Sound-Damping Technique

When ninjas move at high speeds, it creates the illusion of teleportation for ordinary people.

This method of rapid movement is known as the Body Flicker Technique.

In reality, it is simply moving fast enough that the naked eye cannot keep up.

However, when the Body Flicker Technique reaches a certain level, even a ninja's vision struggles to track it.

Of course, it falls short when encountering Dojutsu bloodline limits.

But Neji chose to be arrogant.

He had such a pair of Byakugan, yet he refused to activate them.

Although his normal vision while the Byakugan was inactive was still superior to that of a regular person.

His opponent, however, was Kimura Takuya.

Over the years, besides that massive arsenal of Rasengan-based ninjutsu, the latter had also developed various chakra application techniques and auxiliary ninjutsu.

What he was using now was one such minor technique, designed to be paired with the Body Flicker Technique.

Kimura Takuya called it the Sound-Damping Technique.

To call it a ninjutsu is a stretch; like using chakra to walk on water, it was merely a small trick.

It essentially involved controlling chakra across the surface of his body and clothing to form a thin, specially structured film of chakra.

This film could vibrate at extreme speeds, autonomously displacing the air.

When used in conjunction with the Body Flicker Technique, it significantly reduced wind resistance during high-speed movement, thereby greatly increasing speed while eliminating the loud sound of breaking the air.

This technique was somewhat similar to Naruto's Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.

In the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, the Nine-Tails' chakra and Naruto's own chakra perfectly enveloped his body, forming a golden skin-like cloak.

It allowed Naruto's speed to increase dramatically, even enabling him to rival the Fourth Raikage, A, in terms of velocity.

It possessed other abilities as well, such as increased strength, heightened perception, the ability to distinguish good from evil, and the manifestation of chakra arms.

One could say the Sound-Damping Technique was a "monkey-version" of the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.

It lacked the numerous and powerful abilities of the original, offering only a significant boost to the speed of the Body Flicker Technique and a reduction in the sound of air displacement.

But even that was already breathtaking.

A faint layer of chakra clung to Kimura Takuya's skin, showing not even a hint of abnormality.

The crowd could only watch as Kimura Takuya appeared behind Neji, eerily and silently.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio was also stunned.

"Did he use a ninjutsu? That was a ninjutsu, right? He's so fast, he wouldn't come to steal my potato chips, would he?"

"Baka, why would Takuya-kun do something like that? Takuya-kun is only using one-tenth of his strength."

Bang!

"Ah, that hurts!"

Ino gave Choji a punch in frustration; the little fatty clutched his head and crouched down, while his other hand continued to pour potato chips into his mouth.

"Haven't you noticed? Not only is Takuya-senpai's speed extraordinary, but he also makes no sound when moving. Whether it's his feet hitting the ground or the sound of him breaking the air at high speed, there's nothing. If we weren't standing outside the arena and able to see him, I would have suspected there was no one else in the ring at all."

Shikamaru ignored the bickering between Ino and Choji, focusing on the arena to analyze the situation.

"He's going to activate the Byakugan."

Sure enough, Neji finally abandoned his pride and could no longer resist activating his Byakugan.

"Byakugan, activate!"

Neji glared with wide eyes, the veins around them bulging.

Yet, he froze in place.

Was he really behind him?

In the Byakugan's vision, a humanoid chakra signature was indeed hovering right there.

Despite being so close that he could strike him just by raising his hand, the figure showed no intention of moving.

"Oh my, I've been found. Is hide-and-seek over already?"

Kimura Takuya let out an exaggerated cry of surprise, as if he were a child playing hide-and-seek who was frustrated at being the first one caught by the seeker.

Opportunity!

The moment Kimura Takuya spoke, Neji seized the opening, spun around rapidly, and launched a Gentle Fist strike to hit his pressure points.

In the blink of an eye, he struck seven times!

Unfortunately.

He hit nothing but air.

Turning around, there was no one there; clearly, the person behind him was still behind him.

"Looks like it isn't over yet? Ahahaha, can't hit me, eh, can't hit me."

