Chapter 121: The Subtlety of a Finger (Part 1)
Even if Koshino wasn't a transmigrator, lacking the insights from the original storyline about the Hyuga Clan, as a ninja, anyone who hears of the Hyuga Clan would know of the Byakugan and the Gentle Fist.
Thus, combining the knowledge from the original story with the intelligence gathered from within the Nara Clan, Koshino naturally understood the Hyuga.
The Gentle Fist is a very unique taijutsu, which involves injecting one's chakra into the opponent's body to damage their internal meridians and organs.
The Gentle Fist of the Hyuga Clan can be used without the Byakugan.
However, without the Byakugan, one cannot clearly see the opponent's internal meridians, making it difficult to unleash even a tenth of the Gentle Fist's original power.
Over time, many have claimed that without the Byakugan, it's impossible to master the Hyuga Clan's secret Gentle Fist technique.
When paired with the Byakugan, the Gentle Fist's true threat lies not only in "point strikes" but also in its deadly attacks on the opponent's internal organs.
After all, internal organs cannot be trained, so many ninjas who suffer injuries from the Gentle Fist often die from these injuries, unable to be healed.
Just like now, even though Koshino uses a sensory ability comparable to the Fourth Hokage's Wind Perception to easily evade Hyuga Ichiji's Gentle Fist,
every time Hyuga Ichiji attacks, Koshino remains extremely cautious, fearing the vicious Gentle Fist might injure his internal organs, leaving behind hidden ailments.
Moreover, as Koshino uses his terrifying Wind Perception to constantly sense Hyuga Ichiji's Gentle Fist techniques, he discovers that the Gentle Fist is far more complex than he initially thought!
Based on the original storyline, Koshino always believed that the Gentle Fist was nothing more than techniques like the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven and the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
Apart from these techniques, ordinary Gentle Fist seemed to be just applications of chakra, which, when combined with the Byakugan, could fully display its power as a basic taijutsu.
However, as the battle rhythm between Koshino and Hyuga Ichiji intensified, and as Koshino grew more familiar with the Gentle Fist during their exchanges,
he truly realized that besides the famous techniques like the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven and the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, the Gentle Fist also contains other mysteries, such as the use of force,
footwork, and rhythm control, which are extremely difficult to comprehend and cannot be analyzed merely through Wind Perception.
Unless Koshino trains in the Gentle Fist and truly understands its fundamentals from the beginning, analyzing the Gentle Fist might be possible.
Otherwise, if the Uchiha Clan members could use their Sharingan to copy others' taijutsu, they would have long used it to decipher all the mysteries of the Gentle Fist and further suppress the Hyuga Clan.
Then, as Koshino clearly understood the many mysteries of the Gentle Fist and sighed quietly at his inability to fully decipher it, he took a deep breath.
Using the Fourth Hokage's "Acceleration" secret technique, he suddenly sped up his combat rhythm, disrupting Hyuga Ichiji's fighting tempo.
In a situation where the rhythm of using the Gentle Fist is suddenly disrupted, true Gentle Fist masters like Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hizashi might find ways to regain their rhythm.
Unfortunately, Hyuga Ichiji is just an ordinary jonin. When Koshino disrupted his Gentle Fist rhythm, he needed some time to stabilize himself.
Koshino seized this opportunity, using Wind Perception to suddenly spot a flaw in Hyuga Ichiji's stance.
What happened next is self-explanatory!
Once again, Koshino used the Leaf Whirlwind, the same move he used to defeat Hyuga Ren!
In the context of using the Leaf Strong Fist taijutsu, Koshino once again combined it with the Fourth Hokage's "Acceleration" secret technique, kicking Hyuga Ichiji back to Hyuga Takano's side.
After defeating Hyuga Ichiji, feeling the semi-"qualitative" transformation of his mental energy stabilizing bit by bit,
Koshino secretly rejoiced in his heart that his mental energy might forever maintain this semi-"qualitative" state after battling with the Hyuga Clan ninja.
His gaze slowly fell on Hyuga Takano, and Koshino couldn't help but think to himself:
"The changes in the Gentle Fist far exceed my imagination, so analyzing it and finding its weaknesses is beyond my capabilities!"
"Just take Hyuga Ichiji, for example. During our fight, he used over ten different footwork techniques with the Gentle Fist, making it a marvel of orderly offense and defense.
The variations are endless! Not to mention my current self, even if I had the Uchiha Clan's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and Uncle Shikaku's intelligence, it would probably take months to truly analyze the Gentle Fist."
"Moreover, aside from the changes in footwork, there's the rhythm, force, and chakra control in using the Gentle Fist..."
"The Gentle Fist of the Hyuga Clan truly contains countless mysteries, with endless combinations and possibilities. No wonder it's the secret taijutsu of the Hyuga Clan!"
"So, it's impossible to break down the Gentle Fist directly to counter the Hyuga Clan's strategy of using a war of attrition. To defeat these Hyuga Clan members, I must take a different approach!"
"That is to first defeat the strongest among them!"
"Then, taking advantage of the Hyuga Clan's morale being low, defeat them all!"
"If that's the case,"
"Then!"
Koshino, having just defeated Hyuga Ichiji, didn't hesitate for a moment. With a cold smile, he clasped his fists and directly challenged Hyuga Takano: "I request a match with the head of the Hyuga Clan!"
"Hmm?"
Having just witnessed Hyuga Ichiji's crushing defeat and realizing that two Hyuga Clan jonin had failed to gauge Koshino's strength, Hyuga Takano began to entertain some underhanded thoughts.
He considered having all the Hyuga Clan ninja swarm Koshino and take him down first.
However, Koshino didn't give Hyuga Takano any time, directly challenging him instead.
On one hand, Hyuga Takano was concerned about Koshino's strength; on the other, he worried about his own reputation.
Seeing Koshino's challenge, Hyuga Takano's eye twitched a few times as he contemplated whether to step forward and fight.
Yet, with two Hyuga Clan jonin already swiftly defeated by Koshino, the morale of the Hyuga Clan ninja was already very low.
Hyuga Takano realized that if he didn't face Koshino, it would be impossible for the Hyuga Clan to regain their honor.
Thus, with no other choice, Hyuga Takano took a deep breath and sneered: "Since you want to challenge me, I, Hyuga Takano, will give you the opportunity!"
"If I'm not mistaken, you just used the Fourth Hokage's secret technique combined with the Konoha Strong Fist style, right?"
"Very well!"
"Then I, Hyuga Takano, will show you the true mysteries of the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist!"
With that, Hyuga Takano immediately activated his Byakugan. As he perceived the pathways of Koshino's chakra network, he disregarded his pride and swiftly attacked Koshino head-on!
"Gentle Fist Technique!"