Before long, Guy—who had already deactivated the Eight Gates—slowly walked into the grove.
Seeing that Guy had released the Eight Gates, Hyuga Kagami secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but kept his tone cold: "Under the perfect defense of my Rotation, any attack is ineffective. You should have realized that by now."
Panting, Guy said, "Kagami, your Hyuga clan's Byakugan and Gentle Fist really live up to their name. I felt like none of my movements could escape your eyes!"
While in the state of Four Gates, both of his full-force attacks had been casually blocked by Hyuga Kagami. Guy realized that even if he continued to fight, he had no chance of winning.
Hyuga Kagami maintained a calm expression: "Of course. I saw through all your attacks."
Guy plopped to the ground: "Ah, I still lost."
"To force me to use Rotation, your secret technique is indeed worth some praise." Pausing for a moment, Hyuga Kagami added, "Take a good rest today. See you at the mission center tomorrow morning."
Guy was stunned at first, then exclaimed, "You... you're willing to team up with me for a mission?!"
"I don't like waiting. Don't be late."
After throwing out those words coldly, Hyuga Kagami turned and strode home. At that moment, his whole body felt like it was falling apart. If he didn't leave now, he might really collapse.
Guy, carefree as ever, didn't seem to be injured at all. He cheered and hopped home joyfully.
Not long after the two left, a team of Anbu appeared in the grove where they had fought.
After a brief inspection of the area, one of the Anbu said, "No traces of ninjutsu, nor any ninja tools. Seems to have been a pure taijutsu battle."
The squad leader asked in a deep voice, "Have we confirmed the identities of those involved?"
Another Anbu replied, "Yes. One was Hyuga Kagami from the branch family, a Chunin. The other was Might Guy, son of Dai, also a Chunin. Judging by the scene, it looks like the Hyuga boy won."
Looking at the surrounding broken trees and the various craters on the ground, the Anbu captain said, "To cause this level of destruction with just taijutsu... report this to the Hokage. These two boys are worth watching."
Back at home, Hyuga Kagami found Rin cleaning up his place. His heart warmed instantly.
Rin quickly came out to greet him: "Kagami, welcome home!"
Hyuga Kagami smiled: "Thanks for your hard work."
In front of Rin, Hyuga Kagami dropped all his masks and defenses. If there was anyone in the village he could trust unconditionally, it was this pure-hearted girl.
Noticing the redness and swelling on his arms, Rin exclaimed, "You're hurt? Let me treat you."
"It's nothing. Just a minor injury from training."
She pulled him over to the tatami and began applying medicine while saying, "Kagami, Lord Hiashi asked me to apologize on his behalf and ask for your forgiveness."
Hyuga Hizashi was the twin brother of the Hyuga clan leader, Hiashi, and usually helped manage the branch family.
Hyuga Kagami was puzzled: "Forgiveness? Forgive what?"
Rin replied, "Aren't you angry? Everyone thought you were upset with the clan, which is why you hadn't returned to the compound lately."
With that, Hyuga Kagami instantly understood—there had been a misunderstanding.
Clearly, the clan believed he held a grudge against them for not speaking up during the Orochimaru defection incident. They assumed his distancing was out of resentment.
But in truth, Hyuga Kagami had never held any hatred for his clan.
He knew better than anyone that prestigious clans like the Uchiha and Hyuga might seem powerful in the village, but they had little influence over the decision-making core.
Hizashi's eventual death would prove that. Even in a clear case of self-defense, the clan couldn't protect their leader. To save face, they had to sacrifice Hiashi's twin brother.
So how could the clan possibly have protected him during the Orochimaru incident? Hyuga Kagami didn't blame them—he understood they simply didn't have the power.
He only distanced himself to protect the secret of the Tenseigan. Still, this misunderstanding could be useful. Otherwise, such distancing might arouse suspicion from the higher-ups.
Innocent Rin hadn't noticed Hyuga Kagami's wandering thoughts and continued: "Lord Hizashi also said that during today's meeting, Lord Jiraiya praised you. He said you stayed calm when facing the Two-Tails jinchuriki from the Hidden Cloud, and didn't disgrace the village!"
Seeing Rin's proud face, Hyuga Kagami smiled gently: "Jiraiya has returned to the village?"
Rin nodded: "He came back today."
Hyuga Kagami thought to himself, "If even Jiraiya abandoned his obsession with Orochimaru and came back, then the village must be facing an even bigger problem than I imagined."
During the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha no longer held the advantages it once had. If the Fourth Hokage hadn't risen to turn the tide, the war might still be dragging on. After the world heard that one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, had defected, and that the Fourth Hokage and his jinchuriki wife had both died... it was only natural for the other villages to start scheming.
After Rin finished applying medicine to all his bruises, Hyuga Kagami went to bed early.
This battle with Guy had been his toughest fight since acquiring the Tenseigan. But it had also taught him valuable lessons.
As a taijutsu sparring partner, Guy was practically perfect.
The next morning, Hyuga Kagami wrapped bandages around his arms and legs before heading to the mission center.
A single night wasn't enough for the bruises to heal completely, but for the sake of his pride, he didn't want Guy to notice his injuries.
Guy had arrived early and was already waiting at the gate. Seeing Hyuga Kagami approach, he shouted from afar, "Kagami! I'm here! Over here!"
Watching Guy hop and wave energetically, Hyuga Kagami felt a bit embarrassed.
Once inside the mission center, Hyuga Kagami immediately began browsing the list of A-rank missions.
Guy whispered, "Kagami, aren't A-rank missions only for Jonin?"
Hyuga Kagami replied casually, "I led a team on an A-rank mission a few days ago, so I've been granted special permission to take some of them."
Guy was stunned: "What?! You completed an A-rank mission?"
For someone like Guy, who was used to D and C-rank missions, completing an A-rank one was something out of a fantasy. Hearing that Hyuga Kagami had done it as a Chunin was shocking.
Hyuga Kagami glanced at him: "What's so strange about that? I teamed up with an Uchiha kid. Completing an A-rank mission was perfectly normal."
Guy scratched his head and laughed: "That's true. You *are* a genius, after all!"
Hyuga Kagami nodded in satisfaction. He was determined to maintain an image of strength in Guy's mind—even if he didn't really consider himself a genius.