Hidden Leaf Village. The Hyuga Estate. The Branch House Training Grounds.
Amidst the sharp crack and pop of strikes, Neji Hyuga was deep in training.
"Four Palms!"
"Sixteen Palms!"
His bandaged hands moved in a blur, the palm strikes intricate and powerful.
"Thirty-Two Palms..."
Whiff.
The final strike hit nothing but air.
Neji stumbled forward, off-balance.
The miss was intentional.
As a member of the Branch House, he was strictly forbidden from learning the Eight Trigrams style.
The current Neji wasn't the original soul; he was a Naruto fan from Earth. He'd been transported here at the age of five.
That's when he awakened the Ultimate Mastery System.
All he had to do was repeat a move, and his proficiency would skyrocket, boosting his actual power. But as a Branch House member, revealing his true strength was dangerous.
He had to hide it. Because of this, everyone treated him like a loser—a dead-last nobody, the butt of every joke.
Footsteps approached just as he finished his faked failure.
"Yo, Neji. Still training this late?"
The speaker had a head full of silver hair and an attitude to match. It was Gintoki Hyuga, one of Neji's older clan cousins.
"Wait... if I saw that correctly, right before he tripped, was he trying to do the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms?"
The guy next to Gintoki was Aota Hyuga, also a year older than Neji.
These two were considered the most talented of their generation in the Branch House. For the past few years, their mockery and bullying of Neji had been relentless.
"A piece of trash trying to learn the Sixty-Four Palms? You're living in a fantasy world!"
"You'd be better off taking more garbage missions—you know, rescuing cats or delivering mail. At least you'd earn some cash so you don't starve to death later," Gintoki sneered.
"Cousins, I'm finished here. If you need the training ground, I'll just head out..."
"Head out?"
Seeing Neji try to slip away again, the two exchanged a glance.
Gintoki's eyes darkened. "I heard Lady Hinata was singing your praises in front of Lord Hiashi. For a Branch House member to kiss up to the Main House like that... you've got some nerve, kid."
Hearing the words "Branch House," Neji's brow furrowed slightly.
Aota chimed in. "I think he's forgotten his place. He's the untalented trash of the family, but he thinks that if he sucks up to the eldest daughter, he'll be able to stand above us and give orders one day."
"Hah!"
Their eyes were filled with pure spite.
"You've misunderstood. Lady Hinata is just kind-hearted. I'll be going now."
Neji had no interest in tangling with these small-fry NPCs.
"You think you're going somewhere?"
Gintoki reached out, clawing for Neji's throat!
The sound of wind whistled past his ear.
The Byakugan's vision covered nearly 360 degrees without a blind spot. Neji dodged it effortlessly.
"Gintoki! He activated his Byakugan! Did you see that? He's challenging you!"
Aota's eyes went wide, a mix of excitement and anger fueling him.
Gintoki let out a cold snort and rushed toward Neji.
Neji turned around, forced to engage.
"Hah!"
A palm strike came straight for his face. Neji stepped aside easily.
"Oh?"
Gintoki hadn't expected Neji to dodge two of his strikes.
"Again!"
He threw another palm; Neji dodged again.
But that strike was a feint. His other hand was already in motion, chopping down through the air.
Gintoki thought he had him. But Neji simply took a small step back, effortlessly evading every single attack.
Neji retreated another two steps and said indifferently, "Cousin, I can't beat you. I give up."
"G-Give up?"
Gintoki's eyes bulged, rage boiling over.
"Aota, did you hear that? He dodged every single one of my attacks, and then he tells me he gives up?!"
Veins popped on Gintoki's forehead. He was furious.
Aota leaped forward as well. Both of them activated their Byakugan simultaneously!
"A loser like you doesn't deserve to be in the Branch House!"
"No, he doesn't deserve to be a Hyuga at all!"
"You think you're so tough? You've been training for years, but honestly? If people didn't know better, they'd think you were practicing circus tricks!"
"You haven't improved one bit!"
Neji kept backing up until he hit a wooden training post.
"If we don't teach you a lesson today, you'll forget who your elders are!"
These two were just cousins from different branches. In terms of hierarchy, Neji's father held a much higher status than theirs. His grandfather had even been the previous head of the Main House!
Since when... did he have to let people like this walk all over him?
"I hear Hanabi is getting stronger every day. Once Hinata—that useless heir—loses her title, you won't have anyone left to protect you!"
Neji's eyes snapped open, a flash of killing intent cutting through his gaze.
He raised his hands into position, releasing Chakra from his pressure points.
All the proficiency he had grinded over the years flooded his system...
He sank his stance and spun to the right. As he rotated, the Chakra solidified, whipping up a massive, tangible wave of energy around him!
"Eight Trigrams: Heavenly Rotation!" Neji roared.