Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 10 Father vs. Son

Before he knew it, the night had passed. Hyuga Kanan hadn't slept all night. Having just broken through, he had been absorbing natural energy to refine the Righteous Qi Technique he had just learned from the Qiankun Inheritance Jade the day before, satisfying the greed of his cells.

When she arrived at school in the morning, Hyuga Kana sat in the last row as usual, pretending to close her eyes and practice her meditation technique.

He never practiced his previous Body Refining Technique at school; now he practices the Righteous Qi Technique.

The school is the territory of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. Hyuga Kanan's advanced techniques guide the natural energy in the environment into his body. Tobirama Senju had seen his brother Hashirama Senju's Sage Mode, and given his expertise in sensory ninjutsu and his love for various research, he would definitely be able to detect fluctuations in natural energy. When he sees himself absorbing natural energy, there will be no way to explain it.

Although Hyuga Kanan had considered informing the Second Hokage, a clever man, of the Sage of Six Paths' plans, he couldn't explain his source, and even if the Sage believed him, it wouldn't change anything. Most importantly, as the younger brother of the Sage of Six Paths' son and the leader of Konoha, he was likely under the Sage's watchful eye, so it was best not to risk it.

Hyuga Kanan continued his carefree attitude during his day at the Ninja Academy. His grades were still not outstanding, and his taijutsu and throwing skills remained mediocre. He did not demonstrate his current strength and continued to play the "survival" card to the fullest, doing whatever he could to get by. He spent his academic studies with his eyes closed in meditation.

He was still a problem student in the eyes of his teachers, with no talent whatsoever to become a ninja.

Despite consistently achieving average grades across all subjects, during actual practice matches, he would still surrender without even looking at his opponent, ending the day's lesson amidst the teacher's sigh.

Unfazed by the disdainful looks from the Hyuga clan members, he returned to his small courtyard.

After closing the gate to the courtyard and putting her things away, Hyuga Kanan quietly went to her training ground in her courtyard. She had finally made it out of school, and now she could finally practice the Righteous Qi Technique from the Qiankun Inheritance Jade, which included the Taoist Demon-Subduing Fist.

"Swish, swish, swish."

Hyuga Kanan began practicing the Subduing Demon Fist for the first time, each punch and kick incredibly slow, like an old man practicing Tai Chi in a park, slowly letting his body memorize the movements, meticulously referring to the records in the inheritance jade in his mind for every move.

With his powerful soul force, he quickly adjusted his physical exertion techniques, and by the third repetition, his speed had noticeably increased several times. By the fifth repetition, the speed was already very smooth and rapid.

Hyuga Kanan's body moved like a butterfly in flight. The first impression of this martial art was that of a dance, elegant and flamboyant. The air in the environment seemed to cling to his body, and the airflow made sounds with his movements. It gave people a sense of harmony between the martial art and nature, and slowly it was as if his figure began to blend into the environment, and the surrounding natural energy began to fluctuate rhythmically with his movements.

Not far from the courtyard gate, the head of the Hyuga clan, Hyuga Kanan's father, slowly walked over, his face expressionless, but with a hint of worry in his eyes. He had originally intended to visit his youngest son and have a good talk with him about his future plans.

As he reached the gate, he heard a series of 'swish, swish, swish' sounds coming from the courtyard. He recognized the sound immediately; it was the friction between the body and the air during physical training. He couldn't help but stop in his tracks. Then, in a flash, he appeared atop the courtyard wall, quietly watching the figures in the training ground.

The scene was like a beautiful painting, with the figures and environment in perfect harmony. The leaves danced around Hyuga Kanan following the air currents, creating a sense of perfect integration that made one unconsciously forget the figures that were still moving.

Hyuga Kakei was stunned and just quietly watched this beautiful scene.

"brush!"

Hyuga Kanan suddenly stopped moving, and the environment instantly seemed to be torn apart, returning to its original state.

Hyuga Kanan frowned slightly, looking at the figure standing on the wall, feeling somewhat dissatisfied, but mostly annoyed. He had been completely absorbed in his martial arts and the natural environment, and hadn't noticed anyone around him until he felt a sense of being watched. In an instant, he realized that his father had somehow appeared on the wall.

He rarely had visitors at home. Most of the time, his mother and second brother would come to visit on weekends. He was so engrossed in practicing his boxing that he didn't notice his father's arrival at first.

When Hyuga Kagaku saw his youngest son stop, a hint of embarrassment flashed across his face, as if his arrival had interrupted his son's training. But he quickly regained his usual expressionless face and swiftly appeared in front of his son.

Suddenly, the environment became quiet.

Soon, Hinata Kakei broke the silence by speaking first.

