After opening the Gate of Opening, Sora felt exceptionally clear-headed. His body became more agile, and his reaction speed greatly increased.
Although the improvement in strength was not obvious, handling Hikaru's Gentle Fist became much more manageable.
However, Hikaru was also a genius from the branch family who grew up under the harsh, even cruel, training of the main family and the suppression of the "Caged Bird" curse mark. His willpower and strength were far from ordinary.
Hikaru quickly suppressed the shock in his heart. By operating his Byakugan to its fullest and executing the techniques of the Gentle Fist to their utmost, he once again engaged in close combat with Sora.
Slap! Slap! Thump!
Although Sora was faster and more agile, Hikaru, relying on the insight of his Byakugan, could see Sora's muscle movements and chakra flow clearly. Combined with his tricky Gentle Fist strikes, he still managed to hit Sora from time to time.
The chakra in the Gate of Opening state could flush open the blocked chakra points more quickly, but after multiple accumulations, Sora still felt his body gradually becoming heavier and his chakra flow no longer as smooth.
Although Hikaru was surprised by Sora's sudden secret technique outburst, he thought it was futile before his Byakugan. He spoke coldly, "Heh, in front of these eyes, your taijutsu doesn't stand a chance!"
Looking at the overly showy Hikaru before him, Sora felt a bit speechless because he knew that although Hikaru was showing off, he wasn't wrong.
Below the Kage level, the Byakugan holds a significant advantage against other ordinary ninjas.
With its 360-degree unobstructed field of vision, the Byakugan can easily see through an opponent's movement trajectory. Even high-speed Body Flicker Techniques have a hard time achieving a true sneak attack.
More importantly, it can directly see through the human body's chakra network and chakra flow. Combined with the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist, it can precisely strike an opponent's chakra points, either disrupting their chakra and rendering them powerless or damaging their chakra network causing permanent injury.
For ordinary ninjas, facing a Hyuga clan member with activated Byakugan is almost equivalent to "having all their moves seen through." Every attack, every hand seal is exposed under the opponent's eyes. The pressure brought by this information gap is almost overwhelming in mid to low-level battles.
Especially at stages like the Ninja Academy, Genin, and Chunin!
"If this level of speed isn't enough, then..."
"Eight Inner Gates Release, Second Gate: Gate of Healing, open!"
Sora no longer wanted to drag things out. This Hikaru gave him immense pressure, completely on par with geniuses like Kakashi!
This time, the change was even more obvious!
The veins on Sora's temples slightly bulged. White streams of air occasionally appeared around his body as a powerful chakra aura uncontrollably emanated from him.
Speed! Strength! Reaction! Soared once again!
"How is this possible?!" Hikaru finally cried out in disbelief. In his Byakugan's vision, the chakra within Sora's body seemed to boil! It was at least double the intensity from before!
This explosive enhancement completely exceeded Hikaru's understanding!
Although most people in Konoha with a certain level of strength or status knew of the existence of the 'Eight Inner Gates Release,' Hikaru, as a member of the Hyuga branch family, naturally wouldn't know about this secret technique.
Bang! Crack!!
Sora exerted force with his legs. The ground beneath his feet cracked like a spider web. Before the sound could even arrive, his fist was already in front of Hikaru!
Bang!!
Hikaru, who had just raised his arms, was sent flying five or six meters away by Sora's punch, landing heavily on the training ground.
Lying on the ground, Hikaru felt intense pain in his arm, as if it was about to fracture!
"Bastard!!" Hikaru roared inwardly, a wave of humiliation and madness surging in his heart.
As a branch family member, he had carried the curse and despair since childhood. Only by desperately training and overwhelming others with strength could he find a sliver of value in his existence, could he make those from the main family look at him somewhat seriously!
How much had he sacrificed? He started receiving harsh Gentle Fist training from the age of three. Practicing until his fingers fractured and his body was covered in bruises was a daily routine!
While other children played, he practiced striking chakra points on wooden stakes! Never stopping, through harsh winters and scorching summers! All to master the power of this Byakugan, to master this Gentle Fist technique treasured by the main family!
He absolutely would not allow himself to lose! Especially not to an orphan from an outside clan, one without any Kekkei Genkai!
"You forced me to do this!" In that split second, Hikaru's eyes turned frantic. He scrambled up, leaped back to create some distance, and assumed a peculiar opening stance. All the chakra in his body converged wildly towards his palms!
"That is...?!" On the viewing stands, some members of the Hyuga clan exclaimed in surprise.
"Gentle Fist Technique: Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms!!"
Hikaru roared, his body charging towards Sora like a whirlwind. His palms transformed into a sky full of palm shadows, like a giant Eight Trigrams formation, completely sealing off all of Sora's dodging space!
Every palm strike aimed precisely at sixteen important chakra points on Sora's body!
This was the strongest move he currently mastered, his trump card!
At his age of seven and with his chakra level, using this move was extremely strenuous and could even damage his chakra network, but he couldn't care less now!
"Sixteen Palms?!" Exclamations rose from the stands. No one expected Hikaru to have mastered this technique! This was a high-level Gentle Fist skill that even some adult Hyuga Chunin might not have mastered proficiently!
Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms?!
Facing this unavoidable killing move, a hint of seriousness also flashed in Sora's eyes.
The Eight Trigrams Palms was a secret taijutsu of the Hyuga clan, specifically divided into Two Palms, Four Palms, Eight Palms, Sixteen Palms, Thirty-Two Palms, Sixty-Four Palms, and finally, a secret advanced ultimate technique of the main family: One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!
In Sora's memory, Neji demonstrated the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and Rotation during the Chunin Exams at age 13. It's speculated that Neji mastered the Sixteen Palms around age 8 or 9. The Hikaru before him was in the same grade as Sora, around seven years old now.
Indeed, geniuses are all madmen!!
'Can't drag this out any longer!'
Sora could feel the threat of this move. Once hit, with sixteen chakra points simultaneously sealed, even with the support of the Gate of Healing's chakra, he would probably lose his fighting ability instantly!
But it wasn't enough to make Sora open the Third Gate. That would likely require facing the Thirty-Two Palms.
Obviously, the Sixteen Palms was the limit for Hikaru at this age!
"Huu——"
Sora took a deep breath, pushing the power brought by the Gate of Healing to its extreme, his concentration heightened to the maximum! The instant the Byakugan's Eight Trigrams field enveloped him, his body also moved!
Sora did not try to completely dodge; that was almost impossible! Instead, he combined strength and speed to their utmost. His fists shot out like cannonballs, accurately meeting the key pressure points among the sky full of palm shadows!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fists and palms collided wildly, emitting sickening thuds!
Although the Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms was exquisite, Hikaru was after all young. His chakra and stamina couldn't fully support such a complex technique. Its speed and power had their limits.
And Sora, in the state of the Eight Inner Gates Release's Second Gate, whether in absolute speed or instant explosive power, exceeded the limits of what Hikaru could handle!
After a series of breathlessly fast attacks and defenses, Sora seized a tiny flaw in the flow of the Eight Trigrams Palms!
'Now!'
A heavy punch, far exceeding the previous force, forcefully smashed through Hikaru's defensive palms and solidly landed on his chest!
"Bleagh——!"
Hikaru spat out a mouthful of blood. His body flew backward like a broken kite, landing heavily at the edge of the training ground. The madness and disbelief in his eyes slowly solidified. He struggled twice but ultimately couldn't get up again.
His all-or-nothing Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms was ultimately defeated!
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