Capturing Zabuza

There were still very few people unafraid of death. Besides, Neji had given them hope, so the five did not hesitate long before choosing to live.

After a brief inquiry, he learned that this Chunin was called Yun Lin, a wandering ninja who had obtained a ninja inheritance through a fortunate opportunity.

Yun Lin even eagerly showed off the opportunity he had received.

Neji had been fairly curious at that moment, but after watching Yun Lin perform several Fire Style ninjutsu, he did nothing further and merely waited for Neji's appraisal.

Neji looked as though he had swallowed something disgusting and, after a long pause, forced out one word: "Not bad!"

He then dismissed them, telling them to make some minor adjustments and prepare to head for their next target.

At the same time, Neji deeply felt just how difficult life was for commoners without an inheritance, without the support of a ninja clan or ninja village. A few simple Fire Style ninjutsu were treated by Yun Lin as priceless treasures, cherished as dearly as his life. He hoped to rely on them to defy fate and change his destiny.

That feeling stirred an urge in Neji to change the world, but the impulse came quickly and faded just as quickly. Neji laughed at himself. He should free himself from his own fate first.

The Caged Bird Curse Mark had yet to be removed, and the fate in which he would die tragically during the Fourth Great Ninja War had not been broken either. Where would he find the spare time to pity the world and its people?

After collecting himself, he led the five toward their next target.

This target was somewhat troublesome. The Black Market stated that the other party might be a rogue ninja who had defected from Kirigakure, proficient in Water Style and Assassination Techniques, with the strength of a Jonin. He was suspected of controlling a certain conglomerate, but detailed information was unavailable.

Neji did not pay it much mind. With his current Elite Jonin strength, and with this not yet being the later era when combat power had become outrageously inflated, Neji was still confident that as long as his opponent was not one of the major ninja villages' foremost powerhouses, he could fight anyone ordinary.

The group of six spent nearly seven hours reaching their destination. The Black Market had marked it as a large estate. From the outside, it looked quite elegant, covering nearly twenty mu. One could tell at a glance that it had cost a fortune to build.

When they were two kilometers from the estate, the six stopped. Neji activated his Byakugan and observed the place carefully. What he saw surprised him.

A man wrapped head to toe in bandages, with a massive blade nearly three meters long beside him, and not far away, a boy around Neji's own age. That combination, that attire—the names were practically on the tip of his tongue: Demon of the Hidden Mist, Momochi Zabuza, and Haku.

This was fate. Neji could not help thinking mischievously, If I take out Zabuza here, will Naruto and Sasuke lose such excellent beginner "teachers," weakening their combat power by the time of the Fourth Great Ninja War?

Neji smiled knowingly. Why worry about so much? After instructing the five to stand watch outside, he walked straight toward the estate. He no longer concealed his presence. As for why, Neji could only say that when facing Zabuza, there was no need!

With the Byakugan, he was practically Zabuza's natural nemesis. No matter how heaven-defying Zabuza's Assassination Techniques were, he had nowhere to hide before the Byakugan.

Zabuza was likewise a ninja who had spent years walking the line between life and death, and his vigilance was extremely high. When Neji was still a kilometer away, Zabuza had already noticed him. Without wasting words asking who he was or why he had come, Zabuza called out to Haku and directly unleashed the Hidden Mist Technique.

As expected of Demon of the Hidden Mist, Momochi Zabuza. His Hidden Mist Technique was several times stronger than Zuo Mu-Duanlong's. Yet before the Byakugan that naturally countered him, it seemed so ridiculous and laughable.

Neji took in Zabuza's every move and charged into the thick mist without slowing down, heading straight for him.

Zabuza was also rich in combat experience. Seeing Neji's posture, his heart instantly sank. He knew he was in trouble; he had encountered a sensory ninja. Even so, he did not retreat. Gripping the Kubikiribōchō, he charged directly toward Neji as well.

Knowing that his Hidden Mist assassination technique had been countered, Zabuza immediately decided to crush his opponent with sheer, upright force. He, Zabuza, feared nothing!

Watching Zabuza charge toward him as well,

Neji was equally fearless. He immediately stopped, assuming the opening stance of the Gentle Fist. He did not activate the Eight Trigrams Formation right away, instead silently gathering power within his body like a crouching prehistoric tiger waiting for its prey to come to its door. Momochi Zabuza, who had never suffered Neji's brutal beating, had no idea what he was about to face as he plunged headfirst into the core of the Eight Trigrams Formation.

Without further hesitation, Neji instantly unleashed the chakra he had accumulated for so long, fully expanding the Eight Trigrams Formation.

A sensation of being suppressed from every direction spread throughout Zabuza's body. It felt as though he had leaped into a swamp—no matter how he exerted himself or in which direction he applied force, he met resistance. The fighting spirit that had only just been roused in Zabuza's heart turned ice-cold!

Retreat! He had to leave this area immediately! That was Zabuza's most urgent thought.

But how could Neji give Zabuza the chance? Did he think the Eight Trigrams Formation was somewhere he could enter and leave whenever he pleased?

"Eight Trigrams - Four Palms of Heavenly Void!" Extremely condensed chakra gathered in Neji's palm. Without giving Zabuza any chance to catch his breath, Neji fired three Empty Palms in rapid succession at tremendous speed.

Locked down and suppressed by the Eight Trigrams Formation, Zabuza could not evade the three high-speed Empty Palms and was sent flying by them. Even while airborne, he felt immense resistance and suppression. What kind of damned power is this?! Zabuza complained bitterly to himself.

Before Zabuza could land, Neji had already condensed an even larger sphere of chakra in his palm. Without hesitation, he struck again at Zabuza as he flew through the air.

Just as the final ultimate strike of Neji's "Eight Trigrams - Four Palms of Heavenly Void" was about to hit Zabuza,

An ice crystal suddenly appeared before Zabuza. It formed with astonishing speed, but Neji's Empty Palm was faster. The ice crystal, not yet fully solidified, held for only a moment before shattering, and the Empty Palm continued toward Zabuza.

With nothing left to stop it, the Empty Palm struck Zabuza cleanly, severely wounding him and knocking him unconscious.

Neji stepped forward several paces, keeping Zabuza enveloped within the Eight Trigrams Formation. Looking at the arriving Haku, he said in a deep voice, "If you do not want him to die, step forward a few paces and give up resisting."

Haku looked somewhat anxious. Once he determined that Zabuza was not dead, he obediently walked forward as instructed and gave up resisting.

Neji did not hold back either, directly firing several Empty Palms to seal Haku's acupoints. He then had Haku bandage Zabuza and stop the bleeding. Otherwise, Zabuza might really die.

After finishing this, Neji signaled to the others who had arrived from behind, telling them to enter the estate, restrain the remaining people, and loot the grounds for spoils.