Shocking!
When Aoi and Rinko came out of the room dressed in white kimono-style maid outfits, ready to begin their usual cleaning, they saw Kichō in the open courtyard, practicing Gentle Fist against a wooden stake.
Both girls' eyes widened in disbelief.
Kichō was no longer wearing gorgeous, expensive clothing. Nor was she wearing those gold and jade ornaments that looked costly and fragile at a glance.
She wore only a simple pale-purple, tight-fitting ninja outfit.
Even the iron arm guards, leg guards, chest guard, and other defensive gear she used on the battlefield had been carefully fastened in place.
This was precisely the combat outfit she had often worn back in the Hyūga clan.
Her slender, alluring body had turned into the purest kind of killing tool.
Moreover, although her Gentle Fist looked soft and light, when it struck the wooden stake, it pierced straight through the thick wood, leaving dense, straight holes on the other side like bullet marks.
Thin needle-like streams of chakra shot through the holes in the wooden stake and into the air. Even the snow-covered branches more than ten meters away shook violently.
If that had been a body of flesh and blood, it would likely have been pierced with countless bloody holes.
Therefore, even a style like Gentle Fist, after being tempered by the Warring States era, had developed many different striking methods for the sake of efficient killing.
Turning chakra released from the palm into a piercing force like needles, then striking it out through Gentle Fist, was Kichō's specialty.
Moreover, in order to focus the force more tightly, the chakra compressed by Kichō was tougher than ordinary chakra. That was the key to piercing through an enemy's body.
Clearly, this was an efficient killing technique forged through countless life-and-death battles on the battlefield.
Its purpose was not to seal the enemy's chakra or ninjutsu.
It was Gentle Fist meant to kill directly.
After all, the highest form of attacking an enemy was killing them in one strike.
In Kichō's eyes, the traditional Gentle Fist's method of slowly bleeding an enemy out was far too inefficient.
"K-Kichō hime, are you training?"
Aoi's mouth fell open, and she began to stammer.
Rinko also nodded heavily, as if she were seeing a dream.
"Did I not say yesterday that I would train properly from now on?"
Kichō stopped moving and turned her head to look strangely at the two of them.
"..."
Aoi and Rinko felt ashamed.
They had thought those words were only something Kichō had said to brush them off. They had not believed she would change so easily.
"Speaking of which, Kichō-hime's Gentle Fist feels much sharper than before."
Rinko walked over and examined the holes pierced through the wooden stake, utterly surprised.
Kichō's fighting style was not a secret within the Hyūga clan.
This variant of Gentle Fist was also not unique within the Hyūga clan.
The reason geniuses were called geniuses was that they could incorporate their own understanding into the foundation of traditional Gentle Fist.
Because of that, this kind of variant Gentle Fist was something one either could use or could not. It could not be popularized at all.
Furthermore, every person's chakra control and degree of Byakugan training were completely different, which was also a key factor.
The Hyūga's Gentle Fist was ultimately a style that worked together with the Byakugan.
However, the Gentle Fist Kichō had shown in the past should not have had such strong penetrating power.
Although it could also easily pierce through specially made wooden stakes thirty centimeters thick and strike farther beyond them, the path of penetration had been rough, not this smooth.
But now, upon closer inspection, the holes Kichō created with Gentle Fist were no longer rough inside, nor were there any splinters left behind.
Clearly, both the speed and force had reached a higher level.
"Let me see... Ah, it really is true. Kichō-hime, did you secretly train alone when we were not aware?"
Aoi also came forward to examine the wooden stake. After discovering the secret, her mouth opened wide.
After all, in their eyes, Kichō had practically wasted the past three months. Her lifestyle had also been rather decadent. They had assumed she had probably even forgotten that she was a ninja. If her strength had merely remained at its previous level, that would already have counted as exceptional talent.
Yet now, Kichō's strength had miraculously not stood still.
Instead, it had risen to another level.
It was simply unbelievable.
"You two know better than anyone what I have been doing lately, do you not?"
"Uh... that is true."
Aoi and Rinko were completely baffled now.
"Then what could the reason be?"
The two looked at Kichō expectantly, hoping to receive an answer.
"Mm... It should be a difference in state of mind."
Kichō explained it that way.
"State of mind?"
Aoi and Rinko looked at each other, unable to quite understand what Kichō meant.
What did that have to do with state of mind?
However, it was true that if a ninja maintained a calm state of mind, they could bring out their full strength.
Kichō did not continue explaining, nor did she need to explain it to them.
Besides, memories of the Hyūga clan were not something she liked bringing up.
In that rigid clan, the family she belonged to was the most rigid and the one with the strictest hierarchy.
Before coming to the Land of Night, everything about her had been restrained and controlled.
Whether it was going to the battlefield, daily training, or even something like marriage, none of it had anything to do with her own will.
She had simply been raised that way, then made to follow the path arranged by the clan in order to seek benefits for the family.
