“The Hidden Dragon Refrains!” Hinata’s Byakugan blazed, and she thrust her palm forward horizontally.
This palm carried a deep, resonant hum accompanied by the wind, like a dragon returning to the abyss.
“What style of taijutsu is she using?
She dares to meet my strength head-on?” Hyuga Hiashi was surprised.
This was just a light test; naturally, he wouldn’t use his true power.
If he did, with his level of strength, there would be no point in sparring at all.
But even with a casual move, Hinata’s strength should not be able to withstand it.
She shouldn’t even dare to clash directly.
Yet today, she was actually trading palm strikes with him?
Where did this confidence come from?
Moreover, this palm faintly revealed an air of something extraordinary.
It seemed simple, yet it contained profound intricacies.
Even he couldn’t help but feel it was unfathomable.
Before Hyuga Hiashi could ponder further, Hinata’s palm and Hyuga Hiashi’s palm slammed together.
Bang!
The palms had yet to meet, but the fierce pressure of their strikes had already collided.
Immediately after, two masses of blue chakra impacted, producing a muffled thud.
Hyuga Hiashi’s eyes narrowed.
Hinata actually took this palm directly!
Although Hinata’s power was still lacking, he could clearly feel that she was using her own strength to violently contest his own.
Though Hinata possessed far less chakra than he did, this mysterious palm technique compensated in sheer skill.
This palm was directed at him.
If it were aimed at any of her peers, he suspected very few would be able to withstand it.
However, What truly shocked Hyuga Hiashi was yet to come.
Using her right foot as a pivot, Hinata traced a circle with her left foot and spun her body.
Her short black hair flowed with the motion.
Her other hand suddenly shifted from rigid to supple, striking toward Hyuga Hiashi before her.
The chakra coiling around her palm faintly coalesced into the shape of a blue dragon’s head.
It opened its jaws fiercely, ready to bite.
It was awe-inspiring.
“This is!” Hyuga Hiashi’s expression shifted.
Not only had Hinata’s strength visibly increased, but she had actually mastered this level of chakra shape transformation?
That was an ability befitting a seasoned shinobi at the Chunin level.
How could Hinata possibly perform it?
At this moment, he was half-convinced that this wasn’t Hinata at all, but some taijutsu master using the Transformation Technique to impersonate her.
At the same time, Hyuga Hiashi noted the change in Hinata’s palm technique.
Even he was caught slightly off guard.
If the previous palm was like a dragon returning to the abyss—deep and unfathomable— Then this current palm was like a dragon erupting from the abyss, carrying a domineering martial intent that surged straight into the heavens!
How could a palm technique shift like that?
So exquisite!
It was as if it was teaching him a lesson!
Now, Hyuga Hiashi abandoned any trace of carelessness and fully activated his Byakugan.
He now regarded Hinata as a truly qualified opponent.
He drew upon a portion of his true strength and began to fight seriously.
Bang!
Bang!
Father and daughter clashed fiercely in taijutsu.
Gusts howled, and shockwaves rippled outward.
Waves of air pressure sheared through the surrounding weeds.
“The Dragon Seen in the Field!” “The Dragon Fights in the Wilderness!” “Treading on Frost and Ice!” Hinata’s eyes grew increasingly resolute as the battle progressed.
She unleashed the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, and from time to time, the chakra in her palms would morph into the fleeting forms of dragons.
Hyuga Hiashi, locked in combat with Hinata, felt sparks continually igniting in his eyes.
Inside, he was both inexplicably shocked and utterly exhilarated.
So palm techniques could be practiced like this?
So the pinnacle of hardness could still contain such ultimate softness?
Hard within soft, soft within hard—the great hardness is the great softness!
This was a height of martial arts he had never even dreamed of!
And there was also the wild, unpredictable, dragon-like madness contained within this palm technique.
Every move and form was profound and unfathomable, each seemingly possessing the power to subdue a dragon.
This was the very realm that every martial arts master yearned for.
To think he would witness it today, demonstrated by this daughter whom he had deemed unfit to be a shinobi.
