After finding Orochimaru, Neji did not rashly send his real body to confront him. In terms of strength alone, he was not afraid of Orochimaru. Even if he could not win, he could still escape.
But out of caution, Neji decided to first have a Shadow Clone take a small amount of Natural Energy Compression Fluid to probe Orochimaru.
Since he had decided to let the Shadow Clone test the waters, he had few concerns. His real body continued circling through the sky atop the Thunder Roc, while the Shadow Clone openly walked in through the entrance of the hidden base.
The tunnel was somewhat dim, and patches of snakeskin even remained in the corners. No one guarded the initial stretch of the entrance. After winding through several turns, Neji arrived before a stone door. Since the Shadow Clone could not inherit the Byakugan, Neji had no way to scout the situation beyond it.
But precisely because he was only a Shadow Clone, he had nothing to fear. He raised his hand and unleashed a Gentle Fist—Little Mountain-Crushing Palm, blasting the stone door to pieces.
The commotion was considerable, so there was no need to announce himself. Dense footsteps soon sounded ahead, and the one leading them was unexpectedly Kidomaru, the spider-silk-spitting fellow. What a small world—though the two had never even met in this life!
Neji could not be bothered with nonsense. He directly mobilized his Chakra and assumed a Gentle Fist stance. The space was so narrow that he did not even activate the Eight Trigrams Formation. He opened with One Hundred Twenty-Eight Empty Palms.
Kidomaru was also somewhat bewildered. The base had been attacked for no apparent reason, and he had brought people over to investigate. Before he could even make out the enemy, he saw dense Chakra palm prints flying toward him. Though he had been prepared, the moment he saw their number and concentration, he knew he could neither dodge nor likely block them!
He could not simply wait for death. He erupted with all his Chakra, and a huge mouthful of spider silk instantly covered the area before him. At the same time, several subordinates behind him reacted and activated defensive ninjutsu using Earth Style and Water Style.
They had barely managed to block the sudden first wave of attacks, buying their side time to prepare. Just as Kidomaru was about to roar a few orders and have his men launch a joint attack to teach the enemy a lesson—
Kidomaru suddenly sensed that something was wrong. The clash of ninjutsu that had just been at a stalemate was abruptly broken, and the defensive system his side had constructed instantly crumbled.
Several Chakra palm prints, larger and more condensed than before, broke through their defensive line at extreme speed and slammed into the crowd on his side. In an instant, a suffocating sense of impending death engulfed his entire body,
and, without any suspense, blasted everyone on his side to the ground.
The fallen Kidomaru rolled several times along the ground, intending to flee back and report what had happened, when he felt several acupoints across his body being sealed. He went limp on the floor, a profound sense of helplessness rising in his heart. The gap was simply too great.
Seeing that they had all been struck and had lost their ability to fight, Neji lowered his attacking hand and silently watched the group sprawled on the ground before him.
He had originally wanted to conserve some Chakra, since he was only a Shadow Clone. But the enemy had stubbornly continued resisting, so he no longer hesitated and mobilized some Sage Chakra.
The Empty Palm enhanced by Sage Chakra instantly shattered the defenses constructed by the group. While they were stunned by his display, he unleashed Gentle Fist—Airborne Pressure-Point Strike, knocking them all down by sealing their acupoints!
Just as Neji's Shadow Clone was considering what to do next, a round of applause came from ahead.
Orochimaru, dressed in a kimono with perfectly straight hair, slowly approached while continuously clapping, as though he had just watched a wonderful performance. Setting everything else aside, he certainly carried himself well—worthy of Cold Lord - Orochimaru.
Behind Orochimaru followed Kimimaro, Tayuya, Sakon, Ukon, and Jirobo.
Now everyone was here. Neji raised his head and stared at Orochimaru, speaking slowly. "Orochimaru-senpai, have you been well lately? This junior, Hyuga Neji, has followed in your footsteps and likewise embarked on the path of betraying the village!"
Neji's faintly teasing words made Orochimaru frown. Were juniors these days all so arrogant? He secretly activated a fear-inducing technique,
and an invisible force field enveloped Neji. Neji had expected this. In the original story, merely one look from Orochimaru had rendered Sasuke in the Chunin Exams unable to move. Sasuke had ultimately relied on self-harm to escape his fear, which showed just how powerful Orochimaru's intimidation was.
Neji directly mobilized all of his remaining Sage Chakra and instantly activated Sage Art—Eight Trigrams Formation to resist Orochimaru's intimidation.
As soon as the Eight Trigrams Formation, amplified by Sage Chakra, emerged, Neji instantly felt his entire body relax. He then rapidly pressed the force field toward Orochimaru!
This unexpected development startled Orochimaru. He had no choice but to increase his Chakra output and fully strengthen the intimidation's power, only barely managing to withstand the suppression of the Sage Art—Eight Trigrams Formation.
This left Orochimaru both shocked and wary. He could sense that there had been a fluctuation of Natural Energy in that instant. The brat opposite him had used Sage Jutsu!
Orochimaru was no insignificant nobody. He had once studied Sage Jutsu at Ryūchi Cave for a time and possessed deep knowledge of both Natural Energy and Sage Jutsu.
But precisely because Orochimaru was too intelligent, he had keenly noticed that there was a problem with the Sage Jutsu taught to him by Ryūchi Cave. He decisively gave up continuing his studies there and instead used Curse Marks to continuously research Natural Energy on his own.
He had even achieved quite good results. If they were judging purely by research ability, Neji would call Orochimaru the strongest! Neji thought with no small amount of mischievous amusement.
After only a moment, both sides consciously withdrew their pressure. Neji took the initiative to speak again. "Orochimaru-senpai, we did come from the same village. Could we sit down and have a proper talk? Perhaps I have something that interests you."
This time, Orochimaru did not probe him further. He waved his subordinates away and led Neji to a tea room.
Once both sides were seated, Orochimaru spoke. "May I ask what business Neji-kun has with me? And what could you possibly possess that would stir my interest?" Orochimaru's voice remained as hoarse, sinister, and terrifying as ever.
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