The original Narutoverse might have portrayed Hyuga clan members as a stoic, calm, and patient bunch with an aloof noble aura.
But in reality, they were some of the most arrogant ninjas, especially Hyuga ninjas who came from the Main family lineage of this clan.
The arrogance and a natural sense of superiority were deeply ingrained in their bones.
Naturally, it was the result of their noble class system, upbringing, a Dojutsu that could see through all obstacles, innately superior chakra control, and subconscious pride in their clan-specific techniques.
So, if someone looked down on their clan techniques or their Dojutsu, Byakugan, it would naturally make their blood boil.
Especially if the one who mocked them was someone from the Uchiha clan.
The clan the Hyuga ninjas had feared, envied, and hated.
Since the founding of the Shinobi clans tens of thousands of years ago, people would often compare their Byakugan with the Uchiha clan's prized Dojutsu, Sharingan.
And more often than not, they declared Sharingan to be way superior to Byakugan when it came to direct combat.
Sure, Byakugan had a 360° field of vision, X-ray vision, the ability to perceive and see chakra flow and chakra network, and long-range vision.
There was no doubt that Byakugan was far superior to Sharingan when it came to reconnaissance, giving the Hyuga clan members great survivability and tactical advantage.
But in direct combat, Uchiha clan ninjas who had awakened Sharingan could wipe the floor with them.
Unless an extreme prodigy appeared among the Hyuga clan ninjas, engaging with Uchiha clan members in close combat was nothing short of madness.
With Sharingan's insight, copying, Genjutsu capabilities, and heightened perception, Uchiha clan members could deal fast, deadly, and decisive strikes from countless unnatural angles, making it difficult for their opponents to defend against them in melee combat.
You wanted to fight a Uchiha head-on?
Then you would need to be ready to be played to death by them.
To mitigate these weaknesses, the ancestors of the Hyuga clan worked tirelessly to create numerous clan-specific techniques that perfectly complemented their Byakugan.
With the Gentle Fist Technique, Eight Trigrams techniques, and all other derivative techniques that most people without Byakugan just couldn't match or copy, the Hyuga clan became a formidable Shinobi clan.
Even if they had a few disadvantages, at least they could fight and pressure the Uchiha clan ninjas to retreat every now and then.
But their confidence and hope were still crushed by the next evolution of the Sharingan—Mangekyo Sharingan.
Those formidable eyes and their ultimate ocular techniques crushed the Hyuga clan's ambitions of becoming the number one Dojutsu clan.
In front of Mangekyo Sharingan's ocular techniques and Susanoo, the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist and the power of their Byakugan became nothing but fragile clay, something that could be easily obliterated.
But what could they do?
They could only suffer the defeat and experience the humiliation. And this humiliation and the sense of defeat had been passed on through countless generations.
And Hyuga Itsuki, the current young Hyuga prodigy, was no different.
So, when he heard the little Uchiha girl in front of him mockingly question his combat capabilities, seething rage and resentment bubbled up from his very being like an erupting volcano.
The stories of his ancestors' humiliation and defeat at the hands of Uchiha surfaced in his mind.
Hyuga Itsuki wanted nothing but to charge forward and beat her enough to make her hospitalized for at least half a month.
But it seemed that it wouldn't be possible.
As a result, Hyuga Itsuki was forced to take a deep breath and calm his nerves. He was a ninja, and he naturally knew that recklessness wouldn't get him anywhere.
If anything, acting recklessly would only bring him defeat.
So, he forcefully calmed his own mind and began to make a plan to strike Uchiha Reina and take her out.
After all, in a battle between Shinobi, patience was the virtue. As long as he could find his opponent's weakness and land a solid strike, the victory would ultimately be his.
If only he could freely spam explosive tags, it would have been perfect.
But unfortunately, it was banned in this tournament.
What a waste!
But now was not the time to lament.
Thinking this far, he focused on Uchiha Reina with his Byakugan active.
No opening.
No fucking opening at all.
How the hell are these Uchiha clan lunatics training nowadays?
Shit…never mind.
If there is no opening, I will just have to create one.
Let's go!
Hyuga Itsuki finished his internal monologue and took a special stance.
He bent his right knee, pushing it backward away from his body while stepping forward with his left leg, bending it to create a 90° angle at his knee.
Next, he placed his left hand toward his right across his left knee, pointing it to the ground. Meanwhile, he straightened his right hand and pushed it backward while pointing it diagonally toward the sky.
Any Konoha ninja worth their salt would recognize this peculiar yet special stance.
It was the Eight Trigrams stance that could initiate quite a few deadly secret techniques of the Hyuga clan.
Hyuga Itsuki's Byakugan was brimming with intense ocular power. His body tensed, radiating wisps of chakra from his palms and fingers.
He was ready to launch an all-out assault.
The crowd in the stands was silent at this moment. They did not want to miss it. They could feel it. Something absolutely amazing and devastating was about to happen.
The Hyuga clan ninjas' pure white eyes gleamed with excitement, anticipating the technique their young master, Itsuki, was about to launch.
The other Konoha Shinobi, witnessing this, also cranked their necks with curiosity.
However, Uchiha Reina watched her opponent pull the stance in a high-profile manner with a blank expression on her face.
Bro, you're just going to initiate the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, aren't you?
It's just one of the most common Eight Trigrams offensive techniques under the Gentle Fist Taijutsu.
Is it really necessary to go through all this drama and laborious stance just to perform this technique?
Even the kids from the Otsutsuki clan with the lowest bloodline purity could have thrashed you ten times over with their own version of the Gentle Fist technique, which was far deadlier than the Gentle Fist Taijutsu of the Hyuga clan here.
And that devastating Gentle Fist Taijutsu was one of their basic close combat techniques.
Oh boy, the future of the Hyuga clan seems bleak. Truly bleak.
Whatever.
Let's end this boring match.
Hmm…I really want to eat some tasty home-cooked meat curry tonight.
As Reina's thoughts drifted from complaining about the Hyuga clan techniques to the tasty dishes and treats, she couldn't help but wipe away the imaginary drool flowing out of her mouth.
However, before she could eat heavenly treats, she had to knock this Itsuki guy out.
He was standing between her and her tasty dishes, after all.
Could she tolerate it?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
So, Hyuga Itsuki had to die…*cough* *cough*...she meant he had to be eliminated from this match quickly.
With this newfound motivation, Uchiha Reina glared at Itsuki with her glowing, crimson Sharingan.
Meanwhile, Hyuga Itsuki suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of chill, which almost caused his stance to falter.
Is someone cursing me right now?
Which bastard is it?
Nevermind. Focusing on defeating her is more important now.
With this thought, he tightened his stance even more, as if he was coiling his body like a spring, ready to launch at a moment's notice.
The final round of battle between Uchiha Reina and Hyuga Itsuki was about to begin.
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