Neji: Distance Is Meaningless Between Us

Neji shook his head slightly and looked up at the green lid descending from the sky. He unleashed a powerful God Vacuum Attack.

"Crack!"

There was no earth-shattering roar. The green earth lid, like glass, split down the middle and shattered into countless stone fragments.

Neji glanced at the stone pillars arranged in four directions and, in the next instant, used the Body Flicker Technique to break free from the restraining formation.

"The Earth Release: Falling Lid was shattered. That kind of power, was it taijutsu?"

"Lightning Release Chakra Mode?!"

"Even Black Lightning, a Secret Technique developed by the Third Raikage?"

The four Root ninja who had jointly set up the sealing technique were greatly alarmed and quickly retreated.

One Root ninja shouted, "He's skilled in close combat, attack him with long-range ninjutsu."

Whoosh!

Under the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Neji's cells were enhanced, and his body's speed greatly increased.

He appeared behind the ninja in a breath, murmuring, "Distance is meaningless between us."

Squelch!

The moment the last word fell, the Root ninja was pierced through the heart by Neji.

"Is this guy the Two-Tails Jinchuriki?"

On the other side, the information transmitted by the Kikaichū caused Aburame Ryoma, the second-in-command of Root, to break out in a fine sweat.

Unlike the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Kushina, who couldn't properly utilize the Nine-Tails' power and needed the Anbu's "protection" in the village.

The Two-Tails Jinchuriki had entered the battlefield in the later stages of the Third Shinobi World War, with a glorious record of killing over a dozen elite Jonin.

Root ninja had once captured a phantom of the blue cat demon on the battlefield.

Even though it was only a partial Tailed Beast transformation, its strength had improved qualitatively.

Aburame Ryoma's usually expressionless face showed a rare hint of fear.

The appearance of the Two-Tails Jinchuriki completely disrupted his plan.

But there was no reason to back down now.

Failing the mission would mean death upon returning to Root.

Danzo only cared about the results.

He wouldn't care what they went through.

"I'll handle the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, and that kid will be yours."

Aburame Ryoma said to Aoyama Hideomi beside him.

Without waiting for a reply, he quickly surrounded the Two-Tails Jinchuriki with a squad of Root ninja.

Hearing Aburame Ryoma say he would handle the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Aoyama Hideomi's expression stiffened slightly, and he suppressed a smile.

"Fox Squad, follow me."

Glancing back at the Root ninja behind him, Aoyama Hideomi sighed helplessly and led the last group of Root ninja towards Neji.

Squelch!

Yugito retracted her claws, and a Root ninja fell limply to the ground, blood gushing from his chest.

Suddenly, she looked up at the night sky.

A large swarm of black insects flew in from afar. The dense cloud of insects was hard to spot in the dark night, only a faint buzzing could be heard.

"Aburame Ryoma?"

A look of disgust appeared on Yugito's face.

In the entire Konohagakure, the Uchiha clan was undoubtedly the one she feared the most.

Wood Release had vanished from the ninja world, and only the Sharingan could significantly suppress a Jinchuriki.

But the one she disliked the most was the Aburame clan.

It was hard to imagine that a ninja clan would modify their bodies into insect nests.

"Judging by this setup, they plan to kill me first?"

Yugito narrowed her eyes, a smile appearing at the corner of her lips.

That would be for the best.

If Aburame Ryoma died, these Root ninja would be headless flies, incapable of forming a threat.

Yugito watched the insect swarm rapidly approaching in the night sky, retracting her cat claws and forming a simple "Tiger" hand seal.

Most Fire Release ninjutsu conclude with the Tiger hand seal.

Before becoming a Jinchuriki, Yugito was already renowned in Kumogakure for her Fire Release ninjutsu. She could skip many complicated hand seals, successfully releasing Fire Release ninjutsu with just one "Tiger" seal.

"Fire Release: Majestic Fire Destruction."

This was Yugito's most proficient Fire Release ninjutsu.

Its attack range and destructive power depended on the amount of chakra infused by the user.

As a Jinchuriki, Yugito naturally had no shortage of chakra.

Yugito's small mouth puffed up, like a squirrel stuffing its cheeks. She opened her mouth and spat out a sky-covering torrent of flames, instantly engulfing the swarm of insects spanning over ten meters in diameter.

In less than a breath's time, tens of thousands of insects perished in the sea of fire.

"Ninja Art: Mind Body Switch Technique!"

At this moment, an attack struck from the darkness without warning.

A soul, invisible to the naked eye, instantly occupied Yugito's body.

It's probably good for this Yugito to suffer a bit.

Within Yugito's mental space, Matatabi glanced at the suddenly appearing Yamanaka clan ninja, yawned, and then closed its eyes to nap.

She wasn't a perfect Jinchuriki, after all.

"Secret Technique: Insect Ball!"

Aburame Ryoma, who had been lurking underground, suddenly leaped out. He immediately controlled the insects crawling out from the cracks in the rocks and grass, forming a dense swarm that pounced towards Yugito, who was being restrained by the Mind Body Switch Technique.

It would only take a mere three seconds to completely devour the Two-Tails Jinchuriki.

During this process, the Root ninja from the Yamanaka clan would also suffer fatal damage and die.

But this price was undoubtedly worth it.

"Earth Release: Mind..."

"Pfft!"

A Root ninja had barely poked its head out from the ground before Neji decapitated it with a single sword strike.

Simultaneously, Neji suddenly sensed an astonishing amount of chakra. The blue cat demon markings clearly appeared in his Tenseigan's vision.

It was Yugito.

She had entered a half-Tailed Beast state.

The terrifying chakra of the Two-Tails Matatabi was like a lighthouse in the dark night.

Neji couldn't help but feel envious.

He was only six years old now. His Tenseigan had undergone its second upgrade, and his internal chakra had already reached the level of a normal elite Jonin.

But compared to a Tailed Beast, he was still far off.

As a result, abilities that consumed an extreme amount of chakra, like Lightning Release Chakra Mode and chakra beads, couldn't be used without restraint during battle.

To increase my chakra, I either have to cultivate step-by-step over a long period, or I have to get my hands on a Tailed Beast.

While contemplating, Neji used Body Flicker Technique to charge towards another Root ninja.

He unleashed God Vacuum Attack with his left hand, crushing the Root ninja's head from a distance.

"Secret Technique: Shadow Imitation Technique."

Under the moonlight, the shadow stretched out rapidly like a venomous snake, sticking to Neji's shadow cast on the ground from the tree stump. An invisible binding force suppressed Neji, like a puppet controlled by a puppeteer, his limbs manipulated by chakra threads.

He's here?

Neji remained in his sword-swinging posture, unable to move while standing on the tree stump.

The moment his movement was hindered.

Two dark figures suddenly leaped out from the surrounding grass. Their movement speed was incredibly fast; they were close-combat experts skilled in taijutsu.

One on each side, they thrust their swords towards Neji's kidneys.

"Idiot, don't underestimate me!"

His speech was unaffected.

The Shadow Imitation Technique could only control limbs, not the mouth, and certainly not chakra.

The two Root ninja who ambushed him saw a mocking smile reflected on Neji's gleaming chakra blade.

Black Lightning: Chidori Stream!

A Lightning Release ninjutsu that could be cast without hand seals.