The Spectator Technique!

Only those Kaguya lunatics would arrange a fight in advance just to flex their muscles.

The Hyuga, on the other hand, were rational... They really did not want anything to do with those maniacs.

Fine, ultimately, it was because they could not beat them!

As mentioned in the earlier description of the Hyuga Clan, they fought using the Byakugan and the acupoint strikes of the Gentle Fist. Although the Gentle Fist had ranged attacks, it was primarily a close-combat style. With their powerful Byakugan, few in the shinobi world could defeat them up close... Well, the Kaguya happened to be their toughest opponents!

The previous chapter mentioned that the Kaguya primarily fought using Shikotsumyaku-meaning they pulled out their bones to fight, and could even cover their skin with bones to form armor!

That posed a real problem for the Hyuga-their Gentle Fist acupoint strikes needed to hit flesh! How the hell were they supposed to strike acupoints through a layer of bone?!

Of course, top-tier experts could force their strikes through the bones or simply break them open, but... those were top-tier experts! The Hyuga only had a handful of ninja at that level! Never mind a little brat like Tenjin Hyuga-the only outcome of using his Gentle Fist would be him clutching his bent fingers and running home to Mommy in tears! (See Bai Zhantang using his Sunflower Acupoint-Finger on a cow's hoof.)

In short, Kaguya Jun choosing Tenjin Hyuga to make an example of was hardly reckless-it was simply the Kaguya showing their Hyuga bitch who was boss.

Naturally, Tenjin Hyuga wanted to leave, but his opponent had already announced the challenge, and quite a few civilians were watching... Slipping away with his tail between his legs... would be pretty humiliating, wouldn't it?

He had to find a good excuse to retreat... How about diarrhea?

Nope. Too stupid!

Kaguya Jun was in no hurry either. He had simply spotted their Hyuga bitch and wanted to mess with him a little, showing off the Kaguya's might! As for whether they actually fought... if Tenjin Hyuga ran away, he would laugh at him at the top of his lungs. If Tenjin Hyuga chose to fight... would a father be afraid of spanking his son?

Just then, a loudmouthed spectator shouted, "Whoa, a Hyuga ninja! Let me tell you, the great Hyuga ninja are invincible in close combat! Nobody can escape their Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

Hearing that, Tenjin Hyuga could not help lifting his chin. See? The Hyuga Clan is still the famous one! The Kaguya aren't worth shit!

What the fuck are you so smug about?! Can you beat me? Kaguya Jun glared murderously at Tenjin Hyuga.

He had only planned to mock him a little, but now, unless he beat the teeth out of him, how could he vent his anger?

Shit, I got carried away! Tenjin Hyuga realized he had let it go to his head. He was the one being cornered here, so what was he getting so smug about? He was screwed. His opponent was already getting angry... An ordinary excuse probably would not get him out of this now.

At that moment, another loud voice suddenly shouted, "The Hyuga are invincible in close combat? I don't think so! The Kaguya are clearly stronger! Shikotsumyaku is practically a monster among close-combat abilities-a Kekkei Genkai that combines the Strongest Spear and the Strongest Shield! What use is that limp Hyuga boxing?! Just bow down to the Kaguya already!"

Hearing this fresh flattery, Kaguya Jun brightened. Exactly! That's how people should describe us Kaguya! That limp little thing over there ought to kneel before our Shikotsumyaku!

Tenjin Hyuga could not help getting angry at those words either. Insulting him was one thing, but insulting the Hyuga was unacceptable! They merely had a disadvantage up close. Their fighting style was not limited to close-range brawling!

Their Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm was just as powerful! (A specialized ranged taijutsu derived from the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan abilities. The user places their opponent within the Eight Trigrams Formation, locates them with the Byakugan, then releases a highly concentrated, high-density chakra shock wave from their palm to attack a distant target.)

In terms of overall strength, they were the strongest ninja clan!

