Chp-14: Predicting Each Other's Moves

The next day, Hyuga Satoru opened the door and took a deep breath of fresh air.

Thanks to the life magnetic field, he felt great even though he hadn't slept much the previous night.

With one day left of his break, Hyuga Satoru decided to pick up the custom-made metal arrows and test their power.

Yesterday's breakthrough had enhanced his control over the electromagnetic force. Coupled with the all-metal arrows, Hyuga Satoru was excited to see the potential power of his electromagnetic sniper.

As he arrived at the custom ninja tool shop, Hyuga Satoru felt a bit apprehensive. The custom arrows weren't cheap, and he had impulsively added five chakra metal arrows to the order.

Luckily, the shop assistant didn't make things difficult. As soon as she saw him, she handed him the custom arrows, making him appreciate Uchiha Rin's integrity.

For the test, Hyuga Satoru chose the forest he frequently visited. The commotion caused by his dual bloodlines had already stirred enough trouble, and he didn't want to draw more attention.

Hyuga Satoru opened the wooden box.

Inside were two bundles of metal arrows. The larger bundle was polished smooth, reflecting a faint metallic sheen. The smaller bundle of five arrows also had a faint blue glow, like starlight, indicating they were made of chakra metal.

"So, these are the chakra metal arrows."

Hyuga Satoru compared a regular metal arrow to a chakra metal one. The chakra metal arrows were slightly lighter. Given the same volume, the lighter weight meant greater acceleration with the same force due to Newton's second law.

Hyuga Satoru took out a scroll from his pocket. A puff of white smoke revealed a large bow.

First, he tested the regular metal arrows.

Drawing the bow, his arm glowed with blue electricity, stimulating his muscles for greater contraction. He pulled the bowstring to its fullest, creating a propulsion magnetic field and altering the arrow's magnetic field to a positive polarity for greater repulsion force.

If he had tried this with his lv1 electromagnetic force, it wouldn't have been this smooth. But with lv2, it was effortless.

With his Byakugan activated, everything within a kilometre was within his sight.

When the electromagnetic propulsion reached its peak, Hyuga Satoru released the arrow, which shot off with a sharp crack, transforming into a blue arc and disappearing.

Bang!

Through his Byakugan, Hyuga Satoru saw the arrow pierce through a tree a few hundred meters away and embed itself in the trunk behind it.

"Wow, with this power, even a Jonin caught off guard would be killed instantly!"

Hyuga Satoru marvelled at the power but noted a drawback: the supersonic arrow would always produce a sonic boom.

However, since the arrow travelled faster than the speed of sound, the enemy would be hit before hearing the boom. This minimized its impact on the enemy but revealed his sniper position, making it crucial to choose the right sniping spot.

After a deep breath, Hyuga Satoru picked up a chakra metal arrow. If regular arrows were this powerful, how much stronger would chakra metal arrows be?

Drawing the bow, Hyuga Satoru noticed the chakra metal arrow reacted more sensitively to the magnetic field, indicating stronger propulsion.

Releasing his fingers, the arrow shot off.

Whoosh!

A lightning arc flashed.

Hyuga Satoru's jaw dropped.

The chakra metal arrow almost exceeded his Byakugan's visual limit, resembling a bolt of lightning that embedded itself deep into a massive tree.

"Within a kilometre, this arrow poses a deadly threat to any ninja!"

He couldn't help but exclaim.

Estimating its power, Hyuga Satoru figured the arrow's initial speed approached three times the speed of sound due to the unique properties of chakra metal.

A typical anti-material sniper rifle's bullet has an initial speed of about 850 meters per second, far less than three times the speed of sound. The kinetic energy and initial impact of this arrow far surpassed that.

Its effective range was about 1200 meters, similar to a standard anti-material sniper rifle. Beyond that, accuracy and power would diminish.

Given his current limit, achieving this was impressive. With stronger electromagnetic force in the future, he could likely control the arrows to turn mid-flight, creating a homing sniper rifle.

Ninjas, being fragile, would be hard-pressed to defend against such long-range sniping. Even the strongest ninjas would have to avoid such attacks!

Hyuga Satoru exhaled deeply and carefully retrieved the arrows. He didn't plan to use this ability often, keeping it as a trump card.

...

On the way home, Hyuga Satoru felt much more relaxed. The shadow of the Third Shinobi War had been pressing on him, preventing him from relaxing.

Developing a powerful bow technique significantly increased his survival ability, easing his mind slightly.

Just as he was nearing home, he stopped abruptly.

From a distance, he saw a figure standing at his usually empty doorway, seemingly waiting for him.

Seeing the face that closely resembled the one he saw in the clan's hall, Hyuga Satoru had a suspicion.

The person smiled kindly, showing white teeth: "Let me introduce myself. I'm Hyuga Hizashi. May I have a word with you?"

Hyuga Satoru's heart skipped a beat. As he passed Hizashi, he opened the door and looked back.

"Hizashi-sama, please come in."

Following him inside, Hizashi curiously looked around. One corner of the room was piled with old metal objects, and aside from basic living necessities, there was no other furniture.

"I usually don't have time to clean up because of training. Please forgive me, Hizashi-sama."

Hyuga Satoru pulled out a chair, inviting Hizashi to sit.

Seeing such maturity in someone so young, Hizashi felt a pang of sadness and sighed.

"Yunaki has been gone for so many years. You must have suffered a lot."

Hyuga Satoru's eyebrows raised. Hyuga Yunaki was the name of his father in this world. So Hizashi knew him. However, as a transmigrator, Hyuga Satoru's memory of him was fuzzy.

Seeing Satoru's silence, Hizashi assumed he was grieving and continued.

"I heard from the clan members that you awakened a second bloodline limit because you were too saddened by your father's death?"

Hyuga Satoru's mouth twitched. He had made up that story to get through the clan's interrogation, and now even Hizashi knew.

"Why haven't I seen you train with the clan members?" Hizashi asked.

"Awakening a second bloodline makes me an outlier in the clan. It's better to train alone."

Hyuga Satoru replied. This was also his true thought. His path was different from the others, so it was better to have less contact.

Hizashi sighed and said with a hint of bitterness.

"Do you think having a second bloodline makes you an outlier? No, I originally thought the clan was a stagnant pond, never changing, until I heard about you."

"A second bloodline proves the Hyuga clan, this decaying old tree, still has new vitality."

Hearing Hizashi's words, clearly filled with deeper meaning, Hyuga Satoru became more serious.

"Hizashi-sama, why did you come here today?"

Hizashi's demeanour softened, and he shook his head.

"No, I just wanted to see you, the new leaf growing on this decaying old tree."

"Perhaps it was presumptuous."

He sighed, stood up, and said.

"I'll take my leave. If you need any help with your training, feel free to find me."

Watching Hizashi's departing figure, Hyuga Satoru's thoughts churned.

In the original story, Hizashi deeply hated the main family. He even harboured killing intent toward Hinata and was tortured by his brother using the Caged Bird Seal. Eventually, he died, replacing Hiashi in a sacrificial act.

Every indication pointed to his deep resentment of the Hyuga clan's corrupt system.

Hyuga Satoru had a feeling he would seek him out again, even if it were just for the "new leaf" on the decaying old tree.