Naruto: Rebuilding the Hidden Sand

Logically speaking, even with a Byakugan transplant, Pakura should not have been able to use the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist technique.

Because the Gentle Fist required more than just the Byakugan as a foundation. It encompassed the specific chakra circulation pathways within the body, the method of releasing chakra through the tenketsu points, and precise chakra control techniques, all of which were secret arts that the Hyuga clan had never shared with outsiders. They required dedicated targeted training.

So why was she able to use it?

Inside the arena, Kakashi was being gradually overwhelmed by Pakura's close-range offensive while still under the influence of the Scorch Release heat.

His movements were labored.

Body Replacement, Shadow Clone, Lightning Release counters, Kakashi cycled through every technique he had to resist Pakura's attacks, but the effect was minimal.

Clearly Kakashi had done his research on Pakura's bloodline limit and had thought through a targeted combat approach beforehand. But the intelligence he possessed only covered part of the picture. This particular technique that heated and filled a wide area, releasing sustained extreme temperature, he was seeing for the first time.

It was obvious this Scorch Release was not a direct offensive technique. Its primary effect was interference. Within this high-temperature field his physical condition was dropping rapidly, and if he could not find a way to turn the situation around, he would eventually collapse from dehydration and exhaustion.

Furthermore, Pakura's taijutsu incorporated Gentle Fist techniques. This made the physical contest even more draining for Kakashi, whose taijutsu was already below Pakura's level.

What he could manage was purely defense.

The one saving grace was that through the Sharingan, he could clearly track Pakura's attack trajectories and timing, allowing him to react.

But Pakura deployed yet another technique, using the heat-warped light refraction to cause her silhouette to scatter into multiple flickering images, like a genjutsu-free version of a clone technique, making it genuinely difficult to identify her real body.

Even for Kakashi with his Sharingan, this was manageable, but combined with Pakura's continuous assault it still created meaningful disruption.

Simply put, any time Pakura closed the distance, Kakashi was going to take hits.

He had too many things demanding his attention simultaneously. Scorch Release in close quarters was terrifyingly dangerous on its own. Rumors held that once Scorch Release passed through an enemy's body, the moisture within them would evaporate directly, leaving behind a dried husk.

And now there was the added pressure point technique. This made Pakura even harder to defend against.

Bang.

After holding out for only a few minutes, Kakashi was already drenched in sweat, breathing heavily.

The Sharingan's chakra drain was enormous. Combined with the sustained mental concentration required, he was beginning to feel the strain.

"Her taijutsu, her experience, both exceed mine. Most critically, this woman has a Byakugan. Through its characteristics, her attacks are more dangerous than they would otherwise be. Her visual tracking speed may not be faster than mine, but her field of vision is wider, and she can predict my reactions by reading my internal chakra movement patterns. Extremely difficult to deal with."

"And her physical strength is also remarkable."

Kakashi knelt on one knee, his body covered in dust and wounds, his thoughts moving quickly.

At this moment the steam around him had partially dissipated.

But above, the fire sphere still floated in the air, slightly smaller now, the perceived temperature having dropped somewhat. But it had not vanished, and its effect was still present.

Every time Kakashi made a move to destroy the fire sphere, he walked directly into Pakura's ambush. She had completely read his intentions.

Swoosh, swoosh.

Suddenly Kakashi sprang backward like a rabbit.

At the same time he threw several shuriken.

Pakura's silhouette appeared with uncanny timing at the exact spot he had just vacated. The shuriken passed through her body, and she scattered like a heat mirage.

Not a real body.

Bang.

Kakashi spun suddenly and raised his kunai in front of him just in time.

A cold-eyed Pakura had appeared directly behind him, her kunai perfectly positioned to cut across his throat.

The two weapons connected. Both fighters pushed against each other with raw physical force.

But Kakashi was being pressed hard toward the ground by Pakura. In terms of physical strength, he had lost that contest.

"As long as I am here, none of you from Konoha are winning a single match today."

Pakura's cold eyes looked directly at Kakashi as she said it with complete calm.

Kakashi said nothing.

"Truly formidable. To develop her bloodline ability to this level, she must have had your guidance," Minato said from the gallery, turning to look at Yuji.

Everyone knew Pakura was Yuji's most prized student.

"She put in the work herself. Her talent is exceptional. I only gave a little instruction," Yuji said with a quiet smile.

"The Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist as well. That was you who passed it on to her?" Minato was not being pointed about it, just genuinely awed.

"Your eye technique is truly beyond imagination."

Yuji being able to clearly observe the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist was certainly not something his eye technique alone could account for. His own analytical capability and his depth of research and understanding regarding body techniques would also need to have reached a certain level. Otherwise there was no way to strip out the core of the Hyuga clan's ultimate secret technique and pass it on.

From Minato's perspective, there was perhaps also some credit owed to a certain Hyuga who had gone over to the other side.

Body techniques differed from ninjutsu. Body techniques emphasized the flesh itself, combat mechanics, and the compatibility between chakra and one's own physical body. Unlike elemental techniques which focused on chakra form transformation and fusion, body techniques were concerned with the method of applying chakra through the body itself.

For most ninja who were accustomed to deploying elemental techniques, this represented a considerably greater degree of difficulty. Without cultivation and training from a young age that developed this particular physical intuition, even knowing the mechanics and techniques of the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist would not necessarily allow someone to execute it.

This made clear that Pakura herself had worked with extraordinary dedication. Whatever degree of Gentle Fist technique she had managed to develop, the suffering she had endured to get there was something most people would not dare imagine.

Of course, dedication was only one dimension. Without an expert to teach it, dedication alone was meaningless.

"I will take that as a compliment," Yuji said with a smile.

The Sand Village's talent recruitment plan had been primarily aimed at building a reserve of newer generation combat power and enriching the village's future combat system. But among the current generation, outside of himself and Sasori, genuinely exceptional talents were not numerous.

Baki and Yura, for example, had decent innate gifts but could not be elevated to truly extraordinary levels. Yuji had concluded earlier in his thinking that the talent recruitment plan's real impact would be felt in the next generation of Sand Village ninja. Many of the story characters were still young and had not yet matured. They could not participate in this exchange gathering.

It would be many years before the Sand Village's true talent surge would fully emerge.

Pakura's group, including the newer fighters who had joined the village in the years since, had overall capability that was relatively comparable across the board. Due to age, timing, and the village's development strategy, focused individual training had been difficult to achieve.

The only option had been to apply external boosts through tools like Sharingan transplants, Third Raikage cellular transplants, and similar measures to force rapid development through a compressed period.

Given all this, Yuji had decided that since this particular group of fighters were not going to produce truly outstanding results through distributed investment, it was better to concentrate the limited energy and resources on one individual. Cultivate a single monster.

And Pakura, without question, was the person in the village most worth cultivating and investing in.

Even with everything pulling at his attention, whenever Yuji had free time he would find moments to guide Pakura directly.

Years had passed, and the growth he had watched happen before his eyes had been worth every moment.

"Sand Village's Pakura wins."

While the two of them were still talking, the outcome in the arena had already been determined.

Kakashi had been seized from behind by Pakura's hand gripping his throat, with her Scorch Release fire sphere floating beside him, radiating its extreme temperature.

But it did not strike him.

Because if a Scorch Release technique made direct contact, the consequences would be genuinely severe.

The gap in strength between the two of them had been made clear.