The first loudmouth spoke again. "The Kaguya are fucking nothing! All they do is extend their bones outside their bodies to protect themselves. It's not like their entire bodies are covered! As long as there's a gap, our Hyuga's ultimate eyes can easily spot their weaknesses and defeat them!"

Tianzu Hyuga: Huh? You can do that? No, no, no, no! Even if you can, the gaps between the bones are tiny! If I stick a finger in there and he turns a little, won't my finger get snapped off?

The second loudmouth followed up. "What fucking good is spotting a weakness?! Come near us Kaguya and we'll skewer you with Dance of the Willow!"

Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Willow had no fixed moves. Like willow fluff drifting on the wind, it neutralized enemy attacks, then combined bones with soft taijutsu movements devoid of wasted motion to unleash a series of strikes. Even the perceptive Byakugan could not predict those movements!

Kaguya Jun: This guy knows his stuff!

The first loudmouth said, "What fucking good is talking?! Do the Kaguya dare challenge us Hyuga? Those worthless Kaguya are only fit to be dogs!"

The second loudmouth said, "Dogs? Pah! Those worthless Hyuga are only fit to be pigs!"

"Worthless Hyuga! Worse than pigs and dogs!"

"Trash Kaguya! Not worth shit!" In short, the two loudmouths started arguing!

As the insults escalated, Kaguya Jun and Tenjin Hyuga gradually began boiling over too. As ninja, they could tolerate personal insults when there was no need to act, but hearing their clans slandered like this was... unbearable. They did not have to take it anymore!

The two immediately started fighting!

Sitting on a rooftop, Uzumaki Gamu nearly laughed out loud. "Heeheehee! Two idiots, already going at it?"

"Gamu, what are you doing?" An exasperated voice sounded behind Uzumaki Gamu. With his attention focused entirely ahead, he had not sensed anyone approaching from behind!

Uzumaki Gamu turned around. It was Madara Uchiha, whom he had not seen in ages! Madara had his Sharingan activated as he surveyed the situation.

Uzumaki Gamu greeted him first. "Yo, long time no see. You've gotten more handsome!" Like Hashirama, Madara was growing into a proportionally smaller version of his adult self. Of course, unlike someone who only looked handsome standing still, Madara always maintained his cool image and looked handsome at every moment... except when he laughed. (Madara: Uchiha manic laughter! Activate! Hahahaha!)

"Hmph, naturally! I'm the Uchiha's most handsome man!" Madara declared proudly. "Wait, that's not the point. What are you doing? Sending two clones to provoke them into fighting?"

"You figured it out?" Uzumaki Gamu asked. Those two loudmouths were actually his shadow clones. (They had also used the Transformation Technique to look like passersby. Even if discovered, they could not be linked to Uzumaki Gamu!)

"Hmph, a mere Transformation Technique... My ocular power can easily see through it," Madara said, still proud.

"You can see through the Transformation Technique, but can you spot shadow clones?" Uzumaki Gamu asked. "I'm a shadow clone right now."

"Huh? A shadow clone?" Madara froze. He had not realized at all that the Uzumaki Gamu before him was a clone, making him feel as though his boast had come flying back to smack him in the face.

Uzumaki Gamu smiled. "Just kidding. I'm the original!"

"...Fuck you!" Madara realized Uzumaki Gamu had fooled him again. Still, after so long without being teased by him, he rather missed the feeling. He sighed. "Forget it. Let's drop that... Is there a reason you provoked those two into fighting?"

"I was bored. Watching them fight kills time!" Uzumaki Gamu answered frankly.

"...That's you, all right!" Madara rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"So... are you going to stop them?" Uzumaki Gamu asked.

"Well..." Madara really wanted to answer, Stop them, my ass! Watching them fight is fun! Then he could sit down beside Uzumaki Gamu and enjoy the fight together!

But... that Kaguya down there... belonged to a clan that had recently allied with the Uchiha!

The Uchiha had always been pretty arrogant, so having no allies was normal enough. Perhaps only the equally arrogant Kaguya could barely get along with them? Or... were there ulterior motives?

Well, whether there were ulterior motives or not, neither side would admit it!

