CHAPTER 239: CHAPTER 239: ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-EIGHT PALMS — THE CONCEPTUAL JUTSU SCAM

"Hiashi-senpai, you and I are both straightforward people, so I’ll just say it—now that the Main House has the Caged Bird Seal, why cling so tightly to secret techniques and keep them from the Branch House? And more importantly, have you never thought about creating stronger techniques?"

"Like integrating Air Palm more seamlessly into Gentle Fist, or evolving the Sixty-Four Palms into One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms."

"Isn’t the Main House supposed to have purer bloodlines?"

"Uh..." Kyoichi’s words left Hiashi at a loss for a response. In the end, he simply bowed deeply and left the Forest of Death without a word. Once outside...

He actually felt a wave of relief.

Thank goodness he hadn’t used "letting the Hyūga attend the Academy" as a bargaining chip for Kyoichi’s help.

Because...

Joining the Academy brought both advantages and disadvantages for the Hyūga. Konoha had made no move to pressure them, instead leaving the choice entirely up to the clan—whether they joined or not was "up to them."

If he had made a big show of it, it would’ve been seen as a veiled threat to Konoha—and more importantly, to Kanda Kyoichi. If that happened, not only would Kyoichi refuse to help, he might even quietly set plans in motion against the Hyūga.

Inclusion. Innovation.

Kyoichi was right.

Gentle Fist wasn’t a fixed "form." It was a philosophy. Any taijutsu or ninjutsu that could integrate into Gentle Fist could—and should—be used.

Only by constantly evolving could the Hyūga fighting style grow stronger.

Upon returning to the clan compound, Hiashi didn’t share his decision with Hizashi.

Instead, the next day, he summoned all jonin from both the Main and Branch Houses for a meeting.

Lately, Hizashi had been entirely preoccupied with his unborn child, and had little interest in clan politics. But with Hiashi personally summoning everyone—

He had no choice but to attend.

"You’ve gathered us... is this about the Academy?" someone asked.

"That’s part of it," Hiashi nodded.

He scanned the room.

None of the Branch House members seemed surprised, but among the Main House, besides Hiashi himself, there was only one elder—an esteemed and influential figure. He was the one Hiashi worried about most.

If that elder opposed him, the plan might fall apart.

Hiashi mentally went over his strategy before speaking in a calm voice:

"First, I want to inform everyone that going forward, our clan members will attend the Academy like other children in the village, following the standard curriculum. Of course—"

"Training in Gentle Fist and our clan’s secret techniques must not be neglected."

He paused to observe their reactions.

The elder said nothing.

Instead, Hizashi stepped forward and looked around, then asked:

"At present, the Academy only requires students to eat lunch on campus, but that could change in the future. If three full meals or even boarding becomes mandatory, how will we maintain training?"

Each generation of the Main House typically produced only one heir. Extras were rare—just a handful in Hyūga history.

Because of this...

Main House members enjoyed significant privileges. Even the Academy’s system might not fully apply to them. But the Branch House? They had to abide by both village and clan rules.

Hizashi wanted clarity on this now.

"Mm, that’s a fair concern. If the Academy does eventually require boarding, then clan training can be conducted during off-hours."

"Wait a minute!"

The Main House elder suddenly stood up, eyes fixed on Hiashi.

"Clan Head—won’t training at the Academy put our techniques at risk of being copied?"

"You think our clan’s core is the fighting style itself? The movements?"

Hiashi shook his head. "No. It’s our Byakugan. That’s what allows us to see chakra pathways, to strike acupoints, to shut down someone’s chakra."

"...So you mean we no longer need to guard our secrets? But we’re a noble clan—"

The elder clearly disagreed.

Even though most outsiders couldn’t learn Gentle Fist just by watching, he still believed it was improper. That it could hurt the clan’s prestige.

Hiashi narrowed his eyes and said,

"Elder... Konoha is changing. The Hyūga must change too. Otherwise, one day, we’ll fall behind. We’re a great clan now, but that won’t last forever."

"Who filled your head with this fearmongering?"

"It’s not fearmongering. Let me ask everyone here—who among you can defeat Kanda Kyoichi? The Third Raikage? Or... Namikaze Minato?"

His tone was even.

Kyoichi was now a rising star—not just in Konoha, but in the entire shinobi world. No one dared challenge him.

The Third Raikage might be dead, but his battlefield record was legendary.

And as for Minato...

Some in the room believed they stood a chance—but Hizashi, a veteran of the front lines, knew better.

"If not for Kyoichi’s meteoric rise, Minato would’ve been hailed as the strongest of his generation. Maybe some of you don’t know him well, but he uses a jutsu that lets him teleport instantly—and he’s mastered it."

Hizashi’s words made the room go quiet.

Perfect teleportation.

That was just ridiculous!

Even if you mastered Gentle Fist and its chakra-disabling strikes, you’d never even touch someone like that.

