As Neji rose to his feet, an imperceptible ripple unfurled from his body, and the air in the canyon seemed to freeze for an instant.
Suddenly, Neji began forming hand seals with both hands, so fast that they nearly became a blurred afterimage.
He completed fifty seals in mere seconds, every gesture incomparably precise. As the seals progressed, the flow of chakra grew increasingly violent.
A dazzling silver-white glow appeared at his fingertips. Sage Chakra poured endlessly from the Yin Seal at his lower back, gathering in his palms through his chakra pathways.
"Crystal World Advent!"
Neji shouted lowly and slammed his palm against the ground.
—Boom!
In an instant, the earth trembled.
Clusters of black crystals burst from the ground like enraged dragons, their sharp edges gleaming with an icy chill.
Centered on Neji, they spread outward wildly.
The crystal pillars grew at an unnatural speed. In the span of a breath, the ground within dozens of meters had been completely covered by black crystal.
Crystal clusters five or six meters high rose in tangled thickets, completely sealing Neji and Hidden Lightning Village Jonin Inoue inside.
"What... what is this?!"
In the distance, Sarutobi Hoshino's pupils suddenly contracted. He had never seen a ninjutsu like this—no, this had already surpassed the scope of ordinary ninjutsu. It was more like some kind of... qualitative transformation of a Kekkei Genkai!
"Captain! I-Is that a Kekkei Genkai?!"
Heart Butterfly's voice carried undisguised shock. Her eyes widened beneath her butterfly mask as she stared fixedly at the black Crystal Domain that had abruptly risen from the ground.
"Impossible..."
Iron Maru muttered. His arm was still dripping blood, but he had completely forgotten the pain. "How could a Kekkei Genkai reach this scale?!"
A flicker of alarm crossed Hoshino's eyes.
He had seen quite