The [Gentle Fist] technique allowed members of the Hyūga Branch House to learn only up to sixteen palm strikes.
But Chonghuo Hyūga had full confidence in himself.
He believed that through his relentless training and discipline, he could surely defeat Satori Hyūga—who never applied himself and spent lessons sleeping.
If even someone like Satori, who showed no ambition, could beat him, how could Chonghuo still call himself a true member of the Hyūga family?
His palms flashed with rapid precision, cutting through the air in a blur as they aimed straight for Satori's vital points.
The Gentle Fist mainly attacked the body's meridians and chakra points, using chakra to cause serious internal damage.
It didn't require a direct hit—a mere graze was enough to inflict severe injury.
"Satori Hyūga! These are skills and experience I've honed through relentless training. With your lazy attitude, you definitely won't be able to handle it!"
Chonghuo spoke with fierce determination, staring confidently at Satori.
After all, he'd seen every single day Satori wasted away, doing nothing but sleep and show no ambition.
If he couldn't even defeat such a person, he might as well go die already.
Hiashi Hyūga stood aside silently observing Chonghuo's movements, nodding slightly.
Even though Chonghuo belonged to the Branch House, his mastery of the Gentle Fist technique was quite impressive.
Hiashi stole a quiet glance at his younger brother Hizashi, who stood silently by his side.
As a Branch House member marked with the Caged Bird Seal, Hizashi also possessed immense talent and potential.
In the past, the two brothers had been close.
But after their division into Main and Branch Houses, Hizashi had grown increasingly distant from Hiashi.
"Hard work is good," Satori said calmly without any panic, "but talent and thinking matter too."
Satori stepped forward with calm confidence, facing the attack directly.
"Let me show you what real Gentle Fist looks like."
[Replenishing Jutsu] coursed through his body, constantly restoring his physical strength and boosting his stamina.
Right now, however, he paused this Replenishing Jutsu.
When their chakra levels were nearly equal, Satori raised his hands and met the assault directly.
The same technique, the same style, the same pinpoint accuracy in striking vital points.
Satori took one step forward, walking leisurely toward Chonghuo as though strolling through a garden.
Yet with each step, his momentum grew stronger and stronger.
When he finally struck, it came like a sudden storm—his form flickering like lightning, and his palms crashing down like thunderclaps.
"What?! How is this possible?!"
Chonghuo's eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before him.
He was pushed back by the overwhelming barrage of attacks, as if enemies surrounded him on all sides with no escape.
"You're the dead last! How can you be this strong?!"
"I refuse to believe this! [Byakugan]—OPEN!" Chonghuo roared loudly, veins bulging around his eyes.
This was the legendary [Byakugan], unique to the Hyūga Clan.
Once activated, it granted its user incredible vision—able to see the flow of chakra within a person's body and detect the weaknesses in an opponent's techniques.
For martial artists like them, it was an unparalleled advantage.
With the Byakugan active, Chonghuo's earlier disadvantage slowly faded, once again replaced by surging confidence.
"Let me see your weaknesses."
He activated his Byakugan, carefully observing Satori Hyūga's movements and techniques, as well as the flow of his chakra.
It wasn't completely useless—just barely effective.
Even after spotting those openings, Satori Hyūga's relentless, storm-like assault left him practically no time to react.
This filled him with a growing sense of despair.
There's no way I can't beat this dead last—that's impossible!
At that moment,
Suddenly, his Byakugan detected something odd.
"Satori Hyūga, I've found your weakness!"
Chonghuo Hyūga exclaimed excitedly, his eyes locked onto Satori Hyūga's meridians and pressure points.
"Your chakra is insufficient. There's no way you can keep this up for long."
"If I can just hold out until your chakra runs dry, you're guaranteed to lose."
Satori Hyūga shot him a furious glare and snapped, "Damn it! Stop peeking into other people's bodies with your Byakugan!"
"And everything you just said is wrong too! I just need to defeat you before my chakra runs out!"
In truth, he didn't care at all about the weakness Chonghuo had pointed out.
What shortage of chakra?
That's because he had just recently refined it.
It might have been limited in quantity, but more than enough.
And if someone kept observing closely, they would notice—
The amount of chakra inside Satori Hyūga automatically refilled itself continuously, always remaining constant.
That was a unique ability gained through mastering the [Feeding-Back Jutsu].
Others had to juggle two tasks at once—fighting while channeling chakra.
But for Satori, refining chakra had become second nature—his body produced it automatically, even without conscious effort.
Just slightly less—that's all.
"You actually expect me to believe that? How do you think you can beat me with so little chakra?" Chonghuo roared.
Still, his hands kept forming defensive seals, blocking Satori Hyūga's strikes.
Inside, Chonghuo was starting to acknowledge Satori Hyūga.
In the ninja world, strength is everything.
If Satori Hyūga could push him back like this, it proved his abilities.
Still, he felt no regret.
If they hadn't fought, he never would've known how powerful Satori truly was.
Too bad Satori didn't have enough chakra reserves—he wouldn't last long.
Even if he became a ninja in the future, his potential and prospects wouldn't amount to much.
"Not bad," Chonghuo muttered. "You're quick—you won't dodge this!"
Satori swung his arm and raised his fingers toward Chonghuo Hyūga.
A sharp burst of energy erupted from his fingertips, striking Chonghuo head-on.
With no distance to spare and the attack coming too fast, Chonghuo had no time to react before getting hit in an acupoint.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
More bursts of energy tore through the air, hitting Chonghuo's pressure points.
The energy, infused with chakra, ravaged his pressure points.
He crumbled to the ground, momentarily paralyzed.
"Chonghuo Hyūga, are you okay?!" Several classmates rushed forward to check on Chonghuo.
"Don't worry, he was just struck by some pressure point techniques. He'll recover after some time," Satori explained.
Hiashi Hyūga walked over, looking at Satori with a complex expression.
"What was that move just now? The Hyūga Clan doesn't have such a technique."
He had a vague idea in his mind, but couldn't be sure, so he came to ask for clarification.
Satori Hyūga looked at Hiashi Hyūga and smiled slightly. "You mean [A Flick of the Finger, A Surge of Qi]? That's just a small trick I discovered by accident."
He wasn't lying either.
While practicing Rotation, he experimented with channeling part of his chakra to surge out of his body, causing localized damage and a rebound effect.
After testing it, he realized—it was essentially the ninja world's version of the Six Pulse Sword Technique (a legendary martial arts technique that emits sword-like energy from the fingers).
However, the effect of projecting chakra outward wasn't very strong.
So, Satori Hyūga experimented further by incorporating Wind-natured chakra transformation, resulting in [A Flick of the Finger, A Surge of Qi].
It wasn't as powerful as a bullet, but if aimed at pressure points on a person's body, it could cause surprising damage.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!