Sakura vs. Neji (2)

The two fighters were incredibly fast; before the audience could even catch their breath, they had already exchanged hundreds of blows.

Both men were intimately familiar with each other's boxing techniques.

The tall, thin boy's usual sparring partner is Rock Lee, who practices Strong Fist in the group. He is very experienced in dealing with enemies with strong and powerful punches. The pink-haired girl's friend Hinata, whom she often meets, is a member of Hyuga clan and possesses the authentic Hyuga Gentle Fist. When the girl spars with her, she is also very familiar with the characteristics of Gentle Fist.

Therefore, although the two fought quickly, neither revealed a fatal flaw. They fought back and forth for so long without gaining the upper hand, let alone deciding a winner.

The pink-haired girl's punches and kicks were extremely powerful, but the boy handled them with ease, using softness to overcome hardness, deflecting force, blocking left and right, or dodging and weaving, so that the girl's punches and kicks could only exert two or three tenths of their full strength.

The black-haired boy's Gentle Fist was gentle in its force, but its true killing move was to Chakra into the enemy's body, causing damage to their internal organs and bones. However, against the girl, his usually invincible Gentle Fist was completely ineffective. When his fists and palms struck the girl, they hit a layer of water film, Chakra seemed to encounter an obstacle, unable to penetrate the girl's body. The power of the Gentle Fist was actually suppressed by about 70-80%!

The fight between the two, though intense, was merely a test.

Boom--!

Sensing the girl's powerful punch, which was unstoppable, the black-haired boy retreated rapidly, leaping back ten meters to create a safe distance. The girl's unstoppable punch, unable to be withdrawn in time, slammed into the ground, actually breaking through a floorboard as thick as an arm, making a heavy thud!

The crowd in the stands erupted in uproar.

"Both of them are amazing!" "I can't keep up with their pace!" "Getting hit by that punch would definitely kill me!" The examinees were buzzing with discussion.

On the other hand, Naruto shrank back, recalling his painful experience of being brutally beaten by Sakura.

Might Guy's eyes lit up. The girl's Nintaijutsu had the feel of Strong Fist technique, and it was quite strong. She was even able to fight Neji to a standstill! He immediately became interested.

Not far away, a boy with dark circles under his eyes looked at the two on the field and revealed a sinister smile!

Off the court, the two men, who had initially created distance between themselves, faced off for only a few seconds before silently lunging at each other again!

After the initial probing, the second round of battle became even more intense and brutal.

In the first round of fighting, both sides tested each other based on their understanding of Strong Fist and Gentle Fist techniques.

The girl quickly discovered that although Neji's Gentle Fist and Hinata's Gentle Fist originated from the same source, they were different. The talented Neji's Gentle Fist was more fierce and decisive. Each punch and palm strike seemed light and fluffy, like flying catkins, but the power was hidden within. Even when struck in empty space, it would make a sound like hitting broken leather.

The boy with long, straight black hair also realized that although the girl's Nintaijutsu and regular Strong Fist seemed similar, they were actually quite different. The thin layer of water surrounding her joints did more than just enhance her speed and strength; more importantly, it provided additional support and force in addition to the ground.

Power originates from the root, reaches the legs, with the waist as the pivot, flowing through the back, smoothing the shoulders, moving through the arms and elbows, and emanating from the extremities. This is a universal principle of boxing, but in the young girl's case, this principle failed.

The increased support allowed the girl's punches and kicks to combine the ferocity of Strong Fist with the agility of Gentle Fist, and even a touch of the unpredictable and unpredictable nature not usually found in Taijutsu.

After the first round of testing, both of them realized that, given their respective skill levels in Taijutsu, it would be difficult to determine a winner using such basic techniques.

Therefore, in the second round of the battle, Neji's fighting style suddenly changed. He no longer simply used Gentle Fist to strike, but instead adopted a defensive approach using Gentle Fist and an offensive approach using pressure points.

The starkly different fighting styles immediately caught Sakura off guard and put her at a disadvantage.

The twenty-sixth move: the girl lunged forward with a punch, the force of which was like the wind, but Neji managed to dodge it.

Taking advantage of the girl's exhausted punching power, Neji pressed forward and delivered a light, Gentle Fist straight for her heart. If this strike landed, given the nature of the Gentle Fist, it would surely cause internal damage to her heart!

The girl's expression remained cold and unchanging, like frost that had stood for millennia. Yet, she somehow managed to shift her upper body back half an inch, allowing Neji's right palm to graz a soft surface. At the same time, seeing Neji's left palm reach towards the girl's right shoulder, the girl's free left hand had already reached out in front of Neji 'Neji left palm, intercepting the attack.

