Shimoku: "After all this practice, do you have any reflections?"
"Now I truly feel that, just as the Young Master said, the Byakugan is naturally a tool for long-range hunting!"
Shinkawa sincerely remarked.
After months of training, he had finally come to realize—
What an incredible waste the Hyūga Clan had made of such a divine gift!
They could hardly even be described as foolish anymore.
With such an amazing eye ability at their disposal,
instead of developing it toward long-range attacks,
instead of focusing on exploring and utilizing the [Byakugan] fully,
they obsessively pursued improvements in hand-to-hand combat and [taijutsu].
It was like refusing to use proper tools and insisting on doing things with your bare hands—utterly pointless!
"So you've finally seen sense?"
"Yes."
"How did you come around? Tell me about it."
Shimoku asked curiously.
He remembered how, a few months back,
he'd told Shinkawa to put martial arts on hold and switch to archery and long-range techniques instead.
Although the boy had verbally agreed immediately,
and physically followed through right away,
inside, he still resisted slightly.
According to Riyō's report:
he would often sneak out of the village late at night alone to continue practicing martial arts, hoping to grow stronger.
Even later, after forming this [Long-range Byakugan Sniper Unit], he hadn't changed this stubborn idea.
Yet now, clearly, he had changed...
And willingly so.
That's what intrigued Shimoku the most.
As expected, Shinkawa didn't hide anything and began explaining in detail.
It turned out that over a month ago,
following Shimoku's orders,
the Uchiha, Hyūga, and Hidden Mist villages regularly held joint practical training sessions to enhance overall strength.
Therefore, during one rare opportunity,
Hyūga Shinkawa, as a Jonin, faced off one-on-one against Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, who was an Elite Jonin.
In that battle,
Shinkawa suffered a crushing defeat.
He gave it everything—he used the Byakugan, unleashed every martial art at his disposal—but still couldn't last two minutes.
Zabuza's blade already rested against his neck...
Though he understood there was indeed a massive power gap between Jonins and Elite Jonins,
such an absurdly overwhelming loss still felt hopeless.
Their martial art was sophisticated indeed, its power not weak.
But it simply couldn't withstand the sharp edge of the opponent's blade!
Engaging blades with fists—no matter how you looked at it—was pure idiocy!
Granted, fists could be enhanced with Chakra;
but their swords could also channel Chakra enhancements too!
Fists were never going to be as hard as blades.
Fists could only hope to match blades by piling on even more Chakra.
It all came down to brute Chakra superiority.
What did that have to do with martial arts?
What was there to be proud of?
If they really wanted results, the [Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms] should've been called the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Blades! That'd have been far more effective!
...
After his humiliating defeat, Hyūga Shinkawa deeply analyzed his own shortcomings.
At the same time,
daily archery training sparked new thoughts within him.
One month later.
Five days ago.
Once again, he took on Zabuza...
This time, he switched to using a bow and arrow as his main weapon, starting the battle at a distance of one thousand meters.
He even let Zabuza use the Hiding in Mist Technique first, just to keep things fair.
Without a doubt,
he won this battle!
First off, the Sharingan cannot see through the Hiding in Mist Technique, but the Byakugan sees right through it effortlessly.
Within the thick mist, Zabuza's movements appeared perfectly clear to Shinkawa's Byakugan, like an open book.
Once he had pinpointed the target,
Zabuza within Shinkawa's range became no different from an unprotected shooting target.
[Distance Break: 1000m → 800m]:
Shinkawa loosed eight arrows in total. Zabuza dodged four with his Body Flicker Technique, blocked two, and the last pair only grazed his arm—hardly a threat.
[Distance Break: 800m → 500m]:
Shinkawa fired thirteen arrows, each filled with chakra, using precision steel tips. These sacrificed flexibility for pure power and penetration.
At this range, Zabuza no longer weaved evasively. Instead, he charged forward, shielding vital areas like his head and chest with his giant blade while taking the hits head-on.
Each of those arrows, powerful enough to pierce through several trees, slammed directly into Zabuza's blade.
After thirteen strikes, Zabuza's palms tore open, his hands numb and sore...
[Distance Break: 500m → 200m]:
Zabuza learned his lesson and summoned several water clones, attempting multiple approaches to confuse and scatter the enemy's attacks.
Unfortunately, ordinary water clones couldn't fool the Byakugan. Shinkawa instantly identified Zabuza's real body.
Then, he continued drawing his bow, launching nine arrows in succession. These arrows carried no chakra, but each was fitted with an Explosive Tag!
At three hundred meters, Zabuza was blown up no less than nine times!
If not for his mastery of Water Release Ninjutsu and his exceptional skill in blocking most of the explosion damage, he would've likely been blown into pieces already.
[Distance Break: 200m → 20m]:
Zabuza had grown ruthless, charging recklessly toward Shinkawa now. Yet suddenly, he realized his speed and strength had greatly weakened—he had been poisoned!
It turned out that the underhanded archer Shinkawa had coated the tips of the first eight arrows with a special paralyzing toxin.
Even a minor scratch was enough to allow the paralyzing toxin into Zabuza's system. As its effects set in, it significantly weakened him.
In the final two hundred meters, Shinkawa shot seven more arrows. Five of them hit the weakened Zabuza, embedding themselves into his shoulders, arms, and thighs...
In addition, small pouches of chili powder attached to the arrows burst on impact.
The fiery chili powder scattered violently into the wind, covering Zabuza's wounds all over his body. His eyes reddened, his teeth gritted, and his face twisted in agony! He had already reached the brink of collapse...
Finally,
the last twenty meters approached.
Zabuza smirked.
He could already feel victory within reach.
But the next moment, when he struck Shinkawa, he realized...
The one standing there was merely a Clone Technique of Shinkawa.
His real body had already fled 800 meters away.
Once again, he drew his bow and aimed at Zabuza.
Poor tough guy Zabuza looked at Shinkawa in confusion from 800 meters away, feeling weakness and a burning sensation all over his body.
In the end, he still admitted defeat and gave up.
And so, Shinkawa won!
Following a hint from Young Master Shimoku, he personally designed the "Hit-and-Run Strategy"—and it worked!
It made him truly victorious.
As a mere Jonin, he had defeated Zabuza—an elite Jonin at his peak!
Of course, Zabuza accepted it willingly.
After all, he clearly understood,
Throughout the entire battle, Shinkawa Hyuga had held back.
If during his first few shots, poison had been applied on the arrowheads instead of anesthetics,
If he'd attached explosive tags to those armor-piercing arrows,
If several more clones had been created at the final moment to attack together...
Any one of these could have hastened his defeat or even caused his death!
As for himself, even if he could perform long-range Ninjutsu attacks,
He couldn't finish the handseals in time or aim precisely;
Moreover, he didn't possess any powerful Ninjutsu capable of striking across hundreds of meters;
Even worse,
In the following days,
They engaged in three more real combat matches, and Zabuza still ended up defeated every time, utterly exhausted by the "Hit-and-Run Strategy."
This left the other members of the Hyuga and Uchiha clans completely stunned.
Without doubt, Zabuza had been utterly defeated.
And precisely because of these matches where the weaker side triumphed against the stronger,
Shinkawa changed his mindset, finally understanding the true power of [Byakugan]!
From that moment on, he wholeheartedly embraced long-range tactics.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>