After hearing Satori Hyūga's words, Hizashi Hyūga fell silent.
He wanted to fight back, but deep down inside, he knew what Satori had said was right.
His face contorted with inner turmoil, and his heart was in constant agony.
The Caged Bird Seal on his forehead bound his body, while mental chains shackled his thoughts, preventing him from taking that decisive step forward.
After a moment, he suddenly lifted his head and stared at Satori. "In the ninja world, strength commands respect. If you intend to enact reforms, there will be resistance—bloodshed included. How can I know whether you'll have the strength to suppress the opposition within our clan?"
"Hmm? You're challenging me?" Satori asked.
Hizashi nodded, determination burning in his eyes. "Let's fight. If you win, I'll pledge myself to your cause—body and soul, until my last breath."
Satori let out a sharp laugh.
The other Branch House kids also laughed along with him.
From the side, Chonghuo Hyūga strode forward and stood before Hizashi with pride. "If you want to challenge Lord Satori, you must first defeat me."
"If you can't even beat me, there's no way you could ever defeat Lord Satori."
Seeing how disrespectfully Chonghuo spoke to him, Hizashi's eyes flashed with anger.
He was the son of the Clan Leader and was destined to lead the Branch House one day. Being looked down upon by another Branch House member like this was intolerable.
"Rude fool. Do you really think you can stop me?"
It wasn't that he held Chonghuo in contempt, but most Branch House members only mastered the basic Gentle Fist Sixteen Palms technique.
Logically speaking, Hizashi himself should also only know those sixteen moves.
However, as the son of the Clan Leader, he trained daily with his older brother and inevitably learned more advanced techniques of the Gentle Fist.
Chonghuo Hyūga could never hope to match him.
"You don't need to worry about whether I can stop you or not. Let me see what kind of capacity and talent you truly possess as the son of the Clan Leader."
Defiance of authority runs deep in island nations, and even in the ninja world, such a trend exists.
For example, Obito used Kushina's childbirth as an opportunity to attack Minato Namikaze alongside the Nine-Tails.
Or Orochimaru's Destruction of Konoha plan aimed at killing Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.
...
They may seem respectful on the surface—but what goes on beneath is anyone's guess.
"Arrogant."
Hizashi took his starting stance, planted his feet firmly on the ground, and suddenly lunged toward Chonghuo.
His palms gathered chakra, slicing through the air in a graceful arc as he struck straight toward a vital pressure point on Chonghuo's body.
With a direct hit, the chakra would immediately rush through the acupoint, damaging meridians and internal organs.
He intended to teach Chonghuo a lesson.
Even though he belonged to the Branch House, he was still the future young master of it.
As the strike approached, [Gentle Fist!] With a roar, Chonghuo swung his arm upward, meeting the strike with his palm raised.
With a deafening crack!
Their palms met, and a shockwave exploded outward.
"Hahaha! That's all you've got?" Chonghuo laughed loudly.
Hizashi Hyūga's expression changed drastically. His arm went dead, and his body instinctively staggered backward.
Shaking off the impact and adjusting his stance, he altered his approach and charged toward Chonghuo Hyūga once again.
[Gentle Fist – Sixteen Palms]
In an instant, a flurry of palm strikes shot out like lightning, crashing down fiercely upon Chonghuo.
Fast as the wind, fierce as fire.
Such rapid Gentle Fist movements were nearly impossible to evade for anyone less than an expert.
Yet Chonghuo stood his ground without dodging or evading, meeting Hizashi's assault head-on.
Using the same style but differing in technique and precision of power, they exchanged blows.
Though it felt long, the battle was over in an instant.
As the afterimages faded, their battle concluded.
Chonghuo stood with both hands behind his back, while Hizashi's arms hung limply at his sides, too weak to lift.
The result was immediately obvious.
Hizashi had a complex look on his face as he gazed at Chonghuo, never expecting him to be this strong.
During the match, he had felt immense pressure, even pushing past the Sixteen Palms technique.
Yet, despite that, he still couldn't overpower his opponent.
Chonghuo's Gentle Fist integrated additional methods—soft yet firm, flexible yet resilient.
When they exchanged palm strikes, it felt as if Hizashi had hit unyielding steel, his opponent's defense astonishingly solid and the force overwhelming.
The chakra he released into his strikes couldn't break through Chonghuo's meridian network, let alone cause any internal damage.
After the fight, both of Hizashi's arms felt useless.
But this weakness was only temporary.
With proper recovery through Medical Ninjutsu and his strong survival instincts, he would fully heal.
He glanced at Satori Hyūga, the one rumored to be even stronger.
There he stood, hands behind his back, eyes calm and indifferent—as if the whole battle had been nothing more than child's play to him.
Suddenly, Hizashi understood. The other was using the New Gentle Fist—a creation of Satori himself.
No wonder the challenger claimed he had no qualifications to face Satori unless he defeated this disciple.
That was undeniably true.
If he couldn't beat someone who had learned this style from its originator, how could he possibly defeat the master himself?
At this realization, the weight on his mind shattered like glass, bringing a wave of relief.
"I lost. I'm willing to join you."
The moment those words left his lips, his heart felt lighter, as if lifted by some unseen force.
Satori led the applause in welcome.
"Welcome aboard."
"I promise, you won't regret this decision."
"Your descendants will also come to appreciate this decision."
Hizashi: "..."
He thought it might be a little early to bring up descendants.
After all, he was still just a child.
However, maturity was common among those in the ninja world, and he even had a girl he was fond of.
If they had children together, free from the Caged Bird Seal, wouldn't that be something beautiful?
"Hizashi," Satori said, "I won't be giving you the goggles just yet. Given your status, as long as you remain cautious, persecution shouldn't be an issue."
" Giving it to you would only make it a weapon used against you . "
Hizashi Hyūga understood this well . His father and older brother were both members of the Main House ; no matter how much they cared for him , they would never allow him to challenge the clan ' s traditions .
" I understand . I ' ll stay under the radar at home and work hard to gather intelligence for you . Let ' s complete the reform as soon as we can . "
Seeing how determined Hizashi was , Satori Hyūga couldn ' t help but nod . He turned serious and gave careful instructions .
" Your safety comes before anything else . "
" Reforming the Hyūga Clan won ' t happen overnight . We need to steadily build our strength and gain more allies . "
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