Shock!
When Aoi and Rinko, dressed in white kimono-style maid outfits, emerged from the room to begin their routine cleaning, they saw Kicho practicing Gentle Fist on a wooden post in the courtyard and widened their eyes in disbelief.
She was no longer wearing gorgeous, expensive clothing, nor were there any fragile gold or jade ornaments; instead, she wore a simple, light purple, form-fitting Ninja outfit.
Even the iron arm guards, leg guards, and chest protectors used on the battlefield were carefully fastened.
This was the combat gear she had frequently worn while with the Hyuga Clan.
Her slender, alluring figure had transformed into a pure instrument of death.
Furthermore, the seemingly soft Gentle Fist strikes, when hitting the wooden post, penetrated the thick wood, leaving behind a dense array of straight, pinprick-like holes as if shot by bullets.
One could see threads of Chakra, thin as needles, shooting through the holes in the wooden post and into the air, causing even the snow-covered branches over a dozen meters away to shake violently.
If that had been a living body, it would likely have been pierced with countless bloody holes.
Therefore, even a style like the Gentle Fist, having been tempered by the Sengoku era, would evolve many different striking methods for the sake of efficient killing.
Transforming the Chakra emitted from her palms into a needle-like piercing force and then delivering it via the Gentle Fist was Kicho’s specialty.
Moreover, to concentrate the force, the Chakra compressed by Kicho was more resilient than ordinary Chakra, which was the key to piercing an enemy’s body.
Clearly, this was an efficient killing technique honed through countless life-or-death battles on the battlefield.
Its purpose was not to seal the enemy’s Chakra or Ninjutsu, but a Gentle Fist intended to kill directly.
After all, the highest level of offensive technique is to kill the enemy in a single blow.
In Kicho’s view, the continuous bleeding caused by traditional Gentle Fist was simply too slow for efficient killing.
“K-Kicho-sama, are you practicing?” Aoi opened her mouth wide, stuttering.
Rinko also nodded heavily, as if in a dream.
“Didn’t I say yesterday that I would be practicing properly from now on?” Kicho stopped her movements, tilted her head, and looked at the two of them with a strange expression.
“…” Aoi and Rinko felt ashamed inside.
They had thought that was just Kicho giving them a perfunctory excuse and did not believe she would change so easily.
“Come to think of it, Kicho-sama’s Gentle Fist feels much sharper than before.” Rinko walked over, looked at the holes pierced through the wooden post, and was incredibly surprised.
Kicho’s fighting style was no secret within the Hyuga Clan.
This variant of the Gentle Fist used by Kicho was not an isolated case within the Hyuga Clan either.
The reason geniuses are geniuses is that they have the ability to incorporate their own understanding into the foundation of traditional Gentle Fist.
This resulted in such variant Gentle Fist techniques being something one either knew or didn’t know; they were simply not universal.
Moreover, due to individual Chakra control and the varying degrees of Byakugan training, these were also key factors.
The Hyuga Clan’s Gentle Fist is, after all, a technique that coordinates with the Byakugan.
However, the Gentle Fist Kicho had displayed in the past shouldn’t have had such strong penetrating power.
Although it could easily penetrate a thirty-centimeter specially made wooden post and strike further away, the trajectory of the penetration was rough and not as smooth.
But if one observed carefully now, one would find that the holes made by Kicho’s Gentle Fist were no longer rough inside, nor were there any residual splinters.
Clearly, she had reached a higher level in both speed and force.
“Let me see…
Ah, it really is like that.
Kicho-sama, could it be that you’ve been training in secret when we didn’t know?” Aoi also came up to examine the wooden post, discovered the secret, and immediately opened her mouth wide.
After all, in their eyes, Kicho had wasted the last three months, living a decadent life, and they estimated she had even forgotten her status as a Ninja; that her strength could remain at its previous level was already a sign of extraordinary talent.
Yet now, Kicho’s strength had miraculously not stagnated but had instead Advanced to a higher level.
It was simply unbelievable.
“Don’t you know best what I’ve been doing during this time?” “Uh…
that’s true.” Aoi and Rinko were completely baffled.
“Then what could be the reason?” The two looked at Kicho expectantly, hoping to get the answer.
“Hmm…
it should be the difference in my state of mind.” Kicho explained it this way.
“State of mind?” Aoi and Rinko looked at each other, unable to quite understand Kicho’s meaning.
What did this have to do with one’s state of mind?
However, maintaining a calm state of mind could indeed allow a Ninja to fully unleash their strength.
Kicho did not continue to explain, nor did she need to explain to them.
Furthermore, memories regarding the Hyuga Clan were not something she liked to bring up.
In that rigid Family, the household she belonged to was the most rigid and strictly hierarchical of them all.
Before coming to the Land of Night, everything about her was constrained and controlled.
Whether it was going to the battlefield, daily training, or even marriage, it had nothing to do with her own will.
She was simply raised this way, and then followed the path planned by the Family to seek benefits for them.
In that Family, the name ‘Kicho Hyuga’ had nothing to do with her as a person; it was just the name of a weapon, a code name for a tool.
