314 - Naruto: The Tenseigan Ascendant (Patreon)

314 - Rigid Traditions

Everyone on Team 11 except Naoki had been injured. Shisui's wounds were particularly serious, so the Third Hokage gave the team two weeks off.

Naoki used the break to show Shion and Taruho around Konoha.

During that time, he raised the idea of enrolling Shion in the Ninja Academy with the Third.

The Third wanted the future ruler of the Land of Demons to be friendly toward Konoha. He agreed at once and even promised to have the Academy give her extra attention.

Konoha's revenue came mainly from two sources.

One was funding from the Land of Fire's daimyo, much as the other great hidden villages received support from their own countries. The other was payment for missions.

The Land of Demons might be small, but it was still a country.

If Shion grew up and restored her rule there, her country alone could provide Konoha with a steady stream of commissions.

After showing his guests around the village, Naoki brought them to the Hyuga compound.

Hizashi greeted Shion in person and led her to the main family's residence.

At its training ground, Hinata and Neji, both close to Shion's age, offered to demonstrate the Gentle Fist for her.

The two children took their places and bowed to each other.

"Byakugan!"

Their eyes activated together. They settled into Gentle Fist stances.

Neji spoke gently. "Be careful, Lady Hinata."

Hinata nodded. "I will, Neji."

Neji moved first. He darted forward, one palm leading the other as he struck at Hinata.

From the sidelines, Naoki's eyes sharpened. 'Not bad, kid.'

Neji's talent for Gentle Fist was undeniable. Though he was only six, his strikes, footwork, timing, and use of the Byakugan were already far beyond those of his peers.

Hinata was much less assured.

It was not that she lacked talent. Her hesitancy showed in every movement. One strike failed to flow into the next, leaving openings an experienced opponent could read and exploit.

Gentle Fist did not have the raw force of more direct taijutsu styles, but at close range it could be every bit as dangerous.

That sharpness was precisely what Hinata lacked. Her form looked correct, yet her attacks had no conviction behind them. To a trained eye, it was an empty display.

At the edge of the training ground.

Shion leaned toward Naoki and whispered, "Why are they only using their hands? Don't shinobi use ninjutsu? You know, the kind that lets them breathe fire?"

Naoki smiled. "Shinobi train in different styles. Our clan focuses on Gentle Fist."

Shion pouted. "Oh."

"Don't underestimate it," Naoki said. "It may look like ordinary hand-to-hand combat, but every strike involves chakra control and the body's chakra pathways. It's a complex, dangerous art. A skilled user can kill without leaving an obvious wound."

Shion looked doubtful. "It's really that powerful?"

"It is."

Thud. Thud.

Hinata misjudged her movement and took two of Neji's strikes. The impact sent her tumbling across the ground.

Neji was startled too. He had expected her to dodge, but she had moved into his attack instead. He hurried over to help her up.

"Don't help her. Let her stand on her own."

Hiashi's cold voice came from the sidelines.

Neji stopped, unsure what to do. Hinata bit her lip and pushed herself to her feet.

Hizashi could see that Hinata was hurt and wanted to give her a rest. But Hiashi's face was set; he would never agree if Hizashi asked directly. So Hizashi turned to Naoki. "Naoki, why don't you give Neji a few pointers?"

Naoki understood what Hizashi was doing. He smiled, nodded, and stepped onto the training ground.

While Naoki occupied Neji, Hinata held her injured arm and withdrew. She sat beside Hiashi, who never once glanced her way, as though she were not there.

Neji bowed to Naoki with great formality. "Please teach me, Naoki."

Naoki smiled. "Come at me as if you mean to kill me."

Neji nodded and drew a deep breath. The veins around his activated Byakugan stood out more sharply.

Whoosh.

Neji attacked.

He had clearly held back against Hinata. Now he moved faster, his Eight Trigrams palm strikes blurring together.

Even so, his palms could not touch Naoki.

Naoki's steps were small, but each placed him just beyond the next strike. Neji completed the entire sequence without landing a single hit.

"Hah... hah..."

Breathing hard, Neji stared at him in disbelief.

"You can move faster than that," Naoki said.

Neji lowered his hands. "But then my form would suffer."

"And that would weaken your strikes," Naoki said. "But what good is their power if you can't touch your opponent?"

Neji fell thoughtful.

Naoki glanced at Hiashi and Hizashi. His lesson was meant for them as much as for Neji.

Hyuga training was too rigid. From childhood, the clan bound its members with so many rules that they had little room to develop their own instincts.

Hinata was an example. Gentle Fist did not suit her temperament, yet she was forced to practice it. The strain had wounded her confidence and would only make her more timid as she grew.

For a clan renowned for its ocular kekkei genkai, the Hyuga were falling behind. Among Naoki's generation, no one else truly stood out.

The clan's strength declined year by year, while the Uchiha could shake the entire shinobi world. Even Neji, a rare Hyuga prodigy, had mattered little in the original timeline and died a baffling, needless death.