While Konoha's reinforcement team was heading toward the Hot Water Country, a bored Shen decided to visit Kurama for some fun.
"Nine-Tails! I'm here to strike a deal!"
"Huh? Kid, aren't you supposed to be out training today?"
Shen paused for a few seconds before realizing he hadn't been chased away today.
He quickly approached the Sealing Gate, locking eyes with the massive beast before him.
"Hahaha!" With arms akimbo, Shen proudly announced his victory, "Nine-Tails! I, Shen Uchiha, have finally outlasted you!"
"Thump."
The next moment, he found himself back in reality.
Still puzzled, Shen re-entered the Sealing Space.
After his twenty-third failed attempt of the day, Shen left the Uzumaki clan compound with endless questions.
"That's right! The Tailed Beasts can learn about the outside world through their Jinchuriki!" As soon as he got home, he came up with a brilliant idea.
"Kuiscreen? Let me show you kuiscreen!" He pulled out a video recorder and started imprinting his memories onto it.
"Come to know true pain!"
Fugaku, who had just evolved his Sharingan into the three-tomoe pattern, could immediately tell from the sounds coming from his younger brother's room that Shen was up to no good again.
"As long as it's not directed at me," Fugaku muttered, turning on the TV to catch the latest news report.
"One thousand two hundred ninjas from our village are now en route to the Hot Water Country," battlefield reporter Ryuichi said into his microphone, watching the departing convoy buses.
"We hope Kumogakure doesn't underestimate us. Against our powerful reinforcements, they absolutely won't break through the defenses of the Hot Water Country!"
Such inspiring words immediately stirred Fugaku's fighting spirit.
"Ahhahahaha!"
The next moment, his focus shattered with a sudden laugh.
"Shen! What the hell are you laughing at?!"
"Foolish older brother of mine, from now on the Nine-Tails will obey me faithfully!"
For no apparent reason, something inside Fugaku seemed to snap.
"I'll let this brat off the hook for today," he murmured to himself, continuing to watch the live broadcast.
What had probably broken just now was nothing less than his dignity as an older brother.
At the Hyuga training ground, father and daughter were locked in an intense match.
Without using any chakra, Nayou was actually giving Meide—who was renowned for his exceptional Taijutsu—a hard time.
All of this was due to her mastery of Wing Chun martial arts.
As Meide struck with a palm thrust, his wrist was deflected yet again, prompting him to sidestep the incoming fist.
"You're solid on top—but what about below?"
Instantly lowering his center of gravity, Meide swept his left leg forward.
Smirking slightly, Nayou didn't even look. She bent her arm and launched a sharp downward elbow strike.
However, drawing upon his rich combat experience, Meide bent his left leg and sprung up from his squat.
"Boom!"
The dull sound of elbows and knees colliding didn't seem to faze either father or daughter in the least.
Feeling a numbness in her elbow, Nayou stepped back and threw out a straight punch.
This was currently the most powerful technique in her Taijutsu repertoire.
With this [Rizhi Chongquan] alone, she had actually pulled and injured several of Ji's spinal bones.
The small fist in Meide's eyes showed absolutely no chakra fluctuations at all.
A [Rizhi Chongquan] purely based on physical strength—without a trace of chakra!
Smiling with satisfaction, Meide gently pushed away the incoming little fist with his palm.
Then he suddenly stepped forward, gripped Nayou's wrist firmly in his hand, and thrust his shoulder toward her.
"Ugh!" Half of Nayou's body went completely numb from the impact.
Enduring the pain, she tried to counterattack with her other hand.
"You have rich combat techniques, but enemies won't show mercy just because you're a beauty!" Meide pulled back on the captured wrist.
Nayou lost her balance and was thrown into midair.
However, she was definitely not someone who would easily give up.
She stared directly downward at Meide, who was waiting expectantly below, and astonishingly controlled her body to slowly start rotating midair.
A white spiral-like object made contact with a large palm down below.
"You still lack actual life-and-death battle experience."
When Meide saw that her rotational speed started slowing down, he grabbed the rotating fist within his palm.
"Urgh..." Feeling a touch at her throat where no actual pressure had been applied yet, Nayou realized she had already lost this match.
If his opponent were truly an enemy, she would've already had her throat pierced.
Meide quickly lowered Nayou back down: "Do you know why you lost?"
"Because Father, you are not my enemy."
"That's precisely why you need more training."
Nayou immediately understood—after all, enemies would all come with the intent to kill her.
Meide concealed his slightly reddened right hand behind his back, his expression never changing: "Yongchun is indeed a sophisticated defensive martial art, but it's too inefficient when it comes to killing enemies."
Seeing his daughter's slightly dejected expression, he softened his tone and offered some encouragement: "Still, it suits girls rather well. It has tremendous advantages in one-on-one confrontations."
Nayou's expression finally returned to its usual icy demeanor: "Thank you for your guidance, Father."
"Hmm, go rest now."
Only after witnessing her figure disappear beyond the range of his Byakugan did Meide finally open the palm he had hidden behind his back.
"It wasn't a strike—it was sheer friction..."
His palm was clearly somewhat swollen.
"It's only a matter of time before she surpasses me."
Her refusal to back down used to trap her in stubbornness—doomed to hit dead ends again and again.
But eight years ago, after fighting Shen to a draw, her once rigid personality had softened slightly.
Now, she could even adapt flexibly, coming up with optimal solutions rather than rigidly adhering to the traditional Hyuga taijutsu.
"Not bad. But sticking to old ways only holds people back."
This father-daughter sparring session taught Meide much.
The conservative Hyuga family was long overdue for a change—just like the Uchiha once were.
The system dividing main and branch houses locked members' upward mobility entirely from birth—even more terrifying than the situation when the Uchiha served as head of the Police Force.
When you were still a baby, your status had already been decided—whether you'd be born into the main house or remain forever in the branch house, with no chance of promotion at all.
This kind of structure—whether imposed within a family or across an entire society—is utterly terrifying.
Although the Hyuga Clan has long opened its doors to all from Konoha, inviting them in freely, nothing will truly change as long as the distinction between main house and branch house remains, along with the existence of the Caged Bird—a mental seal akin to a thought imprint.
To break free from every restriction within the Hyuga, they'd need an extraordinary force—one capable of toppling both the main house and branch house at once!
"Nisai still has four years before coming of age," Meide said with concern.
He feared that in four years, if the family system hadn't been abolished, his own child would bear the Caged Bird Seal.
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