Neji hissed and clutched his left arm.
He had struck with his right hand, leaving his left in a defensive position. It had taken the full force of the blade's lingering impact.
"I see. Lightning Style is completely countered by Wind Style..."
Neji gritted his teeth. Their chakra levels were clearly about the same, yet the other man's wind blade had swiftly destroyed his Lightning Style palm technique without holding back.
Even the blade's lingering force had sliced through his clothes and opened a wound on the inside of his left arm.
Neji roughly estimated that the wound was about four or five centimeters long.
This was as far as he could go. If he got injured again, his decision to step in today would have been a complete failure.
If he couldn't save Hayate and ended up getting himself killed too, that wouldn't just be foolish—it would be wildly overconfident.
"Forget about me! You... run!"
Nearby, Hayate had finished bandaging his wounds and still seemed ready to put up a fight.
Neji didn't answer. This was no longer a question of who should run.
The Maki before him was a specialist whose signature techniques completely countered Neji's. If he couldn't use such advanced Wind Release, Neji might still have been able to escape. But now, running would only get him killed.
"Looks like none of you are getting away today."
Kabuto seemed to realize something. He took a step forward and smiled confidently.
Neji froze too, then quickly scanned the area with his Byakugan. Several figures were approaching from different directions.
"Finally, I've found Teacher Maki's chakra..."
With her iron fan on her back, Temari surveyed the group on the flat-roofed building from a tree.
"Hmph."
Kankuro had already blocked the only narrow passage Hayate could use to escape.
Meanwhile, amid a rustling sound, Gaara stopped at the roadside and looked up at them.
When he saw Neji, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
Neji let out a breath and closed his eyes.
"Stay calm. I have to stay calm."
The past eight years of training flashed through his mind again and again.
Against the wooden posts. Against the vulgar stares of the people in the village.
When he opened his eyes, his whole body relaxed.
"I haven't spent all these years risking my life just to act recklessly."
Neji's voice was cold.
"What are you talking about?" Maki frowned. Though he had kept the boy in front of him on the defensive, he couldn't shake the feeling that the masked Anbu had gained a strange confidence.
"Where are you getting that confidence?"
Neji took a step back.
"Horse!"
"Tiger!"
"Boar!"
"Hare!"
Neji began forming hand seals, his movements smooth and practiced.
"Rat!"
"...Dog!"
"Byakugan!"
"You think you can take on five people with just the Byakugan? That guy's obviously already lost his ability to fight!" Kabuto said disdainfully.
"Ding! Congratulations, host. Bloodline Limit: Byakugan proficiency has reached 30,000. You have surpassed the Beginner threshold and received a reward: Attribute Resistant Chakra!"
The system's voice echoed in his ear. Neji's mouth curled into a smile. There really was a way out after all!
He leaped into the air. Temari and Kankuro kept a close watch on Hayate, while Kabuto blocked Neji's escape route. Maki leaped after him and began forming hand seals.
With his more advanced Byakugan, Neji could see the chakra flowing around him much more clearly. He could sense the movements of everything within a hundred meters.
"Increase attribute resistance!"
"Please select the attribute to enhance!"
"Wind!"
"Applying... Ding! Congratulations, host: Wind-resistant chakra has been greatly enhanced!"
Neji felt gentle, jade-like chakra flow into his body. The searing pain from the wound on his arm eased considerably.
"Whirlwind Technique: Explosive Flow Gale Blade!"
In the moonlight, blades of wind came rushing in from every direction.
"This is an enhanced version! You can't escape this attack!"
Shhk! Shhk! Shhk! Shhk!
Beneath the moon and under everyone's gaze, all those blades plunged into the body of the Anbu boy.
His clothes were immediately torn by dozens of small slashes, but in the next instant... the boy slowly raised his head.
"Hmm. It works pretty well."
"What is this? He's only covered himself with a layer of chakra. How is this possible!?" Maki's eyes widened at the sight. A moment ago, he had clearly had the upper hand!
"This time, I should be thanking you... for creating the perfect battlefield for me!"
Maki opened his eyes. The violent gale still lingered in the air, but it was no longer under his control. It was as if it had become part of Neji's body.
"Puppet Technique: Instant Strike!"
"Ninja Art: Kamaitachi!"
"Chakra Blade!"
A puppet's dagger, a Chakra Scalpel, and a whirlwind shot toward Neji from three different angles...
"Wind Style: Rotation!"
The surrounding storm began to spin, sweeping up every incoming attack. Neji's body started rotating rapidly in midair, his palms held out!
Maki, who was about to land nearby, couldn't understand how a boy had managed to defy his limits and perform all those movements while hovering in the air for nearly three seconds.
"Was he hiding his strength this whole time? Just who is this guy!?"
Rumble...
The two-meter-wide sphere of Rotation touched the hurricanes left behind by the Whirlwind Technique and began to expand rapidly, visibly spreading until it covered everything nearby!
Like a high-tech weapon, the Rotation gained tremendous destructive power as Wind Release fueled its speed. It pinned Maki beneath it and forced Kabuto and the others out of its range.
If Neji hadn't been afraid of hurting the injured Hayate, he could have kept it going and caused even more damage!
"H-Help!"
A scream rang out from the street.
The Konoha residents who saw what was happening shouted in alarm and ran in the opposite direction.
Gaara frowned slightly and raised a hand. Sand surged toward one of the residents.
The boy in the Anbu mask moved like a ghost and sprang into action.
With a single palm strike, he scattered the sand.
"Are you all right, Teacher Maki?"
Temari and Kankuro rushed over. Maki lay on the ground, his clothes shredded by the violent wind, his whole body in a wretched state.
"Quick... after them!"
Kankuro turned around, only to find that Gekko Hayate and the Anbu boy had already vanished.
Gaara had also quietly disappeared.
"Let's get out of here first. I'll treat your wounds," Kabuto said, his expression dark.
He had encountered that surprising Anbu boy twice in Konoha now, and he was growing more and more curious about the boy's identity.
Not far away, Neji was getting tired as he fled with Hayate.
He thought, I didn't expect the higher the Byakugan's level, the greater the chakra it would consume.
Neji sighed. He guessed it was because his strength had increased too quickly, but his chakra reserves weren't enough to support the drain.
The chakra for those techniques came from the system's rewards, so they probably didn't burden him. But the Byakugan was different.
"Thank you!"
Breathing hard, Hayate moved away from Neji's support and began walking on his own.
"Hiss!"
"What's wrong? I can escort you to Konoha Hospital!" Neji said with concern. He had risked his life to get Hayate out.
"I'm fine."
In an instant, sand swept over everything in front of them.
Neji stepped back, ready to strike and save Hayate in case he was hurt.
But the next moment, the sand turned with uncanny precision. Like a hand, it shot straight toward Neji's face!
Clatter...
With a crisp sound, the mask fell to the ground and spun around several times.
Gekko Hayate was stunned when he saw Neji's face.
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