"Count it as my loss."
Those words were like a barbed slap.
They struck Neji squarely in the face.
Neji's fair face instantly turned a liver-dark red.
The veins on his forehead bulged one after another, like green worms crawling beneath his skin, twitching and pulsing.
He clenched his back teeth.
His teeth ground together with a grating squeak. He bit through his lip, and the rusty taste of blood spread through his mouth.
"You asked for it!"
Neji forced the words out of his throat, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper scraping stone.
The stone slabs beneath his feet cracked under his weight.
The black rubber soles of his shoes scraped against loose gravel with a piercing screech.
The veins around his eyes twitched violently.
His pure-white eyes locked onto the boy standing loosely ten meters away.
In the stands, the iron railing was slick with sweat.
Naruto clutched it tightly.
Red rust dug into the gaps beneath his nails, but he didn't even feel the pain.
"That Byakugan freak's about to go berserk!"
Naruto sniffed back the clear snot about to run into his mouth, then wiped it carelessly on his cuff.
"Big bro hasn't even taken a stance! He's just standing there like a target!"
Sakura bounced anxiously beside him.
The hem of her red qipao was covered in dust. She gripped an empty cup with a ring of unwashed tea stains at the bottom.
"Sasuke, can you see what's happening? Why did Neji's chakra suddenly get so terrifying?"
Sasuke ignored her.
A fine layer of cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
His black eyes stayed fixed on Neji below.
He could feel the smell of damp earth in the air rushing toward him, mixed with the oppressive weight of chakra.
Hyuga Hiashi sat in a tall-backed