Back to the matter at hand: the person below was his clan's ally. Simply watching him fight would be rather unbecoming of an ally. But the fellow was so stupid, losing his temper after the slightest provocation... Was someone like that really suitable as an ally for the Uchiha?

"What are you two doing standing on a rooftop?" Hashirama's voice rang out, and Uzumaki Gamu and Madara saw him leap over!

Uzumaki Gamu greeted him. "Yo!"

Madara also sounded pleased. "Hashirama!" Previously, they had met on battlefields and been forced to fight. Being able to spend time together peacefully now... was wonderful!

"Gamu! Madara!" Hashirama answered. "Wait, never mind the greetings. What's happening down there?"

Uzumaki Gamu: "A fight!"

Madara: "He instigated it!"

Hashirama looked at them in exasperation. "Can't you two explain properly? Never mind, I more or less get it... Gamu got bored and wanted some entertainment, right? Put the entertainment on hold! Get down there and stop them!"

"Why?" Uzumaki Gamu asked. "Sure, I egged them on a little, but those two idiots chose to fight. Let them keep going!" Of the two below, the Hyuga was fine, but the Kaguya... was better off dropping dead sooner rather than later!

Those rabid dogs genuinely fought without caring about their lives. They tore into opponents like mad dogs, with no tactical give-and-take whatsoever. Even in the Naruto mobile game's arena, they were the kind of opponents plenty of people hated facing, let alone in real life... If a dog bit you, were you supposed to bite it back?

In short, the sooner the Kaguya Clan was finished, the better!

"This is the capital of the Land of Fire. We can't cause trouble here and affect the Daimyo's opinion of our ninja clans!" Oh! Hashirama's thinking had matured!

"Well, look at that. You're actually considering the bigger picture... You've grown up!" Uzumaki Gamu teased.

"We're not little kids anymore. It's time we thought maturely!" said Hashirama, who had celebrated his birthday just over a month ago and was now fourteen. (Hashirama's birthday was October 23.)

"Yeah, we're not little kids anymore! It's time to think maturely!" said Madara, who was about to turn fifteen. (Madara's birthday was December 24. Their birth years were unknown, but I think Madara, as Indra's reincarnation, should have been less than a year older than Hashirama. After all, Asura reincarnated after his older brother did, so his reincarnation would necessarily follow Indra's. Naruto and Sasuke demonstrated this: after Hashirama died, Asura did not immediately reincarnate. He waited until Madara died and Indra's chakra reincarnated as Sasuke before reincarnating as Naruto.)

"Don't act like fourteen or fifteen makes you so mature!" Uzumaki Gamu retorted. His own birthday was also approaching, after which he would officially join the fourteen-year-olds. (Uzumaki Gamu's birthday was December 25!)

"Anyway, let's get down there and stop them!" Hashirama moved first, with Madara right behind him! As for Uzumaki Gamu... he jumped down too!

With those three on the job, there was no one they could not stop. Hashirama stomped down and blocked Tenjin Hyuga, while Madara used his Sharingan to read Kaguya Jun's movements and grabbed his hand. Uzumaki Gamu... kept watching. (Uzumaki Gamu: To be fair, those two did all the work. There's no need for me to do anything!)

"Move!" shouted Tenjin Hyuga, blinded by bloodlust.

"Calm down, Tenjin! It's me, Hashirama Senju!" Hashirama stood as firm as a great tree, blocking Tenjin Hyuga. Of course, blocking him alone would not do, so Hashirama also punched him!

After taking that punch, Tenjin Hyuga was forcibly calmed down. (It hurt too much!) Looking at Hashirama before him, he said, "Huh? You're... from the Senju Clan?" The Hyuga and Senju were on fairly friendly terms, so Tenjin Hyuga, as the clan head's son, had sparred with Hashirama before... After being flattened in a few blows, he had developed considerable respect for him.

Now that the memory of those few blows returned, Tenjin Hyuga calmed down!

On the other side... Madara was having a harder time subduing Kaguya Jun!

