Chapter 166 : Mastering Revolving Heaven’s Hinata
Fortunately, the ship sailed smoothly to a small island in the middle of the sea.
The island wasn’t large—only about a kilometer in length and width.
A thick mist shrouded the island.
The moment Riku set foot on land, a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "Looks like we’ve been discovered. So this mist is actually a barrier they set up."
Samui, standing beside him, froze for a moment.
Frowning, she asked, "Discovered?"
Riku lifted his head, peering into the dense fog. The mist was so thick that visibility was reduced to only three or four meters.
But Riku’s sensory ability was exceptionally strong. Despite the heavy fog, it couldn’t block his perception.
Samui narrowed her eyes at the mist. "What should we do now? In this kind of visibility, I can’t see the road clearly at all."
Riku glanced at her and smiled. "No need to see clearly—they’ll come to us."
"I already told you, we’ve been found."
Samui drew her short sword.
Omoi and Karui immediately unsheathed their katanas.
Riku looked toward Shino, Ino, and Hinata. "Be careful. Hinata, activate your Byakugan."
"Shino, release your bugs."
"Ino, stay close to me."
Among the three, Ino wasn’t suited for direct combat.
She was a support-type ninja whose strength truly shone when paired with Chōji and Shikamaru.
They all nodded in response.
Hinata activated her Byakugan, and her vision cut through the fog. "There’s a ninja at one o’clock. Another one at eleven o’clock."
Riku also sensed them. Two of the approaching chakra signatures were fairly strong—probably Chūnin level.
He turned to Shino.
Shino nodded in understanding.
Countless kikaichū swarmed in the direction of one o’clock.
"Parasitic Insects: Insect Jar Technique."
A wave of insects rushed silently toward the hidden enemy.
Although the Kirigakure shinobi had detected Riku’s group through the barrier, they hadn’t noticed Shino’s swarm.
The cloud of bugs struck without warning.
Shino clenched his fist.
"Swarm."
With the command, his kikaichū engulfed the ninja in the one o’clock direction.
The enemy didn’t even have time to react—his body was already covered by the parasitic insects.
"Agh!"
The ninja’s chakra was rapidly being consumed by the swarm.
The moment his companion heard his scream from the eleven o’clock direction, he launched an ambush at Riku’s group.
Shurikens and kunai flew through the mist.
Even a Jōnin could die if caught off guard in a surprise attack.
That was exactly how Pakura of Sunagakure had died—ambushed, unprepared. Assassination is a constant threat in the shinobi world. That’s why Kage rarely leave their villages unless absolutely necessary—unless you’re someone with power on the level of Uchiha Madara or Hashirama Senju.
Otherwise, even you could be taken down by a well-planned assassination.
Dozens of projectiles rained down through the fog toward them.
Although Samui could sense the incoming attacks, she couldn’t pinpoint their origin.
They had no choice but to react on instinct, which was far from ideal. The dense fog put them at a serious disadvantage.
At that moment, Riku shouted, "Hinata!"
Hinata nodded and leaped forward, spinning into a defensive stance. "Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!"
She unleashed the technique, creating a dome of chakra that deflected all incoming shuriken and kunai.
It was a move she had only recently mastered.
Originally, Hinata had struggled to learn this technique, but under Riku’s influence, her personality had grown more assertive. No longer the shy, hesitant girl she once was, she had begun actively pursuing her training.
As the Hyuga clan heiress, she had access to elite training and guidance from the elders, accelerating her growth.
Countless weapons were instantly repelled by her Revolving Heaven.
But after releasing the technique, Hinata was clearly drained.
Riku could tell.
"Hinata, fall back," he said calmly.
But Hinata stared into the mist and replied firmly, "No, Riku."
Without hesitation, she rushed toward the enemy at eleven o’clock.
Riku didn’t stop her.
A moment later, her voice rang out from within the mist: "Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms!"
Within seconds, another scream echoed from the fog.
Riku’s sensory skills confirmed it—Hinata had defeated her target.
But he also detected more chakra signatures rapidly approaching.
He turned to Samui. "Let’s move. We’re going in."
...
Samui had heard Hinata’s earlier attack. "As expected from the Hyuga clan. That kind of taijutsu is deadly against close-combat specialists."
The Gentle Fist of the Hyuga clan was truly terrifying. Even someone like Rock Lee would be helpless if his chakra points were sealed—he wouldn’t even be able to open the Eight Inner Gates.
That was why Lee had always lost to Neji in their youth. Every time Lee tried to use the Gates, Neji would block his tenketsu in advance, cutting him off from his chakra.
After all, the Eight Gates required chakra to function, and Gentle Fist could cut off chakra flow entirely.
That’s also why Kumogakure had once tried to steal the Byakugan.
No matter how powerful your taijutsu was, it was useless without chakra. If a Hyuga blocked your chakra flow, even the strongest shinobi would be reduced to a civilian.
Unless you had an external chakra source—like Kurama’s.
...Or the ability to use Sage Mode. Since natural energy was drawn from the environment, it could bypass internal chakra flow being blocked.
The Hyuga clan, being the largest in Konoha and facing no opposition to their prominence, had carved out their place in the village’s power structure.
They didn’t have many Kage-level fighters, true. Their top-tier combat power was lacking compared to other clans.
But whether from the branch house or the main house, once a Hyuga unlocked the Byakugan and matured, they were almost guaranteed to reach Chūnin or even Jōnin level. In terms of sheer numbers of elite shinobi, they surpassed even the Uchiha clan.
The Uchiha might have possessed the powerful Mangekyō Sharingan, but that dojutsu was rare—even among the Uchiha themselves.
Those who could awaken even a one-tomoe Sharingan were considered gifted within the clan.
Sasuke once said that only truly talented Uchiha could awaken the Sharingan at all.
So, while both clans had powerful ocular jutsu, in terms of overall strength and numbers, the Hyuga clan outperformed the Uchiha.
That’s why Kumogakure feared the Hyuga’s Byakugan and Gentle Fist so much.
In Kumogakure, many shinobi focused on physical techniques. But once their chakra was sealed by a Hyuga, they were no better than ordinary people.
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