Konoha's taijutsu fell into just three categories.
Aside from the most typical Konoha Style,
the other two were both held by individuals and passed down in secret.
The first was the Eight Inner Gates. Few knew its true power, and almost everyone who did was dead.
The second was the Konoha Dragon God. It looked flashy, and in truth, it really was flashy!
Amid the tornado of wind and lightning,
Neji desperately unleashed all his chakra.
"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!"
He had no choice.
Neji Hyuga could only abandon all his offensive techniques and switch to defense!
However,
Naruto had finished testing his own strength.
He decided to bring this battle to an end!
"Didn't you notice what I left on you just now, at a speed faster than you could follow?"
Naruto locked eyes with Neji as he performed Revolving Heaven.
But with his opponent spinning wildly, there was no way to have a conversation.
"What?"
Neji had heard Naruto, but thought he was just bluffing.
"Your speed is far below mine, so you didn't notice. That's the absolute difference in our strength."
Under Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Naruto was as fast as a flash of lightning.
"What are you talking about?"
Neji refused to believe he'd been caught off guard.
"It's a formula that can never be erased, a Space-Time Ninjutsu that ignores distance and takes you anywhere in an instant!"
"It's called the Flying Thunder God!"
Naruto formed a Rasengan in an instant.
He flashed away.
Everyone saw Naruto disappear.
Neji couldn't find him either. Had he hidden himself to wait for an opening?
But the top-tier ninja in the stands realized what had happened a moment later.
"N-Naruto's behind Neji!"
Kiba couldn't believe his eyes.
"Really?"
Sakura could hardly believe the world had gone mad.
"Impossible! Revolving Heaven is an Absolute Defense that can't be overcome!"
Hyuga Hiashi stood stunned.
He couldn't believe Naruto had appeared behind Neji without warning.
How had Naruto bypassed Revolving Heaven's defense?
What had happened amid the Konoha Dragon God's storm?
"That's—!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared in shock.
He could hardly believe it.
Naruto Uzumaki knew the Flying Thunder God!
Where had he learned it?
He was so fast that an entire era couldn't react in time, so brilliant that a whole generation could see nothing but a flash.
Minato Namikaze had once struck fear into countless enemies with the Flying Thunder God Technique!
For many years,
only the Fourth Hokage's three guards had been able to use the Flying Thunder God Formation he had taught them.
The Flying Thunder God Technique had returned!
Even Orochimaru, sitting beside Hiruzen Sarutobi and pretending to be the Kazekage, furrowed his brow.
How could Minato Namikaze's son be so gifted?
He should have killed Naruto Uzumaki in the forest when he had the chance!
Orochimaru wished he could flick his tongue out right then.
Back then, Minato Namikaze had been a junior, yet he had surpassed Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, and become the Fourth Hokage!
Orochimaru had once felt a little jealous.
Though he no longer cared about the Hokage Position, it had indeed been an old sore spot for him.
Now, he couldn't help feeling a sense of loss.
Orochimaru thought,
Even if you have Minato Namikaze's talent, you still won't become Hokage.
Because I, Orochimaru, will destroy Konoha with my own hands!
At that moment,
Neji, who had seemed frozen for an instant in everyone's eyes, turned around.
He saw where Naruto stood.
It was the one blind spot in Neji Hyuga's Byakugan.
So he'd found it.
Neji thought ruefully.
In truth, the blind spot didn't matter while he was using Revolving Heaven.
But when Naruto's Konoha Dragon God had sent Neji flying into the air, he had already placed the Flying Thunder God Formula on him!
Naruto had used it to bypass Revolving Heaven's defense.
He appeared behind Neji Hyuga, a Rasengan aimed at the back of his head!
It wasn't merely a loss.
In a fight to the death, Neji Hyuga would already have died countless times.
And Naruto had appeared right away in the blind spot inside Neji's Revolving Heaven,
exposing the weakness of a branch family member's Byakugan once again.
Neji hadn't been able to see Naruto at all.
Failure?
It was even more humiliating.
The tragic thing was,
this was exactly what Neji Hyuga cared about most: the shame of having his bloodline power restricted, a restriction that could decide whether he lived or died!
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Neji couldn't help laughing bitterly.
