Hyuga Clan Training Grounds.
"Big Brother Shinji, I can't go on, I forfeit." Tetsu Hyuga collapsed on the ground, waving his hand towards Shinji who stood not far away.
Shinji, having just sparred, was also a bit out of breath.
"I didn't expect Big Brother Shinji to be so strong even without his Byakugan," Tokuma Hyuga, who was watching from the side, said involuntarily.
"No matter what, Shinji is a Chunin. It's a piece of cake for him to beat you two brats," Iroha sneered.
Shinji, however, wasn't as relaxed as Iroha made it out to be. This was his first fight since his rebirth.
His past battle experience was merely memory to him. If it were the original Shinji, he could have taken down Tetsu in an instant without even using the Byakugan or Gentle Fist.
"Let's take a break then." Shinji rubbed his sore forearm. He'd accidentally taken a hit earlier and felt an indescribable blockage in his arm when he tried to use it.
The group gathered in the shade under a tree, Shinji and Tetsu each taking out their water bottles to rehydrate.
The Hyuga training grounds were as large as three or four playgrounds combined, located near the village edge, right next to a dense forest.
But aside from them, there was no one else there. Most of the Hyuga clan ninjas had gone to the front lines. Among Shinji's peers, only Iroha and Natsu remained in the village.
Iroha was on the side instructing Tetsu, explaining the shortcomings he had exposed during their spar.
Shinji listened quietly, leaning against the tree trunk.
A few clouds drifted across the sky. The wind rustled the leaves, and the dust on the ground swirled and then settled.
After resting for a while, Shinji put down his water bottle, stood up, and stretched.
"Tokuma, want to try?" He looked at the other delicate-looking boy. Tokuma had long hair tied back with a hair tie, with two strands hanging down on either side of his face.
"Me?" Tokuma asked in surprise.
"What, do you want me to fight Iroha?" Shinji asked back with a faint smile.
Currently, Iroha was still recovering from serious injuries and had no fighting capability.
"It's just sparring, what are you afraid of, kid?" Iroha patted Tokuma on the back.
"Alright," Tokuma hesitantly agreed, standing up. He knew he wasn't Shinji's opponent and was a little worried he would lose badly.
The two walked a few steps away and stood facing each other in the open space.
Tokuma was the first to form the Confrontation Seal.
Shinji found it amusing and followed suit, forming the seal and then assuming a fighting stance.
The pain in his forearm hadn't subsided, but it didn't affect Shinji's desire to fight. Unlike the monotonous physical training, the exchange of blows and techniques in a fight was much more interesting.
"Is Big Brother Shinji always this hardworking?" Tetsu, sitting under the tree, couldn't help but ask.
"Him... I guess so." Iroha couldn't quite put his finger on it.
He and Shinji weren't particularly close, and he didn't know Shinji very well. They could only chat casually when they met as fellow clan members.
The previous events had left a deeper impression of this clan brother on him.
Shinji was already exchanging blows with Tokuma. Tokuma's style was similar to Tetsu's, and their techniques were all familiar to him.
This made Shinji feel more and more comfortable during the fight. It felt as if he was gradually mastering the battle memories in his mind.
"Ah!" A cry of pain rang out.
Tokuma was suddenly knocked to the ground, clutching his right forearm with a painful expression.
Seeing this, Shinji quickly went forward to check on him. Iroha and Tetsu, hearing the commotion, rushed over as well.
"Are you alright?"
Tokuma was helped to sit up.
His entire right forearm was bright red. Seeing this, a look of surprise appeared on Iroha's face.
"Hiss..." Tokuma just gasped, seemingly in great pain.
Shinji glanced at his own right hand. His knuckles were covered in red marks and felt like he had punched a wall.
"Sorry, Tokuma, I was trying to see if I could hit a pressure point. I didn't control my strength well," Shinji apologized.
"How did you hit the pressure point?" Iroha asked.
Shinji held up his clenched fist.
"..." Iroha was speechless.
In the Gentle Fist style, who would use their entire fist to hit a pressure point? The chakra pathways in the human body were so delicate that even a slight deviation to the intended point wouldn't work.
Tokuma pursed his lips and remained silent.
