Chapter 567: The Konoha Crush Plan Begins
However, the situation quickly changed again. This time, it was Neji's move.
Neji suddenly ignored the multitude of shadow clones and shot straight toward one of the Narutos.
Sasuke and Shikamaru were both shocked. Did he find the real one?
They immediately moved to intercept.
Shikamaru's only option was his Shadow Possession.
Sasuke, with no time to think, quickly formed seals for a Lightning Clone, then immediately detonated it to block Neji's path.
Just as they were about to breathe a sigh of relief, Naruto's face suddenly changed in horror. Neji had instantly changed direction and was now charging at his true body.
That's right—Neji's first target had been a fake. But Sasuke and Shikamaru also didn't know where the real one was, so they had used their full-power techniques to stop the feint.
Now, as Neji changed targets, they were too far away and their jutsu were on cooldown. They were too late.
Poof! Poof! Poof! Neji effortlessly destroyed a few more clones in his path and appeared right in front of the real Naruto.
BAM! Neji put his full strength into a single, heavy punch, sending Naruto flying.
Naruto spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air.
At the same time, all the shadow clones on the field dispelled.
Neji knew Jinchūriki were durable. He didn't pursue Naruto. Instead, he spun around and charged at Shikamaru.
Without the clones for cover, Shikamaru didn't last a single exchange.
POW! Neji landed a flying kick that audibly cracked several of Shikamaru's ribs. He was unconscious before he hit the ground. He didn't have Naruto's endurance.
Genma Shiranui flashed in, caught Shikamaru, and quickly handed him over to the medics.
Neji's kick sent him flying, and he immediately raised his left arm to block a full-power punch from Sasuke.
By the time Neji's feet were back on the ground, Sasuke had completely lost his opening.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Three heavy blows landed on Sasuke's body, sending him flying as well.
Neji had held back. If those three hits had the same force as the one he'd used on Naruto, the Sage of Six Paths would have had to intervene.
As he flew, Sasuke's Sharingan caught a glimpse of the cheering crowd, and of Neji's back, as he'd already turned to face Naruto, not even bothering to look at him.
Damn it! He just... ignored me! And those people... they're laughing at an Uchiha!
The immense humiliation flooded his senses. The next moment, the world seemed to slow down.
He knew this feeling. It was just like the first time.
His Sharingan had evolved.
He forced his body to land, his two-tomoe Sharingan blazing. "You're dead, you brat! You'll regret not finishing me off when you had the chance!"
His dōjutsu had risen, and his power had jumped.
Neji's charge toward Naruto paused. Without even turning his head, he whipped his backhand around.
It was a move similar to the Hyūga's Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, but different. It was one of Neji's own "secret techniques."
He put his full Elite Jonin strength into it.
It was so fast that Sasuke's arrogant smirk was still on his face when the palm of invisible force struck him square in the face.
BAM! This time, Sasuke dropped and didn't get back up, his face a bloody mess.
Ishiro winced. He wondered if Sasuke would even survive that without the Sage's help.
He scanned with his Mind's Eye, but sensed no trace of the Sage. He sighed.
By now, medics had carried Sasuke away.
Only Naruto and Neji were left.
After backhanding Sasuke, Neji's feet hadn't stopped. He continued his charge at Naruto.
Naruto, true to his Jinchūriki nature, was already back on his feet, as if the first punch had done nothing.
He had seen what Neji did to Sasuke.
Seeing his friend/rival struck down so brutally, Naruto's emotions exploded.
A dark red chakra burst from his body, quickly enveloping him in a shroud.
In the stands, Kisame, Orochimaru, Baki, and the Kumo representative all said the same word: "Nine-Tails..."
Orochimaru added, "Naruto Namikaze? Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki's son? So, just like his mother, he became a Jinchūriki..."
Ishiro, who had seen this before, was unfazed. He finished the last of his ramen broth and let out a satisfied burp.
Kakashi, however, shot Ishiro a dark look.