Kaguya Jun's mind was already consumed by killing intent. He roared, "Anyone who stands in my way dies!"

"Tch, you won't listen to reason. Fine, then!" Madara glared with his Sharingan, and the instant Kaguya Jun looked into his eyes, he passed out as if his power had been switched off!

"Phew... finally over!" Madara wiped away some cold sweat. Fighting those Kaguya mad dogs was stressful. If his opponent had not failed to realize he was an Uchiha and accidentally looked into his eyes, it would have been difficult to put him to sleep with genjutsu!

After knocking Kaguya Jun out, Madara glanced at him on the ground, then at Uzumaki Gamu and Hashirama. "I'd really like to chat with you, but... there's no time, and other people can't see us together..." A rare trace of dejection slipped into his voice.

There was no helping it. Even as friends, they had a mountain called the Uchiha and the Senju standing between them. Chatting in public... would mean trouble if his father found out!

Hashirama could not say anything either. He was trapped behind the same mountain... Were these two Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, Romeo and Juliet, or the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl?

"Besides, I need to take him back... I'm leaving!" With that, Madara departed with the unconscious Kaguya Jun!

"Feels like a breakup," Uzumaki Gamu quipped.

Hashirama asked in confusion, "Madara's in love? With who?"

Uzumaki Gamu looked at him in exasperation. "Have you really matured?"

"...I don't get it." Hashirama scratched his head.

At that moment, Tenjin Hyuga asked Uzumaki Gamu, "Who are you?"

Hashirama immediately introduced him. "This is Gamu Uzumaki! He's every bit as strong as I am!"

"Hello... Hyuga guy," Uzumaki Gamu greeted him.

"I have a name. It's Tenjin Hyuga, not 'Hyuga guy,'" Tenjin Hyuga said unhappily. Just then, Hashirama's earlier words registered... Every bit as strong as he was?

What did that mean? During their spar, Hashirama had flattened him like a bug in just a few blows. If this person was on Hashirama's level... wouldn't he get spun like a top again?

Failing to win just now was embarrassing enough. (Although the fight had not ended, Tenjin had more injuries, so he was clearly losing.) Fighting this guy too... better forget it!

"Anyway... thanks for helping. I have something to do, so I'll be going!" With that, Tenjin Hyuga immediately fled!

"He sure runs fast!" Hard to imagine this is Neji's great-grandfather... Isn't he way too cowardly? Uzumaki Gamu thought. Based on the generations, this Tenjin Hyuga should have been the grandfather of the brothers Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga. (Tenjin Hyuga: What do you mean, cowardly?! Should I charge in when I can't win? What's wrong with following my heart? Uzumaki Gamu: So you're admitting you chicken out?)

"Well, that ended peacefully enough!" Hashirama was quite satisfied with the outcome!

"Big Brother Hashirama!" Two more voices rang out.

Then Uzumaki Gamu saw two boys slightly younger than them running over. Judging by their running posture, they were ninja too.

Uzumaki Gamu asked curiously, "Who are they?"

Hashirama introduced the two. "The one who looks like a wild monkey is Sasuke Sarutobi! He's the Sarutobi Clan head's son!"

Uzumaki Gamu: Got it. The Third's dad!

Sasuke Sarutobi replied, "What do you mean, wild monkey? I'm an ape, okay?"

Hashirama continued, "This man as graceful as the wind is Kotaro Shimura! He's the Shimura Clan head's son!"

Uzumaki Gamu: Got it. Danzo's dad!

"Hello!" Kotaro Shimura said elegantly.

Honestly, Uzumaki Gamu was rather pleasantly surprised to meet the fathers of the Third Hokage and Konoha's Pot Kage here. He had finally met half-familiar faces. It had not been easy! (Knowing their sons was equivalent to knowing half of each father.) Uzumaki Gamu wondered whether he should build a good relationship with them, then become the Third Hokage and Danzo's teacher in the future... and spin those two like tops every day!

