Oh, Is It My Turn?

"Stubborn and foolish." Neji let out a cold snort and assumed his stance.

The battle began.

Neji's attacks were just like his personality: precise, ruthless, and efficient. His Eight Trigrams Palms flowed like water, every strike aimed directly at the chakra points on Hinata's body.

Although Hinata gave her all, using the same Gentle Fist to defend, the gap in combat talent and practical experience between her and Neji—known as the "Number One Genius of the Hyuga"—was simply too vast.

After only a few exchanges, she was struck by Neji's palm on a vital point in her chest, spraying a mouthful of blood as she was sent flying backward.

"It's over." Neji looked down at the fallen Hinata and said, "This is the gap between you and me. It is the gap between the Main House and the Branch House, an unchangeable gap of destiny!"

He walked toward Hinata step by step, seemingly prepared to deliver the final blow.

"Stop it!" Naruto could no longer watch and roared in anger.

But Neji ignored him.

However, just as his palm was about to land on Hinata, a gaze so cold it felt as if it could freeze the soul fell upon him.

Neji's entire body stiffened, and he stopped his movements instinctively. He followed the source of that gaze and saw Ling Xuan in the crowd.

Ling Xuan's face remained expressionless, but his pitch-black eyes made Neji feel an unprecedented pressure. This was not killing intent, but a higher-order, pure "indifference," as if he were looking at an ant.

It felt as if, should he dare to move even an inch further, he would be completely erased in the next second.

The proctor, Hayate Gekko, intervened in time to stop Neji.

"That is enough! The winner is Neji Hyuga!"

Hinata had lost, but she did not cry. Supported by the medical ninja, she struggled to stand and bowed from a distance toward Ling Xuan.

Ling Xuan nodded at her.

Although her strength was still weak, the resolve to face a powerful enemy head-on had been planted; Hinata was a seed worth investing in.

The next duel was Rock Lee versus Gaara, a primitive collision between the pinnacle of taijutsu and absolute defense.

The speed Rock Lee displayed after removing his weights shocked the entire arena. He transformed into a green bolt of lightning, unleashing a storm of taijutsu in a frantic assault on Gaara.

Yet, Gaara did not even move; the sand in his gourd automatically formed impenetrable barriers, blocking every one of Rock Lee's attacks.

In the end, with the Eight Inner Gates opened to the fifth gate, the Gate of Limit, Rock Lee used the Hidden Lotus to shatter Gaara's Armor of Sand, but his body reached its limit as a result.

Gaara then used his cold and ruthless Sand Waterfall Funeral, cruelly crushing Rock Lee's left arm and leg.

If not for Guy intervening in time, Rock Lee would likely have died on the spot.

It was a brutal battle that showed everyone the unreasonable power and cruelty of Gaara from Sunagakure.

Both Naruto and Sasuke felt deep anger and frustration at Rock Lee's defeat.

Only Ling Xuan, when Rock Lee opened the fifth gate, saw a strange light appear in his eyes.

Sacrificing vitality to forcibly remove the body's restrictions on chakra, thereby erupting with power several or even dozens of times greater—the Eight Inner Gates was indeed a very interesting subject worth studying for the Life Law.

After one intense duel after another, the electronic display finally flashed the name that made everyone in Team 7 nervous.

Ling Xuan vs. Temari

"Oh? Is it my turn?" Ling Xuan walked onto the field calmly.

"It's that guy!" Naruto shouted excitedly, "Show her the power of our Konoha!"

"Hmph." Sasuke's gaze was also locked tightly on Ling Xuan. He wanted to see what kind of strength this teammate, who had always kept his cards hidden, would display in a real individual battle.

"The opponent is a female ninja from Sunagakure?" Kakashi's eyes also became focused. "Temari's strength is not weak; her Three-Star Fan combined with Wind Style can unleash immense power. Ling Xuan... how will you handle this?"

On the field, Temari carried her massive iron fan, looking at the refined, black-haired boy who was a head taller than her, a confident smile on her face.

"Hey, Konoha brat, I suggest you surrender now. I'm not as easy to deal with as Kankuro, and my wind will tear you to shreds."

Ling Xuan did not answer, simply watching her and the giant fan on her back quietly.

In his vision, this fan and Temari herself had long since been completely "datafied."

Temari, Wind Style ninja.

Weapon: Three-Star Fan.

By waving the fan, she can create Wind Style attacks of varying intensity; the three stars on the fan represent three different wind power levels. Its attack range is wide and its power is great, but its weakness is that the startup motion is obvious, and the attack pattern is relatively singular, making it easy to predict.

"The match, begin!"

As the proctor gave the order, Temari unfolded her massive iron fan without hesitation.

"Let me show you the gap between us!"

She swung it violently!

"Wind Style: Kamaitachi Technique!"

A gale roared in; the Kamaitachi Technique whipped up by Temari's Three-Star Fan was like a violent beast, baring its invisible claws to tear everything in front of it to shreds.

The genin in the viewing stands all changed color at the power of this move; even the arrogant Sasuke admitted that without using the power of the Cursed Seal, it would be difficult to withstand it head-on.

However, Ling Xuan, standing at the center of the storm, made a move that no one could understand.

He did not dodge, did not defend, and did not even weave hand signs.

He merely raised his right hand slowly, fingers splayed, his palm facing directly toward the gale capable of destroying everything in its path.

"What is he doing?" Naruto shouted, his voice cracking. "Dodge it! Ling Xuan!"

"Is he insane?" Kankuro frowned as well. "Trying to take Temari's wind head-on with his bare body? He'll be sliced into ribbons in an instant!"

"No... something is wrong." Up in the spectator stands, Kakashi's gaze froze. His Sharingan clearly perceived an extremely condensed, incredibly stable flow of chakra slowly emerging from the palm of Ling Xuan's hand.

The form of this chakra was peculiar; it was not a simple elemental attribute, but rather appeared to be composed of countless different energies, spiraling and intertwining in an exquisite, near-perfect ratio.

It did not radiate any aura of danger; instead, it felt like an absolutely stable point.

At that very moment, the violent Kamaitachi wind finally collided with Ling Xuan's seemingly fragile palm with a thunderous roar!

The scene of gore and flying flesh that everyone had anticipated did not occur; instead, it was replaced by a bizarre sight that plunged the entire arena into dead silence.

The gale, powerful enough to shred steel plates, hit the mass of chakra in Ling Xuan's palm and instantly acted as if it had slammed into an invisible, insurmountable wall.