According to the original story, the Hyuga Clan had no one worth mentioning in Ruri's generation who could compete with the Uchiha Clan.
The younger generation of the Uchiha had Shisui Uchiha, the strongest genjutsu ninja, and Uchiha Itachi, who had reached Kage level at thirteen. Even Sasuke Uchiha, whose early performance had been fairly ordinary, became absurdly powerful later on. He even awakened the soul of Indra's reincarnation and received the Sage of Six Paths' legacy, becoming one of the strongest beings in the world.
That was without even mentioning Madara Uchiha or Obito Uchiha, the loser who rose to greatness. All in all, the Uchiha Clan's history had far too many formidable figures.
Yet aside from Hyuga Tennin, who received only a passing mention in the original story, the Hyuga Clan had not produced a single Kage-level powerhouse in nearly a century.
Their only prodigy, Neji Hyuga, had been the first of Konoha's new generation to become a jonin. But perhaps because he had been born without the protagonist's plot armor, he died in the Fourth Shinobi World War, becoming the only one of Konoha's young core ninja to lose his life.
But no matter what, now that I, Ruri Hyuga, am here, all of that will change. With my knowledge of Naruto's plot and my own hard work, I'm sure I'll become a top-tier powerhouse.
If I still can't become strong with all that, I might as well drink a bottle of poison and die!
Looking at Ruri's lively little face, Hizashi felt as though he could see the Hyuga Clan's future. At last, a faint smile appeared on his tense face. "Our Ruri is a genius who awakened his Byakugan at three. You certainly won't be any worse than that Uchiha kid."
"Come on, let your uncle see the results of your recent training."
As soon as he finished speaking, Hizashi took off his outer garment and tossed it onto the ground, revealing the black casual clothes underneath. He extended a palm and beckoned to Ruri.
Ruri had just practiced Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms the day before yesterday, and this was a perfect chance to test the gap between his strength and a jonin's.
The chakra he had exhausted yesterday had mostly recovered after he ate at Ichiraku Ramen. After another night of recovery, he should have enough chakra now.
He had to admit that, as descendants of the Sage, the Hyuga Clan had pretty decent recovery abilities.
"Okay, then I won't hold back. Be careful I don't hurt you, Uncle Hizashi." With that, Ruri immediately activated his Byakugan and took a Gentle Fist stance.
"Come at me, you little brat. Your uncle is a jonin, after all. How could a little kid like you hurt me?"
Hizashi was a jonin, after all. Although his young nephew had displayed astonishing talent since childhood and had never disappointed anyone, he was still only five years old. Even if Hizashi held back, it was unlikely that the boy could hurt a jonin.
In an instant, their fight was ready to erupt.
"Gentle Fist!"
Ruri spoke softly. With his Byakugan active, blue chakra flowed from both palms, forming ripples around his hands. He thrust his left palm swiftly at Hizashi.
"The power is decent, but you're still a little slow." Hizashi extended his right palm in response, deflecting Ruri's incoming Gentle Fist strike with a light tap.
As Hizashi pushed his Gentle Fist aside, Ruri felt a powerful force fling him to the right, instantly throwing him off balance.
He was about to fall to the ground, but there was not a trace of fear or panic on his face. Ruri had known that an adult jonin's strength far exceeded his own.
Ruri twisted his body to the right. Rather than keeping his lower body firmly planted as conventional Hyuga-style Gentle Fist taijutsu demanded, he used the momentum to lash out with his right leg, sending his heel hurtling toward Hizashi's face.
"You little brat, you're pretty agile!"
Facing Ruri's incoming Roundhouse Kick, Hizashi remained unruffled. He raised his left palm to guard the right side of his head, blocking Ruri's right leg, then turned his hand and seized the boy's ankle.
Ruri felt as though his kick had struck a steel plate. Before he could react, his ankle tightened in Hizashi's grip. That strength left him utterly unable to break free.
Reacting immediately, Ruri used his captured right foot as a pivot and swung his body left, striking out with his right hand in another Gentle Fist attack. Wrapped in blue chakra, it shot toward Hizashi's chest.
His quick response mildly surprised Hizashi, but he was a jonin honed by countless battles. With his left hand still gripping Ruri's ankle, he flung it upward.
Ruri's center of gravity was instantly lifted into the air, sending his entire body into an upward flip and neutralizing his Gentle Fist attack.
"You really can't underestimate kids these days!"
Faced with Ruri's practiced Gentle Fist and nimble attacks, Hizashi had to abandon his earlier dismissiveness. If he kept treating this as playing around with a child, he might really suffer an embarrassing defeat.
Suddenly, Hizashi's gaze sharpened. Veins bulged around his eyes as he activated his Byakugan.
He had seen Ruri land before him and spread his arms, one forward and one back, taking a stance he knew all too well.
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