Seeing Hyuga Masato refuse to give his name, Kaguya Nobunaga first laughed heartily, then his expression turned cold as he said, "This is why I hate your kind. It's no wonder you associate with those cowards from the Kaguya Clan."
Before the words had even faded, Kaguya Nobunaga had already charged forward. Gripping a bone blade, he thrust repeatedly at Hyuga Masato. Despite his robust build, his swordsmanship was exceptionally fluid, resembling a dance, with every movement flowing seamlessly into the next.
Hyuga Masato's expression was grave. He might look down on the savagery of the Kaguya Clan, but he would never underestimate Shikotsumyaku. This was a Bloodline Limit that even his father had to treat seriously, and its reputation as the natural enemy of taijutsu Ninjas was no mere rumor in the Ninja World.
Hyuga Masato dodged each of Kaguya Nobunaga's stabs one by one. As he closed the distance, he quickly struck his palm toward Kaguya Nobunaga's body. Kaguya Nobunaga had no time to block, but just as the strike was about to land, Hyuga Masato suddenly withdrew his palm, allowing Kaguya Nobunaga to seize the opportunity and force him to retreat.
Kaguya Nobunaga was somewhat curious and asked, "Why did you suddenly give up your attack?"
Hyuga Masato said nothing, instead taking the initiative to attack, striking with Gentle Fist toward Kaguya Nobunaga's acupuncture points. Seeing this, Kaguya Nobunaga had no choice but to stop asking and meet Hyuga Masato's attack.
The techniques of the Hyuga Clan are known as Gentle Fist because they excel in "softness." The Hyuga Clan's Chakra can penetrate the opponent's body, and with the aid of the Byakugan, it can directly damage the opponent's Chakra Network, thereby indirectly harming their internal organs. Therefore, compared to the direct movements of Strong Fist, the movements of Gentle Fist are much more complex.
For practitioners of taijutsu, training in Strong Fist requires seven parts strength and three parts technique, whereas Gentle Fist requires seven parts technique and three parts strength.
Hyuga Masato either dodged Kaguya Nobunaga's stabs or deflected them by dissipating the force. Kaguya Nobunaga's offensive was fierce, but he could not take down Hyuga Masato. Furthermore, because he was too eager, he allowed Hyuga Masato to seize opportunity after opportunity. Yet, surprisingly, each time, Hyuga Masato gave up the attack at the very moment he was about to land a hit.
After forcing Hyuga Masato to retreat once more, Kaguya Nobunaga's expression suddenly dawned with realization. Pointing his bone blade at Hyuga Masato, he said, "Can you see it?"
Hyuga Masato understood what he meant and said, "No matter what Bloodline Limit it is, as long as it is used, it will inevitably concentrate Chakra, which is clearly visible before my eyes."
"I've long heard that your clan's Byakugan can see through Chakra, but I didn't expect it to be this powerful." Kaguya Nobunaga shrugged. "Since that's the case, I don't need to keep hiding it anymore."
Immediately, a large number of bone spikes suddenly protruded from Kaguya Nobunaga's body. The bone spikes emitted a cold glint, making one suspect they could easily pierce through a body. He looked as if he were fully armed, leaving one not knowing where to attack.
The openings Kaguya Nobunaga had revealed earlier were all intentional. He was waiting for the moment Hyuga Masato attacked to release the bone spikes from within his body to disable Hyuga Masato's hands. For a Ninja, losing one's hands means losing more than half of one's combat capability, at which point he could easily defeat this member of the Hyuga Main Family.
But how could Hyuga Masato be so easily tricked? In his early years, he had seen his father battle a wielder of the Shikotsumyaku Bloodline Limit, so he knew the ins and outs of Shikotsumyaku. On the other hand, just as he had said, if Kaguya Nobunaga wanted to release the bone spikes, he had to use Chakra, and the Byakugan could see the abnormal flow of Chakra, so Hyuga Masato naturally would not continue his attack.
After Kaguya Nobunaga discovered this, he no longer held anything back. Without hesitation, he unleashed the power of Shikotsumyaku and grinned, saying, "Let's have a real, satisfying fight, Hyuga Main Family!"
With that, Kaguya Nobunaga raised his hands, and his fingertips suddenly exploded outward. Hyuga Masato flashed aside, dodging the ten rapidly flying finger bones. Taking advantage of Hyuga Masato's evasion, Kaguya Nobunaga charged forward. Accompanied by that dance-like taijutsu, every part of Kaguya Nobunaga's body was a sharp weapon, making one afraid to get close.
For a taijutsu Ninja like Hyuga Masato, facing Kaguya Nobunaga in this state was overwhelmingly disadvantageous. This is the reason why Shikotsumyaku is called the natural enemy of taijutsu Ninjas.
—Heavenly Rotation!
However, this time Hyuga Masato did not dodge or evade. His body suddenly spun in place, and a large amount of Chakra was released from all his acupuncture points, forming a Chakra barrier that collided with Kaguya Nobunaga without fear.
