Buzz!
Hyuga Yamato thrust both palms forward.
In an instant, palm after palm rained down like a raging storm.
Each strike carried condensed chakra, precisely targeting the vital pressure points all over Hyuga Takashi's body. The howling wind from the palms created a sharp, tearing sound.
Hyuga Takashi's expression changed slightly. He desperately activated his Byakugan, attempting to capture the trajectory of the palms while his body moved like a willow in the wind, rapidly dodging and parrying.
Bang! Bang bang! Bang bang bang!
Hyuga Takashi also used the Gentle Fist to continuously block, the consecutive impacts of their palms creating a dense, muffled sound. It even stirred up a powerful gust of wind between the two of them.
The surrounding spectators instinctively took several steps back, watching the two in the center of the training ground with surprised expressions.
Both of their speeds were pushed to the limit, fighting as if they were sworn enemies, relentlessly attacking each other's weak points.
They moved like two blurs in the setting sun, and the winds they stirred up from their collisions billowed, filling the air with a deafening, bone-chilling series of explosions.
Hyuga Takashi unleashed the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms he had mastered to its fullest. His movements were simple and swift, carrying the viciousness unique to the branch family.
However, facing Hyuga Yamato's more refined, faster, and more expansive Sixty-Four Palms, he was clearly starting to feel overwhelmed.
Even though Hyuga Takashi had more combat experience, this was not a life-or-death battlefield. He had no chance to utilize his advantages.
In the eyes of the others, Hyuga Takashi had been dragged into Hyuga Yamato's rhythm and frequency, being pushed back step by step as his range of movement was continuously compressed.
Hyuga Takashi's clothes had been torn in several places.
In the close to a hundred attacks that occurred in just a few seconds, the chakra-laced fingertips of Hyuga Yamato narrowly grazed his pressure points, sending a chilling sensation down his spine.
Finally...
Hyuga Takashi failed to dodge in time, and the Jianzhen pressure point on his left shoulder was precisely struck by Hyuga Yamato's fingertip.
A cold, piercing chakra invaded his meridians, and his left arm instantly went numb and felt completely powerless!
"Ugh!"
Hyuga Takashi grunted, his face turning pale. He clutched his left shoulder and retreated, staring intently at the Hyuga Yamato in front of him.
"Did you see?"
Hyuga Yamato didn't pursue. Instead, he retracted his palms, a haughty smile on his face. "This is the difference. Kneel and admit your mistake now, and it might not be too late."
Hyuga Takashi gritted his teeth, not replying. The veins around the pupils of his pure Byakugan bulged fiercely.
He was frantically replaying every detail of Hyuga Yamato's movements and the flow of his chakra while he had performed the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
"Hmph! An overestimating fool! Then I'll break your legs!"
Seeing that he didn't answer, a cold glint flashed in Hyuga Yamato's eyes. "Let's see if you branch family members still have the face to claim you're on equal footing with the main family!"
He leaned his body forward slightly, placing his hands at his sides, as an even more ferocious chakra erupted from within him.
A chakra visible to the naked eye surged from his fists, emitting a raging and violent aura that looked just like a lion's mane.
Gentle Fist Art: Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists!
Hyuga Yamato's figure vanished from his spot. He charged forward like a hunting lion, both fists striking out together, aiming to slam into the unsteady Hyuga Takashi.
However, at this critical moment...
A sharp light flashed in Hyuga Takashi's eyes. He took a deep breath, forced the chakra out of his pressure points, and suppressed the numbness in his left arm!
He didn't retreat. Instead, he stepped forward, meeting the violent lion fists head-on!
His hands, surprisingly, mimicked Hyuga Yamato's movements from before. Although slightly unpolished, the aura was no less powerful.
Buzz!
A similarly violent yet slightly sharper chakra burst forth from Hyuga Takashi's fists, condensing into two ethereal but distinctly shaped blue lion heads.
Wind Release: Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists!
"You..."
A look of disbelief and horror appeared in Hyuga Yamato's eyes.
The next second, two pairs of fists wrapped in violent chakra collided with a solid, unadorned impact.
Bang!
A deafening roar erupted. A storm of violent chakra and air blasted out, kicking up dust and debris.
