I had done a lot more than just train in the gentle fist or learn how to be a good wife for the future clan leader since I escaped my seal.
Knowing nearly every ninjutsu ever invented, I wasn't about to waste that and just throw around fists, but there was a limit to what I could do back in the clan, too many eyes around, too many questions would be asked if I showed off.
This did slow me down a lot, but I was still able to load my hand with an ace or two. One secret move I had invented, or more like reinvented, and changed to fit the modern age, would do just fine here.
I took a deep breath and called upon my chakra. "You are in the range of my divination!" I shouted as I shifted into stance.
The Jōnin weren't particularly close to one another, well, the large man and the woman were, but the third stood further away. But it would have to do.
"Gentle Fist: Four Star Convergence! North Star!" I shouted as the world changed before my eyes.
Before the Byakugan, a sea of glowing lines appeared on the ground and in the air, creating a complete array of invisible chakra.
"South Star!"
"East Star!"
"West Star!"
Three shadow clones burst into existence around the group of Jōnin, each positioned according to the star they represented.
Each one instantly shifting into position, perfectly synchronized through shared will and vision.
No hesitation, we flowed as one, because in essence we were one.
Each clone moved with flawless precision, flowing into the stance of the Gentle Fist.
"First step… two palms!"
"Four palms!"
"Eight palms!"
From all four directions, the count rang out at once.
Sixteen strikes. Then thirty-two.
A blur of motion and chakra bursts followed, the overlapping waves of palm thrusts creating a storm within the center of the formation.
"Sixty-Four Palms!"
All four voices echoed in unison—north, south, east, and west—each clone unleashing the full fury of the Eight Trigrams technique. A total of 256 strikes landed in the span of a few seconds, forming a blinding lattice of chakra spikes around the targets.
The two closest Jōnin—already wounded, off-balance—barely had time to react.
The man with the stone armor tried to bring his chakra up in defense, but the first dozen strikes shut down half his tenketsu. By the time the second set hit, his legs collapsed beneath him. His mouth opened to curse—but no air came.
The woman staggered backward, wind chakra flaring in desperate defense. It slowed the first barrage—but couldn't hold against four simultaneous assaults. Her body locked up as pressure points were sealed one after another.
The final strikes hit with a sound like cracking glass.
Then silence.
Dust swirled where they had stood, bodies limp, chakra flow shut down completely. The third Jōnin—the sensor—tried to disengage, horror spreading across his face. But it was too late. The attack zone extended just far enough.
Even a single hit could prove fatal, even a single touch could end a fight, and with so many going out, I had plenty of spare for him.
The three clones popped, returning what little Chakra they had left to me. It wasn't much, barely a drop in the sea of what I had lost performing this move, but it was enough.
"Yuki-san!" one of the branch members quickly called out, seeing the amazing sight, their Byakugan barely able to follow along with the insane display of the Gentle Fist.
"Yuki-san!" he called again, breathless, voice wavering between awe and fear.
I lowered my arms slowly, my legs trembling from the effort. My vision blurred—not from injury, but from sheer chakra depletion. My whole body felt like it had been wrung dry and set aflame.
I forced myself to breathe evenly.
One breath. Two.
The battlefield had gone quiet. Not truly silent—no battlefield ever was—but hushed. Uncertain. The enemy Genin stared in disbelief, their formation shattered.
None of them had expected this.
The Hyūga weren't supposed to have techniques like that.
"You saw that, didn't you?" Shikato said as he came into view beside the Aburame. "That was no regular taijutsu. She just created a perfect kill zone."
The Aburame merely nodded, insects crawling across his shoulder as if stirred by the residual chakra still hanging in the air.
"What… what was that move?" the Inuzuka muttered as he approached, wide-eyed, his ninken panting at his side.
"Less questions," I rasped, my voice quiet but steady. "And more killing!"
That got their attention.
The remaining enemies tried to flee, yet my own team wasn't about to let even a single person escape. And with the Hyūga team freed up, the fleeing Genin had no chance.
Within two minutes, the battle was finished, having lasted only about five minutes in all. Yet after having ensured the enemy were all dead, and their bodies sealed in sealing scrolls, I could barely keep my Byakugan active.
The rest of the team were likewise out of breath, though thankfully without many injuries, at most a few scrapes and bruises.
Shinobi fought this way most of the time: short but intense battles that rarely lasted more than a few minutes.
Yet, it was enough to ensure my entire team was low on chakra.
I sat down heavily beside a half-broken ridge and pressed my fingers to my temples. My vision pulsed. I had to turn off the Byakugan or risk pushing myself into collapse.
"Status," I said quietly.
Each one slowly reported their current state, how many weapons they had left, the amount of supplies, and more importantly, chakra and injuries.
This fight had been the hardest I had faced since escaping the moon, my first real fight since I was reborn as Kaguya.
And I must admit, alone… I honestly isn't sure I would have been able to do it… that last attack really did drain me, and it wasn't unbeatable.
So, I felt I had to recognize this team, these people, probably because, by fighting by my side, they had earned that great honor.
First was Hyūga Riku, the main family heir, the grandson of the third elder. He just had some minor bruising, nothing big, and a small price to pay for fighting against a Jōnin supported by Genin.
Even now, I still felt the pain from the injury I took to protect him, the bandage around me already turning red.
