Hyūga Mori, grandson of the Hyūga Clan's Great Elder, was a member of the Main House and had never gotten along with Satori Hyūga.
He once declared within the clan that Satori had betrayed their heritage by creating the useless New Gentle Fist style and urged everyone not to learn it.
He had also criticized Satori multiple times, attempting to provoke conflict, but Satori always ignored him.
His hostility mainly stemmed from jealousy over Satori's extraordinary talent and resentment toward Satori passing down the refined Gentle Fist techniques to members of the Branch House—whom he held in deep contempt.
To him, Branch House members were little more than servants.
Even if they learned the Gentle Fist, it should have been limited only to the basic sixteen-palm technique.
Yet now, Satori had gone so far as to hand over advanced combat techniques to those lowly Branch House members. That made him extremely angry.
How could Main House secrets be given to inferior Branch House members?
Today, while the Clan Leader and elders were in session, he caught wind of this and immediately brought a group to confront Satori.
"Hyūga Mori, what do you think you're doing?" Satori asked with an indifferent expression.
As for this fool, Satori had always looked down on him.
The fates of the Main and Branch Houses were intertwined, yet this man failed to grasp that.
When it came to the growing rift between the Main House and Branch House, Mori had played a significant part in widening it.
That was all due to the Caged Bird Seal.
When one controlled the lives of others, power had a way of clouding one's judgment, breeding arrogance and conceit.
"Satori Hyūga, bringing two outsiders onto Hyūga grounds—could you be trying to leak family secrets?"
Mori spoke arrogantly, yet he wasn't completely foolish—he immediately hurled an accusation at Satori.
After all, they were both Main House members; if he wanted to teach Satori a lesson, he needed at least some justification.
"Check yourself if you've got problems. Stop wasting my time," replied Satori coldly without giving Mori any face.
"You're always fishing for attention. If it weren't for your grandfather being the Great Elder, I'd have kicked your ass by now."
Satori didn't hold back at all.
Since training in the Feeding-Back Jutsu 2.0, both his chakra reserves and strength had increased significantly.
He no longer feared someone only four years older than him.
Upon hearing Satori's words, Mori burst out laughing.
"Kick my ass? With that ridiculous New Gentle Fist of yours?" Mori folded his arms, sneering.
"Let me tell you—our thousand-year-old Gentle Fist is the real foundation. Don't forget who you are!"
At that moment, Kushina couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward, pointing at Mori. "Ugly creep! Satori's new fighting style is super powerful! Want me to kick your butt with his technique?"
"You're all talk and no action!"
Hearing himself called ugly, Mori's eye twitched violently—he finally cracked.
Both the Hyūga and Uchiha clans descended from the Otsutsuki bloodline, known for producing numerous handsome men and beautiful women.
Unlike the Uchiha's "Ghost Fire Youth Group," the Hyūga were known for their pale complexions and aloof elegance.
Unfortunately, Mori failed to inherit the Hyūga's refined genetic traits—he simply wasn't attractive.
Standing among such handsome guys and gorgeous girls only emphasized how unattractive he was. That's exactly why he hated it when people brought up his appearance.
Kushina had hit a nerve.
Among the Hyūga, he was considered ugly.
"Darn red-haired girl, how dare you act so boldly within the Hyūga Clan? Let me teach you a lesson."
With a wave of his hand, he immediately summoned a Branch House member assigned to protect him.
"Hyūga Hane, go give that red-haired girl a severe beating."
As a Main House guard, Hyūga Hane's strength was naturally nothing to scoff at.
Moving like lightning, he dashed swiftly in front of Kushina and aimed a palm strike filled with chakra toward her pressure points.
"Tch, what red-haired girl? Watch me give you a good thrashing!"
Kushina had a fiery temper too. Her eyes narrowed sharply as she clenched her fists and charged forward.
Her chakra-enhanced strength rivaled Tsunade's, and after training in Satori Hyūga's Iron Fist, she had become immensely powerful and shockingly strong.
Her fists, charged with immense chakra power, tore through the air, producing explosive roaring sounds.
Hyūga Hane's expression shifted instantly as he darted aside.
Just from the sound, he could tell how devastating those punches were.
If hit directly, his bones would shatter instantly, and his flesh would turn into pulp.
"Why dodge? Aren't you supposed to be great at Gentle Fist?"
Kushina threw punch after punch, unleashing her full strength recklessly.
The energy from every cell in her body was channeled by the Iron Fist into her fists, generating power capable of shattering gold and breaking jade.
Even though Hyūga Hane was a chunin, he dared not directly intercept Kushina's punches.
After all, ninjas are high offense, low defense by nature.
Give an ordinary person a knife, and they could even kill an unsuspecting Kage-level ninja.
"Hyūga Hane, what are you doing? Quickly finish her off! Don't disgrace the honor of our Hyūga Clan!" shouted Hyūga Mori loudly.
"If you lose, you'll get to taste the Caged Bird Seal once again!"
Hyūga Hane's dodging movement faltered slightly, and a dark shadow flickered in his eyes.
[Byakugan—Activate!]
He roared lowly, channeling chakra into his eyes until bulging veins appeared around his temples.
As soon as he activated the Byakugan, his combat vision widened dramatically, and his perception multiplied several times over.
"What? How can you possibly have such massive chakra reserves?"
Hyūga Hane stared at Kushina in shock, almost as if looking at a monster.
She was just a child—not yet an adult—and yet her chakra levels rivaled most adult ninjas.
However, plenty of flaws existed in her movements, which Hyūga Hane quickly detected.
"Hmph, no matter how much chakra you have, I'll beat you with this Byakugan alone."
Speaking of the Byakugan, Hyūga Hane felt both pride and shame.
It granted him immense observational power and allowed him to detect opponents' weaknesses.
Yet while providing such incredible assistance, it also marked him permanently with the Caged Bird Seal.
The Caged Bird Seal was the mark of the Branch House and the source of their nightmares—a lifelong chain binding him.
Hyūga Mori, merely a genin, could issue orders to him like a commander.
Disobey, and he would immediately suffer punishment under the Caged Bird Seal.
The 'Caged Bird Seal' strikes terror into the hearts of the Hyūga Branch House members primarily because it holds the power over life and death, and inflicts unbearable, searing pain.
Even battle-hardened ninja who've survived countless wars and grueling training cannot endure such torment.
Hyūga Hane blurred into motion, delivering a Gentle Fist strike aimed directly at Kushina's blind spot from behind.
His technique was flawless—the chakra-laced blows struck Kushina's vital pressure points with pinpoint precision.
With a thunderous *thud*,
Kushina soared through the air, tumbling over and over before skidding to a halt.
"Hah! Gotcha, stinky vixen!" Kurama howled with laughter from inside Kushina, thoroughly amused.
He'd been living in peace until now, only to be suddenly sealed inside Kushina's body—as if trapped in a cage.
That's why Kurama had absolutely no fondness for Kushina.
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