She stooped to scoop a handful of loose pebbles off the path, and flicked one accurately between his shoulderblades. The sting was sharp and surprising. Not because she’d thrown the pebble particularly hard, but because his chakra transmitted the tiny strike like a raw nerve.

“Ow,” Raidou said, but he kept the shield intact.

Kurenai’s expression warmed. “Well done.” She bounced a pebble thoughtfully in her hand. “You should practice this in your downtime — when you’re working out, or spending time with friends. Whenever you’ve got plenty of distractions.”

“Work it like muscle memory, you mea— ow.” The second pebble bounced off his right biceps. As before, it wasn’t a hard throw but it stung like a hornet. Kurenai threw with the barest snap of her fingers, signalling as little as possible.

Raidou rubbed his arm. “There needs to be a way to mute that for physical attacks, or combat is going to be… problematic.”

“Well, the Hyuuga do it,” she said. “Not that we’re likely to find anyone willing to divulge the secret techniques of the Hakkeshō Kaiten, but we ought to be able to extrapolate the principles.”

Sure, craft a new technique and replicate the ancient secrets of a notoriously paranoid clan in a few weeks. How hard could that be?

“Worth a shot,” he said, on the principle of blind optimism.

Kurenai grinned at him, and that was even more surprising than getting hit right in the chakra. She’d operated on subtlety until now, half smiles and slanting eyebrows, sidelong glances with more undercurrents than a riptide. This expression was open, unweaponized. “I like your style, Namiashi.”

He grinned back.

“I saw Hyuuga Hiashi perform the Hakkeshō Kaiten once, during the war,” Kurenai said. “He didn’t exactly sit down for a Q&A afterward, but I think I understand the basics.” From direct observation, Raidou wondered, or Intel sneakery later? “There’s the repulsion-type chakra, which you’ve got. You shouldn’t need the doujutsu—or the tenketsu control, which is likely an aspect of the kekkai genkai. The spin would… not mesh well with your fighting style, I think. But a subtle chakra ripple — enough to distribute the impact of a blow over a wider area…”

Raidou was still caught on the mental image of trying to replicate the Hyuuga’s — frankly insane — death twirls in an actual fight. That was a technique that only worked if you could literally see through the back of your own head.

He refocused on the more important part. “So, if I understand right, the idea is to solve the pinpoint pain issue by making it full body pain instead?”

“Duller full body pain?” Kurenai offered. “You can’t sever your connection with the chakra shield entirely—you’d lose the genjutsu warning, and it wouldn’t last long, anyway.”

“I love this idea already,” Raidou said. He rolled his shoulders back, resettling the chakra shield, and inclined his head to her. “Okay, throw more rocks at me.”

Kurenai’s grin flashed by again, and she obliged.