"What kind of fist technique was that? It didn't look like the Gentle Fist of the Hyuga clan. And your strength doesn't seem low, so why do you still have a reputation as the worst student in the Ninja Academy?"

Upon hearing this, Hyuga Kanan's already furrowed brows furrowed even more, and he didn't want to offer any explanation.

Seeing his youngest son's expression, Hyuga Kakugen's face darkened, and he unconsciously revealed his dissatisfaction and anger.

My youngest son was born into the prestigious Hyuga clan, and is the son of the clan head, a renowned elite Jonin of the village. However, whether it's academic performance or taijutsu, throwing, or ninjutsu, he only ranks in the middle at school. He's almost 10 years old and has never done any sparring at the ninja academy, earning him a reputation as a bottom-of-the-class student.

Hyuga Kakugan now clearly understood that his son was likely a genius ninja at the Ninja Academy, but he didn't want to reveal his true strength, concealing most of his abilities through his various achievements. His eyes involuntarily glanced at him, and seeing his nonchalant attitude, a surge of anger rose within him.

"Jianan, don't you have anything to say to me? Or do you look down on your classmate's strength? Then, spar with your Jonin father now, and I'll see how strong you are!" Hyuga Kagaku said seriously.

"What?"

Hinata Kanan looked at his father with a helpless expression, and seeing the furious look on his face, he became even more annoyed.

Unlike his usual sparring at school, Hyuga Kanan readily conceded defeats and didn't care about winning or losing. But now, looking at his father's displeased expression, he was truly speechless.

He had just broken through to the Qi Refining stage and didn't have a clear understanding of his own combat strength, but he probably wasn't a match for a Jonin. Not to mention that his father was definitely more than just a Jonin; he was at least an elite Jonin, and a taijutsu-specialized elite Jonin at that.

Even if one's physical strength is greater than that of an average ninja in the ninja world, cultivators in the early stages do not have powerful attack methods and are bound to be inferior to ninjas in terms of attack strength and the diversity of their methods.

Moreover, with his father activating his Byakugan, the fact that he had no chakra would be immediately exposed, and he wouldn't know how to explain it then. Should he try to channel the refined self-pulling energy in his body into his meridians to impersonate chakra and see if he could get through it?

Without hesitation, Hyuga Kanan began to mobilize the refined natural energy within his body, continuously circulating it through all his meridians, simulating the flow of chakra, instead of constantly absorbing external natural energy into his dantian vortex as before.

Seeing Hyuga Kanan react, Hyuga Kagaku nodded and suddenly said, "Speaking of which, this is the first time I've mentored you again since you entered the Ninja Academy, kid."

"Oh, what's wrong? Didn't you abandon me? Why bother with this?"

Hyuga Kanan didn't really like being the center of attention, let alone engaging in meaningless sparring. So, he almost always gave up easily during school practice matches. He didn't care about the threats from his clan members to teach him a lesson; he'd just run away if the opportunity arose.

"Are you venting your dissatisfaction with me?" Looking at Hyuga Kanan's indifferent face, Hyuga Kagaku seemed to understand something and couldn't help but feel guilty for neglecting his youngest son over the years. He muttered to himself.

Hyuga Kanan was speechless upon hearing this. He had been hoping that everyone would stop paying attention to him, and that they would completely ignore him. These words struck him like a thunderbolt, instantly bringing him to his senses.

"That's right! I never sparred with anyone at school and kept admitting defeat, which actually attracted more attention. After all, I'm a member of the Hyuga clan, a prestigious family in Konoha. I don't have to be the best, but I can't be at the bottom. Being the best or the worst will attract attention. I used to just admit defeat to avoid trouble, which actually drew more attention from those around me. It seems I need to show some promise in the future. I can't be too strong, but I also can't be at the bottom."

Once Hyuga Kanan figured it out, she immediately knew what she should do: be neither arrogant nor humble, neither strong nor weak, and just act a little indifferent. This would make everyone ignore her.

If it weren't for his father's timely reminder, he probably would have unknowingly attracted more attention. When the Hyuga clan couldn't bear it anymore and tried to kill him, he would have had to reveal his powerful strength to resist, which would have drawn even more attention.

Hyuga Kanan straightened his back and, for the first time, formally made the opposition hand seal in front of his father, showing that he was ready to fight with all his might. In his heart, however, he was assessing the strength of the students in the Ninja Academy and then adjusting his own performance based on the strength of the above-average students.

Hyuga Kakuju nodded with some delight when he saw his son's appearance. He also formed the opposing hand seal, quickly adopted the starting position of Gentle Fist, and beckoned his palm towards his opponent.