"It's just a punch, why do you look like you're about to cry?" Iroha said, "Look, Shinji's hand is injured too."
"As an apology, I'll treat you to lunch," Shinji said.
Upon hearing this, Tokuma immediately wiped away the tears that were about to fall and asked, "Grilled meat?"
"Ramen."
"..."
Tokuma, upon hearing this, silently covered his forearm again, his brows furrowing tightly. "Hiss... It really hurts!"
Shinji found it amusing and didn't disappoint him. "Alright, grilled meat it is."
Tokuma immediately stood up. "Big Brother Shinji, I'm fine. Let's go eat, I'm kind of hungry."
Seeing this, Iroha couldn't help but retort, "What a drama queen."
Tetsu also chuckled from the side.
Shinji looked at the back of his injured hand again.
The principle of the Gentle Fist's pressure point strikes was to inject chakra into the opponent's body, thereby damaging their meridian system, the pathways of chakra, and internal organs.
This chakra was usually released from the fingertips, but when he punched just now, his entire fist had released chakra. He couldn't see the chakra pathways, so he tried an AOE attack, hoping it would hit the target.
The result was that he injured both his opponent and himself.
"Are you okay, Big Brother Shinji?" Tokuma asked.
"I'm fine, let's go eat."
The group left the training ground, chatting and laughing.
Shinji felt that some of his conjectures could be tested.
In the original work, Hinata's Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists seemed to be based on a similar principle, using chakra to change its form and cover the hands, thereby enhancing the striking power and area of damage.
However, all the Hyuga clan's techniques required the Byakugan to assist. With the Byakugan, one could accurately release chakra, maximizing the effectiveness of each move.
Although Shinji's idea had the potential to be realized, its difficulty was far greater than ordinary Gentle Fist techniques.
After eating grilled meat with Iroha and the others, Shinji went to the market alone and bought some ingredients and seasonings. Back home, he made some snacks.
Just some simple potato chips, which were, surprisingly, sold in this world. It wasn't that much of a surprise now that he thought about it.
After packing them in a box, Shinji took them to Ayari's house next door.
"You made these?" Ayari seemed rather incredulous upon seeing them.
"Try them and see how they taste."
Ayari hesitated slightly, then picked up a potato chip and put it in her mouth. It was crispy, salty, and spicy.
"Mmm! They're quite good!" She took the food box from Shinji's hand and sat on the sofa, enjoying them seriously.
Today, she was wearing a floral skirt, her long, white legs swaying in front of Shinji's eyes.
"What are you looking at?!" Ayari glared at him and said.
"Legs," Shinji replied bluntly.
Ayari grabbed a nearby pillow and threw it. Shinji caught it, hugging it in his arms.
"Alright, spill it. What do you want?" she then asked.
"Can you find me some more books?" Shinji didn't bother with pleasantries and directly made his request.
"Have you finished reading the ones I found for you before?" Ayari asked in surprise.
"Yes, I have."
Ayari pondered for a moment, then said, "If you just want to read some casual books, I can find you some novels to pass the time."
Shinji shook his head. "I take these very seriously. Except for those professional medical books, I've understood them all."
Ayari was quite surprised.
The knowledge in those books she found wasn't superficial. How could this kid have grasped everything so quickly?
"What else do you want to read?" she asked.
"Anything related to chakra, as many as you can find. Besides that, I also want to read some introductory books on sensory and medical ninjutsu," Shinji said slowly.
Ayari nodded. "Alright, I'll keep an eye out."
The books she had found for Shinji last time were randomly selected, otherwise, she wouldn't have given him such specialized books.
Seeing that Shinji might actually want to study, Ayari decided to carefully choose some for him later.
The box of potato chips was quickly finished. Ayari was very satisfied. These tasted very different from the bagged potato chips sold on the market.
"When did you learn to make these?"
"I saw a snack stall selling fried potato chips before. I thought it was quite interesting, so I watched for a bit and tried making them myself after I got back."
"You seem quite talented in this area."
Shinji smiled faintly and said, "Did you like it? I can make them for you often."
Ayari chuckled. "Wouldn't I have to run errands for you every day then?"