Chapter 122: The Spirit's Insight (Part 2)
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
"Buzz!"
Just to defeat Koshino and uphold the so-called prestige of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Takano was willing to throw all dignity aside.
As Koshino's elder and an elite Jonin of the Hidden Leaf Village, by all accounts, Hyuga Takano should have maintained appearances during their sparring match, rather than resorting to such shameless sneak attacks.
However, Koshino's consecutive victories over two Jonin from the Hyuga Clan's branch family had put immense pressure on Hyuga Takano.
Under the dual constraints of pressure and clan prestige, Hyuga Takano suddenly launched a sneak attack on Koshino, causing a flicker of surprise in Koshino's eyes.
Of course, the surprise in Koshino's eyes was certainly not due to Hyuga Takano's sneak attack.
Having long known that this leader of the Hyuga Clan's main family was a cunning individual, even if Hyuga Takano's methods were more despicable, it was all within Koshino's expectations.
So, what truly surprised Koshino at this moment was not Hyuga Takano's sneak attack, but the sudden emergence of a glowing green light beneath Hyuga Takano's feet as he used the Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!
Before crossing over, while watching the original story, Koshino had seen Hyuga Neji, Hyuga Hiashi, and others use the Hyuga Clan's signature Gentle Fist move,
the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, with a glowing green light forming a trigrams pattern beneath their feet.
At that time, Koshino was watching the manga or anime and naturally assumed that the glowing green trigrams pattern was just for effect!
Who would have thought that when witnessing the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms in person, the glowing green trigrams pattern would truly envelop Koshino.
Moreover, standing within that glowing green trigrams pattern, Koshino felt nothing.
Instead, using the Wind Perception, a sensory ability comparable to the Fourth Hokage's terrifying perception, to sense Hyuga Takano's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms,
a look of realization appeared in Koshino's slightly astonished eyes!
"So that's it, the glowing green trigrams pattern isn't meant for the enemy, but for enhancing oneself!"
"By using the chakra within one's body, when performing the Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and other moves, a glowing green trigrams pattern is created, which invisibly enhances the power of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and other moves!"
"When the trigrams pattern appears, the Hyuga Clan members can more easily judge the footwork, strength, and rhythm changes when using the Gentle Fist.
No wonder the Hyuga Clan members deliberately expend chakra to create a glowing green trigrams pattern when using the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and other moves!"
"Who would have thought that such a small trigrams pattern contains so many techniques for using the Gentle Fist!"
"But..."
"Whoosh!"
With a silent thought, Koshino used the Fourth Hokage's "Acceleration" secret technique to swiftly dodge Hyuga Takano's initial strike!
Moreover, as Hyuga Takano quickly completed the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, a confident smile appeared on Koshino's face!
"But what a pity!"
"If there were no trigrams pattern to guide me, I wouldn't be able to decipher the many mysteries of the Gentle Fist!"
"But with this trigrams pattern... heh heh!"
"Your Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms hold no secrets in front of me, Nara Koshino!"
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
Sure enough, as Koshino's face wore that confident smile, despite Hyuga Takano's excellent execution and rapid speed of the Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms...
However, every strike of Hyuga Takano's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms was rendered futile under Koshino's terrifying "Acceleration" secret technique and his precise calculations!
Some might wonder why Koshino couldn't decipher the Gentle Fist style but could analyze the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms within it.
If you asked Koshino to answer this, he would say it's both the success and the downfall of the Eight Trigrams diagram!
Without the glowing green Eight Trigrams diagram, it was extremely difficult for Koshino to predict the trajectory of Hyuga Takano's Gentle Fist.
After all, the Gentle Fist technique is incredibly intricate, with countless combinations.
Even Koshino's brilliant mind couldn't decipher Hyuga Takano's Gentle Fist movements!
But with the glowing green Eight Trigrams diagram, the situation changed!
The diagram not only assisted Hyuga Takano in executing the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms more easily, quickly, and powerfully but also secretly helped Koshino analyze the trajectory of Hyuga Takano's Gentle Fist.
Having used Wind Perception early on, Koshino had already seen through some of Hyuga Ichiji's Gentle Fist variations.
Now, with the assistance of the Eight Trigrams diagram, Koshino could deduce Hyuga Takano's next Gentle Fist move just by observing his movements on the diagram.
In such circumstances, could Hyuga Takano possibly injure Koshino with the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms?
The answer is, of course, no!
Moreover, Koshino's method of analyzing the Gentle Fist to evade Hyuga Takano's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms was just one reason why he could easily dodge Hyuga Takano's Gentle Fist.
Another reason Koshino could effortlessly evade each of Hyuga Takano's attacks was due to his "Acceleration" secret technique, granting him ghostly speed comparable to the Fourth Hokage!
Without sufficient speed, how could Koshino evade every strike of Hyuga Takano's Gentle Fist?
How could he perfectly dodge Hyuga Takano's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms?
Then, under Hyuga Takano's shocked gaze, Koshino smoothly evaded his surprise attack using the Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
As Takeshi's steps became slightly unsteady, entering a brief period of vulnerability in using the Gentle Fist, Koshino's cold gaze locked onto him, and the confident smile on his lips turned into a cold smirk.
"An eye for an eye!"
"Shadow Shuriken!"
With no hesitation, Koshino reached into his ninja tool pouch with his left hand and threw several shadow shurikens.
In the next moment, the shadow shurikens traced graceful arcs in the air, attacking from both sides of Hyuga Takano.
However, a mere two shadow shurikens were clearly not enough to threaten an elite jonin like Hyuga Takano.
So, as Koshino's shadow shurikens attacked, Hyuga Takano also let out a cold laugh!
"Childish tricks, do you really think they will work?"
"Break!"
"Snap!"
"Snap!"
With a loud shout, Hyuga Takano channeled chakra to his fingertips, clearly intending to use the Gentle Fist to knock down Koshino's shadow shurikens.
But how could Hyuga Takano imagine that the shadow shurikens Koshino had thrown were just a feint?
In the next second, just as Hyuga Takano confidently prepared to strike down the two shadow shurikens, Koshino suddenly formed hand seals.
Successfully using the two shadow shurikens to distract Hyuga Takano, Koshino flawlessly executed the shadow shuriken's deadly move!
"Multiple!"