Supplies! Only Stamina Consumed

"Damn it!"

Anko immediately rushed to provide support, rescuing the two Anbu members who had been attacked by the giant snake.

"Good children, you've finally arrived. It's a pity I can't play with you any longer; I'll let this child keep you company instead!"

Orochimaru leaped onto the head of the giant snake, then jumped backward and vanished without a trace.

Roar!

The low, rumbling growl of the giant snake caused Anko and the two Anbu to abandon their plans to pursue him.

With a sharp "whoosh," the group was startled.

A figure leaped away like a bolt of lightning.

In the next instant, there was absolutely no sign of him.

"Arghhh!"

With a massive roar, the giant snake crashed to the ground!

It kicked up clouds of dust and flattened dozens of century-old trees!

The giant snake showed no signs of struggle; it had been killed almost instantly. A single strike, swift as electricity, had pierced the snake's vital point.

Neji landed, already completely exhausted.

But he had confirmed one thing just now.

He had successfully unleashed the full remaining power of the final strike of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

"To think it would be this strong."

Neji exhaled; even he hadn't expected the upper limit of this technique to be so high!

"Hey!"

While Neji was still lost in thought, the three people behind him approached.

"Wait!"

Neji reached out a hand, signaling them not to come any closer.

Anko and the others stopped obediently.

Who would dare not to? Anyone who dared to strike at Orochimaru like that was certainly no small fry!

Anko and the others were only afraid that this expert before them might not be on Konoha's side, and if he decided to slaughter them too, they would be in real trouble!

"Expert, you..."

Anko was just about to speak when she noticed the youth wave his hand.

"He will not linger here any longer; you can safely leave."

Neji sighed. Since Orochimaru had already planted the Cursed Seal, he likely wouldn't cause more trouble for now. Instead, he was more worried about Anko and the others continuing to linger in the Forest of Death, as his own identity would eventually be exposed.

If that happened, not only would he bring a mountain of trouble upon himself, but the Hyuga Clan's suspicions toward him would only deepen.

In short, this was not something to be rushed.

"Uh..."

Seeing that Anko still had questions, Neji worried they wouldn't leave, so he said sternly, "Listen to me, leave the Forest of Death immediately. Staying here any longer will only lead to casualties among the examinees!"

"...Yes!"

This time, they seemed very obedient.

Neji continued, "Go notify the Hokage to strengthen the village's security measures in the near future!"

With that, Neji quickly vanished from their sight.

After breaking away from them, Neji found a secluded patch of woods and sat down to rest.

He removed his mask and took off his Anbu uniform; his body was already soaked through with sweat.

"I ate three Military Ration Pills, and this is all I can manage?"

Neji exhaled. Although he had mastered the nature transformation, it seemed the toll on his body was indeed significant.

Ding! This training session has ended!

Proficiency in Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms +5999! Proficiency in Gentle Fist +3434! Proficiency in Byakugan +1979!

Seeing these results, Neji no longer had the energy to be surprised.

After using his Byakugan to confirm there was no danger within a five-hundred-meter radius, he lay back and fell asleep.

Although Military Ration Pills could temporarily delay the depletion of physical strength, excessive use still came with side effects.

Coupled with the fact that he had barely slept all night, Neji drifted off immediately.

When he woke up, it was shortly after dawn the next day.

Neji checked the angle of the sun; it was still early morning, and birds were chirping in the forest from time to time.

His recovery was decent. Neji immediately began his journey; his objective was complete, and it was time to catch up with Rock Lee and Tenten.

On the road, Neji asked the system, "Since both are infused with chakra nature transformation, why is Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms so much stronger than Rotation?"

Neji had been puzzled by this since last night, as he had clearly put more effort into practicing Rotation.

Using a taijutsu technique aimed at acupuncture points against a wooden stake yielded the absolute minimum in returns.

One had to realize that for the past eight years, Neji had spent over 95% of his time with zero opportunity for actual combat.

"The infusion of nature transformation is related to the number of repetitions."

"Repetitions?"

"That is, the number of times it is used. The elemental chakra is not carried by the host; it is provided by the system. Therefore, this chakra is unlimited, supplied according to the host's maximum capacity for repetitions. As long as the host uses it enough times, the quantity will be sufficient. It will simply consume more of the host's physical stamina."

"It only consumes physical stamina!?"

The system's explanation took Neji by surprise.

No wonder that massive consumption of chakra hadn't caused him to collapse from exhaustion...

"So, does that mean Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms is the infusion of lightning-style nature transformation sixty-four times!?"

"Yes."

Upon learning this news, a strange thought suddenly occurred to Neji.

Neji: "It doesn't seem to say it must be sixty-four palms. If I strike seventy-four times, would it be even stronger?"

System: "..."

As Neji was hurrying along, he suddenly sensed someone approaching from ahead.

He immediately stopped and used his Byakugan to observe, discovering it was his teammate, Tenten.

Neji quickly met up with Tenten.

"Neji?! Where have you been?"

When Tenten saw Neji, she was already drenched in sweat from anxiety.

"What's wrong, Tenten?"

"It seems someone is targeting Sasuke's team. Rock Lee stayed behind to save Sakura, and he gave the scroll to me..."

As Tenten spoke, she took out the scroll.

Neji narrowed his eyes, guessing that it was highly likely the Sound ninja had been sent by Orochimaru to test Uchiha Sasuke.

Neji was just about to find an excuse to ask Tenten to help him rescue Rock Lee, but unexpectedly, Tenten tossed both the "Heaven" and "Earth" scrolls directly to him.

Neji caught them instinctively.

"You take the scrolls and don't get close! Those people look tough to deal with. We can't just stand by and watch someone die, provided we don't drag ourselves into the mess!"

With that, Tenten turned around and rushed headlong in a certain direction.

Neji stood there, stunned, holding the scrolls.

After a long moment, he let out a slow sigh and helplessly tucked the scrolls into his clothing.

It seemed he would have to take action again.

Neji put on his Anbu mask, took out his Anbu gear, and began to walk slowly in the direction Tenten had just departed.

In a clearing in the forest not far away, Sasuke and Naruto lay unconscious beneath a rock.

Sakura, who had looked after them all night and appeared exhausted, had been knocked to the ground, her hair cut short and scattered everywhere.

Rock Lee had been struck down at some point.

Only the Ino-Shika-Cho trio remained, cautiously facing off against the three Sound ninja.

"Don't overestimate yourselves; you are no match for us. All we want is Uchiha Sasuke's life." Zaku extended his hand; everyone present had already witnessed the power of the shockwaves from his palms.

The disparity in strength increased the pressure on everyone present.

Although Tenten had arrived, she was struggling just to deal with Kin alone.

"Zaku, do it. Finish off Uchiha Sasuke!"

Kin threatened Tenten, implying that if Tenten left, the fallen Rock Lee would lose his life.

As for the Ino-Shika-Cho side, Choji, Shikamaru, and Ino were no match for Dosu alone and were naturally helpless.

A massive gap in strength!

Sakura gripped Zaku's leg tightly to keep him from advancing, but Zaku simply stepped on the top of her head.

"Are you tired of living, girl?"

Ino's eyes widened as she took it all in.

"Stop!"

Following that shout, a sharp kunai blade descended. Zaku reacted, pulling out a kunai to block it. Then, a figure appeared silently and struck a palm into his back!