The two of them stepped forward at once, about to collide!
When Neji and Karui first exchanged blows, most of the audience could not understand the details of what they had done at all.
To them, it had merely looked like one person flashing in front of the other and swinging a blade, while the other seemed to strike backhandedly once—and then it was over.
Then the female ninja from Hidden Cloud had even punched herself in what looked like an act of self-harm.
What was that supposed to be...? Why was it nothing like the ninja battles they had imagined? So boring...
But the other ninjas in the stands, as well as the contestants watching through electronic screens in the preparation rooms, could see the details of their exchange.
Neji had first used the Shadow Shuriken Technique to force her to change her grip on the sword.
After all, the vast majority of people were right-handed. Being forced to change one's grip would reduce the power of one's attacks and make movements less fluid.
In a battle between ninjas, even the slightest mistake could determine the victor, or even cost someone their life.
Karui had likely gone along with it after being forced to change her grip. If that slash had landed, the match would have ended immediately.
Even if it missed, it would have paralyzed a large portion of Neji's chest muscles, laying the groundwork for her eventual victory.
But unfortunately, she had not encountered just anyone. She had encountered Neji of the Hyuga clan.
The Hyuga clan was inherently skilled at controlling Chakra within the human body. They could even release Chakra through the body's various acupoints to ward off close-range attacks.
At that critical moment, Neji had directly formed a protective membrane of Chakra over his