Fierce Battle! Absolute Defense

"Guy-sensei, I'm sorry, I couldn't defeat my opponent."

Tenten lowered her head, her heart filled with self-reproach.

Guy comforted her, "That Sand Ninja just happened to be a bad matchup for you, Tenten. You are very strong."

"But it seems our team came to the Chunin Exams for nothing this year..."

As Tenten spoke, she sniffled, a few unbidden tears welling up in her eyes.

"What are you saying? Neji still has a chance!" Guy said, trying his best to observe the details of Neji's match.

"Yes, I believe in Neji too!" Rock Lee nodded firmly.

"Sigh..."

Tenten sighed, not knowing what foolish things Guy was saying. This master and student were truly something else; Neji winning against a Sand Ninja? She wouldn't believe it even if it killed her!

Kiba Inuzuka couldn't help but feel completely disappointed: "Damn it!"

In his eyes, he seemed to have already seen the outcome of this match; this time, Konoha's showing against the Sand Ninja was a total failure!

"Heh, how about that?"

At this moment, Kankuro of the Sand Ninja walked over.

"You guy..."

Kiba glared at him fiercely.

"Don't hate me. This is a competition; losing is losing. You should actually be thanking me. If I had been any harsher, I would have used more than just poison to restrict your movements."

Kankuro's eyes were filled with mockery.

However, Kiba, whose movements were still affected by the lingering effects of the poison, could only endure the belittlement.

Tenten, also a loser, didn't dare to retort either.

Everyone looked down at the arena, where Neji and Gaara had already begun their match, both standing perfectly still.

Kankuro said nonchalantly, "Stop watching. This guy is guaranteed to lose. In Sunagakure, there isn't a single Chunin who can beat Gaara!"

"Any... Chunin?"

Rock Lee widened his eyes, and Tenten and Kiba were secretly shocked as well.

Was this red-haired kid in the arena even more formidable than Kankuro and Temari?

"Even if Temari and I teamed up, we wouldn't be Gaara's match at all," Kankuro said, his cynical remarks putting immense psychological pressure on the group.

"Referee, aren't you going to call for the start?" Neji glanced at Hayate.

Hayate was startled: "Ah..."

He had been focused on Gaara, who was standing opposite Neji.

The boy's expression was indifferent, his eyes holding a pure, intense killing intent that could erupt at any moment—the kind of purity only a true expert possessed.

He had been so stunned for a moment that he forgot to call the start.

"Gaara vs. Hyuga Neji, match... start!"

"You've finally fallen into my hands. Come, let me experience the strength of Konoha."

Gaara glared at Neji, filled with anticipation.

But Neji didn't answer; he was lost in thought.

First, he couldn't use lightning-style chakra, and the same went for the wind-style chakra used in Rotation. Not to mention that those two techniques weren't fully formed yet, the Jonin watching would surely grow suspicious of the origins of his abilities.

Neji thought to himself, finally sighing: "Ah, looking at it this way, these Jonin are really a nuisance!"

Whoosh!

The Sand Gourd flew toward him, but Neji simply tilted his head, and it missed.

"What are you spacing out for?"

Gaara narrowed his eyes, sensing that Neji didn't seem to have him in his sights at all.

"Let's test it out first," Neji muttered to himself, completely ignoring Gaara.

Swift!

"Hm?"

Gaara was taken aback, and the next moment, Neji appeared right before him.

A palm strike!

The speed of the strike was highly practiced, not some amateur move.

But the sand had already caught up, shielding him from the front.

Gaara's mouth twitched slightly: "Ha, a hundred times more skilled than the movements you showed at the training ground last time!"

Neji merely frowned and whispered, "Absolute Defense, is it?"

A "shushing" sound gathered from all directions.

Neji immediately retreated a great distance.

The sound of the sand was bone-chilling, though its speed was not particularly fast.

"Byakugan!"

The speed of the Absolute Defense is clearly greater than these attacking sands. Is the quality of the sand different as well?

In Neji's eyes, the chakra content within these sands varied drastically.

"Come again!"

As Gaara spoke, he extended his hand, and the sand in front of him formed a wave like a demonic claw, lunging toward Neji.

As Gaara increased his chakra usage, the volume of sand grew; he was creating it by mixing sand from the ground and his Sand Gourd, and even condensing it directly from the air!

So that's how it is? No wonder there is so much sand!

Neji retreated, but seized an opening to dash forward.

"With the Byakugan, Neji's speed will be even greater," Guy commented from the sidelines.

Neji dodged all the sand attacks with agile movements, and the moment he neared Gaara, he shifted behind him and struck with a powerful palm!

"Puff!"

It was sand again, scattering outward.

It's not the movement of all the sand, but the refining of chakra to create sand out of thin air from the gourd's supply. This has nothing to do with movement speed!

Neji analyzed calmly; no wonder the sand could keep up no matter how fast he moved.

"Oh? Your battle IQ is this high as well?" Gaara praised him once more.

Neji ignored him and extended his hand: "Let's try this. Eight Trigrams... Sixty-Four Palms!"

"What is this?"

Guy frowned slightly.

"Two palms! Four palms! Eight palms!"

"Sixteen palms! Thirty-two palms!"

Palm after palm struck the Shield of Sand, but to no effect.

"This is the Armor of Sand, the Absolute Defense!"

"Sixty-four palms!"

With a "puff," Neji was sent flying by a massive amount of sand, landing over a dozen meters away.

Back where he stood, the sand continued to cover Gaara, circling around him like a living creature.

"Give it up. No one can break Gaara's Absolute Defense," Kankuro said smugly.

Kiba could only sigh: "Don't embarrass yourself further. Konoha has lost this time!"

Tenten was also left speechless.

Neji quickly closed the distance, attempting another strike.

"Still wasting your effort?"

Gaara smiled contemptuously and raised his hand.

A massive amount of sand rapidly converged, attaching itself to Neji, its force increasing at an exponential rate!

Neji felt his entire body being bound. He could pull away, but that would leave him unable to judge how to deal with this persistent sand.

"Hah!"

Neji did not flee; he chose to test the danger with his own body!

First, activate the chakra within the body, in its most primal state, flowing from the acupoints and meridians—release!

Neji gritted his teeth as his entire body was covered by sand.

"Is it over?" Kiba exhaled impatiently, seemingly already feeling the humiliation of defeat.

But...

"Whoosh!"

The sand loosened instantly, and Neji pulled himself free.

Ding! Eight Trigrams: Body Strike proficiency +79!

Eight Trigrams: Body Strike allows one to release chakra from the entire body, creating a massive burst of force in the surrounding area; it is a divine skill for close-quarters combat.

Neji's current proficiency: "9296!"

"It seems you are nothing more than this. I'm bored of playing." Gaara frowned slightly, appearing impatient.

"Sand Binding Coffin!"

Swathes of sand once again rapidly tracked Neji's movements, wrapping around him, and then Gaara's eyes turned cold as he clenched his hand tightly.

The Sand Binding Coffin pressed inward, and the hearts of everyone in the arena tightened!

A flash of light flickered as deep blue chakra ignited, forming a small ring of light that began to spin at high speed, manifesting into a near-spherical protective barrier of chakra!

"Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin!"

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle. The sand was annihilated by the spinning chakra of the Heavenly Spin, leaving not a single trace behind!

Neji landed on the ground, the corner of his mouth curling upward: "This, too, is my... Absolute Defense!"