Despite being from the main family, I had to respect that he didn't shy away from joining the others in battle against a superior opponent. He could have prioritized himself more, but he hadn't. That I had to acknowledge.
Hyūga Maro, someone like myself, from the branch family, was just low on chakra. The Gentle Fist might be taijutsu, but it did use more Chakra than most other taijutsu styles.
That was in fact one of the reasons why the Hyūga Clan rarely used much in the way of ninjutsu; we just didn't have enough chakra.
Next was Sayo, the only other woman on the team, even if we were both girls. Another branch family member, she lived near enough to my own home, and I had seen her around a few times.
She, too, suffered little in the way of injury, though she did suffer a small cut on her leg from a stone splinter.
The final member from the Hyūga Clan was Hyūga Daiki, another branch family member, and someone who had all the markings of a future team leader. While Maro and Sayo were excellent in combat, Daiki had a bit extra when it came to being on a team.
Something that would no doubt one day translate to leading a team.
Kuro and his master, Inuzuka Koji, were the worst off after me. Fang over Fang was a powerful technique, yet it came with its own downsides, in particular, heavy bruising on hands and feet. Running would be painful for a day or two for them.
Aburame Ren was fine himself, but he had lost a lot of his hive, which meant his effectiveness would be reduced until he could replace the lost bugs.
And Nara Shikato had just spent a lot of his Chakra, having not engaged in taijutsu, he wasn't hurt.
These were my team for now, and I would hopefully get them all home.
I allowed myself a moment to feel like a part of a team, to feel the connection between us, before I once more reminded myself about my mission.
To fully be reborn and released from my seal, to bring peace to this world, and to restore it to the beauty it was under my rule.
That dream wasn't just for myself, but for these people too, who didn't deserve to go through the horrors war.
I looked down at the blood seeping through my side bandage. My leg was stiff, my arm throbbed from the kunai graze, and my chakra reserves were a wreck. My whole body felt hollow.
I couldn't keep going.
Another run-in with an enemy could very well prove fatal, while the rest might be able to handle a smaller enemy team; the risks were too great.
I glanced toward Riku, who had sat quietly after his report, trying to pretend his hands weren't still trembling.
"We're pulling out," I said.
That got everyone's attention.
Shikato was the first to react. He turned toward me, mouth half-open in disbelief. "Yuki-san, our mission was to scout and hold position near the western sector. Reinforcements won't reach that front if we—"
"I know what the mission was," I cut him off.
He hesitated, then nodded, slowly. "Then you also know what the punishment is for abandoning it."
"I do."
A heavy pause.
He pushed up his forehead protector and rubbed his temples. "You're not just anyone, you're Hyūga. And not just Hyūga—you're branch family."
"Exactly," I said, cold now. "The punishment is up to the Hyūga elders, not the Hokage. If they approve of what I did—then no one else's opinion matters."
No one said anything for a beat.
Riku looked up at that. His gaze met mine. He seemed determined and gave a look that seemed to convey reassurance.
"You saved me," he said finally. "My grandfather will hear about that."
"I expect he will," I said. "And I expect he'll be annoyed that I nearly died doing it."
Shikato sat down on a flat stone, exhaling hard. "You're gambling that the Hyūga clan protects their own."
"I'm not gambling," I said. "I'm guaranteeing that I get my people home alive. That's my job. It's why they put me in charge."
The others didn't argue.
Daiki stood first, glancing toward the ridge. "It'll take a day to reach the relay point. Two more after that if we rotate movement. Maybe three, with your injuries."
"Three is fine," I said. "We move at dawn."
Sayo knelt beside me without a word and began rewrapping my bandages. Her fingers were gentle, precise. She didn't ask permission.
"You made the right call," she murmured.
I just nodded in response.
It hadn't even been a hard decision, we couldn't afford to stay, so what were we supposed to do? Just sit around and hope for the best?
That would be insane. We were a scouting team, and our mission was to collect information. Not giving us any way to deliver that information until a designated time was already a stupid mistake by whoever was in charge.
No, it was the right decision to pull back, report the situation, and for me to accept my punishment back in the clan.
I would likely face some confinement, which just meant I couldn't leave the clan for a while, which I couldn't do anyway.
So in some ways, it was house arrest, but instead of being confined to a single building, I would be confined to a small village.
I would train, hang out with friends, and do normal things, which would count as punishment. The Hyūga Clan looked out for its own. At least it still did now, that might change in the future… but for now, the chances of getting thrown under the bus were minimal.
Honestly, I think the only reason the canon Hyūga Clan, Hizashi Hyūga, was sacrificed was because he was clearly showing signs of resentment and resistance towards the main family, even showing killing intent towards Hinata.
From my decade of living there, I honestly couldn't see them sending one of their own to their death for nothing. The clan was proud and wouldn't allow anyone to step on their dignity.
So, clearly there had been some secret behind that decision…
(End of chapter)
So, here we are, everyone got names, dear Yuki is warming up to people. Well, she struggles with connecting with people, a likely outcome of being alone for so long. But she will recover.
As for the Hyūga Clan, yeah, I feel that is right, Yuki's mission isn't to scout, or gather information, it is to protect the Hyūga Clan. That is her first and last mission, everything else is second to that.
So yeah, to the clan, she did nothing wrong. If she did do something wrong, it is not sacrificing the rest of the team to make sure Daiki could escape.
But since he is fine, its all fine.