Chapter 527: The Hyuga Clan's Problem
The back hills of Konoha were the epicenter of the massive explosion Genno had set off. The entire mountain had been fractured, and the Hokage Rock was now nothing but rubble.
Ino and Kakashi, both having the same idea, decided to conduct the Eight Gates experiment there. The place was already a wreck; a little more damage wouldn't matter.
First, Tsunade and Ino studied the Cell Activation Technique for a while. Compared to Ino, who was always ready to cut someone open and install cybernetic parts, Tsunade, with her orthodox medical ninjutsu, was undoubtedly the greater authority.
She believed Shinnō's theory was too biased, but she followed the notes nonetheless. With a light tap of her finger on Might Guy's shoulder, she left a clump of cell-activating chakra in his chakra pathway.
"Try opening the first gate," Tsunade said.
Might Guy let out a great shout, clenched his fists, and in the blink of an eye, fully opened the first of the Eight Gates, the Gate of Opening.
From the outside, there was no discernible change.
Tsunade waited a moment. Seeing him looking a bit dazed, she had to ask, "Guy, are you feeling any effect?"
Might Guy stared back at Tsunade with his wide, bull-like eyes, his face a question mark. What? What effect? What kind of effect would there be? What should the effect be?
Ino and Tsunade were speechless. The man's body was just too tough! Opening the first gate was like child's play for him; he didn't even need the activating chakra for repairs. His powerful physique simply negated the cellular tearing caused by opening the first gate.
The Eight Inner Gates could increase one's strength by dozens or even hundreds of times, but there was a core principle: the increase was based on one's original physical foundation.
If your physical fitness was a hundred, a hundred-fold increase would make it ten thousand.
If your physical fitness was three thousand, a hundred-fold increase could either cause your body to collapse or elevate you to an inhuman level.
Shinnō, who was old, frail, and had conducted numerous evil experiments, was in the first category. Might Guy, clearly, was in the latter.
"Lady Tsunade, let me try. I can also open the first gate," Kakashi said from the side.
This time, the effect of the experiment was obvious. After being injected with the cell-activating chakra, Kakashi felt that the faint, deep-seated pain in his cells that usually came with opening the first gate was much lighter.
Kakashi, having no father, mother, friends, wife, or children, was a lone star with ample time and sufficient talent for learning.
This had led to him becoming a jack-of-all-trades ninja.
He had dabbled in almost everything: ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, sealing jutsu, summoning jutsu, and even medical ninjutsu. He had even practiced the ultimate taijutsu, the Eight Inner Gates. But the price of being a jack-of-all-trades was being a master of none. In the case of the Eight Gates, he could only open the first gate, which didn't provide much reference value.
The experiment shifted back to Might Guy. Conveniently, Neji Hyuga was also present, and he was very familiar with Guy's techniques.
Tsunade had the master and disciple spar while she collected data on the Eight Gates and cell activation.
"Eight Trigrams Palms Rotation!" Neji spun rapidly, deflecting all of Might Guy's kicks and elbow strikes.
Following Tsunade's instructions, Might Guy opened up to the fourth gate but was still unable to break through Neji's defense.
His guard was watertight, with no openings to be seen.
Although every one of Might Guy's punches and kicks possessed immense power, Neji, relying on the Rotation he had mastered himself, skillfully neutralized each blow with pulling, tugging, and pushing motions amidst his rapid spins.
"A very talented ninja. I was nowhere near this strong at his age," Minato Namikaze praised as he stood beside them.
Might Guy's strength was beyond question. Although he had never opened the eighth gate, everyone, including Ino, felt they were not qualified to comment on the man-beast. Minato's praise was directed at Neji.
Besides the advantage of his Byakugan, Neji's own talent and hard work were plain for all to see. To be able to defend so methodically against Guy's ferocious onslaught demonstrated a remarkable composure. If Sasuke were in his place, even with greater strength, his performance against Guy would not have been better.
Traditional ninja did not place importance on the eyes, believing that a strong heart was true strength. Minato felt that Neji had great potential.
He said pointedly, "Neji Hyuga's potential is vast. His talent should not be buried."
Currently, only a few Hyuga ninja of Neji's rank still attended the Jonin Council meetings, so there was no question of "burying" a peer.
The one who could potentially "bury" Neji was Hiashi Hyuga, who had not attended a Jonin Council meeting in nearly ten years.
Back when Fugaku Uchiha was more active, Hiashi would still occasionally show up at the administration building. But after Fugaku and his entire clan perished, Hiashi, perhaps out of a sense of kinship with a fellow doomed clan, never again attended the routine meetings unless he was specifically summoned.
When Jiraiya had become the Fifth Hokage, he had tried to mend the rift between the Hyuga's Main and Branch houses. He had wanted to use his philosophy of dialogue to resolve their disputes and have them sit down to address the historical issues. But the moment he brought it up, he was met with a polite but firm rejection from Hiashi, and the matter was dropped.
Now that Minato had returned to power, the village's political climate was much better than it had been sixteen years ago during his first term as Hokage. He only had to contend with Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado; the Third Hokage and Danzo Shimura were no longer in the picture. Tsunade, as an advisor, could support some of his initiatives. Thus, Minato wanted to make some changes regarding the Hyuga clan's problem.
As the representatives of the ninja clans in the village's upper echelons, Ino and Shikaku exchanged a look. Minato's words touched upon the policies concerning the Hyuga's Main and Branch houses, a topic they were hesitant to engage with.
The Hyuga clan's relationship with the village was currently very delicate. They did not participate in village affairs, and in turn, it was difficult for the village to interfere in their family matters.
The Main House's control over the Branch House was extremely strict. You village leaders want to trick another Hyuga into becoming an Itachi and wiping out his own clan? Absolutely not!
During the Chunin Exams, Naruto had vowed to change the fate of the Hyuga clan. But what happened after he became Hokage? Nothing changed.
This matter had little to do with her, so Ino remained silent. Shikaku, choosing his words carefully, cautiously said, "I will speak with the Hyuga clan head about this matter."
Minato smiled and nodded. "Then I'll leave it to you."
Their attention returned to the Eight Gates and the Cell Activation Technique.
Even though Neji Hyuga was using every ounce of his strength, and even though this was a restrained sparring match where Guy wasn't going all out, the moment Guy opened the fifth gate, Neji's Rotation began to struggle.
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