Even Geniuses Aren't Good at Everything

Jimo hurried onward and finally reached the scene before Neji's Byakugan was exposed.

"Jimo?"

Neji looked at Jimo, somewhat battered.

"Sorry about this. I really let things get out of hand..."

"Don't say anything yet. Eat this!"

Jimo tossed Neji a Senzu Bean.

"Choji, he..."

"Don't worry, he's fine. The Medical Corps is already on its way!"

Jimo saw the frustration in Neji's eyes, as if his arrival had disrupted something.

"Listen, I'm not good at giving lectures, but I'm still somewhat different from you guys who've lived in Konoha all your lives..." Jimo knocked away one of Kidomaru's arrows with a single hand and spoke calmly.

"Ever since you were young, you've been called a genius among your peers. Being a genius isn't just an honor—it's a shackle, too!"

Neji was taken aback. Though he seemed not to care about being called a genius, he had still trained hard because of that title... It seemed that whatever he did, the reputation of being a genius had influenced him to some extent.

"Even geniuses aren't good at everything. There are times when even they're powerless..."

Jimo smiled.

"So when you're powerless, it's okay to rely on your teammates!"

Jimo formed Hand Seals in a flash, then spat out a massive fireball...

"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"

The fireball, like a small meteor, reduced the giant trees in front of them to ashes, leaving the battlefield wide open.

Kidomaru no longer had anywhere to hide...

"Come on! If you've got the guts, try attacking us with those lousy spiders again!"

Jimo wore an expression that practically said, "Go on, hit me," and looked thoroughly punchable.

Neji, standing beside him, was speechless. He'd seemed like such a serious person just a moment ago...

"But compared to us, you're the real monster!"

Neji looked at the wrecked forest in front of them as he spoke.

Neji and Jimo worked together seamlessly. Whenever Kidomaru's webs came flying, Jimo burned them away with a burst of flame, leaving Kidomaru unable to use his long-range attacks at all.

With no other choice, Kidomaru covered himself in webs and fought them hand-to-hand.

Neji's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms was devastatingly powerful, but Kidomaru's web armor blocked it, preventing Neji's Gentle Fist from penetrating his body.

"You two... you've actually pushed me this far!"

A cruel look appeared in Kidomaru's eyes as his body began to transform.

"This is the power Lord Orochimaru bestowed upon us!"

With the Cursed Seal's second stage activated, Kidomaru's speed and strength increased by leaps and bounds.

Thanks to his many arms, he was even able to hold his own against Neji in a direct clash.

When Neji realized his attacks weren't working, he used Rotation to knock Kidomaru away.

"What a troublesome enemy..." Neji said, looking at Kidomaru, who had turned into a monster.

"Hey, Jimo, if I'm up against this kind of enemy... what about everyone else?"

Seeing an enemy like this, Neji couldn't help worrying about Naruto and the others, who were still pursuing their opponents.

"Don't worry. We have backup, too..."

Before he'd finished speaking, a Kunai stabbed toward Neji from behind. Jimo knocked it aside with his own Kunai.

"Looks like he's figured out the weakness of your Byakugan?"

Jimo said calmly.

"It's just a weakness of the Caged Bird..."

Neji gave a self-mocking smile. "I can't even handle an enemy like this. What a disgrace for a genius..."

"I'll watch your back! Think about it! Why did that Kunai come from that direction?"

Jimo prompted him. Although he was there to back them up, he still wanted Neji to defeat this enemy himself.

"Wait... why would the Kunai move?"

Neji muttered to himself...

He activated his Byakugan and saw that there was actually a thread attached to the end of every Kunai. All the threads led back to Kidomaru.

"I get it!"

A confident expression appeared on Neji's face...

"Every web here was shot out from his body! If he can control the Kunai's trajectory through the webs, then I can send Chakra through them in the opposite direction!"

Another Kunai came flying at him. Neji didn't use Rotation to deflect it or Gentle Fist to knock it away. Instead, he caught it steadily. Then he channeled his Chakra along the Kunai, and it quickly flowed into Kidomaru's body.

In those few seconds of hesitation, Neji rushed up to Kidomaru and struck him without holding back with the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

When the attack was over, Neji was so exhausted that he could barely stand. He'd poured all his Chakra into that attack to make sure he defeated Kidomaru.

"You truly deserve to be called a genius for figuring that out."

Jimo praised him.

"Give me a break. With your strength, beating him would've been easy!" Neji said. His face was weary, but he looked deeply satisfied.

"That's true, but this is your first time fighting an unknown enemy from outside the village for Konoha's sake. So remember this battle well. It'll help you a lot."

"People always say I'm mature for my age... If you ask me, you're way more mature than I am. You're a year younger than me, but you talk like an old man!"

Jimo propped Neji against a tree, then beat Kidomaru senseless using the same bloody method as before and tied him securely to the tree. Finally, he set off a Signal Flare to notify the Anbu coming from afar.

Using his Ki sense, Jimo detected Naruto's location. There was someone nearby with an equally powerful aura.

"This is bad..."

Jimo rode the Flying Nimbus toward them. According to the information his clone had sent back, Rock Lee and the Sand Siblings were already on their way to help.

"Host, you still have an unclaimed reward! Would you like to claim the 'Three Ninja Battle' reward pack?"

An electronic voice sounded in Jimo's mind.

"Would you look at that? How long has it been since you last showed up... And why are you only bringing up something from a month ago now?"

Jimo grumbled. He'd felt like something had been off lately.

The lousy system had been out of contact for ages... It hadn't said a word since the Chunin Ninja Exams began.

"To ensure that the host has an easy and enjoyable time in the world of Naruto, this system will not deliberately interfere with the host's choices. It will only notify the host when a reward pack is obtained!"

The system's explanation made Jimo want to curse.

"Open the reward pack!"

"Analyzing reward pack!"

"Reward pack analysis: 30%"

"Reward pack analysis: 60%"

"Reward pack analysis: 90%"

"Congratulations, host! You have obtained new skills: Kaio-ken and Spirit Bomb! The system reminds the host that these techniques are immensely powerful. Using them in this world would cause it to collapse!"

"Matching world's power level!"

"Match successful! Side effects eliminated!"