"Perfect timing… spar with me for a bit!"
Hyuga Satoru turned to the oldest of the three guards, Hyuga Keisuke, and issued a challenge. Though this was their first meeting, Satoru could already read the three men's personalities clearly from their behavior and posture.
Keisuke, though of the Branch Family, was clearly a skilled and confident fighter. His attitude toward Satoru showed respect, yes—but that respect was directed at Satoru's Main Family status, not at Satoru as a person.
Because of the Caged Bird Cursed Seal and the rigid clan hierarchy, Satoru wasn't worried about Keisuke's loyalty. But commanding such a man would not be easy.
These men were assigned to him by Hyuga Hiashi, but in truth, they were now his subordinates.
There were things he couldn't do openly—tasks that required others to act in his stead. For that, having a few strong, obedient retainers was essential.
As for the woman named Hyuga Mio, Satoru still couldn't read her temperament. But Keisuke and Hyuga Kazutaka were far easier to understand.
Keisuke was the proud and talented type—his strength was his pride.
Kazutaka, on the other hand, was almost certainly a die-hard believer in the Hyuga clan system, an unwavering loyalist to the Main Family.
Even though these were just first impressions, Satoru decided to start with Keisuke.
People like him were simple—and easy to control.
His confidence came from his own power; to win his submission, Satoru would have to shake that confidence with greater power.
And as it happened, he had recently mastered a few new techniques he was eager to test.
"Taijutsu practice?" Keisuke repeated, a hint of hesitation crossing his face.
"Ah… Lord Satoru, I rarely train with others. I can't really hold back my strength."
"If you need a sparring partner, let Kazutaka do it."
"Someone at his level should be enough."
The three guards clearly knew each other. Keisuke scratched his head awkwardly, his words polite—but that final sentence exposed his true thoughts.
He respected Satoru's title, not Satoru himself.
Hiashi, who had been silently observing, smiled faintly—an expression rarely seen from him.
"Keisuke, you've just returned from the front lines. It's understandable you're unfamiliar with Satoru."
"How about this—spar a little. Get to know each other."
That tone—half command, half indulgence—made it clear that Keisuke held a certain standing among the Branch Family.
Satoru stepped calmly into the center of the dojo. Mio and Kazutaka, understanding the situation, quietly moved to the sides.
With a resigned sigh, Keisuke followed. "Since Lord Hiashi says so, I'll be your opponent then, Lord Satoru."
He activated his Byakugan with a short seal and added, "Please, give it your all."
Satoru nodded. His own Byakugan flared to life—and then his hands blurred through a familiar sequence of seals.
Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!
A thick cloud of white mist filled the dojo. When it cleared, ten identical Hyuga Shinichis surrounded Keisuke from all sides. The real Satoru lingered among them, indistinguishable even to the Byakugan.
"Multiple Shadow Clones?" Keisuke murmured, eyes widening.
As a Hyuga, this was the first time he had seen one of his own clan members use the technique in combat—and if his memory was right, wasn't this jutsu forbidden?
He had no time to dwell on the thought. The ten Shinichis raised their hands in unison, blue chakra roaring to life around their fists—Twin Lion Fists!
"Wha—"
Before he could even finish the thought, they attacked as one.
Though clones couldn't take much damage and divided the user's chakra, they were otherwise indistinguishable from the original—not even the Byakugan could tell which was real.
And more importantly, the clones' attacks carried the same force and precision as the original.
Against Keisuke, each blow carried genuine threat—because Gentle Fist didn't rely on raw power. Even a clone's strike could seal chakra points just the same.
In truth, this technique complemented the Hyuga style perfectly—the clones multiplying the number of accurate hits almost exponentially.
Keisuke couldn't locate the real body, but with the Byakugan's near 360° vision, he managed to block, dodge, and counter skillfully. His taijutsu far surpassed that of the young Kakashi Satoru had once sparred with.
Even so, after only a few seconds, half of the clones were gone.
Each time one vanished, Satoru felt a faint prickling pain echo through his own body—a needle-like sting, nothing more. Not nearly as bad as he'd imagined.
It was his first time using the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique in actual combat—and the feedback pain was negligible.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
He formed the seals again. The dojo filled with mist once more—and when it cleared, the room was packed with hundreds of Shinichis, each with glowing Twin Lion Fists.
Even the battle-hardened Keisuke felt his scalp tingle.
"S-So many…"
No matter how experienced he was, he couldn't deny the sheer oppressive scale. There was no way he could avoid being hit.
When the swarm of clones surged forward, Keisuke was buried beneath them.
Even a jonin-tier Hyuga would have trouble with this. Keisuke's durability was impressive, but with hundreds of fists closing in, even he couldn't defend every angle.
And against the Gentle Fist, every successful hit sealed more of his chakra points, gradually slowing his movements until—finally—his chakra flow halted completely.
Even then, dozens of clones still remained standing.
"Lord Satoru…" Keisuke panted, dropping to one knee. "I… I admit defeat."
He wasn't a genius like Neji, capable of devising his own high-level Gentle Fist forms. As a Branch Family member, he hadn't been taught techniques like Rotation that only the Main Family could use.
He fought well—but against a sea of Gentle Fist clones, there was no way out.
If it had been Hiashi, a single Rotation would have dispersed them all. But Keisuke couldn't.
The Byakugan raised the Hyuga's minimum strength—but it didn't raise the ceiling.
Feeling his chakra completely sealed, Keisuke sighed and bowed deeply, humiliation flashing across his face.
He had lost—badly. And worse than losing was how helpless it felt.
"You're strong," Satoru said sincerely.
"What you lack isn't strength or skill—it's ninjutsu."
"From now on, I'll call you Uncle Keisuke."
"And don't worry. Since you're my guard now, I'll find a way to make you stronger."
His words weren't condescending—they were a promise.
Keisuke lifted his head, surprised. Mio, standing at the side, showed the first flicker of emotion in her cold eyes.
Kazutaka's gaze, meanwhile, burned with even deeper admiration.
"Lord Satoru, you honor me. Just call me Keisuke."
This time, when Keisuke knelt, it wasn't out of duty—it was genuine respect.
"Multiple Shadow Clones…" Satoru murmured to himself, looking down at his own hands. "This jutsu's power… it's beyond what I imagined."
He'd underestimated it before—deceived by the way Naruto had always used it so crudely.
Only now, after using it himself, did he grasp the true terror of this forbidden technique.
It gave purpose to the immense reserves of chakra within him—And its synergy with the Hyuga's Gentle Fist… was simply extraordinary.
…
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