The next day, Yagyū Souma went to find Asuma as planned—and immediately got hit with a piece of news.
Deer-Land wanted to attend his institute's opening ceremony.
Not only that, the Ino–Shika–Chō trio and the Aburame clan—those four families—had already started helping him prepare days ago.
Opening ceremony, my ass.
He hadn't planned to hold anything, and somehow other people had already started worrying about it for him—and even basically finished organizing it.
Completely ridiculous.
If he hadn't come looking for Asuma today to talk business, he might not have known anything until the day of the "grand opening" itself.
His feelings could be summed up in two words:
Very complicated.
The only good part was…
It didn't really seem like he had to worry about anything himself.
Those four families were even more proactive than he was. By the time Souma found out, they'd already taken care of almost everything.
Souma thought it over…
Might as well use the time to study.
Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist techniques—Hiashi had promised him before, and he finally had a chance to take a proper look.
Also…
Who knew how Sasa was doing now.
With the research institute finished and Yamato finally free, Souma's special jōnin appointment was almost ready to be made official.
In a little while, their old squad would be restructured.
Once that happened, they'd need to start taking missions and farming data.
If he didn't make good use of his free time now, he'd have none later.
Souma headed to the Hyūga compound.
As the clan head, Hiashi didn't have many other places to be. He was basically always at home. Any time was a good time to call on him.
After Souma entered, he was led straight to the archive room. He didn't mind at all.
Reading by himself?
That was better than having someone stand over his shoulder.
At least it'd be quiet.
He flipped through the Gentle Fist manuals, page after page.
By noon—
"Souma-kun, would you like to have lunch at the Hyūga compound?" Hiashi arrived and asked politely.
"No need. I still have things to do this afternoon."
Souma shook his head.
"And those books?" Hiashi asked.
"I've finished them," Souma said. "Thank you for sharing your clan's knowledge. I've gained quite a bit."
"Oh?"
Hiashi was surprised.
The Hyūga had accumulated a lot of Gentle Fist notes over the years. Even if Souma had an incredible memory, it should've taken him a fair bit of time to read through everything.
One morning…
And he'd already finished?
He found that a little hard to believe.
After thinking for a moment, Hiashi said, "Souma-kun, I've been retraining my Gentle Fist recently. How about we spar a little?"
"Gentle Fist can be dangerous. Someone could get seriously hurt… isn't that a bad idea?" Souma said.
"Ninjas don't have 'safe' spars."
"…Fair point."
Souma really didn't want to fight Hiashi.
He wasn't afraid of getting hurt.
He was afraid of hurting Hiashi—
He still remembered what happened when he hit Might Guy.
But at this point, refusing would feel disrespectful.
Considering his recent improvements…
He should be able to hold back a bit.
Souma followed Hiashi out to the Hyūga training ground.
Neji and Hinata were "sparring" nearby—
Though calling it a "spar" was charitable. Neji wasn't holding back at all.
Hiashi didn't stop him.
Because he'd realized—
Training against Neji made Hinata's growth rate skyrocket.
When Souma and Hiashi arrived, Neji and Hinata immediately paused.
"Clan Head!"
"Father!"
Hiashi nodded, then turned to Souma with a small smile.
"Souma-kun, you may make the first move."
"Then I won't hold back?" Souma asked.
"Please don't," Hiashi said, hands folded behind his back, radiating the aura of a martial arts master.
Souma took a deep breath, lowered his stance, and then moved in.
Hinata didn't actually know Souma very well.
Her impression of him was mostly built from stories and rumors. But the moment he attacked, she couldn't help crying out—
He's so fast!
Hiashi was fast too.
Clearly, he'd been training in "fighting without the Byakugan" recently.
As the clan head, there weren't many Hyūga who could truly go all-out against him. That was why he wanted to spar with Souma.
But the moment they clashed, Hiashi realized something was wrong.
Souma was too fast.
No—
It wasn't simple speed. His pace surged and dropped, using a special rhythm to create illusions in his movements and timing.
What shocked Hiashi even more was—
"You can strike tenketsu?" he blurted out.
Yes.
He'd just felt the chakra in his arm get sealed.
"I studied it for a while," Souma replied.
Hiashi was stunned.
An outsider—
Able to hit tenketsu?
That was…
Unbelievable.
"You can strike tenketsu even without the Byakugan?" Hinata was even more shaken.
She hadn't mastered it herself yet.
"Don't act so surprised," Neji snorted. "Chakra pathways differ slightly between people, but most of the system is the same. Especially where it's dense—hitting those points isn't exactly miraculous."
Hinata fell silent, but her thoughts churned—
So you could do it that way…
"I see. You memorized the chakra pathway patterns. Impressive," Hiashi praised.
"It still has plenty of flaws. You weren't on guard, or I'd never have landed the hit."
Souma didn't think it was that great.
But—
He'd just had a new idea.
Eight Trigrams Domain.
He'd read about it in the Hyūga texts earlier. The explanation was—
Once the opponent entered your Gentle Fist range, as long as you landed one hit, you could attack their chakra pathway system and force them into a paralyzed state.
Then you'd follow with a finishing combo.
That was the Eight Trigrams Domain.
In simpler terms—
An attack zone.
If that was all, then he could very well develop his own combo-style Gentle Fist.
Souma's gaze sharpened.
"Hiashi-senpai, I want to try something. Please respond with full strength."
"No problem. If necessary, I'll respond in kind," Hiashi said, squinting slightly.
Full strength, huh…
He was being underestimated.
He activated his Byakugan and focused on Souma.
The next instant—
He saw Souma's figure suddenly jump forward—
No.
Not teleportation—
Souma's speed had simply pushed past the Byakugan's ability to fully track him.
