A ninja sparring match

Neji had not expected Sasuke Uchiha to block his path after school two days later.

"Neji Hyuga." Sasuke Uchiha sized him up. "I want to know how strong you really are! Let's have a real ninja duel, not that childish game of make-believe."

Over the past two days, Neji's situation had not improved just because he had defeated Sasuke Uchiha, the last survivor of the Uchiha Clan.

After all, he was a member of the Branch Family branded with the Caged Bird Seal. How could the Main Family let him have an easy time?

"My real strength?" Neji said calmly. "At your current level, you aren't strong enough to make me use it."

Sasuke Uchiha said coldly, "Hmph. Who knows whether you're bluffing? Without awakening my Sharingan, it's hardly surprising that I'm no match for you in taijutsu. You should know what our Uchiha Clan truly excels at!"

Neji shook his head. "Training Ground Number Fifty. I'll make sure you accept your defeat."

But Sasuke Uchiha shook his head instead. "Let's go to the training ground over in our Uchiha Clan's district. There's hardly anyone there, so we can go all out."

"Let's go, then." Neji grew interested. "So you weren't using your real strength back then either?"

The corners of Sasuke Uchiha's mouth lifted. "Who takes those ninja games seriously? Only that dead last Naruto would."

"Oh? You seem pretty confident in your strength." Neji followed him toward the Uchiha Clan's district.

"Heh, don't get the wrong idea. This is the power of the Uchiha Clan." Sasuke walked ahead while Neji followed, chatting with him on and off.

"Heh, your defeat is already decided. Without awakening your Sharingan, you can't even touch the Uchiha Clan's true power."

"You know the Uchiha Clan's true power? Stop talking big."

"Of course. I understand the Uchiha Clan's true power better than you do!"

"Heh." Sasuke Uchiha sneered. "I'll show you what the power of the Uchiha really is in a moment."

"Perfect. I've been in a terrible mood these past few days. Just don't start crying." Neji decided to take the opportunity to vent, or sooner or later he would explode with anger.

The Hyuga Branch Family—even a dog would shake its head at that mess.

As the two approached the Uchiha Clan's district, the streets gradually emptied.

After the massacre back then, most of the villagers who had lived nearby had moved away.

Sasuke led Neji through the alleys, turning left and right, and soon they arrived at an empty training ground.

It was obvious that someone trained here often. Shuriken lay scattered across the ground, while shuriken and kunai stuck haphazardly out of the targets.

"You usually train here alone?" Neji looked around. He thought it was a good spot.

Sasuke glanced at him. "Who else would I train with? Who would even come here?"

"This place is pretty nice. Good for training." As he spoke, Neji took a Human Gentle Fist stance. "Let me make this clear first: I'm going to get serious, so don't go down after a single hit!"

"Heh, do you think I'm stupid enough to fight you up close again?" Sasuke extended his hands, and several shuriken appeared in each.

He flung them sharply, sending six shuriken hurtling toward Neji from different angles, each following a different trajectory.

"Byakugan!" Neji did not dare get careless. The Uchiha Clan was famous for its skill with throwing weapons, and he had no desire to take a hit.

Seeing Neji activate his Byakugan, Sasuke's expression grew more serious.

With his Byakugan, Neji saw through every shuriken's trajectory. He calmly drew a kunai and knocked them away one by one.

At the same time, he sprinted toward Sasuke.

Sasuke had no intention of fighting at close range. He threw another handful of shuriken at him.

Thunk, thunk, thunk. The deflected shuriken struck the trees.

Seeing that his shuriken had failed to produce the desired effect, Sasuke touched his wrist guard, and a giant shuriken appeared with a poof.

"Shuriken Manipulation Technique!"

Sasuke flung the giant shuriken, sending it spinning toward Neji.

With his Byakugan, Neji saw through every possible attack path of the giant shuriken. He calmly dodged it and raced toward Sasuke.

Seeing this, Sasuke immediately tugged the transparent wire in his hand, steering the giant shuriken back toward him.

Meanwhile, he kept putting distance between himself and Neji.

Sasuke was fighting by kiting him. The old Neji Hyuga really would have had no good answer to it, at least for a while.

But the current Neji was different. As a transmigrator, he had not only inherited everything from his predecessor but had gone a step further and learned a long-range Gentle Fist attack.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

Neji unleashed his chakra, gathering a large amount in his right palm before striking in an instant.

After compressing a large amount of chakra, he released it through a special application of force. His palm strike compressed not only the air but the chakra as well.

With a clang, the giant Demon Wind Shuriken was knocked away by the palm strike and embedded firmly in a tree trunk.

The tremendous force ripped the wire straight out of Sasuke's hand. With no time to dwell on his shock, Sasuke immediately began forming hand seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Neji said flatly, "Too slow!"

As the words left his mouth, he raised his hand and unleashed another Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm.

With a bam, Sasuke, still forming hand seals, was sent tumbling across the ground and knocked unconscious without a sound.

Watching Sasuke Uchiha sleep like a baby, Neji shook his head and let out a barely audible sigh.

He had not even had his fill yet, and Sasuke Uchiha was already unconscious.

Since it was still early, Neji waited nearby for Sasuke Uchiha to wake up.

More than ten minutes later, Sasuke Uchiha woke. Neji saw his fingers twitch first, then his whole body sprang up like a startled rabbit.

"You..." After jumping up and seeing Neji leaning against a tree, Sasuke Uchiha was overcome with embarrassment.

"How do you feel?" Neji asked.

Sasuke Uchiha fell silent. Thinking back on their fight, he could only admit that the gap between them was enormous.

Neji spoke in a slightly strange tone. "Given your circumstances, you really shouldn't be at this level."

Sasuke Uchiha frowned. "What do you mean? Is this your victory speech?"

Neji waved a hand. "Don't be so touchy. I don't care that much about winning or losing. I'm just stating a fact."

"Hmph! If this is your roundabout way of saying what a genius you are, then save it," Sasuke said coldly.

"Heh." Neji smiled. "I'll put it plainly, then. I simply think you should be stronger."

"Stronger..." Sasuke Uchiha repeated the word, his spirits sinking. "I don't understand what you mean."

Even an outsider thinks I should be stronger... Sasuke Uchiha's heart seethed with frustration. What have I been doing all these years?

He clenched his fists tightly, his face clouded with gloom.