"Hinata?"
Neji murmured unconsciously and looked in Hinata's direction.
Hinata's pure face showed some surprise, too.
But she quickly overcame it. After all, she was from the Hyuga Clan's Main Branch.
"..."
Neji was a little worried. He knew a thing or two about Zaku's abilities, and Hinata probably wasn't his match right now.
Most importantly, Zaku was a Sound Ninja, and their methods were extremely cruel, just like their nature.
But it didn't seem right to advise Hinata to forfeit the match now.
He grew serious. If Zaku dared to hurt Hinata even a little, he'd pay with his life!
"Ahem. Competitors Hinata Hyuga and Zaku, please come to the arena."
"Hey!"
Zaku grinned as he walked down into the arena.
He was a complete mess, as if he'd been electrocuted not long ago. He looked disheveled, but that defiant glint in his eyes was still there.
Hinata was startled when she saw him. In his current state, Zaku even seemed to limp as he walked.
"What happened?"
The Jonin on the platform were all astonished, and Hayate noticed something was wrong, too. "Zaku, you seem injured. Are you sure you want to continue the match?"
But Zaku didn't care at all. He snorted. "Don't worry about my injuries!"
His teeth clenched as he recalled how badly he'd been beaten in the Forest of Death, and anger flared within him.
He looked at Hinata. "Does everyone in your Hyuga Clan like using their palms? Good. I've always hated people who fight with their palms. Come on, let's have a proper fight..."
His eyes were full of cruelty.
Hayate saw that he couldn't talk Zaku out of it, so he gave up.
"Then let's begin."
As soon as the match started, Zaku couldn't hold back. He rushed straight at Hinata.
"Hinata, you can do it! Show him what you've got!"
Kiba Inuzuka shouted encouragement from the sidelines. Neji simply folded his arms and secretly formed Hand Seals.
"Byakugan!"
His veins bulged as chakra flowed through his body and gathered around his eyes. Using chakra as a medium, it reached his optic nerves...
"This is...!"
Neji froze. Inside Zaku, besides the chakra for Cutting Air Wave, he saw another source of chakra!
It was none other than the remnants of his own Lightning Release Chakra nature transformation!
Like lightning, it surged in fits and starts through Zaku's body. Neji hadn't expected that the experiment in the forest would leave the kid suffering its aftereffects all the way until now.
No wonder he'd been such a mess when he arrived. If the way he released Cutting Air Wave weren't so unusual, he probably wouldn't even be able to use ninjutsu normally yet.
In the arena, Hinata immediately dodged.
"Ha! You naive little girl!"
As everyone watched, Zaku swung a palm at her, but Hinata dodged in time.
However, just as Hinata's feet touched the ground, Zaku turned his palm toward her.
"Cutting Air Wave!"
"Ha!"
"That's so sneaky!" Kiba watched, indignant.
But Neji, watching with his Byakugan, remained calm.
Through the dust, he could clearly see that Hinata had reacted and quickly bent down, dodging the attack.
The whole arena was stunned.
"So the little girl from the Hyuga Clan is this strong?"
"It's started—the battle of the Byakugan!"
Neji smiled with relief. Hinata might not have exceptional talent, but she could activate the Byakugan quickly and use it well in actual combat.
Neji had done tens of thousands of similar reaction drills, and Hinata had naturally trained with him many times.
An attack like that was still far too crude to get past the Byakugan.
"Damn it! Take another one!"
Seeing that his first attack had failed and Hinata was about to counterattack, Zaku immediately brought his other hand into play.
"This time, I'll fire a volley!"
With two booming blasts, Hinata had no choice but to abandon her attack and retreat to a greater distance.
"Just what you'd expect from Hinata! She reacted so quickly! The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan and Taijutsu are incredible!"
Rock Lee watched, praising her in astonishment.
He specialized in Taijutsu himself and couldn't use ninjutsu, so all he could do was train as hard as possible.
Seeing Hinata use just the Byakugan to enhance her Taijutsu to such a degree made him genuinely envious.
Neji said nothing, but Kiba couldn't keep quiet.
"The Byakugan isn't all-powerful. Neji, for example—you have the Byakugan, too, don't you? You can't even beat Hinata, can you?"
Kiba looked at Neji with disdain.
But Neji couldn't be bothered to argue with him. That was just Kiba's personality, and Kiba had a strong sense of justice. He'd always looked after Hinata, who was on his team.
So Neji wasn't going to hold it against him.
Tenten chimed in with a jab, too. "See, Neji? You didn't work hard enough to improve, and now people look down on you."
Rock Lee chuckled sheepishly. "Neji's already working very hard!"
Neji was just about to join their conversation when a sudden change unfolded in the arena!
"Taijutsu? In that case, I won't hold back! Full power!"
Zaku formed Hand Seals and sprinted toward Hinata, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
Everyone watched with bated breath!
Under Neji's Byakugan, Zaku's entire body was filled with Cutting Air Wave...
"This guy! He's trying to take you down with him, Hinata!"
Neji shouted, but Hinata had no time to dodge!
"Gentle Fist Art: Quick Step!"
Chakra wrapped thickly around Hinata's feet. She couldn't worry about anything else now and decided to meet him head-on!
"No..."
Neji reached out and grabbed the railing, ready to jump down.
Just then, Tenten urged him, "Neji, this is an exam. If Hinata's in danger, the referee will stop it! Besides, there are several Jonin watching."
Neji clenched his teeth and kept his eyes on the arena.
But then, the situation changed again!
"Smack!"
Hinata struck Zaku directly in the face with her palm!
"Thwack!"
Another palm strike.
Then dozens more.
Every strike landed in an unexpected place.
In Neji's eyes, this was the result of Hinata's imperfect Gentle Fist technique.
But to everyone else, Hinata's technique had just defeated Zaku completely!
The moment Hinata's first palm struck, Zaku seemed to be under someone else's control and could no longer move.
By the second strike, his entire body was trembling uncontrollably.
At first, they thought it was because Hinata's palm technique was so precise. But then Zaku began to tremble from deep within, as if a force already inside his body were controlling his chakra, leaving him unable to move on his own!
Neji, too, gradually grew astonished.
The Lightning Release Chakra he had planted in Zaku's body was now responding to every one of Hinata's Gentle Fist strikes, wreaking havoc throughout his body!
When her Gentle Fist struck his face, chakra ravaged the points and blood vessels there.
When it struck his chest, the chakra along his chest meridians and around his heart began to spread throughout his body.
"Ahhh! Aah..."
Zaku staggered backward. Even Hinata hadn't expected her strikes to have such power.
Zaku trembled uncontrollably, even after Hinata had stopped attacking.
It was as if he'd been electrocuted. Then he collapsed heavily to the ground and lost consciousness!
Before you continue