Hashirama introduced Uzumaki Gamu again. "This is Gamu Uzumaki! As I said before, he's every bit as strong as I am, and he's my sworn brother!"

"I'm the third brother, the 'same here' one! Hello!" Uzumaki Gamu said cutely.

Seeing Uzumaki Gamu acting cute, the two did not quite know what to say... This weirdo was as strong as Hashirama?

It felt strange.

Uzumaki Gamu turned to Hashirama. "How did you guys end up together?"

Hashirama answered, "Our Senju Clan gets along pretty well with their clans, so we traveled here together!"

"I see... In that case, just about everyone's here! Let's head back!" Uzumaki Gamu said thoughtfully, then turned and walked toward the guesthouse!

"What do you mean, everyone's here? Wait, Gamu!" Hashirama immediately followed, while Sasuke Sarutobi and Kotaro Shimura exchanged puzzled glances before hurrying after them!

On the way back, Uzumaki Gamu gave a brief explanation.

Hashirama said, "Oh... so that's it... They're actually receiving everyone at once this time. I hope everyone restrains themselves and doesn't start fighting there!"

Uzumaki Gamu asked curiously, "You didn't know we were all gathering together?"

"When I saw the commotion here, I split off from my father and the others and came over myself... Sasuke and Kotaro probably followed because they were afraid I'd get lost! Hahaha!"

"Have you... really matured?" Uzumaki Gamu retorted in exasperation. He was acting like an idiot again at a time like this?

"Hahaha, of course I have!" Hashirama burst into laughter again!

Behind them, Sasuke Sarutobi and Kotaro Shimura were rather embarrassed. Hashirama was a weirdo too!

And so, they returned to the guesthouse together, where Hashirama and the others reunited with their parents!

Just as Uzumaki Gamu had expected, everyone had arrived, and the meeting about the Daimyo's commission officially began!

All the ninja clans attending had brought roughly the same lineup: a senior clan member authorized to speak for the clan head, the young heir, and three elite guards!

Naturally, there was a reason for this selection!

Clan heads could not leave lightly. Besides... most ninja clans in the Land of Fire were attending this meeting. If a dispute arose with the clan heads present, it could easily escalate into all-out war between clans. With their seconds-in-command attending instead, even an argument could be treated as an individual's actions, without worrying about it becoming a collective incident!

Incidentally, the Uzumaki's second-in-command was Daigu. Uzumaki Gamu had come to broaden his horizons as the young heir to the deputy clan head. Likewise, Hashirama and the others had been brought along to gain experience!

When Madara saw Uzumaki Gamu standing with the Uzumaki Clan, he confirmed to himself, So he really is an Uzumaki... Well, with that much chakra, he couldn't belong to any other ninja clan.

Quite a few of the clans attending were enemies, but since the Daimyo had invited them, they did not dare act recklessly. They obediently suppressed their desire for revenge and waited for his arrangements!

Once everyone was seated, attendants escorted the Daimyo into the venue!

Seeing the ninja, the Daimyo joked, "Oh, quite a crowd... What are you all here for?"

Everyone was embarrassed. Sir, weren't you the one who summoned us?

"Hahaha, just a joke to ease this awkward atmosphere..." the Daimyo continued joking. "Otherwise, it feels like you're about to start fighting!" Although phrased as a joke, it also reminded those below him... This is my territory. Don't do whatever you please!

He was the ruler of the Land of Fire. If they wanted to keep operating there, they had to behave!

Thus, the various ninja clans immediately concealed their private agendas, and the oppressive atmosphere improved considerably!

Sensing the easing tension, the Daimyo smiled. "Hmm, that's better... Now, let's get down to business!"

Hearing that business was about to begin, the ninja became serious too!

"First, let me explain why I invited you all here. Mainly because... ninja have recently paid me a visit!" the Daimyo said calmly, as if it had nothing to do with him.

The people below took it rather differently. The Daimyo had been attacked, then summoned them... Could the culprit be among them?

Was it time for an entertaining round of hunting the traitor?

Hohoho! How interesting!