Hyuga Fū cursed playfully and patted Hyuga Aokawa.
"Besides, your father isn't alone. Your Uncle Junpei and Uncle Ryōya should be coming back around this time. With them here, there won't be any problems."
Hara Shunpei and Ōizumi Ryōya were both good friends of Hyuga Fū from previous missions.
Having constantly walked the line between life and death, the three had long become sworn brothers with incredibly deep bonds.
It wasn't until Hyuga Fū was later injured and retired that their small team was disbanded.
But the three remained in frequent contact.
At the beginning of the month, seeing Hyuga Fū struggling with low-level missions, the two suggested they take on a higher-paying C-Rank Mission together.
However, the day after accepting the mission, they were both assigned by the Village to rotational guard duty at the border, causing the mission to be postponed.
Hearing that the two would be joining, Hyuga Aokawa felt relieved.
With those two involved in the execution, the problem wouldn't be major.
After all, Hyuga Fū's strength was still there; only his mobility was insufficient.
This mission required total annihilation, so if any fish escaped the net, the two of them could take care of the killing.
But he was still a bit worried: "It's been a while since the mission was posted. The intelligence from above might not be timely or accurate. Father, you must be careful."
"Relax, you ungraduated brat, lecturing your father on how to handle missions now, are you?"
"Father, the Clan said the pension is being halved. Was there any reason given?"
Hyuga Fū's pension wasn't given for nothing; it was issued because he was injured protecting the Main Family during a mission.
It was precisely because of this Main Family that he lost a leg, ending his future career as a Ninja.
Now, reducing the pension, even if only for half a year, was excessive.
"The Clan Chief came to my door personally. He said the Clan needs to resolve the issue of bounties for the Branch Families, but funds are tight, so reducing the pension slightly is considered helping out."
"Did he mention cutting the Main Family's expenditures?" Hyuga Aokawa asked.
"He didn't mention it. However, I heard the Clan Chief set an example by voluntarily cutting expenses in his own compound."
"As expected."
"Be content. Since Clan Chief Hiashi took office, he has only cut expenses this one time. When the Former Clan Chief was in charge, the frequency of cuts was quite high."
Hyuga Fū's tone was numb, as if he were completely accustomed to the Main Family's actions.
He patted Hyuga Aokawa's shoulder.
"This is the Hyuga Clan. The Main Family will always reign above the Branch Families. Under this system, the Branch Families are like servants."
"If you don't want to accept this fate, you must forge a path uniquely your own."
Hyuga Fū sighed and looked out the window.
"Your father didn't forge his own path, but your father hopes you can..."
...Konoha Training Ground.
Two figures, one green and one white, were running upside down in training.
Before they arrived, the power of Youth washed over the field with their presence.
Scorching energy spread across the entire Training Ground.
The two were Might Guy and Hyuga Aokawa.
Might Guy!
This big shot who possessed the most connections across the Transmigration World.
Every Senior Transmigrator who studied Taijutsu inevitably paid a visit to the Azure Fang's doorstep.
So, a few evenings ago, Hyuga Aokawa successfully struck up an acquaintance with this big shot using a set of Youth Combination Punches.
Might Guy, in turn, gained a lifelong rival in the Transmigration World.
Since then, the two often trained their physical fitness together.
The only thing that disappointed Might Guy was that this rival, without exception, mercilessly rejected his Green Uniform of Youth.
"Aokawa, I feel my youth boiling over!"
"Let's run another hundred laps of youthful running!"
"I can't do it anymore!"
After several rounds of combinations, Hyuga Aokawa lay on the ground like a puddle of mud, panting heavily.
His look of utter despair contrasted sharply with Might Guy, who was still jumping around full of energy.
Through these few days of training, Might Guy had roughly grasped Hyuga Aokawa's limit, shouting about youth as he continued his extra training.
Hyuga Aokawa managed to prop up his upper body and sit up, looking at the retreating Might Guy with envy!
The Azure Fang truly lived up to his reputation!
With the same training volume, he had already collapsed, while the other was only just getting started.
But it couldn't be helped; physical fitness training couldn't be achieved overnight.
The core of physical fitness training lies in pushing the body slightly beyond its limit during each session.
Then, when the body recovers, it will adapt and recover to a level higher than before the exertion.
This is Supercompensation; with each cycle, the body grows stronger.
However, Supercompensation also has a limit. If one exceeds the limit too much and cannot recover, not only will the level not surpass the original, but it might even get worse.
Therefore, the difficulty lies in grasping the precise measure of that 'little bit' of excess.
If the exertion is insufficient, the training effect will be poor, and Supercompensation cannot be achieved.
If the exertion is too harsh, the body cannot recover, leading not to strength gains, but to a situation where one gets weaker the more they train.
This is where Might Guy is a Genius; his powerful recovery ability always ensures his training yields results.
However, Hyuga Aokawa was not without advantages. Thanks to his powerful Innate mental perception, he could ensure that the exertion placed on his body each time was just right.
A line of text suddenly popped up.