The Hyuga clan's Grand Elder stood with a solemn expression, yet a faint smile graced his lips. Positioned between the two newlyweds, he began reciting the wedding vows.
"Hyuga Hiashi, do you take Hyuga Rei as your wife? Will you love her, protect her, and stand by her from this day forward?"
Hyuga Hiashi didn't hesitate for a moment.
"I do."
The Grand Elder then turned to Hyuga Rei, his gaze sharp yet seemingly gentle.
"Hyuga Rei, do you take Hyuga Hiashi as your husband? Will you devote yourself to him, support him as the wife of the Hyuga clan's patriarch, and bear his children?"
Hyuga Rei bit her lip tightly, her hands clasped together with unease.
She knew what she was supposed to say.
But the words wouldn't come out.
Silence fell over the lively ceremony.
The guests, each an esteemed figure of Konoha, turned their attention to Rei, curiosity flashing in their eyes.
A bride hesitating to marry the patriarch of the Hyuga clan?
Hiashi's expression darkened.
The Grand Elder let out a small chuckle to ease the tension.
"It seems Miss Rei is simply overwhelmed by nerves," he said, his voice smooth yet laced with an unspoken warning.
"After all, becoming the wife of a great clan's patriarch is no small matter."
Then, lowering his voice so that only Rei could hear, he whispered coldly:
"Do not forget—the Caged Bird seal is on you. If you dare to ruin the Hyuga clan's plans, you will die. And that little lover of yours, Hanyu Simu, will not escape either."
"Believe me, the Hyuga clan has the power to make it happen."
Rei's delicate frame trembled.
She wasn't afraid of the Caged Bird's pain.
But she was terrified of dragging Simu into this.
The Grand Elder straightened, his smile once again warm and benevolent.
"Hyuga Rei, do you take Hyuga Hiashi as your husband?"
"Will you stand by him, support him, and bear his children?"
Rei's lips parted. Under the weight of countless expectant gazes, she finally forced herself to speak—
"I…"
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted from the edge of the clan's compound.
Rei's head snapped up.
In the distance, the protective barrier shimmered violently, its surface rippling as countless seals flickered and dissolved.
The Hyuga's defenses were being breached!
Before the onlookers could react, a golden flash of light streaked through the air and landed directly in the ceremony's main square.
The elite Hyuga Jōnin who had set up the barrier collapsed, unconscious. The four guards collecting invitations were sprawled motionless on the ground.
Through her dazed vision, Rei could barely make out the silhouette of a man standing amidst the wreckage.
That same man who had once descended like a god and saved her from the gold exchange.
The moment his figure became clear, Rei's heart trembled.
A tall man with a white coat draped over his shoulders stood at the center of the devastation, his hands casually tucked into his pockets.
He raised his yellow-tinted sunglasses and smiled.
"Oh my, what a grand event for the Hyuga clan," Hanyu Simu mused, his voice carrying through the stunned silence.
The prestigious guests of Konoha—clan leaders, elites, and even high-ranking shinobi—turned their gazes to the intruder.
They knew of Simu.
A prodigy who had graduated from the Ninja Academy barely over a year ago.
A young shinobi trusted by the Third Hokage himself.
But that was all they knew.
His true strength remained a mystery, buried under political suppression.
Few had seen what he was truly capable of.
To the older generation, he was just another promising talent—one among many.
Konoha had never lacked geniuses.
What mattered was whether they survived long enough to become legends.
And today, in the heart of the Hyuga clan's stronghold, a mere 'genius' had barged in uninvited.
Simu adjusted his sunglasses and sighed.
"A shame the Hyuga clan didn't invite me to such a joyous occasion."
"You are out of line!"
A Hyuga elder snapped, his voice filled with outrage.
Simu raised an eyebrow. "Oh dear, Konoha's great noble clan is scolding me. I'm trembling."
Hyuga Zhaoan, one of the clan's senior members, immediately recognized Simu.
Trouble had arrived.
But what worried him wasn't Simu himself—it was his master, Jiraiya.
And behind Jiraiya stood the Third Hokage.
The Hyuga couldn't afford to make enemies of them.
However, if they allowed Simu to humiliate them here, the Hyuga's reputation in Konoha would be trampled.
"You trespass upon the Hyuga's sacred grounds and assault our people," Zhaoan declared coldly. "Even as Jiraiya's apprentice, you cannot act so recklessly."
Simu nonchalantly cleaned his ear.
"Let's not drag my teacher into this," he said. "Unlike you Hyuga, I don't need someone else's name to back me up."
The Grand Elder's face darkened.
"You insolent brat! Restrain him at once!"
"Yes!"
The Hyuga ninjas stationed around the plaza sprang into action.
Simu sighed.
Observation Haki activated.
The moment the Hyuga moved, Simu already knew their every step, their every strike.
Dozens of blank eyes locked onto him, meticulously tracking the flow of his chakra.
The problem was—he didn't use chakra.
One of the Hyuga Jōnin frowned.
"This guy… why isn't his chakra flowing at all?"
Byakugan could see through the human body—track chakra movement, predict attacks, and locate weaknesses.
But Simu was not bound by chakra.
He was using the power of the Devil Fruit.
And they couldn't see through that.
A smirk played on Simu's lips as he effortlessly sidestepped an incoming strike.
With a flick of his wrist—
Finger Pistol!
A burst of air shot forward. A sharp, precise impact landed on a Hyuga ninja's shoulder, sending him reeling backward.
The others hesitated for only a moment before charging forward again.