The entire training ground was plunged into dead silence.
"Cough cough! Cough..."
As the dust slowly settled, Hyuga Takashi was seen kneeling on one knee near the edge of the training ground, gasping for breath.
The chakra on his fists had dissipated, his arms trembled slightly, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
The hurriedly mimicked Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists was clearly inferior to Hyuga Yamato's in terms of raw power.
He had been sent flying backward, only managing to steady himself after stumbling a few steps near the edge of the field.
However, although Hyuga Yamato remained standing in the center, his face was also pale. He looked at his trembling palms, which were covered in fine bloody scratches from the Wind Release chakra.
"You!"
Hyuga Yamato's voice trembled with anger. He suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with shock and fury as he stared at Hyuga Takashi. "You dare to secretly learn a Main Family secret art? And you dared to modify it?!"
In truth, a few of the Main Family's secret arts were not that difficult for skilled branch family members to learn.
The real purpose behind the rule that only the Main Family could learn them was to prevent the branch family from secretly learning and using them.
Hyuga Yamato had never expected Hyuga Takashi to be so arrogant as to completely disregard the clan's rules and use a Main Family secret art in broad daylight.
He also didn't expect that even with his crude imitation of "Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists," which was nowhere near as good as his own perfectly mastered version, Hyuga Takashi had still used a tricky method to completely block his confident attack!
"Lord Kawa once said,"
Hyuga Takashi raised his head, wiping the blood from his lips with a smile on his face. "Don't demand aesthetics from a battle. Don't demand virtue from death. Don't just seek to preserve your own life."
"You Main Family members are too corrupt and stubborn, too limited by the Hyuga's orthodoxy!"
Hearing this, a few veins popped in Hyuga Yamato's forehead. "You're asking for death!" he yelled furiously.
He no longer closed the distance. He leaped backward, putting space between them. His muscles tensed, the veins on his arms bulging, and his spine tightened like a taut bow...
A highly compressed and solidified chakra gathered in his palm. He then suddenly raised his palm and pushed it toward the distant Hyuga Takashi.
This strike was incredibly fast. The wind pressed his clothes tightly against his arm, outlining the muscles of his shoulder and creating a piercing, sharp tearing sound in the air.
Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Air Palm!
Buzz!
A highly compressed chakra blast was visible to the naked eye. Like an invisible heavy cannonball with an air-tearing shriek, it flew toward Hyuga Takashi, who was kneeling on one knee and seemed unable to dodge.
The power of this strike far surpassed his previous moves, enough to turn a giant boulder into dust.
However, facing this devastating attack, there was no fear in Hyuga Takashi's eyes.
He took a deep breath, enduring the intense pain in his arms, and formed hand signs in front of his chest. His movements were still unpolished, but they carried a desperate, all-or-nothing resolve.
At the same time, the nature of the chakra in his body suddenly changed. A sharp, light chakra with cutting properties fused into the chakra he was condensing.
Buzz!
Hyuga Takashi's palms, also condensing chakra, pushed forward fiercely, meeting the highly compressed but Wind Release-infused blast head-on!
Wind Release: Eight Trigrams Air Palm!
The two terrifying chakra blasts slammed into each other in the center of the training ground, erupting in a deafening crash even louder than before.
Rumble!
Violent air currents raged in every direction. A deep trench was carved into the ground, and the kicked-up dust obscured everyone's vision.
The spectators could only see two figures closing in on each other once again within the dust.
Bang! Thump thump!
The dull but highly penetrating sound of flesh colliding, along with the muffled booms of exploding chakra, continuously rang out in the swirling dust!
With every collision, a violent gust of wind was stirred up, making the dust storm even more ferocious!
The onlookers outside the perimeter could only see two blurry, indistinct figures furiously chasing, colliding, separating, and colliding again within the dust!
Their speed was so fast that they left afterimages, and their movements were swift and vicious, each strike carrying a ruthless amount of force.
Boom!
An exceptionally powerful gust of wind suddenly erupted from the dust cloud, instantly tearing it apart and scattering it!
As the dust dispersed, the scene in the center of the training ground was finally clear for all to see.
The two were close to each other. Hyuga Takashi's figure moved like a flash of lightning, his right hand's two fingers like a blade, striking viciously at Hyuga Yamato's throat.
