"Bang!"
Kagari was sent flying by a single blow!
"Crack!" "Crack!" "Crack!"
He smashed through three trees in a row and flew more than ten meters!
Oboro and Mubi were both startled. That unexpected palm strike had actually packed such a punch!
"Ah... Not bad, but its range is a little limited."
Neji watched the flow of his chakra. Air Palm didn't use much chakra, but it consumed it very quickly. It was a high-burst Taijutsu technique fueled by chakra.
But that was all it was. The high-burst cost didn't come with high-burst damage, and air resistance drained a lot of its force.
The faster the chakra burst, the longer the interval afterward.
"So it's not very practical to use this as a feint."
As Neji murmured, he was already closing in on another opponent.
"Mubi!"
The man reacted and retreated in time, moving just like a zombie.
"Water Release..."
With a splat, Neji slapped down Mubi's hands just as he was forming Hand Seals, then struck him several more times.
Mubi's whole body shuddered, and he staggered back several steps.
Standing beside the stunned Oboro, Neji rolled his wrists and murmured with a frown, "If I wanted to kill you, I couldn't do it easily just yet."
"Damn it!"
Oboro gritted his teeth and demanded, "You brat, are you using us to test your abilities?"
Neji tilted his head toward him, his eyes full of murderous intent.
"Ah..."
Oboro took a step back, fear coiling in his heart.
A strong one. This supposed weakling's chakra was now surging with the presence of a true powerhouse!
"Genjutsu: Oboro Clone Jutsu!"
In an instant, more than a dozen copies of Oboro appeared across the clearing, each identical to the original!
"Genjutsu?"
Neji retreated several steps and checked the flow of his chakra. It was still rapid and perfectly normal.
"Heh, don't waste your effort. My Genjutsu isn't ordinary! It doesn't affect you directly. Instead, it uses light and shadow to distort your vision. That's why this technique has no weaknesses!"
"Ha!"
Hearing a sound, Neji instinctively dodged. But although Oboro's clone had thrown a punch at him from the front, the blow struck him from the side!
Neji toppled to the right. Before he could regain his footing, another of Oboro's clones lunged at him from the front.
But this time, it came from behind.
Neji fell face-first to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Whoosh!"
Neji rolled over and barely dodged by sheer luck, but a Kunai sliced open his arm, and blood immediately began to flow.
"Haha, looks like you were just bluffing, brat. How does it feel to be wrapped in the fear of death?" Oboro chuckled. Neji's ears twitched, and he frowned slightly.
Visual clones?
Neji closed his eyes and began to focus.
Thousands, tens of thousands of times, in a sealed training room, he'd shut his eyes and sensed the Kunai flying at him from every direction, relying on his instincts to dodge the traps...
Whoosh! Neji sensed the Kunai behind him and sprang to the left.
Footsteps again!
Drip...
Even the sound of water was crystal clear. Neji kept his eyes closed, listening to the sounds in the darkness.
His movements were swift, his real footwork utterly unmasked. He dodged every attack at once!
Then, finding his opening, he struck with a fist and a kick, taking out both of Oboro's teammates who had been hiding nearby.
Having been struck at their chakra points, the two collapsed, unconscious.
"Impossible! You..." Oboro stared wide-eyed. With his eyes closed, Hyuga Neji moved even better than when he had his Byakugan activated!
Neji smiled faintly. "You said it was a visual Genjutsu, right? Then keeping my eyes open would only interfere with my judgment. Don't assume that a Hyuga Clan ninja can only fight by relying on the Byakugan!"
Neji rushed straight toward Oboro in three quick steps.
"Good thing I have a technique I've been wanting to try on someone!"
Neji's lips curled up. The instant he confirmed that the man in front of him was the real one, he opened his eyes!
"Two Palms!"
He struck Oboro's left and right shoulders, leaving him nearly unable to move.
"What is this? My body's paralyzed?" Oboro knitted his brows, unable to move.
"Four Palms!"
"Eight Palms!"
Neji struck his abdomen with a flurry of palm blows. Just as he was about to shift position, Oboro collapsed in front of him, unable to get back up.
"Neji!"
"What happened?"
With the Genjutsu's caster down, the technique dissipated, and Tenten and Rock Lee woke up.
Neji sighed and gave up on his plan. He went over to help them.
"Perfect! These are the scrolls we need!" Tenten said with a smile, holding the two scrolls.
Rock Lee said, "Neji, you've gotten so strong lately! You actually beat three people by yourself!"
Neji gave a bashful grin. "No way! They're only good at Genjutsu and know nothing about Taijutsu. And they looked down on me and wanted to challenge me to a Taijutsu match..."
Tenten added, "Still, if anyone found out the three of them had been beaten by Neji alone, they'd never live it down!"
Neji said, "Yeah."
After gathering their things, replenishing their strength, and resting, they planned out their next route.
Since they had the scrolls, they needed to head for the center as quickly as possible and pass the exam without delay.
"By now, Kiba and the others have probably made it through. We need to hurry, too!"
Neji said, "Let's split up. I'll follow behind you and keep an eye on things with my Byakugan. I can back you up whenever you need me!"
Rock Lee asked in surprise, "Really, Neji? Why are you being so timid?"
Tenten said, "Come on, Neji's doing his best. Don't give him a hard time. Let him stay behind us while we take the scrolls and head on ahead!"
Neji grinned sheepishly and didn't explain.
Rock Lee and Tenten went ahead, and Neji followed behind them, keeping within a hundred meters.
The closer they got to the center, the closer they came to the forest where Team 7 was. Neji wasn't about to let this chance slip by.
He immediately turned right and hurried off in one direction, activating his Byakugan as he carefully searched for traces.
He knew perfectly well that his main goal in entering the Forest of Death was "that person."
That "strong one."
"Orochimaru! You're not getting away!"
Anko clutched her stomach and watched the Anbu who had come to support her fight Orochimaru.
"Are you all right?" asked a burly Anbu beside her.
Anko snapped, "Do I look all right? You took too long!"
With a hiss, the Anbu's mask fell to the ground. Uzuki Yugao's purple hair spilled loose, revealing her exquisite features.
Orochimaru gave a cold snort, then lightly kicked her away. As for the Anbu attacking him from behind, Orochimaru simply turned nimbly and sank the fangs of a snake-like arm into his neck.
Then Orochimaru leaped onto the thick branch at the very top.
"Is this all the Anbu and Special Jōnin of Konoha are capable of?" Orochimaru advanced step by step, forcing the three Anbu and Anko back.
The fear of death drove them into a corner of despair.
"The strong... This is what the strong are like."
Neji emerged from the bushes in the corner, his eyes burning with desire.
After thinking it over, he neatly picked up the Anbu mask Yugao had dropped and put it on.
"At last, I've found my target." Neji's lips curled as he murmured.
Before you continue