They had been conditioned since childhood—taught that the branch house existed to serve the clan.
They had no choice but to obey.
Simu, however, remained relaxed, dodging their attacks with ease.
The branch house members, deprived of the Hyuga clan's true techniques, could not match the main house in skill.
And against Simu?
They stood no chance.
One by one, he struck them down with effortless precision.
Seeing this, the Jōnin guarding Hiashi finally made his move.
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
The ground beneath him glowed with the formation of a Taiji symbol.
With his Byakugan, he could see through everything—every muscle twitch, every movement, every breath.
Simu, however, barely moved.
One strike.
Two strikes.
Four.
Eight.
The Jōnin's assault intensified.
But he hit nothing but air.
By the time he reached the sixty-fourth palm, Simu remained untouched.
Silence fell over the square.
The gathered elites of Konoha stared, their expressions shifting from amusement to shock.
A young ninja, casually evading a Hyuga Jōnin's full-strength attack?
Simu grinned and adjusted his sunglasses.
"As expected of the so-called strongest Gentle Fist in the ninja world," he said lazily. "You almost hit me that time."
The Hyuga elders' faces twisted in fury.
The attacking Jōnin roared and lunged again.
"Eight Trigrams—!"
Simu exhaled.
"Enough."
A blur of motion.
Before anyone could react—
Boom!
Simu's foot connected.
A golden explosion of light sent the Jōnin hurtling through six houses before crashing into the ground.
Silence.
The once-proud Hyuga elders could only watch in stunned disbelief.
When had Konoha gained such a terrifying monster?
Uchiha observed Simu with eyes full of appreciation.
Shimura Danzō, too, seemed cheekily intrigued.
Simu tilted his head and stared at the leader of the Hyuga clan.
"I'm curious... from the moment I started fighting, most of my opponents have been from the branch house, right?"
"The ones carrying out missions are from the branch house, and the ones dying on the battlefield are also from the branch house."
"Why?"
"Why are the members of the main family considered more noble than you?"
Simu's words plunged the branch house ninjas into silence.
For years, they had lived under the oppressive rule of the main family.
It was impossible for them not to harbor resentment.
After all, while the main family members sat comfortably, relying on the clan's resources, it was the branch house who risked their lives on missions.
And even when they returned home, they had to serve the main family like mere servants.
Even their children and grandchildren were doomed to the same fate...
They had thought of resisting, but the problem was that they had been branded with the Caged Bird Seal since childhood.
Revolt was impossible.
With just a thought from the main family, they could be put through unbearable torment.
Seeing that Simu was shaking the morale of the branch house, Hyuga Teruan finally lost his patience.
"Take him down!"
The branch house Jōnin hesitated for a moment, but the Jōnin from the main family were the first to charge forward.
Five of them.
All aiming directly at Simu.
"Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!"
Five blasts shot toward Simu at once.
Sealing off all possible escape routes.
The sheer force of their combined attack devastated half of the square.
As for the guests, they had already stepped back to a safe distance, watching the scene unfold.
All eyes were fixed on the smoke-filled battlefield.
Did that brat get obliterated in an instant?
After all, this was the combined attack of five Jōnin.
The power was comparable to an S-rank jutsu!
Uchiha in the crowd activated his Sharingan, carefully observing the battlefield.
Then—
His Sharingan twitched slightly.
From within the smoke, a flash of light shot out.
Even with his Sharingan, he could barely catch Simu's movements!
"It's really terrifying to see the main family Jōnin personally take action."
In the blink of an eye, Simu appeared right in front of the five Hyuga Jōnin.
"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
A golden glow built up around his leg.
Seeing this, one Hyuga Jōnin immediately stepped forward to block the attack.
"Eight Trigrams: Revolving Heaven!"
Using the Gentle Fist technique, he spun rapidly.
A massive surge of chakra poured out of his body, forming a high-speed, dome-like barrier.
"It's known as Konoha's strongest defense—Revolving Heaven, an absolute defense without any weaknesses!"
Many spectators recognized this signature technique of the Hyuga clan.
Since its creation, no one had ever broken it head-on!
The elders of the Hyuga clan smiled confidently.
Even if that brat was a genius, there was no way he could break through this defense.
Simu paused.
A grin spread across his face.
"Speed is power."
The way to break through this technique was simple—move faster than the chakra's rotation speed.
And unfortunately for the Hyuga clan…
Speed was Simu's specialty.
But today, Simu didn't just want to break the Hyuga clan's techniques.
He wanted to crush them.
A surge of Armament Haki spread across his leg.
Instead of striking directly, Simu shifted direction and kicked Revolving Heaven in reverse.
The moment his attack landed, a blinding golden light erupted, flooding everyone's vision.
It was like smashing a steel rod into a high-speed grinding wheel.
Sparks flew everywhere.
The only question was—
Would the grinder destroy the steel rod?
Or would the steel rod shatter the grinder?
"I'll show you what real power is!"
Simu's foot came down heavily.
As light and chakra clashed violently—
Revolving Heaven... shattered!
The protective chakra shattered into countless fragments, dispersing into the air.
Simu's kick didn't stop there.
It crashed into the Hyuga Jōnin's body.
A sickening crack echoed through the air.
No one knew how many bones had been broken by that single kick.
The Jōnin was sent flying, crashing through multiple houses before finally coming to a stop.
After finishing his attack, Simu casually put his hands back into his pockets.
Then, he turned to Hyuga Rei, who had tears in her eyes, and smiled.
"Rei, just say you don't want to get married, and I'll take you away right now."
"No one can stop me. I promise."
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