allendalepharm Chapter 93 Steel and Soft Fist
Chapter 93 Steel and Soft Fist
Chapter 93 Steel and Soft Fist
Seven days later.
The isolation room in the basement.
Hinata Katsu woke up.
He felt like he had slept for many years. In his dream, he became a skinned frog, tossed into a rolling drum filled with sharp knives.
Pain. Pain that goes deep into your bones.
But he was used to pain. As a member of a branch family, he received rigorous training in Gentle Fist from a young age, and the activation of the cursed seal gave him an amazing tolerance for pain.
"woke up?"
Chiba is changing his dressing.
He looked at the wound on Hyuga Katsu's back.
The healing speed was astonishing. The deep incision that exposed bone is now just a pale pink scar.
Moreover, the scar was very hard. It didn't feel like flesh; it felt more like a thin layer of bone.
"Can I move again?"
Hyuga Masaru's voice was hoarse. He was afraid that when he woke up, he would still be a cripple.
"Let's try it, Naoki."
Hyuga Katsu took a deep breath.
He moved his fingers. He did.
There's no sluggishness, no delay. It's even more flexible than before.
He lifted his leg. The thigh, which had atrophied for two months, was now full of power. Although the muscles hadn't fully grown back, the bones seemed to be filled with molten iron, steady and strong.
He sat up.
A series of rapid popping sounds came from his spine.
Click, click, click. The sound wasn't like joints popping; it sounded more like metal snapping together.
"I'm... all better?"
Hyuga Katsu looked at his hands.
He clenched his fist.
A creak. The finger bones groaned.
He felt his bones change. They became heavier, harder, and more—eager for battle.
"Byakugan, activate!"
He instinctively rolled his eyes.
Previously, when I activated the Byakugan, the veins at the corners of my eyes would bulge out; that was a side effect of chakra being forcibly injected into my optic nerve.
But now, there are no visible veins. Or rather, the veins have been suppressed.
A layer of grayish-white bone membrane emerged beneath the skin at the corner of his eye.
This membrane protects the blood vessels and also restrains the rampage of chakra.
The perspective has changed.
Previously, the white eye's field of vision had a tiny cone-shaped blind spot behind the cervical spine.
This blind spot is a limitation imposed on the white eye by the structural defects of the ordinary human body.
Normally, this deficiency is not obvious, and the Hyuga clan can make up for it with powerful taijutsu (such as the Rotation Technique) or chakra perception.
Now, in Hyuga Masaru's field of vision, this blind spot has been filled. His Byakugan has achieved a 360-degree all-around perspective!
"Is this... the legendary, flawless white eye of our ancestor?"
Hyuga Katsu touched the corner of his eye, his fingertips brushing against the hardened skin.
At that moment, Sosuke pushed open the door and entered. He was holding two iron shards in his hand.
"Congratulations, Mr. Sheng. You made it through."
Hyuga Katsu looked at Sousuke.
His eyes were complicated.
Gratitude? Resentment? Awe?
There are.
This man pulled him back from hell and transformed him into a monster.
"What am I now?" Hinata Katsu asked.
"You are Hyuga Masaru."
Sosuke walked to the bedside.
"However, there is a bit more Kaguya clan blood in your bones."
"Your nervous system has been remodeled. Not only has it recovered, but also—"
Sosuke suddenly made his move.
A metal bullet was smashed directly into Hyuga Masaru's face.
There was no murderous intent, but the speed was extremely fast.
Snapped.
Hyuga Katsu raised his hand and firmly grasped the iron dart.
There was no thought, no anticipation. It was purely a physical reaction.
"Reaction speed has improved by 30%."
Chiba was recording the data.
"Moreover, bone density has increased threefold. With this level of hardness, ordinary kunai can no longer pierce your skin."
"Although you can't manipulate bones like the Kaguya clan, or extract bones to use as weapons, your defensive capabilities are already a nightmare for taijutsu ninjas."
Hyuga Katsu looked at the iron dagger in his hand.
He squeezed it with a little force.
Squeak. He actually managed to crush a fingerprint into that solid steel bladder.
This power—
"Where's the caged bird?"
Hyuga Masaru suddenly asked the most crucial question.
He touched his forehead. It was still wrapped in bandages.
"It's still there."
Sosuke spoke the truth.
"That curse mark is etched into the cerebral cortex. We can't undo it."
Hinata Masaru's eyes dimmed for a moment.
"but----"
Sosuke then changed the subject.
"Due to the increased density of your skull, and the formation of a special protective layer of bone around the brain nerves —"
"The effect of the cursed seal has been weakened."
"weaken?"
"Yes," Chiba explained. "In the past, when the main family activated their cursed seal, it could instantly destroy your brain nerves and kill you."