Next came a certain genius, spinning around in a fit of rage.

A certain malicious commoner ninja played hide-and-seek.

Neji finally couldn't take it anymore.

Panting, he stared at Kimura Takuya behind him with his Byakugan, abandoning his pride for the second time.

"Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin!"

Heavenly Spin was a Nintaijutsu; although it belonged to Taijutsu, it also fell under Ninjutsu.

Originally, Neji hadn't wanted to use it, or perhaps he had never even imagined he would resort to Heavenly Spin?

Pfft!

"Sugoi, truly amazing. I hid for so long, yet I still got hit by you."

Kimura Takuya spat out a mouthful of blood, acting as if he had been struck, and collapsed to the ground, unable to rise.

"Takuya-kun, are you alright!"

Ino crossed the exam boundary line, rushed over, and pulled Takuya into her arms.

The proctor checked Takuya's injuries, and after finding nothing wrong, announced the result.

"Hyuga Neji wins!"

Looking at the fallen Kimura Takuya, Neji wore an expression of existential doubt.

What was going on?

He clearly hadn't felt any contact, so why did the boy spit blood?

Could it be that he was injured by the chakra?

Just as Neji was doubting himself, he saw the "unconscious" Kimura Takuya suddenly wake up.

Lying in Ino's arms, he slowly extended his right hand toward Neji, index and middle fingers pressed together.

Neji walked over and likewise pressed his fingers together, forming the Seal of Reconciliation with Kimura Takuya.

"You, you are truly amazing. Is this what a genius is? I thought the gap between us wasn't that big. I could only dodge; I was no match for you in close-quarters combat."

Neji didn't say much. He couldn't exactly admit that he had been panicking like crazy while being stalked just moments ago, could he?

"I lost the bet. You can make a request of me."

"What was that Taijutsu from just now?"

"Ah, just a trivial little trick. If you want to learn it, I can teach you."

Neji nodded, then felt a bit embarrassed and extended his palm once more.

"My name is Hyuga Neji."

"My name is Kimura Takuya."

The two formally introduced themselves to each other again; this was surely the beginning of a friendship.

Not far away, Guy and Lee were moved to tears.

"This is youth!"

A commoner ninja creates his own Body Flicker technique to challenge a Hyuga genius.

In the end, although he was defeated, he earned the recognition of the genius.

The script was indeed solid; it was quite moving.

If only his action of stuffing ketchup into his mouth had been a bit more subtle, he might have even been moved himself.

Shikamaru stared with his dead-fish eyes, speechless as he watched the guy lying in Ino's arms.

He really couldn't understand it. What exactly was this guy trying to do?

And that stalking technique—how did he pull it off? Did it count as Ninjutsu or Taijutsu?

Shikamaru admitted he was completely baffled, but while he couldn't understand it, others could.

The Third Hokage and Guy both indicated they understood.

"A decent Body Flicker technique. It should be based on precise chakra control, maintaining chakra on the surface of the body to displace air and reduce the resistance of high-speed movement. This achieves increased speed and noise reduction."

"Indeed. It's a pity his chakra reserves are insufficient. In the end, he must have exhausted his chakra and collapsed, only to be defeated by Neji's Heavenly Spin."

The two agreed that Takuya was a ninja with decent talent for Ninjutsu development and good chakra control.

Unfortunately, his base chakra levels were lower than the average person's, so becoming a medical ninja was indeed the best choice.

Kimura Takuya expressed that this was exactly the effect he wanted.

Besides, lying in someone else's arms was actually quite comfortable.

However, a person shouldn't be too shameless; lying down for a moment is fine, but one shouldn't keep rubbing against her. A little bit of rubbing might be excusable, but one shouldn't do it repeatedly.

"Tuoye, are you feeling unwell? Should I take you to the hospital?"

The kind-hearted girl looked nervous, assuming the boy in her arms was writhing in discomfort, and even offered to take him to the hospital.

Pah! Pervert.

Shikamaru spat and cursed under his breath.