Minato said mysteriously, "I heard that fifth-grade students are going to graduate early..." A longing expression filled his face. Becoming a real ninja was what he had always dreamed of!
Hirito was startled. Did even Minato know? A major event like the early graduation of the entire grade couldn't be concealed for long; it was only a matter of time before everyone found out.
"Ah! Shikaku told me; it's true," Hirito confirmed.
"So Shikaku-senpai has already told you!" Minato exclaimed, as if that explained everything. "No wonder you're not surprised..."
"I wonder if we have a chance to graduate early?!"
Hirito looked at Minato's excited expression and shook his head slightly. Sighing softly, he said, "Graduating early... this is not a good thing."
"Under what circumstances do you think Hokage-sama would agree to graduate the entire grade early?" Hirito asked.
Minato thought for a moment. "When there aren't enough people."
Hirito pressed on, "Why are there not enough people?"
Minato hesitated. "This..."
After all, he was just a civilian ninja, and his access to information was limited. Unlike Hirito and the Hyuga clan, who had their own elders to provide insights.
"Because a large number of ninjas have been dispatched," a soft female voice intervened.
"Nonō..."
Yakushi glanced at Hirito imperceptibly and then expressed his opinion. "When I was shopping for groceries recently, I noticed that the prices of various commodities were rising... In addition, there are a large number of ninjas dispatched in the village, and there are also senior students graduating early... Classmate Hirito..."
Nonō lowered her voice. "Is a war about to break out?"
Boom!
Minato's eyes suddenly widened. "War??"
Minato stared at Hirito, eager to get a negative answer from him. "Hirito, is it true...?"
As an orphan, Minato didn't like the idea of war. In his heart, war would only bring pain and tears—and more orphans. In that moment, he and Nonō could empathize.
Hirito glanced at Nonō and suddenly realized that the soft girl who had been bullied on campus a few years ago had become much more capable now. "Nonō, is this the judgment skill you developed in the analysis class?"
Though Hirito didn't answer directly, he acknowledged Minato with words of approval and appreciation.
"Is war... really coming?" Minato lowered his head and whispered, slightly absent-minded.
When Yakushi heard his judgment confirmed by Hirito, he bit his lower lip tightly and looked distressed. Seeing their expressions, Hirito patted their shoulders to comfort them.
"Okay! Stop making such sad faces. If the sky falls, there will still be tall people holding it up! At times like this, feeling sorry for yourself is useless. Only by practicing hard can you protect yourself and the people you care about in the coming turmoil."
Namikaze Minato was a boy full of vitality. After being pulled from his gloom by Hirito's words, a smile like a little sun brightened his face again. To protect the people you care about...
Minato glanced slightly, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of red outside the window.
After school, Hirito sent Hyuga hirika home. But instead of continuing to practice Gentle Fist with her, the Great Elder called Hirito over.
He looked Hirito up and down carefully. "Kenjiro has already told me about your situation..."
The Great Elder's vague words confused Hirito.
"I heard that you have mastered [Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm]. Show it to me."
"Right here?"
After the Great Elder nodded with empty eyes, Hirito looked around and saw only a pond in the courtyard. He pointed to the rockery in the center of the pond and asked if it could be struck.
After getting consent, Hirito pressed out with a distant palm, gently and slowly. The condensed chakra gathered into an invisible palm force, emptying the air in front of him.
"Boom!"
The rockery only shook slightly and did not explode as the Great Elder had imagined. He looked disappointed.
"This..." The Great Elder thought Hirito was unfamiliar with the [Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm]. This technique is a long-range attack unique to the Hyuga clan. The key is to release a high-intensity and high-density chakra shockwave at the moment the palm is released.
Just as he was about to wave Hirito back, the Great Elder's hand stopped mid-air. He stared closely at the rockery, fearing that he had seen it wrong. He got up and walked to the edge of the pond with a cane.
"This is... an empty palm?!"
He saw an obvious mark in the central area of the rockery stone. This mark was clearly the shape of a palm. Although the impressions were not deep and the outline of the palm was not very clear, the shape of the five fingers could not be faked.
The Great Elder looked deeply at the palm mark, as if it held great significance. After a while, he withdrew his gaze and looked at Hirito with newfound respect.
"You are very good!... A [Empty Palm] that can create such palm-shaped marks is more difficult than breaking several trees at once. One is a rough release, and the other represents enough condensation and refinement."
Hirito smiled slightly. "Thank you, Great Elder, for the compliment."
When he learned the [Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm], he was inspired by this long-range technique using chakra. In his past life, all kinds of flashy magic tricks came to his mind—like waving a palm to summon eighteen golden dragons or having a giant Buddha palm fall from the sky...
Just thinking about it filled him with excitement!
Therefore, Hirito spent a lot of time practicing [Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm], and his progress was promising. After all, this technique essentially depended on the practitioner's control over their chakra.
Hirito's primary goal with [Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm] was to make a clear palm print and then implement some variations.
(End of the Chapter).
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