God Vacuum Attack

As the seasons turned, autumn harvests gave way to winter stores.

Unbeknownst to him, Neji had been training in Kumogakure for two years.

Though Neji was only six, two years of soaking in secret medicine had transformed him from a young child into a sturdy boy standing 1.3 meters tall.

One day, in the Raikage's Office, Yozuki A held a dumbbell in one hand and asked Shoichi, "Senior Shoichi, how has Neji's training progressed lately?"

"Lord Raikage, the boy is exceptional. He has already mastered Lightning Release Chakra Mode."

"Oh?"

Yozuki A was a little surprised.

He was a once-in-decades genius of Kumogakure, yet even he had only learned Lightning Release Chakra Mode at thirteen.

It seemed his father's idea had been proven right.

In that case, it was essential to build Kumogakure's own Hyuga clan.

Yozuki A continued, "Senior Shoichi, I'm planning to let Neji hone his skills for another two years. I'll have to trouble you to keep looking after him."

Shoichi shook his head with a wry smile. "Lord Raikage, I have nothing left to teach him. There isn't a single shinobi in all of Kumogakure qualified to be his teacher."

Thud!

The dumbbell fell from Yozuki A's hand, and the floor tiles beneath it instantly shattered.

"Senior, you can't be joking, can you?!"

Even the usually unflappable Dodai looked astonished, asking in dismay.

"Heh."

Shoichi's lips curled slightly as he smiled. "Young Dodai, I've taught Neji for over a year. I know that boy far better than you do."

"Lord Raikage, forgive my frankness, but I'm afraid we've all underestimated Neji."

"To be conservative, his current strength has already reached the level of an ordinary Special Jonin."

"Hahaha!"

Yozuki A laughed with unusual delight, then leaped out the window. He became a streak of blue-white lightning and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Dodai looked at the shattered glass and rubbed his head, at a loss for words, though the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

"It's been a long time since Lord Raikage was this happy."

"Young Dodai, let's go take a look too."

Kumogakure was especially tranquil at dusk.

The buildings seemed to have donned gray coats, while Tianyun Mountain towered into the clouds like a giant, watching over this vibrant village.

In a special training ground, Hyuga Neji stood quietly in the center, dressed in black training clothes with his eyes closed.

The training ground was packed with mechanisms, and countless kunai pointed their razor-sharp tips at him.

Neji opened his eyes and slowly released the cord controlling the mechanisms.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

In an instant, the creak of the mechanisms starting up and the piercing rush of wind filled the training ground. Countless kunai surged toward Neji like a torrential downpour.

At that very moment, blue-white lightning enveloped Neji.

His body moved.

Like a blue arrow, he charged straight toward the incoming kunai, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound.

The kunai were incredibly fast, and they came at him from all directions, leaving no blind spots. But under Neji's strange pale eyes, flecked with blue light, the trajectory of every kunai was clear.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!!

Neji's palms became blurs as they shot forward, accompanied by a powerful blast of air.

The kunai he struck burst apart one after another from the inside, scattering into countless iron fragments and making Neji's blue figure look like a ghost in the mist.

Zing!!

The last enormous Fūma Shuriken shot toward Neji from straight ahead.

Spinning at tremendous speed, it carried enough kinetic force to slice effortlessly through human flesh.

Neji stood motionless, the corners of his cool, composed mouth lifting slightly. He clenched his right fist.

"God Vacuum Attack!"

He threw a straight punch, unleashing all his fierce power. The wind from his fist scattered the iron fragments that had yet to hit the ground, while chakra formed into a solid mass of air and shot from his body toward the Fūma Shuriken.

Boom!

Before it could reach Hyuga Neji, the Fūma Shuriken was struck by the chakra mass five meters away and exploded into tiny iron fragments.

For a Taijutsu master, splitting stone with a punch was easy.

But striking force directly into an object and pulverizing it from within, the way Neji had, was no feat an ordinary person could accomplish.

A shinobi's body was nowhere near as hard as a Fūma Shuriken. It was easy to imagine what would happen if that attack hit a person.

"I did it."

Neji narrowed his eyes and looked at the panel in his mind. A smile tugged at his lips. "I've finally developed a technique to replace Gentle Fist. I won't have to poke Tailed Beasts and Susanoo with Gentle Fist anymore."

[Taijutsu: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms Lv4 (241/4000), God Vacuum Attack Lv1 (1/500)]

The God Vacuum Attack he had developed fused the techniques for generating force used by the Steel Fist and Gentle Fist. It combined the Steel Fist's brutal power with Gentle Fist's penetrating force and finesse.

Once struck by its ball of chakra, the attack would follow the enemy's chakra points into their body and pulverize them from within.

Additionally, God Vacuum Attack was an elemental-neutral Nintaijutsu. By infusing it with one of the five chakra natures, he could develop a variety of uses for it.

That was much like Naruto's intensive training with Rasengan!

"I wonder if the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack wielded by Kaguya Otsutsuki works on the same principle as my God Vacuum Attack. But with Kaguya Otsutsuki's terrifying body, every move of hers can unleash world-shattering power. The Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack probably just relies on brute force; when it comes to technique, it can't match God Vacuum Attack."

Neji collected himself and glanced at Yozuki A, who had appeared in the training ground at some point. A trace of shock showed in the Raikage's eyes, and Neji's face took on an apologetic expression.

"Lord Raikage, I'm sorry, I—"

"I interrupted your training. I should be the one apologizing. You mastered Lightning Release Chakra Mode so quickly—you've given me a huge surprise."

Yozuki A waved a hand, then looked at the fine iron fragments scattered across the ground, as fine as flour. He asked in confusion, "Was that ability you just used a Nintaijutsu you developed yourself?"

The lightning wrapped around Neji was visible from several miles away. It was clearly Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

But the chakra mass Neji had struck with at the end was unlike any Nintaijutsu Yozuki A had ever seen.

"Yes."

Hyuga Neji nodded calmly. "The technique is called God Vacuum Attack. It's A-rank."

Yozuki A paused at that, then felt another wave of astonishment well up inside him.

Without exception, anyone who could develop a technique of their own was a genius.

In truth, the Fourth Raikage A and the Third Raikage had both been geniuses among geniuses.

The Nintaijutsu they wielded had distinctive styles of their own because they had developed them themselves.

But neither of them could have created an A-rank technique at six years old.

Yozuki A also noticed the flecks of blue light in Neji's luminous white eyes. A possibility suddenly occurred to him, and he blurted out, "Neji, could your eyes be the legendary Tenseigan?"

Under Yozuki A's expectant gaze, Neji slowly nodded.

Whew!

Yozuki A took a deep breath, then clapped Neji on the shoulder and burst into hearty, unrestrained laughter.