Chapter 44: The Soft Target—Hyūga Natsu
"By the way, is Samui not back yet?"
Yukiya Yasukawa shook his head and replied, "She took Atsui out. It might be a while before they return."
"Fine, but tell her not to come back so late next time," muttered Samodo with a frown.
There was only half an hour left before closing, and it was obvious Samui would once again arrive just before the shop shut down—deliberately dragging it out so Atsui could get more accustomed to life in Konoha.
…
Not long after Yukiya left, Seiji could feel the prying eyes gradually fading away.
He didn't like being watched.
Last time, no one spied on him because Samui had been present—but this time, she wasn't.
"Sorry to trouble you, Seiji."
Hyūga Natsu sat down, her slender fingers tucking a strand of short, dark green hair behind her ear as she patiently waited for the squid sushi to be prepared.
This shop prided itself on freshness—the squid was killed and served on the spot, so there was always a short wait.
Seiji sat down across from her, raising his eyes to study this girl—a side character who had only briefly appeared in the original work.
"Hyūga Natsu, I've heard that the Hyūga clan has a main family and a branch family system. Is that true?"
He brought it up casually.
The Hyūga clan's structure was strict: members of the main family weren't marked, while the branch family members were branded with the Caged Bird Seal—a curse mark that could be activated at any time, allowing the main house to kill a branch member with a mere thought.
Being born into the branch family was essentially a life sentence.
Natsu paused briefly, then nodded.
"Yes."
Her voice was calm, nearly emotionless. As her dark green hair swayed slightly, it revealed her forehead, wrapped in a silk ribbon.
It wasn't a secret—many in the village knew about it.
But so what?
No one could change it.
She just hoped the squid sushi would be ready soon. After this, she still had to buy some sweets.
Maybe if she got home early, she wouldn't be scolded.
"I see."
Seiji nodded thoughtfully.
The world of Naruto seemed to promote rebellion against fate—but at its core, it was deeply fated.
The son of a hero became a hero. The son of a savior became a savior. And the child of a sacrifice… remained a sacrifice.
Naruto always talked about effort and forging your own path—refusing to believe in fate or the heavens.
But in reality, he was one of the greatest beneficiaries of fate—and never realized it.
Not until Neji's dying words.
It was in that moment that the boomerang Naruto had thrown during the Chūnin Exams finally came back and struck him.
Even during Naruto's era as the Seventh Hokage, the Caged Bird Seal still remained.
"So, Hyūga Natsu—would you be willing to spar with me in taijutsu?"
"...Me?"
Natsu blinked in surprise.
She remembered Seiji was near the top of the class academically. He hadn't been at the Academy long, but his performance had quickly set him apart.
Compared to him, her talent felt painfully lacking.
"I've always been curious about Gentle Fist. A little sparring won't hurt, right?"
Seiji smiled.
Of course, the real reason was to see if he could trigger a trait, and in these things, you always started with the easiest target.
Hyūga Natsu's skill level was... average at best.
He didn't know any other Hyūga well enough to ask. And with exams coming soon, he couldn't afford to wait for the next class reshuffle.
He was applying to graduate early next month.
There was nothing more to gain at the Academy—they'd already taught all the basic E-rank jutsu.
The first few years focused on fundamentals. Every term, one of the Three Basic Techniques was tested, followed by a final graduation exam.
Seiji had no reason to stick around. Once he started real missions, he'd gain access to far more useful jutsu.
"Well… okay. But it's a bit cramped in here. Let's go outside after this."
Natsu looked around.
If Seiji hadn't been a regular here, they wouldn't have even gotten the sushi tonight. It felt wrong to just leave.
After hearing Hyūga Natsu's reply, Seiji waited patiently.
Roughly ten minutes later, Yukiya Yasukawa brought over a boxed set—the squid sushi they had ordered.
The two of them left the shop and found an open area nearby.
Maybe because she needed to get back soon, Natsu walked quickly.
The evening air was cold and biting as the two stood at the center of the clearing.
"Alright… I'll begin now."
Natsu clearly wanted to get this over with quickly.
Seiji nodded.
In the next instant, veins bulged near the corners of Natsu's eyes as chakra surged into the tenketsu system linked to her vision.
"So much chakra… and…"
Through her Byakugan's penetrating gaze, Natsu could clearly see the flow of Seiji's chakra network—and the faint current of electricity radiating beneath his skin.
Her pale white eyes locked onto him, able to see his internal organs as if they were laid bare.
"He's channeling lightning under the skin to temper his body?"
Natsu was stunned.
This had to be some kind of specialized nin-taijutsu.
His control over Lightning Release chakra was on a completely different level.
At the Academy, she had never seen anyone train their body like this.
Lightning was dangerous. Mishandling it could burn the skin—or worse, destroy the chakra pathways entirely.
She recalled a taijutsu monster: Might Guy.
Even someone like Guy, who lived and breathed taijutsu, trained using more traditional means.
But Seiji—his method was something else entirely.
Normally, the Hyūga clan avoided using the Byakugan to observe others. Doing so was considered highly disrespectful—almost a challenge.
If they weren't sparring right now, she likely would never have learned any of this.
"Don't get distracted during a fight."
Seiji channeled chakra to his feet and suddenly burst forward.
Natsu quickly shifted into a Gentle Fist stance, trying to intercept his attack.
Like most members of the Hyūga clan, she relied primarily on Gentle Fist—rarely using ninjutsu or genjutsu, and even less so with ninja tools.
That's why their Gentle Fist training began early and progressed systematically.
Thud!
Natsu blocked Seiji's straight punch with her forearm, but before she could recover, he pivoted and struck with an elbow.
She immediately leapt back, chakra jetting from her fingertips, forming fine chakra threads that shimmered like a translucent membrane.
Seiji narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched his opponent give it her all—but inwardly, he felt at ease.
Natsu was purely on the defensive.
Her Gentle Fist was clearly the most basic form of the style.
Just as he thought—soft targets are the best to hit.
Now the only question was whether it would trigger a trait unlock.
Had she been using advanced techniques like Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms or Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, things would have been much harder for him.
But unfortunately, Natsu was from the branch family. Her talent was mediocre, and she hadn't been allowed to learn the more advanced family techniques.
Those secret arts required either exceptional talent—or they were never taught at all.
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