This attack was swift, precise, and ruthless, carrying the resolve to kill in one strike.
Chii!
Hyuga Yamato used his instincts to bend backward in a dangerously precarious position. The palm-blade narrowly scraped past the skin of his neck.
It was a matter of inches!
And the moment Hyuga Takashi's palm-blade missed, Hyuga Yamato, still leaning back, suddenly exerted force from his waist!
His right fist clenched, and a chakra condensed to its absolute limit gathered in his palm.
Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Crushing Mountain Strike!
"Die!" Hyuga Yamato roared in fury.
The right palm, condensed with terrifying power, moved with a shrieking sound, slamming into Hyuga Takashi's body, which was leaning forward from his missed attack and couldn't fully retract.
Hyuga Takashi could only hurriedly bring his left arm up to block, while frantically pouring all the chakra in his body into it.
Boom!
A dull, bone-shaking roar exploded. Hyuga Yamato's Crushing Mountain Strike, which contained all of his strength and fury, squarely hit Hyuga Takashi's left arm.
Crack!
"Pfft!"
With a faint but clear sound of bone cracking, Hyuga Takashi spat out a mouthful of crimson blood, his body flying backward like a kite with a broken string!
His feet dragged violently on the hard ground, plowing two deep trenches. He slid for seven or eight meters before he barely managed to steady himself.
"Cough cough!"
He knelt on one knee, gasping for air, his face as white as a sheet!
His left arm hung limply at his side, its sleeve completely shredded, revealing a shocking expanse of blue and purple swelling. Blood continuously dripped from his mouth, staining the front of his shirt.
"Again!"
Seeing this, a hint of cruel pleasure appeared on Hyuga Yamato's furious, contorted face. He shrieked.
However, Hyuga Takashi, still on one knee, slowly raised his head. He used his good right hand to wipe the blood from his lips with difficulty.
He looked at the menacing Hyuga Yamato across from him. There was no anger, no fear on his face. Instead, he slowly shook his head.
"It's already... over." Hyuga Takashi's voice was weak but unusually clear.
"What are you talking about?" Hyuga Yamato's face instantly darkened, and then a cold sneer appeared. "What? Are you planning to surrender—"
At this point, his voice suddenly stopped.
He noticed the murmurs of the crowd around him and their stares at his neck.
At the same time, a slightly cool and damp sensation slowly spread across his neck.
Hyuga Yamato followed the crowd's gaze, instinctively raising his hand to touch his throat.
His fingertips felt a warm, sticky liquid.
He lowered his head to look. On his fingertip was a shockingly crimson stain.
A subtle, almost invisible wound was slowly seeping fine beads of blood. The beads gathered into a stream that trickled down his neck.
Just now, the palm-blade that had grazed Hyuga Takashi's neck was wrapped in sharp Wind Release chakra. If Hyuga Takashi had wanted to, he could have easily sliced his throat.
If this were a battlefield, Hyuga Yamato would already be dead.
"So..."
Hyuga Takashi gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand. His voice, though weak, was filled with an undeniable finality as he declared, "Hyuga Yamato, you've lost."
With that, he gave Hyuga Yamato one last look. His eyes were calm, as if he were looking at an insignificant stranger.
Then, not waiting for Hyuga Yamato to kneel as promised, he turned around without hesitation, clutched his injured left arm, and limped out of the training ground.
Behind him, Hyuga Yamato stood frozen in place, staring down at the shocking crimson on his fingertip.
Hearing Hyuga Takashi's words and the laughter from the crowd, his handsome face gradually became contorted and twisted. The veins on his forehead pulsed like earthworms.
"I... lost?"
Hyuga Yamato suddenly looked up at Hyuga Takashi's retreating back.
He gritted his teeth, squeezing out each word with a voice that was hoarse with madness and resentment. "What a joke!"
"Using such... such a ridiculous and despicable trick!"
His voice trembled and became distorted with rage as he shrieked, "How could I possibly lose to a branch family member like you?!"
As his voice fell, he suddenly raised his right hand, his index and middle fingers pressed together.
In the crowd, Hyuga Neji's expression changed instantly.
That was... the hand sign to activate the "Cage Bird Seal"?!