In that clan, the name "Hyūga Kichō" had nothing to do with her as a person.
It was merely the name of a weapon, the code of a tool.
That name could have belonged to someone else. It had only been given to her because she happened to be born when that code was used as a name.
She had thought that, in this life, she would never have any possibility of resistance. She had also realized that if things continued like that, she would eventually be unable to bear the pressure.
Either she would die in battle, or she would die after her mind collapsed.
But in the Land of Night...
She felt like a truly living person.
She could live in her own way, doing things that had once seemed completely unrelated to her, without worrying about being restrained. No one told her what she could or could not do.
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She gradually realized that while she had been in the clan, she had always been suppressing her own heart.
Therefore, she needed a completely different way to release all the gloom that had built up inside her during her time with the clan.
And that was also why her husband had indulged her so much. For three months, he had not criticized her indulgent lifestyle in the slightest. Instead, he had seemed to secretly encourage it.
Perhaps he had seen through her from the very beginning, then silently accepted her past.
On the night of the wedding, when she had guarded herself with a sword and pretended to be strong, her husband had probably been secretly laughing in his heart.
Thinking of this, Kichō could not help feeling embarrassed.
Had he not seen through everything?
Oh.
He had indeed seen everything.
Every side of her had been laid bare, and he had taken possession of all of it, leaving nothing behind.
Even so, she was happy now.
Oda Yayoi.
This man would be the husband who shared life and death with her.
Kichō's heart was filled with that thought.
People like these two will probably never understand.
Kichō glanced again at Aoi and Rinko.
If not for being chosen as part of her marriage retinue, their fixed fate would have been to serve as cannon fodder, tools used by the clan to fill the front line.
Although they were ninja, their talent was not especially high. At this age, they had only awakened the Byakugan and could use the most basic Gentle Fist jutsus.
Kichō could kill ninja of their level in an instant at any time.
The reason they had survived safely until now was also because they were women. Even if they could not fill the battlefield, they could still be used to bear children.
Kichō trained until noon. Only when Aoi and Rinko brought lunch did she temporarily end her morning Gentle Fist practice.
After eating, Kichō did not continue training. She merely activated her Byakugan and practiced the strength of her eyes.
The inner court of the Shogun's Residence was very large. At its widest point, it stretched one kilometer across.
But that distance could be fully taken in by the Byakugan.
The elite ninja of the Hyūga clan generally had an observation radius of more than one kilometer with their Byakugan. If they focused their sight in a single direction, they could reach more than five kilometers.
The strongest clan head could observe places beyond a radius of seven kilometers. If he focused in one direction, his range could exceed thirty kilometers.
The Gentle Fist he used was said to be capable of even penetrating a tailed beast's body, disrupting the tailed beast's chakra and dealing serious damage.
However, if my husband can subdue a tailed beast, perhaps he is also a ninja on the level of the clan head.
Kichō could not help thinking of the rumors about Yayoi.
There were many powerful ninja in this era, but any ninja capable of capturing a tailed beast would be considered a great figure no matter where they were.
Tailed beasts had simple attack patterns and large bodies, making them easy to focus fire on. However, their resistance to damage far surpassed that of ninja, and their destructive power was astonishing.
For powerful ninja, tailed beasts were troublesome, but not impossible to deal with. For the weak, tailed beasts were invincible natural disasters that could not be opposed.
Clearly, she belonged to the weak side.
The Gentle Fist she had trained so far could not even pierce the skin of a tailed beast. If she encountered one in battle, death would be her only path.
"I still cannot see through the barrier here..."
Kichō used her Byakugan to look at the barrier surrounding the inner court.
The surface of the barrier was invisible and colorless, and it did not block sunlight or moonlight from outside.
However, under the observation of the Byakugan, the barrier as a whole appeared as a blue sphere densely covered in curse markings, blocking the Byakugan's vision.
In truth, if one observed from the inner court outward with the naked eye, one could see outside. But once the Byakugan was used, it would be obstructed by the barrier and the field of vision would instead become limited.
From the outside looking in, however, whether using the naked eye or the Byakugan, one could not see clearly.
The same was true underground. There should have been an enormous underground space below, but it was likewise protected by the barrier, leaving the Byakugan's vision blurred.
"That is because the facilities here are quite important, so this kind of barrier was set up."
A voice came from nearby.
Yayoi's figure appeared at the corridor and walked toward her.
"My husband."
Kichō trotted over like a beautiful butterfly in flight and threw herself into Yayoi's arms.
"You returned rather early today, my husband."
Kichō raised her head, looking puzzled.
It was still only afternoon. According to Yayoi's usual habits, he should have returned after nightfall.
Sometimes it would be nine o'clock. Sometimes eight. Even the earliest time had been close to seven.
"Irori is quite capable. With her helping handle things, she saves me a great deal of time. Besides, I need to prepare for my trip to the Land of Fire soon. Before that, I need to restore my energy."