He was heartbroken, yet all he could do was laugh helplessly.
"You knew I was branch family. You knew about the Caged Bird."
"So even though you could have beaten me completely with taijutsu from the very beginning, you still chose to humiliate me."
"All just to defeat me, a genius, and use me as a stepping stone!"
"Naruto Uzumaki!"
"Now you're the new genius! And I'm just a Caged Bird whose path ends here!"
"You're the Demon Fox, but you're the kind of Demon Fox everyone fears, one that can do whatever it wants!"
Neji Hyuga removed his Konoha Ninja Forehead Protector.
The Caged Bird seal stood out starkly.
The branch family members in the stands all sighed inwardly.
Yet none of them dared even glance at the clan head, Hyuga Hiashi.
"I'm pathetic, aren't I?"
Neji Hyuga had lost utterly.
Now, even the look he gave Naruto was desolate.
At that moment,
the entire crowd stood.
They knew Naruto had won.
They also knew Konoha's future might see the rise of a new Golden Flash.
And the branch family genius who had lost his will to fight no longer mattered to them.
"You're really giving up just like that?"
Naruto met Neji's eyes.
He was completely unhurt, as if no battle had taken place.
"What? You want to humiliate me, or give me a lecture?"
Neji thought it was ridiculous.
So many people had tried to comfort him and talk him around.
Neji had buried all his anger and resentment deep inside.
But what he hated most was their telling him to let go when it had nothing to do with them.
"No."
Naruto pointed one hand at the sky and the other at the ground.
"You're going to say I'm still a genius, just not as good as you?"
Neji admitted Naruto Uzumaki was powerful.
He hadn't lost unfairly.
"Wrong again."
Naruto pointed to the heavens and the earth once more.
He raised his head and spoke to Neji.
"My meaning is: above and below the heavens, I alone am supreme!"
"I'm the strongest. I'm invincible! That's the ninja way I'll follow!"
"That mark on your forehead is holding you back, isn't it? It's the flaw you've never been able to accept, right?"
Naruto looked as though he were lording it over everyone.
"So what? What are you trying to say? That I should accept my fate?"
Neji asked angrily.
Naruto formed another Rasengan.
This one was the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, spinning at incredible speed!
Naruto tossed it like a basketball.
He threw it toward a corner of the arena.
Boom!
The terrifying explosion and destructive force made many people swallow hard.
Only then did they realize that the fight with Neji hadn't shown Naruto's true strength at all.
"Power is everything!"
"As long as you're strong enough, you can change anything."
"No technique is invincible, and no seal is unbreakable."
"I'm from the Uzumaki Clan, and I say there's no Sealing Technique in this world that can't be broken!"
"Otherwise, why not use the Caged Bird to control a Tailed Beast? Couldn't they, or just wouldn't they?"
Naruto looked down at Neji.
Neji looked up. The cage no longer felt suffocating.
He looked at the wall Naruto had destroyed.
At last, he understood.
As long as you were strong enough, you could even break the birdcage!
A Caged Bird could peck someone to death, too!
"Why are you wallowing in despair? Start over and seek out the strongest ninja way!"
Naruto patted Neji Hyuga on the shoulder.
At last, the Caged Bird fell with a smile on his face.
He'd lost.
He'd lost completely, and accepted his defeat without a trace of resentment.
In the stands,
cheers thundered without end.
Neji was carried away for treatment.
Naruto walked toward the stands to rest.
Everyone's eyes turned to him.
Sakura looked at Naruto, having never realized before how cool and powerful he was.
It was just that.
Naruto was already sitting in a chair, leaning his head back as he rested.
Kabuto was concealed among the Konoha Ninja.
Naruto was right in front of him.
After witnessing the battle from beginning to end, Kabuto had come to regard Naruto as one of the enemies obstructing Orochimaru's plans.
He silently gripped a Kunai.
[ Ding! ]
[Host failed the mission. Neji Hyuga has fallen further into Blackening, and his favorability toward Host has increased by 55%. Achievement unlocked: Blackening Godfather.]
[Received 10 Goodwill Points.]
[Mission failed. Received a punishment of 300 Punishment Points.]
[Host should realize how serious the situation has become. Turn back before it's too late!]