Hiashi's heart skipped.
Through the Byakugan, he could see clearly—Souma was only using the Body Flicker Technique in terms of chakra output.
Which meant…
Most of that speed was purely physical.
But as he was analyzing that—
Souma's speed jumped again.
And this time—
He was right in front of him.
More speed feints!
Hiashi threw a palm strike on instinct, but Souma's fingers slipped in from a different angle.
Hiashi dodged and countered—
He could strike tenketsu too.
But once again, he underestimated Souma.
His counter—
"Missed?!"
Hiashi's eyes went wide.
Then he realized—
It hadn't been missed.
Souma had pre-loaded chakra onto the outside of his tenketsu, creating a defensive layer that offset the Gentle Fist strike.
He's testing that?
The thought had barely formed when Hiashi realized something was very wrong.
This was a fight.
He couldn't afford to get distracted now.
As he snapped back to focus, his right arm went numb.
Then his left arm—
His lower abdomen—
His waist—
One tenketsu after another was struck. In a continuous flurry, Hiashi felt his entire chakra network being disrupted.
This wasn't ordinary tenketsu striking.
This was—
Eight Trigrams Palm.
Souma had already picked up Eight Trigrams Palm?!
Hiashi was horrified.
He forgot all about "clan head composure," and instantly flooded his body with chakra as he spun.
Rotation.
Some of his tenketsu had been hit, and the rotation wasn't perfect, but it still forced Souma back several steps.
Both of them stopped.
Hiashi stared at him in shock.
"How do you know about the Eight Trigrams Palm?"
"I just thought it up," Souma said honestly. "The Eight Trigrams Palm isn't that deep. The difficult part is finding the weakest points of the body and applying Gentle Fist there."
"True, but…"
You're not even a Hyūga.
Hiashi's emotions were all tangled up.
He knew the archives recorded a lot of knowledge, but reading everything in one morning and then immediately digesting it enough to develop his own version—
That speed was insane.
Hinata was off to the side, completely speechless.
Neji, on the other hand, looked surprisingly calm—like he'd expected this all along.
Hiashi opened his mouth, not sure what to say.
He'd lived this long and had never seen a monster like Souma.
"Even so, this style of Gentle Fist is really just a weaker version of the Hyūga's," Souma added. "But combined with a finishing strike, the practical value is high."
"The essence of Eight Trigrams Palm is rapid, uninterrupted strikes," Hiashi said. "I never imagined an outsider would grasp it so quickly."
He gave a self-deprecating smile.
Neji remained expressionless.
He really wanted to say—
He'd self-taught Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms too.
And given more time, he could probably figure out Rotation on his own as well.
But that was the old him.
Now, he wasn't interested in those traditional techniques anymore.
A true powerhouse should be like Souma—using jutsu as a foundation to pave his own grand path.
"Hiashi-senpai, I understand Gentle Fist now. No need for more reading," Souma said. "If I develop anything new, I'll send a copy to the Hyūga."
"Very well."
Hiashi felt numb.
He wasn't even sure how he saw Souma out. When he came back, his expression was still slightly dazed.
Neji gave a small bow and left as well.
Outside the Hyūga compound—
Neji quickly caught up to Souma.
"Souma."
"What is it? If this is about you and the main family, all I can say is I'm sorry…" Souma started.
"No. I came to thank you."
Neji shook his head.
He was quiet for a few seconds, then said, "Do you mind talking with me a little longer?"
"Of course I don't."
"I… ah, first of all, I still want to make one thing clear," Neji said. "I don't hold any hostility toward you personally. I just saw another option in you."
Souma thought for a moment.
"Fate?" he asked.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Neji nearly choked on his own spit.
Those chuuni lines…
He hadn't expected Souma to remember them, let alone bring them up now.
So embarrassing.
He had no idea how to continue.
"Everyone's experiences are different," Souma said. "So their worldview ends up different. That's normal."
"Right. But now I understand," Neji said. "Fate or not—ultimately, it's still in your own hands."
He glanced back at the main household.
Souma could tell he hadn't let go of his resentment toward them.
But…
"I realized something," Neji went on quietly. "As long as I become strong enough, I'll have a chance to choose the life I want."
"There was no path in the beginning," Souma said with a smile. "Walk it enough times and one naturally appears."
"Maybe your generation won't quite get there," he added, "but at the very least, you can make it so the next generation can choose."
"That's true."
A faint smile spread across Neji's face.
"When will the research institute open?" he asked.
"Honestly, I never planned to have an opening ceremony. But lately everyone's going crazy over it," Souma said, complaining a bit, then added, "If you want to come, I'll take you once. After that, you can just show up on your own."
"No need. Tell me what you want me to study first," Neji said. "I'll prepare, so I don't drag you down."
"In the short term, still Gentle Fist. If you have time, you can look into ranged tenketsu strikes."
"Ranged… tenketsu strikes?" Neji repeated, stunned. "What's that?"
"Like this…"
Souma gathered chakra at his fingertip, then flicked it forward.
The highly concentrated chakra shot out like a compressed air bullet. In the next second, Neji felt his arm go numb.
Tenketsu hit.
His eyes widened.
"It's nothing too profound," Souma said. "You just concentrate chakra to a certain density and fire it out. Your Hyūga Gentle Fist already has similar concepts."
He paused, then added:
"I want you to bring the entry requirement down."
"Bring it down? You mean…" Neji asked.
"One person's power is limited," Souma said. "We need to let more people learn this kind of technique."
"I see," Neji said, nodding slowly.
Souma added one more line.
"Of course, I'll experiment with hand seals on my side, and you can expand it using the ranged nature however you like."
"Alright."
Neji agreed seriously.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/pikachu614