The next day, 8:00 AM.
After consuming a vast amount of chakra and an entire night's work, Hyuga Yu had successfully established the preliminary framework for the Twelve Regular Meridians and verified the conductivity of the Hand-Taiyin Lung Meridian.
At this moment, he raised his right hand, manifesting a tiny pressurized ring of Wind Style: Heaven's Subjugation in his palm. In the next instant, a blast of airflow erupted straight ahead from the center of his palm. Simultaneously, a violent recoil—comparable to firing an XM109 sniper rifle one-handed—surged through the ring and into Yu's right arm. In the past, such a strike would have inevitably sent Yu flying several meters back. If he didn't apply his Damping Membrane to himself, he would be subjected to a counterforce equal to whatever power he unleashed upon the enemy.
But now, eleven acupuncture points beneath the skin of his right arm lit up one by one: Zhongfu, Yunmen, Tianfu, Xiabai, Chize, Kongzui, Lieque, Jingqu, Taiyuan, Yuji, and Shaoshang. They linked together to form a luminous chakra pathway stretching from his right shoulder all the way to the Shaoshang point on his thumb.
The moment that massive reaction force hit Yu, it was entirely absorbed by this pathway!
Yu could feel a fierce gale circulating within his right arm, making the entire limb feel significantly more powerful and robust.
Shu!
A kunai flew out of his ninja tool pouch and into his right hand. With a gentle press of his thumb against the blade of the forged steel kunai, a clear thumbprint was pressed into the metal!
Not satisfied, Yu continued to exert force, venting all the residual recoil stored within the Hand-Taiyin Lung Meridian. The kunai was twisted into a spiral, then crushed into a ball of iron. Finally, the iron sphere began to crack inch by inch.
Creeeeak!
Amidst the shrill screech of protesting steel, the iron ball was forcibly squeezed by Yu into a shrunken, irregular lump of metal covered in palm prints.
"This can be considered a makeshift version of Monster Strength, though it's achieved through the application of Wind Style."
Looking at the preliminary results of Wind Style: Flowing Steel, Yu felt a flicker of excitement. He didn't know exactly how Tsunade's Monster Strength was formed, but he was confident that under full-load conditions in its complete form, the strength he had developed would be in no way inferior.
"The load on the body isn't too heavy. Of course, a single meridian has a limit to what it can carry. However, if I can construct the full cycle of the Twelve Regular Meridians—allowing the reaction force to flow from the inside out through the entire body—my physical endurance and the efficiency of using this force will reach an exaggerated level. In the most extreme case... I might even be able to fight a Tailed Beast in hand-to-hand combat!"
"Combined with the Damping Membrane covering my vital points, the issue of recoil is basically resolved. Furthermore, once the twelve-meridian cycle is fully established and the transformation from internal to external is complete, the uses of this jutsu will go far beyond just physical strength!"
Yu focused his mind, evaluating the effects of his newly developed technique. The deeper he delved, the more he realized its potential.
Wind Style: Flowing Steel was by no means the end. On the contrary, it was Yu's stepping stone to the "Gate of Mechanics," the foundation for all his Wind Style applications and the original direction he had envisioned for his path.
Due to limited conditions and the urgency of the situation, Yu had been forced to develop the "end-stage" Wind Style jutsu first. To put it figuratively, he had built the chassis of a heavy truck to run people over, but he hadn't yet installed the engine.
Once this foundation was complete, his three major Wind Style techniques—Wind Style: Heaven's Subjugation, Wind Style: Vacuum Heaven's Attraction, and Byakugan: Oppression—would finally be without flaws. This qualitative leap would officially allow Yu to step into the world of Kage-level power.
At this thought, despite not having slept all night, Yu was still full of energy. He intended to continue by constructing the second meridian, the Hand-Yangming Large Intestine Meridian.
But then—
Knock, knock, knock!
A series of urgent knocks suddenly came from the door.
As the silencing barrier was deactivated, Terai's solemn voice sounded from outside. "Ten'nin, people from the Hidden Mist are here!"