Hyuga Hiashi felt as if his entire worldview was being hammered relentlessly.
After several dozen exchanges, Hyuga Hiashi disengaged.
He looked at Hinata and said seriously, “Enough.
The assessment is over.” After a pause, Hyuga Hiashi continued, “I take back what I have said to you in the past.
You are more than qualified to be a shinobi of the Hyuga clan.
I acknowledge you.” Hinata’s current strength had undergone a qualitative leap.
And as for the profound mystery of that palm technique, even he felt inferior.
During his exchange with Hinata, he had even drawn inspiration from this very technique.
He believed that given time, he would definitely make breakthroughs and advance his own Gentle Fist to a level beyond its current state.
For this transformation in his daughter, he offered a rare and hard-won word of praise.
A look of joy appeared on Hinata’s small face.
In her memory, her father had never once acknowledged her like this.
Hanabi, standing nearby, finally snapped out of her earlier shock and exclaimed, “Big sister, that was amazing!” Though Hyuga Hiashi had acknowledged Hinata, his expression remained solemn.
“Hinata.
That taijutsu you used did not belong to our Hyuga clan.
Where did you learn it?” Hinata’s cheeks flushed slightly.
“Shendai-kun opened a manga shop.” At the sound of the name “Shendai-kun,” Hyuga Hiashi’s eyebrows couldn’t help but twitch.
Though he devoted most of his attention to Hanabi, that didn’t mean he was completely oblivious to Hinata’s affairs.
He vaguely knew that Hinata seemed to harbor secret feelings for this young man named Shendai.
So she had just come back from Shendai’s place… Hinata continued, “At the manga shop Shendai-kun opened, you can go in and read one manga for five thousand ryo.
You can only read one per day, and the price doubles with each subsequent visit.” Hearing this, Hyuga Hiashi’s eye twitched.
Five thousand just to read a manga… And the price doubles every time after… Hinata went on, “As long as you finish reading the manga, you are guaranteed to receive one thing from the story as a reward.
The palm technique I just used is called the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.
I obtained it from the Dragon Ball manga.” “What did you say?” “You can get good stuff just from reading manga?!” The first line came from Hyuga Hiashi; the second from Hanabi.
Both father and daughter were stunned by Hinata’s words.
Hyuga Hiashi considered himself well-informed, but he had never heard of such a phenomenon.
However, he knew Hinata would never lie to him.
After all, this manga shop Shendai had opened was right here in Konoha.
If he wanted to verify the truth, he could find out just by going there.
There was no way to conceal a lie.
Furthermore, he had never heard of such a novel and profoundly intricate palm technique anywhere in the shinobi world.
If it originated from a manga, that actually seemed more plausible.
Hinata added, “There are many powerful palm techniques and fist styles in Dragon Ball, some of which are not inferior to the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms at all.
In the manga, these are called ‘martial arts.’ For example, the Heavenly Mountain Plum-Breaking Hand, which can continuously integrate various martial arts and endlessly refine them; For example, the Six Meridians Divine Sword, which can be launched through the air, killing invisibly with the flick of a finger; For example, the Star Shifting Art, which can use an opponent’s own force against them, returning it upon themselves; And there is also the Bone-Corroding Palm, which can shatter a person’s bones and internal organs, causing them to die in excruciating pain… All of these fall under the category of martial arts.” “They can be combined with other techniques?” “Launched through the air, killing without a trace?” “Using the enemy’s force to strike back at them?” “They can directly attack the body, crushing bones and internal organs to pieces?” “There are that many incredible taijutsu styles?!” Listening to Hinata’s description, Hyuga Hiashi felt as if he had discovered an entirely new continent.
The mere thought made his blood surge with excitement.
He said impatiently, “Hinata!
Take me to that manga shop!
I must see this manga you speak of!” Hanabi quickly chimed in, “Big sister, I want to go too!” “Of course!” Hinata smiled.
She had been wondering how she could possibly promote Shendai’s shop.
Now was her perfect chance.