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Neji slightly bent his body, lowered his legs, with one hand forward and the other backward.
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
In an instant, his hands moved rapidly, creating countless afterimages in front of him.
"Two palms! Four palms! Eight palms! Sixteen palms!"
*Thud, thud, thud, thud...*
His index and middle fingers of both hands pressed together, continuously striking the trunk of a large tree, scattering countless wood chips.
"Thirty-two palms! Sixty-four palms!"
"How was it?" Sasuke, seeing Neji stop, walked up behind him.
"Hu..."
Neji withdrew his hands and looked at the densely packed holes on the tree, smiling in satisfaction.
"Although Sage Chakra is difficult to control, I can only use sixty-four palms for now, but it has greatly enhanced the strength of my body and the power of my Gentle Fist."
Sasuke glanced at the devastated tree and nodded. He then asked, "The Gentle Fist of the Hyuga clan excels in both offense and defense, but do they have any long-range attack techniques?"
Neji nodded, assuming a stance once again.
"Eight Trigrams Air Palm!"
Visible Chakra surged from his palm, shattering a distant rock.
Sasuke's Sharingan spun as he observed, "A straight-line attack with only one strike... it's too easy to dodge."
"That's only easy for someone with the Sharingan like you," Neji retorted as he withdrew his hand.
"Although the Byakugan and Sharingan are different, they are both Dojutsu, so perhaps there are some commonalities," Sasuke said with his arms crossed. "The strange thing is, while the Sharingan can evolve, the Byakugan cannot."
"That's not strange at all," Neji brushed off his clothes and sat on a rock. "Awakening the Sharingan is much harder than the Byakugan."
"Maybe," Sasuke replied as he sat down on another rock and took out his ninja tool pouch from his waist. "Are there members of the Hyuga clan who can't awaken the Byakugan?"
Neji gave him a strange look. "Of course, every clan has some ordinary people who can't become ninjas."
Sasuke pulled out some rations from his pouch and handed them to Neji. "I'm not talking about them."
"In that case, no. Any ordinary person who can become a ninja can awaken the Byakugan."
"By comparison, not many members of the Uchiha clan can awaken the Sharingan," Sasuke said as he took out another portion of food. "And evolving the Sharingan is even more difficult."
Neji chewed on the jerky in his mouth, feeling a bit annoyed. "Are you bragging about unlocking the Mangekyo Sharingan?"
Sasuke touched his lower eyelid, revealing the complex pattern in his eyes before suddenly breaking into a smile.
"I'm not like the Uchiha of the past."
Such a show-off.
Neji looked away. "Hmph, how are you any different?"
Sasuke shook his head, then suddenly thought of something and said, "In the past, the Uchiha needed intense emotional trauma to awaken the Mangekyo, but I didn't."
"Is it because you're exceptionally gifted?" Neji rolled his Byakugan in annoyance.
"No, it's because my uncle taught me a special secret technique," Sasuke said, looking curiously at Neji's eyes. "I wonder if you could evolve the Byakugan if you practiced that secret technique."
"There's no such thing. The Byakugan doesn't have different levels. At most, some members have purer Byakugan," Neji denied. "The branch family's Byakugan is also restricted by the Caged Bird seal."
"So, after removing your curse mark, would your talent become even stronger?" Sasuke asked with interest.
"I'm not sure," Neji shook his head. "Let's not talk about this. What are your plans next?"
Sasuke became serious. "I plan to leave the Land of Fire and search for traces of Uchiha Itachi."
"No plan at all? The ninja world is vast, where are we supposed to look?" Neji, for the umpteenth time, felt that Sasuke was unreliable.
He looks smart, but all he does is act without thinking things through.
"Don't worry," Sasuke seemed confident. "We just need to wait. My crows will gather intelligence."
"Fine." Neji was running out of patience. "You're the captain, you call the shots."
...
The next day, the two continued their journey, heading towards the Land of Rain.
As they neared the border, Konoha's border patrols suddenly became more frequent.
"This isn't going to work," Neji activated his Byakugan to observe. "The border patrols also have members of the Hyuga clan, and combined with the Inuzuka and Aburame clans, it will be very difficult to cross the border undetected."
"Plus, as your crow just reported, the pursuers aren't far behind," he turned to Sasuke. "We need to make a decision."
Sasuke stroked his chin and thought for a minute before finally saying, "Let's break through!"
"..."
Neji nearly fell off the tree. "That's impossible. There are at least a thousand soldiers stationed at this border post. If we get entangled, we won't be able to escape!"
"Are we going to ask for help again?" Sasuke grumbled. "That would make me seem too useless."
Was it really the right decision to follow this childish guy?
Neji once again regretted his choice.
Sasuke, feeling humiliated by Neji's disdainful gaze, asked angrily, "Then what do you suggest?"
I'm not getting mad!
Neji took a deep breath and finally decided. "We'll change our route. Let's head south to the coast and enter the Land of Rivers by sea."
"Fine." Sasuke raised his chin, signaling for Neji to lead the way. "You lead."
"No problem," Neji jumped ahead, "and have your crows stay alert."
"Got it." Sasuke followed closely behind.
"Tch!" Neji suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"What's wrong?"
Sasuke leapt onto the same tree.
"Bad luck. We've been spotted by members of the Hyuga clan," Neji said with a grim expression.
"Only the Hyuga?" Sasuke found it odd.
"Yes." Neji moved again. "There are only two of them. We'll confront them and defeat them quickly."
The two sides quickly closed the distance, and soon, a male and a female Hyuga appeared in Sasuke's line of sight.
"Neji!" The male youth greeted him first. "You've really caused quite a stir this time."
"Brother Shoyo, Sister Natsu." Neji looked at the two with a blank expression. "Are you here to capture me?"
"Neji, that's not a very nice thing to say," Hyuga Shoyo, who was short with a baby face, puffed his cheeks angrily at Neji.
"Brother!" Hyuga Natsu slapped the back of Shoyo's head. "This is not the time for unnecessary words!"
"Alright, alright," Shoyo said, placing his hands on his hips and grinning. "Listen up, Neji. I'm here to help you!"
"Brother Shoyo," Neji looked at him seriously. "Do you even know what you're saying?"
Hyuga Natsu pushed Shoyo aside. "Neji, it's true. After receiving the news, my brother has been happy for you."
"That's right! And little Natsu too!" Shoyo smiled brightly, without any hint of darkness. "Neji, as members of the branch family, we all have an undeniable desire for freedom. So take flight, and carry our hopes into the unknown future."
"I told you to stop saying strange things!" Natsu smacked him again. "Neji, Sasuke, follow us. We'll cover for you to cross the border!"