Even Geniuses Aren't Omnipotent

Jimo continued pressing forward and finally arrived at the scene just before Neji's Byakugan could be seen through.

"Jimo?"

Neji looked at Jimo, somewhat battered.

"Sorry about this, ending up so disheveled..."

"Don't talk yet, kid—eat this!"

Jimo tossed Neji a Senzu Bean.

"Choji, he..."

"Relax, nothing serious. The Medical Corps is already on their way!"

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

"Listen, I'm not great at lecturing, but I'm still a bit different from you guys who grew up in Konoha..." Jimo casually knocked aside an arrow Kidomaru had fired, speaking very calmly.

"You've been called a genius among the younger generation since you were little. That title isn't just an honor—it's also a shackle!"

Hearing this, Neji froze. On the surface, he seemed indifferent to the label of genius, but in truth, he still trained hard for it... It felt like everything he did was, to some extent, influenced by that genius label.

"A genius isn't omnipotent either. There are times when they're powerless..."

Jimo revealed a smile.

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

Jimo's hands moved rapidly through hand seals, and a massive fireball erupted from his mouth...

"Fire Style! Fireball Jutsu!"

Like a small meteor, the fireball incinerated the many giant trees ahead, leaving the battlefield wide open.

Kidomaru no longer had any place to hide...

"Come on! Try attacking us with your crappy spiders again, if you've got the guts!"

Jimo wore a "come and hit me" expression, thoroughly asking for a beating.

It left Neji utterly speechless—this guy had been so serious just a moment ago...

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

Looking at the devastated forest before him, Neji remarked.

Neji and Jimo worked together seamlessly. Whenever Kidomaru's spider silk came flying, Jimo would burn it away with a burst of flame, completely neutralizing his long-range attacks.

Forced into a corner, Kidomaru had to coat his entire body in spider silk and engage the two in close combat.

Though Neji's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms was devastating, the spider silk covering Kidomaru's body blocked it, preventing the gentle force from penetrating into Kidomaru's body.

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

A cruel look flashed in Kidomaru's eyes as his body began to slowly mutate.

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

The second stage of the Cursed Seal activated, and Kidomaru's speed and strength underwent a qualitative leap.

With the support of multiple arms, he could actually match Neji in a direct clash.

Seeing that he couldn't break through after a prolonged assault, Neji used Rotation to knock him back.

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

"Hey, Jimo, if it's like this here... then what about the others?"

Faced with this kind of foe, Neji couldn't help worrying about Naruto and the others still in pursuit.

"No need to worry—we've got backup too..."

Before he finished speaking, a kunai stabbed toward Neji's back, but Jimo deflected it aside with his own kunai.

"Looks like this guy has seen through the flaw in your Byakugan?"

Jimo said calmly.

"Just the flaw of the Caged Bird..."

Neji laughed bitterly. "Can't even handle an enemy like this—some genius I am, how embarrassing..."

"I've got your back! Think carefully—why did that kunai come stabbing from that direction?"

Jimo reminded him. Though he was here to cover for them, he really wanted Neji to defeat this enemy with his own hands.

"Why... did the kunai move positions?"

Neji muttered to himself...

He activated his Byakugan and noticed that every kunai had a thread attached to its end, and all those threads ultimately led back to Kidomaru.

"I get it!"

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

"Every one of these spider threads is fired from his body! If he can use them to control the trajectory of the kunai, then I can reverse-inject my chakra into them too!"

Another kunai flew in, but Neji didn't deflect it with Rotation or knock it down with Gentle Fist. Instead, he caught it steadily. Channeling his chakra along the weapon, he sent it flowing straight into Kidomaru's body.

In that brief pause, Neji closed the distance and struck Kidomaru with the full force of Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

When the assault ended, Neji collapsed from exhaustion. He had poured every last drop of his chakra into finishing Kidomaru for good.

"To think of that—you're a true genius."

Jimo praised him.

"Cut it out. With your strength, beating him would've been a walk in the park!" Neji replied, his face weary but deeply satisfied.

"Yeah, but this is your first time as a Konoha ninja fighting an unknown enemy from outside the village for its sake. So remember this battle well—it'll serve you."

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

Jimo propped Neji against a tree, then used the same brutal method as before to beat Kidomaru into a dead dog, tying him securely to the trunk. Finally, he fired a signal flare to mark their position for the Anbu rushing over.

Jimo used his qi sense to locate Naruto. Nearby, there was another presence just as powerful.

"Damn it..."

Jimo sped off on his Flying Nimbus. According to the intel from his clone, Rock Lee and the Sand Siblings were already heading to support.

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

A robotic voice echoed in Jimo's mind.

"Man, where've you been all this time... And why is a reward from a month ago, the Three Ninja Battle, only popping up now?"

Jimo grumbled. He felt like something was off lately.

The lazy system had been out of touch for ages... It hadn't said a word since the Chunin Exams started.

"To ensure the host enjoys a relaxed and pleasant experience in the Naruto world, this system will not deliberately interfere with the host's choices. It only reminds the host when a gift pack is available!"

The system's explanation made Jimo want to curse.

"Open the pack!"

"Analyzing pack!"

"Analysis 30%"

"Analysis 60%"

"Analysis 90%"

"Congratulations, host! You have obtained new skills: Kaio-ken and Spirit Bomb! System reminder: These two techniques are extremely powerful. Using them in this world will cause it to collapse!"

"Matching world strength!"

"Match successful! Side effects eliminated!"