Akio was on the verge of losing his mind dealing with all these spatial nodes. But the moment he heard the number 256, his fatigue vanished, his spirit reignited.
"The Eight Trigrams Two Hundred and Fifty-Six Palms… enough to break through space itself?" Akio muttered, half in disbelief.
He remembered seeing Hyūga Tennin; one of the four great powers of the Warring States era in action. Even when Tennin unleashed the Eight Trigrams One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Palms, the power, though formidable, wasn't anything world-shattering. Back then, defending against it might've taken some effort, but now Akio could counter it with a casual wave. The idea that simply doubling the number of strikes could shatter space sounded absurd.
Hiashi noticed his doubt and gave a small shake of his head. "The Hyūga clan's lineage has suffered losses over the centuries. The Eight Trigrams techniques were originally documented up to Sixty-Four Palms. The current version of the One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Palms is a reconstruction, merely repeating the Sixty-Four sequence in reverse. It still targets the same sixty-four tenketsu. The true One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Palms should involve one hundred and twenty-eight distinct points, several times more powerful than the Sixty-Four. And the Two Hundred and Fifty-Six Palms would be an even greater evolution."
Akio blinked in surprise. "There's actually such a story?"
Hiashi smiled bitterly. "The Hyūga once stood shoulder to shoulder with the Uchiha during the Warring States. Now the difference is immense, not just because of the Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan, but because our clan lost its ancient heritage centuries ago."
Akio nodded slowly, accepting that explanation.
"You've never tried to rediscover the missing tenketsu yourselves?" he asked.
Hiashi's expression grew even more strained. "Elder Akio, you say that because you can't see them. Under the Byakugan, the human body contains eight hundred and thirty tenketsu. Of those, our forebears have only mapped and named four hundred and nine, less than half. Even with another hundred years, restoring the true One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Palms might be possible, but Two Hundred and Fifty-Six? That's just a dream."
Akio closed his eyes in thought. When he opened them again, he was smiling. "What if… you had a map of where those tenketsu roughly are?"
Hiashi froze, eyes widening. "You mean?"
Akio nodded. "This space of mine has exactly two hundred and fifty-six nodes. Quite the coincidence, isn't it? I can share their positions but in exchange, I want every Hyūga technique, including your secret ones, copied for me."
Hiashi hesitated, teeth clenched. "That's something I'll need to discuss with the branch family elders."
Though the main family technically led the Hyūga, the branch elders still had influence something Hiashi couldn't ignore even as clan head.
"Then at least start by giving me the Thirty-Two and Sixty-Four Palms. That shouldn't be an issue, right?"
Hiashi nodded repeatedly.
Akio grinned. "Good. Then get me paper and ink. I'll draw the pattern out for you, I doubt your old fossils will object once they see it."
"Understood."
All this time, the fat cat hadn't even stirred still fast asleep. That thing could probably snooze through the apocalypse.
Akio waved a hand, and the two of them reappeared in the Hyūga clan's main hall.
He sat down, waiting for Hiashi to return with writing materials.
About five minutes later, Hiashi came back carrying not only paper and brush but also a small bound scroll.
"Starting from the Two Palms?" Akio asked, a bit surprised. He'd assumed the Hyūga only had the Thirty-Two and Sixty-Four Palm versions.
Hiashi nodded. "Yes. The youngest trainees begin from the Two Palms, the technique doubles in count each time. The power multiplies exponentially from the Sixteen Palms onward…"
"Alright, alright, spare me the heritage lecture," Akio interrupted. "You think the Uzumaki don't have their own traditions? Go discuss this with your elders already, I'll study what you've given me."
Hiashi gave an awkward chuckle before leaving.
Akio returned to his inner space and began to sense the nodes while sketching them out on paper.
"…It really does match," he murmured, eyes narrowing. Some of the node positions perfectly aligned with the tenketsu diagrams of the Sixty-Four Palms.
"So that's the question, how do the node positions correspond to the attack sequence of the Eight Trigrams techniques? Maybe I need a map of the ninja world to mark latitude and longitude… what were those again? I've forgotten."
"Eh, doesn't matter. As long as there's a pattern."
Once the map was finished, he returned to the Hyūga compound to wait for Hiashi memorizing the Eight Trigrams sequences and comparing them to his spatial nodes.
"These sixty-four, I'll master first. When the Hyūga rediscover the others, I'll expand from there."
For the first time since obtaining Space Ninjutsu, Akio felt like he was finally approaching true understanding.
Knock knock.
Someone rapped on the door. Akio looked up. Not bothering with formality, he called out, "Come in!"
There was a pause outside, then a hesitant voice: "Shopkeeper Hagoromo, apologies! We ran into the clan head outside and thought you'd already left. We were just curious why you hadn't, so we came to check."
It was the same two Hyūga who had brought him in earlier.
Akio chuckled. "Oh, I'm just writing a prescription for your clan head. You know, his health hasn't been too great."
There was a stunned silence then both men blurted nervously, "We don't know anything!" and hurried away.
Akio smirked. "These two are amusing… maybe I should get them to do comedy skits instead of guard duty."
Half an hour later, Hiashi returned this time with Hizashi in tow.
"Teacher, Hizashi came to represent the branch elders. They wanted to come themselves, but I refused," Hiashi said.
"So the Kiboku-dō shop owner really is you, Teacher," Hizashi said, still looking stunned. Akio could practically see the next question forming on his lips.
Before he could ask, Hiashi quickly interjected, "Teacher's daughter is adopted."
The twins exchanged a look of perfect mutual understanding which made Akio's face darken. He very nearly took off his sandal to throw it at them.
He exhaled, forcing a smile. "At least you two brothers get along. Main house or branch house, that twin bond can't be broken. And since you both call me teacher Hizashi, if you ever get sick of that curse seal on your head, come find me. I can remove it for you."
Hiashi winced. "Teacher… saying that in front of the clan head is that really appropriate?"
Akio ignored him and flicked his wrist. The spatial node map floated from his hand into theirs.
"These," Hiashi whispered, eyes wide, "they're identical to the Sixty-Four Palms tenketsu layout… which means the others could really…"
For a long moment, both brothers stood speechless, the weight of rediscovering their lost heritage sinking in.
"You two study it carefully," Akio said. "I'm not worried you'll stiff me. Once you've reconstructed the full technique, just send me a copy."
He didn't bother asking for the rest of their secret arts without the Byakugan, he couldn't use them anyway.
"Oh, and one more thing," Akio added after a pause. "Research is fine, but you still need to send people to the Rain battlefield. This stalemate can't drag on forever. Hiruzen's still the Hokage, give the man a break."
The brothers exchanged glances and nodded in unison. "Understood, Teacher!"
---
[Every 50 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
For early access to advanced chapters visit my P@treon:
P@treon/ Dexy3
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!