A delicate shout rang out.
"Buzz—!"
A condensed, almost tangible, pale blue Chakra shockwave, visible to the naked eye, shot out like a cannonball. Soundless yet possessing terrifying penetrative power, it instantly covered the distance between the two, heading straight for Temari.
"!!!"
Temari's hair stood on end.
This attack came too fast and too suddenly.
She had no time to use Wind Release for defense and could only forcefully thrust her massive Three-Star Fan horizontally in front of her!
"Clang-thud!"
The Air Palm shockwave slammed viciously onto the large fan blade.
The hard metal ribs of the fan groaned under the immense pressure.
A terrifying impact force traveled through the fan, and Temari felt a sharp pain in both arms, her blood churning. The immense force pushed her backward several meters, her feet plowing two deep furrows in the ground!
In the center of the fan blade, a slightly concave palm print was clearly visible!
Seeing this, Hyuga Hiashi's usually stern face showed a hint of pride as he raised an eyebrow.
With his hands tucked into the sleeves of his kimono, he nodded in satisfaction: "Hinata's Air Palm is quite good. It seems her Gentle Fist has become even more profound."
"Hanabi, you should learn more from your older sister."
Hyuga Hanabi's eyes were filled with admiration, and she nodded quickly.
In the arena.
"So…so strong! Such penetrative power!"
Temari's face was slightly pale, and alarm bells rang in her heart.
She hadn't expected that Hyuga Hinata, who practiced Gentle Fist and should only be skilled in close combat, would have such sharp long-range attacks?
Wouldn't that mean her advantage in long-range combat was completely gone!
Not giving Temari a moment to catch her breath, Hinata pushed off the ground, rushing forward like an arrow released from a bowstring.
Her objective was clear—to get close.
As long as she broke into the domain of Gentle Fist, the scales of victory would tip completely!
"Don't you dare!"
Temari gritted her teeth, swinging her Three-Star Fan again, lifting it forcefully from bottom to top!
"Wind Release: Wind Scythe Jutsu!"
This time, it wasn't an attack, but a defense.
With a "whoosh," a violent whirlwind instantly formed around her, creating a rapidly rotating tornado wall mixed with sharp wind blades.
This was her strongest close-range Wind Release defense, intended to completely isolate Hinata.
Facing this deadly wind wall, capable of shredding steel, Hinata's eyes showed no wavering; instead, they became even brighter.
Her charging speed did not decrease in the slightest!
She formed hand signs again in front of her chest, and an even larger surge of pale blue Chakra erupted!
"Gentle Fist Art: Twin Lion Fists!"
Two massive, lifelike, pure Chakra-formed azure lion heads, roaring deafeningly, instantly enveloped Hinata's fists.
Their manes flew, their fangs bared, seemingly exuding a terrifying aura of destruction.
This was a secret, high-level Taijutsu passed down only within the Main Family, adding shape transformation to the foundation of Gentle Fist!
"Break—for me!"
Hinata let out a delicate shout, thrusting both fists forward.
Her fists, covered in the Twin Lion Chakra aura, struck the rotating wall of death with an unstoppable momentum capable of shattering mountains and splitting seas!
"Roar—"
"Rumble rumble rumble!!!"
The clash of lion roars and wind howls was deafening!
Under everyone's horrified gazes, the seemingly indestructible rotating wind wall, before the terrifying power of the Twin Lion Fists, was like fragile glass—
"Crack! Snap! Bang—!!"
It was instantly torn, pierced, and shattered!
The violent Chakra lion heads forcibly tore a huge gap in the wind wall! Then completely shattered this Ninjutsu!
Hinata's figure, enveloped in the azure glow of the Twin Lion Fists, burst through the gap in the shattered wind wall like a Valkyrie breaking through a storm, instantly closing in on Temari, who was filled with disbelief and even a hint of fear.
The distance was now within the absolute domain of Gentle Fist.
A green Tai Chi Eight Trigrams diagram appeared, rotated, and spread out beneath Hyuga Hinata's feet, clearly enveloping Temari, who happened to be standing in the "Kan" position of the Tai Chi Eight Trigrams diagram.
"It's over."
Hinata's voice was calm and unruffled.
The glow of the Twin Lion Fists instantly receded, transforming into pure Chakra that flowed back into her body.
Her hands became a blur of afterimages!
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!!"
Two palms struck down the unformed Wind Release.
Four palms pushed away the Three-Star Fan.
Eight palms accurately struck Temari's fan-holding arm from the side.
Ten palms hit Temari's shoulder blade.
Twelve palms caused stiffness.
Fourteen palms…
This time, the Eight Trigrams Palms were incredibly fast!
The power was condensed to the extreme!
Each palm precisely struck a Chakra point within Temari's body!
A series of crisp, rapid sounds, like a sudden storm, merged into one continuous noise!
"Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat!"
Temari felt as if she was being simultaneously pierced by countless high-voltage currents.
Her arms instantly lost all sensation, and the huge Three-Star Fan fell to the ground with a "clatter"!
The flow of Chakra throughout her body was instantly disrupted and severed!
Streams of soft yet highly destructive Chakra rampaged through her meridians, causing tearing pain!
She couldn't even cry out in pain. Her body felt as if all strength had been drained, her vision blurred, blood spilled from her mouth, and she collapsed backward like a broken puppet.
Before the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms could finish, white feathers suddenly began to drift down from the sky above the circular arena.
"What's going on?"
Hinata's heart trembled slightly, and she simply pushed with her palm.
Temari flew backward like a discarded rag, landing heavily several meters away. She struggled a few times but couldn't even find the strength to get up, only able to gasp in pain, her emerald eyes filled with humiliation, shock, and incomprehension.
"What happened? I'm so sleepy."
Ino Yamanaka's eyelids felt heavy and began to droop.
Naruto pinched Ino Yamanaka's cheek to wake her up. He looked around the large arena and saw that most of the audience had fallen asleep where they sat. Only a few Jonin, Anbu, and the instigators were still awake.
Ino Yamanaka hugged her arms, shivered, and asked with uncertainty, "Naruto—Naruto, did I just fall asleep?"
Naruto nodded calmly: "It's a Genjutsu."
It should be Yakushi Kabuto's Temple of Nirvana Jutsu.
As the illusionary feathers fell from the sky, ordinary citizens and lower-ranked Shinobi fell asleep in droves.
"Orochimaru's Konoha Crush Plan has begun."
Naruto told Ino Yamanaka to sit still and not move. He stood up and looked towards the VIP seating area, only to see the "Kazekage" in the corner tower already holding Hiruzen Sarutobi hostage.
Sand Shinobi, Otogakure, and others immediately appeared on the rooftop in quick succession. Among them, the Otogakure Four immediately deployed the Four Violet Flames Formation, trapping Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru, who was disguised as the Kazekage, inside.
"It's about to get real."
"To be safe, Kurenai-sensei, Ino, you two should hide in my Dark Dusk Court for now."
"Dark Dusk Court?"
Before Kurenai Yuhi could finish speaking, the shadow beneath her feet, like a dark bottomless pit, suddenly swallowed her.
The same happened to Hyuga Hinata in the arena; she unexpectedly fell into her own shadow and disappeared.
"Naruto, what about you—"
Before she finished speaking, Ino Yamanaka let out an "Ah!" and also fell into the shadow beneath her feet.
"What about me?"
Naruto's lips curled into a smile, and he rubbed his hands together, muttering, "Heh, do I even need to say? Of course, I'm going to have some fun!"