generating a powerful shockwave. The wooden post more than ten meters away was instantly blasted away and shattered into pieces.

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