Up on the arena, Neji felt he had given enough pointers and offered one last piece of advice.
"Lady Hinata, remember this: although our Hyuga Clan uses the Gentle Fist, the true path lies in combining hardness and softness. Now I'll demonstrate the complete Gentle Fist. Try to withstand my attacks."
While guiding her, Neji had finally worked it all out. The problem wasn't any one person, but the Hyuga Clan's bullshit system.
He shouldn't have taken his negative feelings out on Hinata and the clan head.
After all, his father had also been the clan head's younger brother.
While he grieved over his father's death, wouldn't the clan head, who had lost his own younger brother, have been heartbroken too?
He had been heartbroken, but there had been nothing he could do. He was the head of the Hyuga Clan, yet he was also a puppet controlled by its house rules.
"I'll do my best, Neji."
"Here I come."
Neji took his stance and, after making sure Hinata was ready, launched his attack.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Two Palms! Four Palms! Eight Palms! Sixteen Palms! Thirty-Two..."
Neji's movements grew faster and faster. At first, Hinata could keep up with him, but gradually the gap between them widened. Unable to match his pace anymore, she could only defend passively.
But before long, that passive defense turned into a one-sided beating.
The Gentle Fist's rapid assault drove Hinata back again and again, until she reached the edge of the arena.
"Final Form! One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!"
Yet Neji didn't deliver the final strike. Instead, his palm stopped right in front of Hinata.
The powerful gust from his palm stirred Hinata's hair. She gazed at his hand, feeling both his strength and his gentleness.
But then Neji brought his palm down on