Chapter 65: Try it? Let's try it.
After dinner, Haruko was in his room typing.
"Brother Haruko, you have a friend here to see you," Ayame's voice came from outside.
Stepping outside to take a look, it was Hyuga Hinata.
"Brother Haruko, it really is you..." Upon seeing Haruko, Hinata seemed overjoyed. "Are you going to be staying here?"
"Yes, just for a few days. Come to think of it, I haven't greeted you yet. I saw you training earlier and didn't want to disturb you."
"It-it's okay, there's no need to go out of your way... It's just that I haven't seen Brother Haruko in so long..."
As she spoke, Hinata's face grew redder and redder, and her voice became quieter and quieter, until it was almost inaudible.
"Now that you mention it, it has been a long time since you came to the shop." Haruko tilted his head and thought about it. "Have you been... busy with training lately? You seem to have gotten a lot stronger."
"I have indeed increased my training lately... but actually..."
Hinata hesitated, looked around, then leaned in close to Haruko and lowered her voice: "Father says that things are a bit tense in Konoha lately, and he has ordered the entire clan to reduce going out."
Haruko understood; it was a natural response.
Behind him, Kin Tsuchi and Tayuya were hiding behind the door, with only half of their heads visible.
"That girl talking to Big Brother, I think I've seen her before... who was it again?"
"Have you forgotten? She's a customer at our shop, the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Hinata."
"Uh..."
"You know, the one who can eat five full-course meals in one sitting."
"Oh! I remember now, that big eater..."
Haruko heard their whispers clearly. Before he could get up to teach them about manners, Ayame grabbed them by their ears from behind.
"Sorry about that, my girls were rude."
"Huh? What?"
Haruko apologized to Hinata on their behalf, but seeing her confused expression, she probably hadn't heard them.
After being scolded by Ayame, the two came over to apologize to Hinata. Since the three had met before, they officially introduced themselves and were soon getting along well.
It wasn't until Hyuga Takashi came to urge them that they each returned.
At the same time, Hyuga Hikari brought a message from Hiashi: "Mr. Haruko, Lord Hiashi would like to invite you to participate in tomorrow morning's training. What do you think?"
'He probably wants to test my strength..."
Haruko nodded. "Alright, I will go."
...
The next morning, at the main training ground of the Hyuga Clan.
Over a dozen Hyuga Clan Members dressed in training gear were already drenched in sweat, and their shouts echoed throughout the courtyard.
'They are really competitive. If Shikamaru saw this, he'd probably pass out on the spot."
Haruko complained inwardly as he slowly strolled into the arena.
He was still wearing the same loose grey cloth clothes, his hands tucked into his sleeves, looking as if he hadn't fully woken up yet, completely out of place with the surrounding atmosphere.
Hiashi was standing on a high platform with his hands behind his back, his spine straight, his Byakugan scanning every corner of the field.
Seeing Haruko's lazy demeanor, Hiashi frowned slightly, but still greeted him: "Haruko, did you sleep well last night?"
"Thanks to you, it was very quiet." Haruko nodded and looked toward the training ground. "Thank you for the invitation."
Hinata was also in the crowd. The little girl was practicing very earnestly, sweat sliding down her cheeks, but the moment she saw Haruko, her Byakugan clearly brightened, and her movements faltered.
Beside her, Hyuga Takashi immediately corrected Hinata's posture sternly.
Whether it was to test him or to show off, Hiashi pointed to the drills below and asked: "From an observer's perspective, what do you think, Haruko?"
A classic "boss's question" trap—saying it's good is bootlicking, saying it's bad is insulting them on their own turf.
Haruko couldn't be bothered to overthink it and chose to just speak the truth: "Very strong. In close-quarters combat, it should be second to none."
"It's just... um... there's a question I don't understand."
"Oh? Tell me about it?"
The conversation between the two gradually attracted the attention of the Hyuga Clan Members who were training; although they didn't stop their movements, they all pricked up their ears.
"As far as I know, the Hyuga Clan rarely uses techniques outside of the Hyuga style. And the Hyuga style seems to lack long-range options. In that case, wouldn't you be very passive when encountering opponents who excel at long-range attacks?"
"This is the Hyuga's choice." Hiashi's lips curled into a smile. "Our Byakugan can see through everything; long-range attacks have nowhere to hide in our eyes. Rather than diverting our energy to learn various long-range techniques, it is better to devote all our strength to perfecting close-quarters combat."
"As far as I know, you, Haruko, are very skilled at Ninjutsu. Why don't you experience it for yourself?"
Hiashi waved at the crowd: "Takashi, you be Haruko's opponent. Just go through the motions."
Haruko looked at that old fox Hiashi, his heart as clear as a mirror.
What "experience"? It was clearly just wanting to test the waters to see how much this "Kaguya Clan candidate" was really worth, and whether it was worth the Hyuga Clan making a heavy bet on him.
"Father..."
Hinata wanted to object, but was silenced by a look from Hiashi. She could only turn to Haruko: "Brother Haruko... please be careful."
Hyuga Takashi, a Jonin of the main branch, and also Hyuga Hinata's bodyguard.
He walked to the center of the arena with a serious expression and performed a standard Seal of Confrontation towards Haruko.
"Mr. Haruko, please enlighten me."
Haruko knew he couldn't avoid this. Since he had to stay under their roof to lay low, he had to pay some "rent."
He walked opposite to Takashi and also performed the Seal of Confrontation.
"Let's begin."
Takashi didn't waste time with pleasantries; he rushed forward like lightning.
'So fast, as expected of a Jonin. But..."
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique."
Haruko's speed in forming hand seals was superior, and he still used the Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique as an opening suppression move.
Under the Byakugan, the trajectory of the flames was instantly captured, and Takashi wove through the gaps in the flames like a butterfly among flowers.
His go-to opening didn't have the desired effect, but Haruko wasn't worried; he retreated while forming hand seals to prepare the next Ninjutsu.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough."
A violent wind blew past; Takashi released Chakra from his feet to stand firmly on the ground, even managing to advance slowly against the wind.
Haruko, on the other hand, used the recoil to leap backward, once again increasing the distance between them.
Before the wind from his mouth had even stopped, Haruko had already started forming hand seals again, and as soon as the Wind Release ended, he immediately used the next Ninjutsu.
"Water Release: Mizuame-no-Hara."
This seamless combo stunned the watching Hyuga Clan Members, especially Hiashi.
"If his opponent were someone other than the Hyuga, it would look as if Haruko didn't need to form hand seals at all."
He knew better than anyone else that the difficulty of this move was close to using two Ninjutsu simultaneously—and the fusion of two Ninjutsu was a Kekkei Genkai Ninjutsu.
Takashi leaped up, jumping directly over the puddle of suspicious liquid on the ground.
"Tsk."
The Lightning Release: Ground Run that Haruko had prepared missed.
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter."
Seizing the moment when his opponent was unable to dodge in mid-air, Yun pointed his fingers like a sword, and an invisible wind blade shot out from his fingertips.
"Eight Trigrams Air Palm."
A high-pressure air cannon directly engulfed the wind blade and headed straight for Haruko.
Haruko, who already knew about this move, reacted the moment he saw Takashi raise his hand, and the air cannon only left a crater in the ground.
And Haruko once again distanced himself from Takashi.