Yayoi gently patted the girl's back.
The feel of a ninja outfit was different from a kimono, but the parts he could feel were still very soft.
"Were you training just now?"
"Mm, yes. I was training the ocular power of my Byakugan."
"Through observation distance?"
Yayoi asked curiously.
To be honest, he truly did not know how the strength of the Byakugan's ocular power was divided.
If it were the Sharingan, he could understand its levels more directly.
One tomoe, two tomoe, three tomoe, even the Mangekyō. Each level was very clear.
But the strength of the Byakugan's ocular power was hard to distinguish from appearance alone.
"That is one way, but having observation distance alone is useless without precision. A ninja's attention is limited. Being able to find the most critical point in a complex environment is the correct way to use the Byakugan."
In Kichō's view, using the Byakugan for the sake of distance alone was putting the cart before the horse.
The Byakugan was indeed a support eye, but it was a support eye meant to assist in battle, not a purely supportive dōjutsu.
"In my case, I can easily see the chakra flow of ninjutsu. Using Fire Style as an example, as long as I use the Byakugan to see the pattern of chakra flowing inside the flames, then touch it with Gentle Fist and instantly disrupt that chakra flow, I can cut open the Fire Style jutsu. I do not need to dodge in order to break it."
"That is a very novel combat method. Then, without a barrier blocking you, how far can your Byakugan see?"
Yayoi asked curiously.
Kichō was slightly speechless.
Had this not circled back to distance again?
"I can observe everything within a radius of four kilometers. If I focus in one direction, I can see as far as eighteen kilometers away."
"That far?"
Surprise appeared on Yayoi's face.
He knew that elite adult ninja of the Hyūga clan generally had an observation radius between one and two kilometers. Even when focusing in one direction, they could only see around five kilometers away.
"That is because my Byakugan has very high purity. The ocular power of the Byakugan is related to its purity. Whether it is distance or precision, both are connected to the purity of the Byakugan. By the way, the clan does not know this secret. In that sense, my husband owns even more of my 'firsts.'"
The corner of Kichō's mouth lifted slightly, like a child showing off a hidden skill.
This was the only way she had used to resist her father, Hyūga Hidejin, back in the clan.
If the fact that her Byakugan had such high purity had been exposed, she absolutely would not have been sent away as a marriage alliance candidate.
Sometimes, she felt very glad that she had hidden this truth, which was why she had the opportunity she had now.
Perhaps this was also part of fate.
"Does a high-purity Byakugan have any new abilities?"
Yayoi was puzzled.
Although Kichō said that, it did not seem fundamentally different from an ordinary Byakugan.
After all, no matter how much the Byakugan's observation distance was trained, it could not compare with sensory ninjutsu.
The sensory range of sensory ninjutsu was generally several kilometers or more. Some could even reach hundreds of kilometers.
"This... The clan seems to have some vague records about it. The purer the Byakugan, the more it seems possible to obtain new dōjutsu through some method. However, that part of the record is too vague, and the contents are badly incomplete... Perhaps certain secrets are only passed down orally between the clan head and the next clan head."
Kichō thought for a moment, then answered Yayoi's question.
As long as something was recorded, there was a risk of leakage. Oral transmission was old-fashioned, but it was also the best way to preserve secrets.
"Also, that secret seems to involve an extremely ancient figure: the Sage of Six Paths. In the Hyūga clan's records, there is also mention of a monster with ten tails. It sounds somewhat similar to the tailed beasts of today."
Hearing Kichō's casual words, Yayoi's heart shook.
The Sage of Six Paths.
A monster with ten tails.
In this era, the existence of the Sage of Six Paths was no different from a mythological figure.
There were rumors that the Senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki, and other ninja clans were bloodline remnants of the Sage of Six Paths.
Not only those three clans. In countries such as the Land of Lightning, there were also said to be descendants of the Sage of Six Paths' bloodline.
As for the monster with ten tails, Yayoi immediately thought of the Ten-Tails mentioned by "Madara" during the Five Kage Summit in the original story, as well as the Eye of the Moon Plan that aimed to plunge the entire world into an illusion.
He had not expected that such ancient legends also circulated within the Hyūga clan.
Perhaps the Hyūga clan also had some connection to the Sage of Six Paths.
"My husband, you are going to the Land of Fire next, correct?"
Kichō's voice sounded beside his ear, pulling him back to reality.
"Yes. The inauguration ceremony for Konoha's First Hokage will be held in two weeks. In four days, I will officially depart for the Land of Fire. Many daimyo from other countries have already set out ahead of time."
"Then I want to go too."
"All right."
Seeing the firm look in Kichō's eyes, Yayoi paused, stroked her hair, and nodded with a smile.
Kichō also smiled. Her slender fingers gently traced circles over Yayoi's chest, bringing a faint ticklish sensation.
Her body was soft and relaxed, and her entire being gave off a charming, alluring air.
"Tonight, let us eat together…”