This name could have belonged to someone else; the only reason it was given to her was that it just happened to be the code name used when she was born.
She thought that in this life, there was no possibility of resistance, and she realized that if she continued like this, she would eventually be unable to bear the pressure and would either die in battle or die from a mental breakdown.
But in the Land of Night…
She felt like a real living person.
She could live in her own way, doing things that were completely out of character for her in the past, without worrying about being constrained by others, and no one told her what she could or could not do.
She gradually realized that when she was in the Family, she had actually been suppressing her own heart all along.
Therefore, she needed a completely different way to vent the various gloom she had accumulated in the Family in a satisfying way.
It was precisely because of this that her husband was so indulgent towards her; for three months, he had not criticized her indulgent lifestyle in the slightest, but instead seemed to be secretly encouraging it.
Perhaps he had seen through her background long ago and silently accepted her past.
On the night of the wedding, when she held a blade in defense, pretending to be strong, her husband was likely secretly laughing in his heart.
Thinking of this, Kicho couldn’t help but feel ashamed.
Wasn’t everything seen through?
Oh, indeed, everything had been seen through.
Every posture of hers had been displayed, completely possessed without exception, and she had become that man’s belonging.
However, even so, she was happy and content at this moment.
General Oda Yayoi, this man would be her husband with whom she would share life and death.
Kicho’s heart was filled with such thoughts.
‘People like these two would probably never understand.’ Kicho glanced at Aoi and Rinko again.
If it weren’t for being selected as dowry, the destined fate of these two would be as cannon fodder, becoming tools for the Family to fill the lines.
Although they were Ninjas, they did not have much talent, and at this age, they had only unlocked the Byakugan and could only use the most basic Gentle Fist techniques.
She could kill Ninjas of this level in an instant.
The reason they had survived until now was also because they were women; even if they couldn’t be used to fill the lines, they could be used for reproduction.
Practicing until noon, it wasn’t until Aoi and Rinko brought lunch that Kicho temporarily ended her morning Gentle Fist practice.
After eating, Kicho did not continue practicing, but simply activated her Byakugan to train her eyesight.
The inner court of the General’s Mansion was very large, reaching a length of one kilometer at its widest point.
But for the Byakugan, this distance could be taken in its entirety.
For elite Ninjas of the Hyuga Clan, the observation distance of the Byakugan generally exceeded one kilometer, and when focusing on one direction, it could reach over five kilometers.
The most powerful Clan Chief could observe places within a radius of seven kilometers, and if focusing on one direction, the insight distance could exceed thirty kilometers.
It is said that the Gentle Fist they perform can even penetrate the body of a Tailed Beast, disrupting the Tailed Beast’s Chakra to deliver heavy, damaging blows.
‘However, since my husband can subdue a Tailed Beast, perhaps he is a Ninja at the level of the Clan Chief.’ Kicho couldn’t help but recall the rumors about Yayoi from the past.
There are many powerful Ninjas in this era, but a Ninja who can capture a Tailed Beast is a hero in any place.
Tailed Beasts have simple attack patterns and large bodies, making them easy to target, but their resistance to attacks far exceeds that of Ninjas, and their destructive power is also incredibly astonishing.
For a powerful Ninja, a Tailed Beast is just a nuisance, not unsolvable.
For the weak, a Tailed Beast is an invincible natural disaster, impossible to rival.
Clearly, she was the weak one.
The Gentle Fist she had honed at this moment couldn’t even penetrate a Tailed Beast’s skin; an encounter would mean certain death.
“Still can’t penetrate the barrier here…” Kicho used her Byakugan to glance at the barrier wrapping around the inner court.
The surface of the barrier was invisible and colorless, and it would not block the sunlight or moonlight from the outside.
But under the observation of the Byakugan, the barrier as a whole appeared as a blue sphere, densely covered in incantations, isolating the Byakugan’s observation.
In fact, observing from the inner court outwards, one could see with the naked eye.
But once the Byakugan was used, it would be obstructed by the barrier, conversely limiting the field of vision.
Only from the outside looking in, whether with the naked eye or the Byakugan, could nothing be seen clearly.
The same went for underground; there should be a huge underground space below, but it was also under the protection of the barrier, and the Byakugan’s field of vision was completely blurred.
“Because the facilities here are quite important, such a barrier was set up.” A voice approached from afar, and Yayoi’s figure appeared in the corridor, walking towards this side.
“Husband.” Kicho trotted over, like a beautiful butterfly dancing, and threw herself into Yayoi’s arms.
“You’ve come back a bit early today, Husband.” Kicho looked up, puzzled.
It was still only afternoon, and according to Yayoi’s habits, he should only return after nightfall.
Sometimes at nine, sometimes at eight, and the earliest time was close to seven o’clock.
“That child Irori is quite capable.
With her assisting in handling things, it saved me quite a bit of time.
Moreover, I need to prepare for going to the Land of Fire recently, and before that, I need to rest well.” Yayoi gently patted the girl’s back.