The instant the girl grabbed Neji's left hand, Neji's sharp eyes narrowed, and he forcefully stopped the momentum of his left hand, transforming it into a sword finger. He quickly twisted his wrist and struck an acupoint on the girl's right arm!

"He's been hit in the pressure point!" Li exclaimed in the stands.

The girl felt a numbness in her right arm Chakra was blocked at her pressure point. She quickly retreated, hastily widening the distance between herself and Neji.

"Acupoint? What... what's going on?" Seeing Sakura, who had just been on the offensive, hastily retreat after Neji's attack, Naruto realized that something bad must have happened to her.

"Acupoints... are an advanced form of Gentle Fist," Li replied solemnly. "They utilize the Byakugan to precisely observe acupoints on the human body, as small as pinholes, and then use Gentle Fist techniques to inject Chakra into these acupoints, thereby blocking the enemy's Chakra flow!"

Off the court, Sakura took off her coat, revealing her right arm. Beneath her fair skin, a bright red arm looked even more striking.

"You've already felt the power of the pressure points!" Neji said arrogantly. "After being struck by the pressure points, your right hand can barely flow Chakra anymore. You can't even Hand Seals now! And your Taijutsu requires precise Chakra manipulation, so both your Taijutsu and Ninjutsu have been sealed by my pressure points! You have no hope of winning!"

"I've passed; failure is your fate!"

The girl remained silent.

That's right, Sakura has already lost... In the stands, Might Guy and Lee, who were familiar with the power of the pressure points, acknowledged Neji's technique.

Most of the others in the stands wore expressions of sympathy, thankful that they hadn't encountered an opponent like Neji. Techniques like the pressure point technique were incredibly effective against ninjas who relied on Chakra for combat, especially close-combat ninjas!

Only a few people still firmly believe that Sakura is far from being on the verge of defeat.

Given Sakura's personality and reaction speed, Neji's pressure point should have been blocked by the Ultra-Pure Water... Could it be that she deliberately fell for it? Sakura, what exactly are you trying to do? Kakashi was confused.

From the stands, despite the overwhelming disadvantage, the girl's cold gaze remained completely unmoved.

She did intentionally allow herself to be struck in the acupoint.

The primary reason she did this was because she knew that even if she was hit in a pressure point, she would still have an absolute advantage.

More importantly, although she is destined to become a mage in this life, the girl still retains the passion she had as a boy before she transmigrated.

I crave a brutal, visceral battle, a fight without any pretense!

Such a rare opportunity to encounter a master of pure Taijutsu —if we don't exchange a few blows and instead use Ultra-Pure Water to turn the battle into a crushing victory, wouldn't that take away a lot of the fun of fighting?

If it weren't for battles like these, how could my Taijutsu be improved and refined? If the outcome of a battle were never in doubt, how could I hone my willpower?

How can you truly improve your Taijutsu skills if you keep cheating with Ultra-Pure Water in defense? To become a true strongman, you can't have such a weakness!

Kakashi-sensei, please forgive my stubbornness!

Victory is what I desire; a battle against a worthy opponent is also what I desire. If I cannot have both, then... I will cheat to have both!

Furthermore, Sakura was also very curious about what these so-called "acupoints" were and why they had such great power.

After personally experiencing the acupoints, Sakura discovered that the so-called acupoints are like sewer drains blocked by sludge. To unblock them, one either needs to flush away the sludge with a large flow of water like Naruto, or use precise Chakra control to move the sludge away one by one. The former is quick but very damaging to the meridians, while the latter, although it does not damage the meridians, is very troublesome.

Sakura doesn't have Naruto's massive Chakra or his exceptional physique, so she naturally wouldn't choose the former method.

If she chooses the latter method, Neji won't give her that much time.

Perhaps, just as everyone in the stands thought, the girl had reached a dead end?

"Neji- kun, why do you keep repeating the word 'fate'?" The girl's voice remained calm as always. "Why do you always like to arbitrarily determine someone's fate!"

"I hate the word 'fate.' Nothing is predetermined! Blaming everything on fate, in my opinion... is just cowardly escapism!" the girl said resolutely.

"I will never admit defeat! I take life and death lightly, and if you're not convinced, then fight! This is the Ninja Way I believe in!"

Having said that, the two understood each other's feelings and there was no need for further words. All that remained was the battle!

Since words cannot convince each other, let's prove ourselves right with fists!

The black-haired boy's Gentle Fist flowed like water, his fighting spirit burning like fire; the pink-haired girl's Strong Fist were as fierce as the wind, her battle intent as cold as ice!

Two figures, one of ice and one of fire, collided like Mars colliding with Earth, without any pretense!