He suspected Ishiro had planned this—to have Neji intentionally push Naruto into using his Bijuu power.
Naruto was still young. This power was a trump card he could likely only use once a day.
He looked at Hiruzen, who shook his head. It was too late. Naruto was already lost to his rage. They couldn't stop it without force. And with the Tsuchikage sitting right there...
Ishiro, however, was more interested in talking about Sasuke. "Hokage-dono, that Uchiha survivor... it seems your education has left him a bit... simple-minded. It's fine to be weak, but to not even grasp the situation? He awakens a two-tomoe Sharingan and thinks he's invincible?"
"How about you send him to Iwagakure? I'll teach him."
"You, yourself, were once lost, Hokage-dono, and I was able to 'enlighten' you. I can do the same for this Uchiha. I promise, in no time, I'll return a Kage-level Uchiha to Konoha. What do you say?"
Kakashi ignored him. He was sure Ishiro could train Sasuke, but he had no idea what Sasuke's allegiance would be afterward.
After all, when he had returned from Iwa, his first thought had been to find a way to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi.
(He unconsciously glanced at Hiruzen, who looked back, confused.)
Seeing Kakashi wouldn't take the bait, Ishiro lost interest and turned back to the fight.
Neji took a deep breath. He dodged a lashing chakra-tail, then struck back with a dozen of his Vacuum Palms.
The newly-transformed Naruto, not yet fully in control, was struck, staggering. His two tails stabbed into the ground to keep him from falling.
Neji's expression was grave. Naruto was strong. His most powerful ranged attack had done almost nothing.
If 'hard' doesn't work, I'll try 'soft'.
Neji changed his stance, adopting the core principles of the Gentle Fist to redirect and parry.
The crowd was then treated to a battle far beyond the genin level.
The red-shrouded Naruto attacked with wild, overwhelming force. Neji, in contrast, was a picture of calm, flowing defense.
Every time Naruto lunged, Neji would use his opponent's own force to deflect him.
Seeing this, Ishiro smiled. It didn't matter if Neji won or lost. He was satisfied.
After Ishiro's harsh critique, Neji was no longer bound by the Gentle Fist's kata. He had kept its principles but abandoned its form.
He was using the concept of the Gentle Fist, but his movements were entirely his own.
Bam! Neji deflected a tail, using the momentum to glide away and create distance.
His hand stung, but it was manageable.
His eyes were bright. This was the perfect opponent to refine his new techniques.
He stopped dodging and began to proactively engage, testing his new "secret arts" against Naruto's attacks.
The fight escalated. They tore up the arena, spilling into the other quadrants.
The other three quadrants were now occupied by Gaara, Suigetsu Hōzuki, and Kidōmaru.
Suigetsu, who had just entered the field, had taken one look at the two-tailed Naruto and immediately fled back to the stands.
Gaara desperately wanted to join in. But Baki had given him a strict order: Do not reveal the One-Tail. He glared at Baki, but Baki's cold stare won out. Gaara returned to the stands.
Only Kidōmaru, from the Snake Pit Village, thought this was his chance to shine. He activated his cursed seal, his body twisting into a monstrous form.
He crawled onto the stadium wall like a spider, waiting.
He saw his opening. Neji, having just parried a blow, was sliding backward. Kidōmaru launched himself from the wall, aiming to take down the star of the show.
Neji didn't even look back.
Kidōmaru smiled.
The next second, Neji sidestepped in mid-air and backhanded the stunned Kidōmaru as he flew past.
Kidōmaru was shocked. He wasn't badly hurt, but...
As he flew, he saw Neji mouth a single word: "Idiot."
Orochimaru sighed. He attacked a Hyūga... from behind.
Neji was wearing goggles, but his name was Hyūga. He had a 360-degree field of vision.
Ishiro smiled at Orochimaru. "Don't be angry, Leader-dono. This Kidōmaru-kun... he must have spent all his time training. I admire his dedication."