"But now, that destructive chakra will be partially blocked by your periosteum."
"You will still feel pain, and you will lose your fighting ability. But—you won't die easily."
"Unless they increase their chakra output tenfold and burn through your skull."
"3
Hyuga Masaru was stunned.
They are not easy to die from.
This means that the execution switch that was always hanging over our heads, although still there, is not as effective anymore.
This is an immense freedom for families to separate.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Hyuga Masaru suddenly laughed.
I laughed so hard that tears streamed down my face.
"Great—so great—"
He got out of bed and stood barefoot on the floor.
"Mr. Sosuke."
Hyuga Katsu knelt on one knee.
For ninjas, this is the highest level of courtesy.
"From this day forward, my life no longer belongs to the Hyuga main family. It belongs to you."
Sousuke helped him up.
"I don't need slaves. I need allies."
"And your brother is still fighting desperately on the front lines."
When Hyuga Yu was mentioned, Masaru's eyes instantly sharpened.
"Courage—"
"He went to the front lines to die in your place in order to save you."
"This is the latest battle report."
"On the front lines of the Land of Rivers, a reconnaissance team from the Hyuga clan was ambushed by Iwagakure. They suffered heavy casualties."
"Yong's third squad has lost contact."
The paper in Hyuga Masaru's hand was crushed into pieces.
"I'm going to the land of rivers."
"Don't act impulsively."
Sosuke stopped him.
"Your current status is that of a bedridden cripple. But the main branch of the Konoha clan may come to check on you at any time, and if they discover you've left Konoha, they will immediately activate the cursed seal—"
Hyuga Masaru clenched his fists, but there was nothing he could do.
"Stay in the village, become stronger, and you will win."
"Your chakra is stronger now than before, so it's time to upgrade your Gentle Fist technique."
Hyuga Katsumi calmed down.
"clear."
"I will become stronger and achieve a higher status in the village and within the Hyuga clan."
Sosuke nodded and left the room.
He was in a good mood.
This experiment brought in a loyal ally, and more importantly, it verified his hypothesis.
Bloodlines can be merged.
"Since Kaguya's bones can be fused into Hyuga's body—"
"Then, what about the other forces?"
"For example—the life force of the Uzumaki clan? Or—"
His thoughts drifted further afield. That was a taboo subject in Konoha.
The cells of Hashirama Senju.
That is, Wood Release.
Of course, neither of these two experimental materials are currently available to him.
The number of known survivors of the Uzumaki clan is very small.
As for the Hashirama cells, Orochimaru was researching this project at the time, and it would take a long time before he could achieve results.
Hyuga Masaru's recovery speed is astonishing.
His bone marrow veins contained "growth hormones" in their genes. A day later, he was fully recovered.
Right now, when Hyuga Masaru stands there, he looks like a piece of granite wrapped in human skin.
The training ground in the backyard.
Matt Day, having a rare moment of free time, came here.
"Come on, hit me."
He waved to Hyuga Masaru.
"Use your strongest move!"
Hyuga Katsu didn't hold back.
He adopted a soft fist stance. But his starting position changed.
It was no longer that ethereal, flowing posture. His center of gravity was very low, and his spine was like a taut bow.
Boom! A palm strike was unleashed.
A muffled sonic boom suddenly erupted in the air.
That wasn't the sound of chakra. That was the vibration caused by physical force compressing the air.
Matt blocked with his arms crossed.
boom!
Dai was actually forced back half a step by this palm strike.
"It's so heavy!"
Dai shook his slightly numb arm, a look of surprise in his eyes.
"This isn't gentle fist! This is a hammer!"
The ordinary Gentle Fist involves injecting chakra into the enemy's pressure points, causing internal injuries.
However, Hyuga Katsu's current palm technique involves injecting chakra while simultaneously using his steel-like finger and palm bones to directly shatter the enemy's bones.
Internal injuries plus external injuries. A double blow.
"This is called — Steel-Soft Fist."
Hyuga Katsuya withdrew his palm and exhaled a breath of stale air.
His face flushed red from the rush of blood and qi.
"A side effect is an increase in body temperature."
Chiba was recording the data on the side.
"The bone marrow is producing blood too quickly, causing an overheated metabolism. It can't sustain this for long."
"However, as an assault soldier, he is absolutely terrifying."
Sosuke stood on the second-floor balcony, watching the sparring match below.
very satisfied.
He was gaining more and more power.
Might Guy, a master of physical combat; Kaori Kotsuki, a master of weapon-wielding swordsmanship; and now, there's the steel-willed Katsuyuki Hyuga.
Add to that the violent maniac, Serrated.
This setup is comparable to a Jonin squad.
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