The texture of the Ninja outfit was different from that of a kimono, but the parts he could feel were all very soft.
“Were you practicing just now?” “Yes, I was training my Byakugan’s ocular power.” “Is it through observation distance?” Yayoi asked curiously.
To be honest, he really wasn’t quite clear on how the strength of the Byakugan’s ocular power was classified.
If it were like the Sharingan, one could intuitively figure out the level of ocular power.
One-Tomoe, Two-Tomoe, Three-Tomoe, and even Mangekyo, all have very clear levels.
It is very difficult to distinguish the strength of the Byakugan’s ocular power from its appearance.
“That is also one way, but having only observation distance without precision is not enough.
A Ninja’s attention is limited, and being able to find the most critical part in a complex environment is the correct way to use the Byakugan.” Using the Byakugan just for the sake of distance, in Kicho’s view, was putting the cart before the horse.
The Byakugan is indeed an auxiliary eye, but it is an auxiliary eye used to coordinate with combat, not a purely auxiliary ocular technique.
“As for me, I can easily see the Chakra flow of Ninjutsu.
Taking Fire Release as an analogy, as long as I use the Byakugan to see the Chakra flow pattern within the flames, and then use the Gentle Fist to make contact, instantly disrupting the Chakra flow within the flames, I can cut through the Fire Release, and I can break it without needing to dodge.” “That is indeed a very novel way of fighting.
Then, how far can your Byakugan see without the obstruction of the barrier?” Yayoi asked curiously.
Kicho was slightly speechless; wasn’t this circling back to distance again?
“I can observe everything within a four-kilometer radius, and if I focus on one direction, I can see places eighteen kilometers away.” “So far?” Yayoi’s face showed surprise.
He knew that adult elite Ninjas of the Hyuga Clan generally had an observation radius between one and two kilometers.
Focusing on one direction, they could only see about five kilometers away.
“That is because the purity of my Byakugan is very high.
The ocular power of the Byakugan is related to its purity.
Both distance and precision are related to the purity of the Byakugan.
By the way, the Family does not know this secret.
In this way, Husband possesses even more of my ‘firsts’.” Kicho’s mouth curled slightly, like a child showing off her hidden skills.
This was the only way she had in the Family to resist her father, Hyuga Shuzen.
If the fact that her Byakugan purity was too high were exposed, she would never have been sent out as an object for marriage.
Sometimes, she was very glad that she had hidden this fact, which gave her the current opportunity.
Perhaps, this is exactly a part of fate.
“Does a high-purity Byakugan have any new functions?” Yayoi was puzzled by this.
Although Kicho said so, it didn’t seem to have any essential difference from a normal Byakugan.
After all, the observation distance of the Byakugan, no matter how much it is trained, cannot keep up with sensory Ninjutsu.
The sensory range of sensory Ninjutsu is generally over several kilometers, and some can even reach over a hundred kilometers.
“This…
it seems there were some vague records in the clan that a Byakugan with higher purity seems to be able to obtain new ocular techniques through some method.
However, those records are too vague, and the content is also severely incomplete…
Perhaps some secrets are only passed down orally between the Clan Chief and the next Clan Chief.” Kicho thought for a moment and answered Yayoi’s question.
As long as there are records, there is a risk of leakage.
Although oral transmission is old-fashioned, it is the best way to keep secrets.
“In addition, that secret seems to involve a very ancient figure—the Six Paths Sage.
In the records of the Hyuga Clan, it also mentions a monster with Ten-Tails, which is somewhat similar to the current Tailed Beasts.” Hearing Kicho’s unintentional words, Yayoi’s heart trembled.
The Six Paths Sage.
A monster with Ten-Tails.
In this era, the existence of the Six Paths Sage is no different from a mythological figure.
There are rumors that the Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki Ninja clans are the remaining Bloodline of the Six Paths Sage.
Not only these three clans, but countries like the Land of Lightning are also said to have descendants of the Six Paths Sage’s Bloodline.
As for the monster with Ten-Tails, he immediately thought of the ‘Ten-Tails’ mentioned by ‘Madara’ during the Five Kage Summit in the original work, as well as the ‘Eye of the Moon’ plan to plunge the entire world into an illusion.
Unexpectedly, such ancient legends were also passed down within the Hyuga Clan.
Perhaps there is some connection between the Hyuga Clan and the Six Paths Sage.
“Husband, you are going to the Land of Fire next, right?” Kicho’s voice came to his ears, pulling him back to reality.
“Yes, the inauguration ceremony of Konoha’s First Hokage will take place in two weeks.
Four days from now, I will officially set off for the Land of Fire.
Many Daimyos from other countries have already set off in advance.” “Then I want to go too.” “Okay.” Looking at the firm look in Kicho’s eyes, Yayoi paused, stroked her beautiful hair, and nodded with a smile.
Kicho also smiled, her slender fingers gently tracing circles on Yayoi’s chest, bringing a trace of tingling itchiness.
Her body was soft and boneless, and her whole person exuded a charming and alluring aura.
“Tonight, let’s have dinner together…”