The Strong! The Fear of Death

"Bang!"

With a loud crash, Kagari, who had been standing nearby, was sent flying!

"Crack," "crack," "crack!"

He smashed through three trees in succession, flying over a dozen meters away!

Oboro and Mubi were both shocked; they hadn't expected this guy's sudden strike to have such an effect!

"Ah... the power is decent, but the range is somewhat limited."

Neji observed the flow of his chakra. The Air Palm didn't use much chakra, but it was consumed very rapidly; this was a high-burst taijutsu technique fueled by chakra.

However, that was all it was. The high-burst consumption didn't translate to high-burst damage, as air resistance sapped away much of the force.

The faster the chakra burst, the longer the interval required between strikes.

"So, using this as a feint isn't really feasible."

As Neji muttered to himself, he had already rapidly closed in on the next person.

"Mubi!"

That person reacted, retreating just in time, his movements no different from a zombie.

"Water Style..."

With a "squelch," Mubi's hands, mid-seal, were struck down by Neji's palm, followed by several more rapid strikes.

Mubi's entire body shuddered, and he was knocked back several steps.

Standing beside the astonished Oboro, Neji twisted his wrists, frowned, and muttered, "If I wanted to kill you all, I really couldn't do it easily in my current state."

"Damn it!"

Oboro gritted his teeth and demanded, "You brat, are you using us as test subjects?"

Neji tilted his head to look at him, his eyes filled with killing intent.

"Ah..."

Oboro took a step back, a sense of dread lingering in his heart.

A powerhouse—this rumored weakling was currently exuding the aura of a powerhouse through his chakra!

"Illusion: Oboro Clone Jutsu!"

In an instant, over a dozen clones of Oboro appeared out of thin air, all of them identical!

"An illusion?"

Neji stepped back, checking his chakra flow; it remained rapid and perfectly fine.

"Heh, don't waste your energy. My illusion isn't just any ordinary illusion! It doesn't act upon your mind, but uses light and shadow to create visual confusion. That is exactly why this technique has no flaws!"

"Ha!"

Hearing the sound, Neji instinctively dodged, but the fist that clearly came from an Oboro clone in front of him struck him from the side instead!

Neji stumbled to the right, and before he could regain his footing, an Oboro clone attacked him again.

But this time, it came from behind.

Neji dove to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Whoosh!"

Neji rolled over, barely dodging by luck, but a kunai sliced a gash into his arm, and blood immediately began to flow.

"Haha, it seems you're just bluffing, kid. How is it? This feeling of being shrouded by the fear of death!" Oboro chuckled. Neji's ears pricked up, and he frowned slightly.

Visual clones?

Neji closed his eyes and began to sense his surroundings in earnest.

Thousands, tens of thousands of times in the enclosed training room, he had closed his eyes to sense incoming kunai, relying on his body's instincts to dodge those traps...

"Whoosh!" Neji sensed the kunai behind him and leaped to the left.

Footsteps again!

"Drip..."

Even the sound of water was crystal clear. Neji kept his eyes closed, sensing the sounds within the darkness.

With lightning-fast movements and unmasked, authentic footwork, he dodged every single attack!

Then, seizing the perfect opportunity, he used a punch and a kick to take out both of Oboro's hidden teammates.

Because he had struck their pressure points, the two of them collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"Impossible! You..." Oboro's eyes widened. With his eyes closed, Hyuga Neji's footwork was actually far superior to when he had his Byakugan activated!

Neji chuckled, "Isn't it a visual illusion? Then keeping my eyes open would only interfere with my judgment, wouldn't it? Don't think that a ninja of the Hyuga Clan can only rely on the Byakugan to fight!"

Neji lunged straight toward Oboro in three steps.

"It just so happens I have a technique I've been wanting to test on someone!"

Neji curled the corner of his lips, and the moment he confirmed the figure before him was the real body, he opened his eyes!

"Two Palms!"

With two strikes to the left and right, hitting Oboro's left and right shoulders, the man essentially lost all ability to move.

"What is this? My body... it's paralyzed?" Oboro furrowed his brows tightly, unable to budge.

"Four Palms!"

"Eight Palms!"

Neji unleashed another flurry of palm strikes against his abdomen, but just as he intended to shift his position, the Oboro before him collapsed limply to the ground, unable to rise again.

"Neji!"

"What just happened?"

With the genjutsu caster defeated, the illusion dissipated, and both Tenten and Rock Lee regained consciousness.

Neji sighed, deciding to let it go, and went over to help the two of them up.

"Perfect, their scrolls are exactly what we needed!" Tenten said, holding the two scrolls in her hands with a bright smile.

Rock Lee remarked, "Neji-kun has been really strong lately; to think he could defeat three people all by himself!"

Neji gave a bashful smile, "That's impossible! They were just proficient in genjutsu and knew nothing about taijutsu, yet they foolishly underestimated me and tried to challenge me in close-quarters combat..."

Tenten added, "Still, if anyone found out the three of them were defeated by Neji alone, they'd probably be too ashamed to show their faces!"

Neji replied, "Indeed."

The group tidied up, replenished their energy, and after resting, decided on their next route.

Since they had obtained the scrolls, they needed to approach the center point rapidly, striving to pass the exam as quickly as possible.

"Kiba and the others have probably passed by now, so we need to hurry too!"

Neji said, "Let's split up. I'll follow behind you both, using my Byakugan to monitor the situation at all times and provide support whenever needed!"

Rock Lee asked in surprise, "No way, Neji-kun? Why are you being so timid?"

Tenten interjected, "Oh, leave it be. Neji is already trying his best, don't give him a hard time. Let Neji hide behind us; we'll take the scrolls and head out first!"

Neji gave a bashful smile, offering no explanation.

Rock Lee and Tenten left first, with Neji following behind, maintaining a distance of within one hundred meters.

As they drew closer to the center point, they were also getting closer to the forest area where Team 7 was located; Neji would not let this opportunity slip by.

He immediately turned right, rushing rapidly in one direction, activating his Byakugan to search for traces with intense focus.

He was very clear that his greatest goal for entering the Forest of Death was "that person."

That "strong one."

"Orochimaru! Don't you think you can run!"

Anko clutched her abdomen, watching as the Anbu who had come to provide support engaged in a fierce struggle with Orochimaru.

"Are you alright?" a sturdy Anbu nearby asked.

Anko snapped angrily, "Alright? You guys are too slow!"

With a hiss, an Anbu mask fell to the ground, Uzuki Yugao's long purple hair cascading down to reveal her stunningly beautiful face.

Orochimaru let out a cold snort, chuckling as he kicked her away, and when another Anbu attacked from behind, Orochimaru simply turned with agility, extending a snake-like hand to bite down hard on the man's neck.

Following this, Orochimaru leaped a few times to the highest thick tree branch.

"Is this all the Anbu and Special Jonin of Konoha have to offer?" Orochimaru stepped closer and closer, forcing the three Anbu and Anko to retreat step by step.

The group was pushed into a corner of despair by the fear of death.

"A strong one. This is a strong one."

Emerging from the bushes in the corner, Neji's eyes were filled with burning desire.

He pondered for a moment, then deftly picked up the Anbu mask that Yugao had dropped on the ground and placed it on his own head.

"Target finally found." Neji curled the corner of his lips and muttered to himself.