As a Secret Technique known as the absolute defense within the Hyuga Clan, this was one of the few ways Hyuga Masato could confront Kaguya Nobunaga head-on. With a loud bang, Kaguya Nobunaga was knocked back. Hyuga Masato had no time to catch his breath and immediately pursued, bringing Kaguya Nobunaga into the range of his Gentle Fist.
—Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
Hyuga Masato raised his hands and struck, concentrating his attack on the bone spikes in front of Kaguya Nobunaga. After the intense collision with the Heavenly Rotation, the bone spikes had already been subjected to immense pressure. Now, being struck by the Gentle Fist, they could no longer withstand it and shattered into fragments, while the remaining palms all struck Kaguya Nobunaga's body.
Kaguya Nobunaga flew backward and slammed heavily onto the ground. He immediately scrambled up, clutching the places where he had been struck by the Gentle Fist, coughed up a mouthful of blood, and smiled at Hyuga Masato: "Is this the Gentle Fist? It feels not bad."
Hyuga Masato adjusted his breathing. Seeing that Kaguya Nobunaga seemed to be fine, he frowned slightly. His Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms had been executed with full force. Although some of the palms had been blocked by the bone spikes, at least thirty-two palms had landed on Kaguya Nobunaga, yet he still hadn't been able to take him down.
Hyuga Masato quickly discovered the reason. If his Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms had indeed struck Kaguya Nobunaga's acupuncture points, then Kaguya Nobunaga would inevitably have collapsed. However, Kaguya Nobunaga had used Shikotsumyaku to control his own bones and alter his body. Although thirty-two palms had landed, they hadn't hit the acupuncture points, so the damage dealt to Kaguya Nobunaga was not that great.
If it were his father, he would surely have been able to accurately strike the acupuncture points before this person used Shikotsumyaku. Hyuga Masato sighed slightly. Unlike his brilliant and talented father, he was just a mediocre person. Shikotsumyaku was indeed formidable; his own strength was not yet enough to defeat the opponent.
Hyuga Masato admitted that he might lose to Kaguya Nobunaga in a fight, but this was a war; he didn't necessarily have to defeat the opponent.
By the time Hyuga Masato caught his breath, Kaguya Nobunaga was already able to stand up. His bones shifted throughout his body, and bone spikes protruded once again. As he charged out, Hyuga Masato raised his hand and used an Eight Trigrams Empty Palm, the invisible shockwave stopping Kaguya Nobunaga in his tracks.
Hyuga Masato no longer engaged Kaguya Nobunaga head-on, but instead used a maneuvering strategy to restrain him, preventing him from helping other Kirigakure Ninja, while also ensuring he couldn't take him down, stalling him right there.
Meanwhile, although the Kirigakure Ninja had stabilized their footing and begun to counterattack, they were at a disadvantage from the start and were still being suppressed by the Konoha Ninja. A Kirigakure Ninja with keen sensory perception noticed that several dozen more people were rushing toward them, likely reinforcements for the Konoha Ninja.
He hurriedly signaled his companions. Upon discovering this, the Kirigakure Ninja squad leader immediately gathered his subordinates to use the Hidden Mist Jutsu unique to the Kirigakure village. Dense fog instantly filled the battlefield. Using the cover of the fog, the Kirigakure Ninja did not pursue, but instead prepared to retreat.
Even for members of the Hyuga Clan, the fog was filled with a large amount of Chakra, which for a moment mixed with the enemies' Chakra, making it difficult to distinguish. Although the Inuzuka Clan and Aburame Clan had unique investigation methods, losing vision was a troublesome matter, so they did not act rashly and instead gathered together.
When the fog started to rise around them, Kaguya Nobunaga knew it was time to retreat; this was a pre-arranged signal. He looked at Hyuga Masato with some regret. The power of the Byakugan varied, and Hyuga Masato's Byakugan could still distinguish Kaguya Nobunaga within the dense fog; his stance remained unshaken.
"Let's fight again next time, Hyuga Main Family." After leaving these words behind, Kaguya Nobunaga turned and left.
Hyuga Masato did not pursue. There was no point in chasing; he wasn't guaranteed to win in a one-on-one, and rushing in would lead to being surrounded, which was a certain death trap. As for bringing others along, if Hyuga Masato remembered correctly, there was a river channel where the Kirigakure Ninja were retreating, which was a good place for Water Release Ninjas. Rashly leading people there might cause his side to experience the feeling of being caught off guard by the Kirigakure Ninja's composite Ninjutsu.
Judging by the appearance of the Kirigakure Ninja now, it seemed they intended to regroup and attack again, so there was no need to rush. Hyuga Masato returned to the main force. At this moment, he understood why the Kirigakure Ninja chose to retreat at this time: because the reinforcements brought by Fūmori Masaki had arrived.
"It seems I'm late, Lord Hyuga." After Fūmori Masaki arrived with his men, he looked at the team that was dispersing the fog and regrouping, and said to Hyuga Masato.
"No, you came just in time," Hyuga Masato said. After using the Hidden Mist Jutsu, the Kirigakure Ninja had actually escaped their disadvantageous situation and could have counterattacked at any time, making the outcome unpredictable. But precisely because Fūmori Masaki had arrived with reinforcements, they felt the situation was bad and chose to retreat.