Orochimaru ignored him. He knew his "dedicated" subordinate was finished.
Kidōmaru, still stunned, was flying right toward... Naruto.
Before he could even reorient himself, a searing pain came from behind.
The enraged, out-of-control Naruto grabbed him... and tore him in half.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
The stadium, which had been roaring, fell silent for one, horrifying instant, filled only with Kidōmaru's agonizing scream.
It was, quite literally, a "heart-rending" (sīxīnlièfèi) scream.
The next second, the crowd exploded. The horror was instantly replaced by a bloodthirsty passion. They all jumped to their feet, screaming as if they were the ones with inhuman strength.
But in that moment, Naruto, who had been delayed by his "kill," suddenly saw Neji appear right in front of him.
Pachi!
Neji didn't waste words. He ducked under Naruto's guard and struck him with a sharp palm-heal to the abdomen.
The sound was soft, but Naruto froze. The endless power flooding his body... vanished.
The red chakra shroud evaporated, revealing his skin, which was burned and blistered.
Neji let out a breath. His gamble had worked.
He had used a Gentle Fist tenketsu strike, but he had aimed it at Naruto's seal. He'd used his Tenseigan-enhanced chakra to forcibly sever the flow of the Nine-Tails's chakra.
He could only have done this by seeing the leak in the seal (with the giant Tenseigan's power) and using the Tenseigan's chakra to counter it.
Without the Nine-Tails's chakra, Naruto collapsed.
The crowd, seeing this sudden reversal, was stunned, then burst into the loudest chant of the day: "NE-JI HYŪ-GA! NE-JI HYŪ-GA!"
Genma Shiranui instantly appeared, grabbing Naruto and pulling him away from Neji, terrified he would finish the Jinchūriki off.
He was in awe of Neji's strength... that last move... Genma knew he couldn't have done it.
He saw Neji panting and was relieved. At least it was a hard fight.
But then he noticed... Neji's chakra... was already recovering at an unnatural rate.
He quickly got Naruto to the medics.
Neji turned his gaze back to the Konoha stands.
Only Hinata Hyūga remained.
Hinata, who had been watching with her Byakugan, had seen the entire fight.
She flinched under his gaze, but after a step back, she thought of her father's disappointed eyes, grit her teeth, and jumped into the arena.
Neji, seeing her, stripped off his torn shirt and put on a new one from his pack.
He then took his own, new stance, facing Hinata's Gentle Fist.
The crowd, seeing Neji challenge another opponent, began to buzz, wondering who was left.
When they saw it was another Hyūga, the discussions about the Main and Branch families erupted.
Before, the Hyūga were a feared clan, but after Kakashi's purge, no one was afraid to speak their mind.
The story of the "genius with a grudge" coming back to face his former masters was too juicy.
Behind Kakashi, Hiashi Hyūga, also hearing the crowd, could do nothing.
Around the stadium, the other Hyūga branch members watched with complicated emotions. They were envious of Neji's freedom, but they also knew he still bore the Caged Bird seal, and that his "freedom" was only because he was under the Tsuchikage's protection.
In the Kage box, an ANBU rushed up and whispered to Kakashi that Naruto-kun was fine. (Ishiro, of course, "overheard.")
Down below, Neji and Hinata's "house-keeping" game began.
Neji suppressed his strength to match hers, using only his new "secret arts" against her traditional Gentle Fist.
This was the final proof he needed.
...
The exam was, for all intents and purposes, over.
Konoha was left with one, harmless genin.
So, Danzō... Orochimaru... when are you going to make your move?
Ishiro had set the stage. He had even taken out the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki for them. It was time.
As if in answer to his thoughts, just as Neji sent Hinata Hyūga flying with a gentle palm...
BOOM!
A massive explosion rocked the outer wall of Konoha.
In the distance, a giant flying object was rapidly approaching the village.
The Konoha Crush Plan had begun.
(End of Chapter)
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