[Defeated Hyuga "Leek." Attempting trait copy…]
[Copy successful. Congratulations, host obtained Common Trait: Strong Fists and Feet (White) — Physical striking power +10%.]
…
[Defeated Hyuga "Rivet." Attempting trait copy…]
[Copy successful. Congratulations, host obtained Common Trait: Strong Fists and Feet (White) — Physical striking power +10%.]
"Stack."
[Stacking… Congratulations, host has obtained Refined Trait: Balance of Hard and Soft (Green) — Integrates internal force into strikes. Attacks deal an additional 20% internal damage.]
"Huh?"
Kai's eyes lit up.
"Not bad. As expected of a clan that specializes in close combat—this trait's solid."
He stepped forward and slapped his palm onto the waist of the Hyuga youth blocking his path.
Bang!
The boy dropped on the spot, instantly out cold.
"Hey now," Kai said casually,
"this isn't a place for naps."
At the same time, he twisted his body, dodging a Gentle Fist strike from behind, and casually sent another palm backward.
Bang!
Bang bang bang!
One Hyuga youth after another fell.
And the Gentle Fist–type traits Kai obtained continued to pile up.
Then—at a certain moment—
[Copy successful. Congratulations, host obtained Refined Trait: Eight Trigrams Air Palm (Green) — Using enhanced perception to lock onto targets, compresses air into a projectile that strikes vital points.]
Kai froze for a split second.
Then his face broke into a grin.
"Eight Trigrams… Air Palm?"
"Isn't this basically the palm-strike version of the Six Meridian Divine Sword?"
He took a sharp breath, excitement bubbling up.
On the surface, it was only a green-tier trait—
But this was a ranged attack.
Its damage depended on two factors.
First: precision.
As long as one could accurately strike tenketsu points, even Susanoo could have a rib or two shattered—
Though, admittedly, most Susanoo were still absurdly tanky.
Second: air compression density.
Which meant—
Chakra output.
The stronger the chakra, the denser the compressed air, and the greater the destructive power.
It was a scalable technique.
Or put another way—
A humanized Tailed Beast Bomb.
Kai glanced inward at the nearly two million chakra circulating inside him and quietly sucked in a breath.
A single palm… with two million chakra behind it.
That was basically on par with a real Tailed Beast Bomb, wasn't it?
Realizing that, Kai raised an eyebrow and casually fired an air blast to his right.
Chakra consumed: 10,000.
Whooo—
Bang!
The Hyuga youth on the right hadn't even reached him yet before being smashed straight down by an invisible palm strike!
His body flew like a kite with a snapped string, sailing over ten meters—
Thud!
He landed right in front of Hyuga Hiashi and the clan elders.
The boy stared at Kai in sheer terror, all will to fight gone.
"T-This guy… is terrifying!"
"Using palm techniques to defeat dozens of Hyuga clan members—inside the Hyuga compound?!"
Across from them—
Hiashi's eyes went wide.
Veins bulged at his temples, making his pale eyes look downright frightening.
Even so, he still couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"T-This… this… that was Eight Trigrams Air Palm?!"
"I-I think so…?"
The elder beside him muttered, old enough that even activating his Byakugan required effort.
The veins bulging around his eyes were thicker than his wrinkles.
Yet that didn't lessen his shock in the slightest.
It took several dozen seconds before he finally took a deep breath and asked,
"Has this child ever learned Eight Trigrams Air Palm before?"
"No."
Hiashi answered instantly—firmly.
Ever since hearing about Kai two and a half years ago, he'd been quietly observing him.
Seemingly reckless, talkative, chaotic—
Yet every action carried a subtle purpose.
And unlike most Uchiha, Kai showed almost no arrogance.
Even his emotions were unusually stable.
But—
When had he mastered Eight Trigrams Air Palm?!
As the Hyuga clan's signature technique, this move was impossible to perform effectively without the Byakugan!
"…Wait."
Hiashi suddenly raised his head, staring straight at Kai's eyes.
There—
Crimson pupils.
Three tomoe slowly rotating.
"Three-tomoe Sharingan?!"
The moment he saw them, Hiashi felt numb from head to toe.
He'd guessed Kai had awakened his eyes—
But never imagined he'd reached three tomoe already!
"Uchiha… Uchiha…"
He let out a bitter sigh.
"What an enviable clan."
"First Shisui and Itachi… now Kai."
"At such a young age, he's already on par with them."
"And then there's that new prodigy, Sasuke…"
He paused, then shook his head.
"Forget it. Compared to those three, that kid's barely an extra."
Hiashi looked down.
Groans and moans filled the courtyard.
Each sound jabbed at his heart.
Truly—
Comparisons killed.
Among the Hyuga, perhaps only one could stand shoulder to shoulder with Uchiha prodigies.
With that thought, his gaze shifted to the bandaged boy not far away.
There was expectation in his eyes.
"Mm? I'll protect the young lady."
Neji merely glanced back, then withdrew his gaze.
His feelings toward Hiashi were complicated.
On one hand, the man was one of those responsible for his father's death.
On the other, he was the uncle who had raised him for years.
He wanted to hate him—
But couldn't.
So he clung stubbornly to the ninja way his father had left behind.
Fate.
As a member of the branch family, his fate was nothing more than standing beside the young lady ahead.
"…Haa."
Looking at the fact that almost no one around him was still standing, Neji took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"It's Neji!"
"Thank goodness—Neji's finally stepping in!"
"Neji, you have to win back our honor!"
"Beat him! Beat him! Neji-niisan, smash him!"
Seeing Neji move, the Hyuga youths all breathed out in relief.
This was the true genius of the Hyuga clan.
Even many from the main family acknowledged it.
Hyuga Neji—
The real prodigy of this generation.
"Kai…"
Even Hinata subconsciously tensed, running forward a couple of steps.
Swish!
But before she could move further, Neji shot her a sharp glare.
Clack.
She froze in place, at a loss.
She wanted to speak—
But was too scared.
In the end, she could only whisper softly, face red, voice barely audible:
"Be… careful…"
"Tch. Pathetic."
Neji glanced at Hinata, his expression cold.
But just as he was about to move—
Kai slung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close.
Whoosh!
Catching a faint, unfamiliar fragrance, Neji's young face flushed instantly.
His usually proud posture stiffened completely, mind blank.
Under the glow of the setting sun—
A boy's red face outshone everything else.
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