Yu immediately stopped his work and pulled open the door. "Who is it?"
Terai, maintaining his sensory jutsu, replied, "It seems to be the Hidden Mist's Cipher Division."
"Furthermore, they're heading straight for us. The leader is a kunoichi about the same age as you. Her chakra signature... it's very strong!"
Hearing this, Yu's brow furrowed slightly. The safe house they were staying in was a gathering place for traveling merchants and envoys from small nations, falling under the jurisdiction of the Mizukage's Secretariat. It shouldn't have been easy for the Cipher Division, which belonged to the Hidden Mist Elder faction, to track them down. The only ones who should have been able to investigate this place were the Hunter-nin directly under the Third Mizukage. However, the leader of the Hunter-nin, Fuguki Suikazan, was currently collaborating with Yagura Karatachi, putting in minimal effort for the Third Mizukage.
Yu had originally thought the first person to find them would be Yagura Karatachi.
However...
Yu activated his Byakugan and scanned the area outside the building. He saw a female ninja with long, brownish-red hair and emerald eyes standing at the main entrance. Behind her followed two familiar faces: Ao, who was covered in bandages, and the sensory ninja under Ao's command.
With one look, Yu identified the newcomer as the future Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi.
Though she was young—appearing to be the same age as Yu—her iconic features were already becoming prominent.
After thinking for a moment, Yu realized that the Third Mizukage and Yagura Karatachi weren't the only ones watching the movements of Kaguya Shiro's residence the other night. The Hidden Mist Elder faction, led by Elder Genji, was hidden even deeper and had been fully aware of that night's events.
But soon, Yu's Byakugan narrowed. In the pipes at the end of the tenth-floor hallway, he spotted a faint, suppressed, and exceptionally terrifying chakra signature that even Terai hadn't detected.
The intruder had transformed their entire body into water, revealing only shoulder-length white hair and a cold, stern face, surging rapidly toward Yu's position through the pipes.
Yagura Karatachi's people had also arrived.
"They certainly think highly of me..."
Yu watched the two approaching parties. His expression remained unchanged, but a hint of playfulness flickered deep in his eyes.
Meanwhile, in front of the building's entrance.
Ao seemed to sense the sensory jutsu Terai had activated upstairs. His expression changed slightly, and he immediately looked up toward the tenth floor. Without turning his head, he barked, "Kensuke!"
Kensuke, the sensory Jonin standing further back, immediately reported to the two in front:
"Tenth floor. There are several chakra signatures similar to the ones detected by the Cipher Division that night."
"Ao-sama, Mei-sama, it should be them!"
"According to the Barrier Division's records, they are currently using the alias of a merchant group from the Land of Artisans."
Ao turned his head to look at Mei Terumi and asked in a low voice, "Position confirmed. Should we retreat and request reinforcements from the Jonin Squad?"
Any Root ninja from Konoha who could fight the Third Mizukage and escape with their life was no ordinary shinobi. Although Ao prided himself on his strength, he didn't believe he could survive a direct encounter with the Third Mizukage.
Mei Terumi shook her head, her emerald eyes sharpening. "Now is not the time."
"Besides, for this mission... I am enough!"
Mobilizing the Jonin Squad prematurely would arouse the Third Mizukage's suspicion.
The Hidden Mist Elder faction was planning a coup against the Third Mizukage. Even though both sides knew a battle was inevitable, now was clearly not the time for the conflict to truly erupt.
The Elder faction wanted to find the intruding Root members because Yu's Wind Style might be useful in the confrontation against the Third Mizukage. However, if Yu chose not to cooperate, Elder Genji's idea was to simply eliminate them to remove any potential hidden threats.
The one tasked with executing this mission and judging whether the Konoha Root represented by Yu was qualified to cooperate with them was Mei Terumi!
"You two wait here. I'll go meet him!"
With that, Mei Terumi left Ao and the other behind, strode into the building, and with several leaps up the central spiral staircase, rapidly charged toward the tenth floor where Yu was located.
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