[Defeated Hyūga Leek, attempting to copy a trait.]
[Copy successful. Congratulations, Host has obtained the common trait Strong Fists and Kicks (White): increases punching and kicking power by 10%.]
...
[Defeated Hyūga Rivet, attempting to copy a trait.]
[Copy successful. Congratulations, Host has obtained the common trait Strong Fists and Kicks (White): increases punching and kicking power by 10%.]
"Stack it!"
[Stacking in progress. Congratulations, Host has obtained the fine trait Hard and Soft in Harmony (Green): on top of base striking power, attacks now incorporate internal force, dealing an additional 20% internal damage.]
"Huh? As expected of a clan that specializes in hand-to-hand combat—this trait is pretty nice."
Jin's eyes lit up as he slapped a palm into the waist of the youth blocking his path.
Smack!
With a single strike, the boy collapsed and instantly fell asleep.
"Tsk, this isn't a place for napping."
Jin casually commented as he sidestepped a Gentle Fist strike from behind his right shoulder, then pushed back with another palm.
Smack!
Smack smack smack!
In no time at all, one Hyūga youth after another fell to the ground.
At the same time, Jin was gaining more and more Gentle Fist–related traits.
Then, at one moment—
[Copy successful. Congratulations, Host has obtained the fine trait Eight Trigrams Air Palm (Green): using keen perception to see through opponents, compresses air into a projectile to strike vital points.]
Jin's movements paused slightly when he saw this trait, then delight spread across his face.
"Eight Trigrams Air Palm?"
"Isn't this basically the palm-version of the Six Meridians Divine Sword?!"
He took a breath, visibly excited.
Though it was only a green-grade trait on the surface, this was a long-range projectile.
Its damage depended on two key factors.
First—accuracy. With enough precision, striking an acupoint accurately, even something like a Susanoo could lose a couple of ribs.
(Of course, most Susanoo wouldn't be pierced that easily.)
Second—the density of compressed air.
In other words—the strength of chakra.
The stronger the chakra, the denser the compressed air, and the greater the power of the strike.
It was a growth-type ability, or rather—
A human-shaped Tailed Beast Bomb.
And…
Jin glanced inward at the nearly two million chakra within his body and quietly sucked in a breath.
A single palm strike with two million chakra worth of output—
that was basically on par with a Tailed Beast Bomb, wasn't it?
Realizing this, Jin raised his brow and casually fired an air blast to his right.
Ten thousand chakra consumed—fired!
Whooo—
Smack!
The Hyūga youth on the right hadn't even managed to charge in before he was inexplicably slammed by a palm strike and knocked clean off his feet!
His body flew more than ten meters like a kite with its string cut, then landed with a dull thud right in front of Hiashi and the clan elder.
His face was filled with horror as he stared at Uchiha Arata, all will to fight completely gone.
Only pure fear remained.
"This guy… he's terrifying!"
"Using palm techniques to knock down dozens of Hyūga clan members?!"
Opposite them—
Hyūga Hiashi's eyes widened instantly.
Veins bulged thickly at his temples, making his already pale eyes look frightening.
Even so, he still couldn't believe what he was seeing.
He muttered in disbelief,
"Th-this… this… is this Eight Trigrams Air Palm?!"
"Sh-should be… right?"
Beside him, the clan elder—despite his age—had to activate his Byakugan as well.
The bulging veins were almost thicker than his wrinkles.
But that did nothing to lessen his shock.
Only after several dozen seconds did he take a deep breath and turn to Hiashi.
"Has this child ever been exposed to Eight Trigrams Air Palm before?"
"No."
Hiashi answered immediately and decisively.
Ever since the incident two and a half years ago, when he learned about Jin after saving Hinata, Hiashi had been quietly observing this boy.
On the surface, Jin's behavior seemed chaotic and outrageous, yet there was always a faint sense of purpose behind it.
And more importantly—
He rarely displayed the arrogance or fanaticism typical of the Uchiha.
Even his emotions were remarkably stable.
But—since when had he mastered Eight Trigrams Air Palm?
As the Hyūga clan's signature technique, it was impossible to use effectively without the Byakugan!
"Wait… the Sharingan!"
Thinking of the Byakugan, Hiashi abruptly raised his gaze to Jin's eyes.
There, within the crimson pupils, three tomoe rotated slowly.
"Three-tomoe Sharingan!"
The moment he saw it, Hiashi felt numb all over.
He had guessed that Jin had awakened his eyes—but he had never imagined Jin had already reached three tomoe!
"Uchiha… Uchiha… truly a clan people can't help but envy."
"First Shisui and Itachi, and now Jin—at such a young age, he's no weaker than either of them."
"And then there's the new genius, Uchiha Sasuke… well, compared to those three, that kid's basically just an extra."
As he spoke, Hiashi swept his gaze across the ground.
All around were groans and cries of pain.
The sounds stimulated his mind again and again, making him sigh inwardly.
Truly—comparing people only led to despair.
In the Hyūga clan, perhaps there was only one person who could rival the Uchiha prodigies.
With that thought, his eyes turned toward the bandaged youth not far away.
There was a hint of expectation in his gaze.
"Hm? I will protect the young lady."
Neji merely glanced at him before withdrawing his gaze.
His feelings toward Hiashi were complicated.
On one hand, one of the men responsible for his father's death.
On the other, the uncle who had raised and cared for him for many years.
He wanted to hate him—but couldn't.
So he stubbornly clung to the ninja way his father had left behind.
Fate.
As a member of the branch family, his fate was bound solely to the young lady not far away.
"Hoo…"
Seeing that almost no one around him was still standing, Neji took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"It's Neji!"
"Great, Neji's finally stepping in!"
"Whew… Neji, you have to get our honor back!"
"Beat him! Beat him! Neji, beat him down!"
When they saw Neji step out, the Hyūga youths all let out a collective sigh of relief.
This was the Hyūga clan's true genius of their generation!
Even many from the main family believed so.
Neji—was the real prodigy of the Hyūga.
"Jin…"
Even Hinata unconsciously tensed, running forward a couple of steps.
Whoosh!
But the moment she moved, Neji shot her a sharp look with his Byakugan.
She froze mid-step, standing there at a loss.
She wanted to speak, but was too scared…
In the end, she could only murmur softly, face flushed red, her voice barely louder than a mosquito:
"Be… careful…"
"Hmph. Pathetic."
Neji glanced at Hinata, his expression indifferent.
But just as he was about to move, Jin slung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close.
Whoosh!
Smelling the faint fragrance at his nose, Neji's young face instantly flushed red.
His previously proud posture stiffened completely, utterly at a loss.
Under the setting sun, the blush on a boy's face outshone everything else.
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