The room fell into an awkward silence.

"This is the so-called ’strongest clan in Konoha’? To be honest, I don’t think we have much to be proud of," Hiashi said bluntly. "The legendary Hyūga prodigy—Tennin—has never reappeared among our descendants. Has anyone ever wondered why?"

His expression turned stern.

Now came the real reason he had called them all here—

Hiashi was about to lift the restrictions on certain Main House-exclusive techniques.

But...

He couldn’t just say it outright. That would cause immediate backlash—especially from that Main House elder. He had long been a thorn in Hiashi’s plans, keeping him in check.

This time, Hiashi would use the village’s momentum to finally tip the scale.

"We are descended from Tennin. We once shone brightly. And now, haven’t you noticed? With the Uchiha clan constantly in turmoil... we Hyūga have stepped into the spotlight."

That was the key.

He looked at the elder—his message was clear.

If they didn’t join the Academy? They’d be defying the village. And the consequences?

The Uchiha had already demonstrated that perfectly.

Was the Hyūga going to make the same mistake?

Silence.

Hizashi lowered his head and avoided the conversation entirely.

He could sense it—Hiashi had a deeper motive today. And it was something even he, the Branch House’s nominal leader, couldn’t afford to get involved in lightly.

"Clan Head, are you saying—?"

"Main House and Branch House shinobi will all study at the Academy. And I also plan to lift the restriction on the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms."

"That’s outrageous!"

The elder shot to his feet.

Eyes wide in shock, he glared at Hiashi and snapped,

"The founder made it clear—only the Main House is allowed to learn the Sixty-Four Palms!"

"That’s because the founder only created Sixty-Four Palms," Hiashi replied calmly. "As for me—I’ve already mastered One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms."

"...What?"

Gasps filled the room.

One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms?

How was that possible!?

The elder’s mouth hung open in disbelief. For a long moment, he couldn’t even form words. Eventually, his voice trembled:

"Is... is that really true?"

"The Sixty-Four Palms targets sixty-four primary acupoints. But the human body has far more than that. Many are simply invisible to the average eye. The One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms is based on that."

Hiashi spoke with quiet confidence.

As he spoke, he stepped forward and touched a single acupoint on the elder—one not included in the traditional Sixty-Four Palms.

While sealing these minor points didn’t shut off chakra entirely, they were fragile parts of the body. Striking them disrupted chakra flow and caused internal injury.

Hiashi’s personal demonstration left the room speechless.

So it was true...

Hiashi had developed the One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms?

Incredible.

The Branch House jonin exchanged stunned glances, their eyes lighting up with barely concealed excitement.

The Sixty-Four Palms was already vastly more powerful than the Thirty-Two Palms. If that technique were unsealed, they might finally have a shot at learning high-level Gentle Fist.

Whether on the battlefield or on missions, their odds of survival would increase dramatically.

"Well?" Hiashi asked.

"...I... I have no objections," the elder mumbled.

As Hiashi had said, the original restriction existed to preserve the authority of the Main House. But now that Hiashi had created the One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms, there was no longer any point in opposing it.

"...This meeting is adjourned."

Hiashi stood up and left with his hands clasped behind his back.

Hizashi bowed to the elder before following. But after a few steps, he caught up with Hiashi.

"Clan Head—"

"Drop the formality, Hizashi."

"...Right. But... did you really master the One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms?"

Hizashi lowered his voice.

He wasn’t that far behind Hiashi in strength. Most techniques Hiashi learned, he’d shared with Hizashi. But this One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms? Hizashi had never even heard of it.

Hiashi gave a faint smile and said:

"Hizashi... I’ve realized something. Our ancestors left us these techniques not so we would cling to them, but so we would inherit and evolve them."

"And not just the Eight Trigrams. I’ll create a better version of Rotation, too—and eventually, I’ll lift that restriction as well."

He didn’t say it outright, but his intentions were clear.

Others might take this as mere bravado or a rousing speech to motivate Hizashi—but as his twin brother, Hizashi understood.

Hiashi didn’t know the One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms at all.

Right now, it was just a conceptual jutsu—an imaginary Gentle Fist technique.

A complete scam.

But the outcome of this "scam" was that the Branch House would finally be allowed to learn the more advanced Sixty-Four Palms.

So...

Understanding his brother’s true intent, Hizashi felt a surge of complicated emotions. He didn’t know what had given Hiashi such unwavering resolve—to unseal the Sixty-Four Palms, and possibly even Rotation in the future.

Was he planning to overturn the entire Hyūga system?

That thought flashed across Hizashi’s mind. He froze where he stood, stunned.

By the time he snapped out of it, Hiashi had already disappeared into the distance—as if he had never stopped walking at all.

***************************

Read advanced Chapters ahead of everyone else on my P@treon.

P@treon/GodDragcell

100+ powerstones for 1 extra Chapter!