Hiruzen Sarutobi also looked surprised. He looked at Hansen, who was calm and composed, deep in thought.
In the Leaf Village spectator area, Hyuga Hiashi's expression was both solemn and relieved.
Might Guy and Rock Lee, the two green-skinned bowl-cut duo, cried tears of joy, yelling strange words like 'youth' and 'passion'.
Tenten, standing nearby, covered her face in exasperation at the sight of this eccentric master and disciple pair. With such a team leader and teammates, she couldn't even bring herself to cheer for Neji.
In a corner, a hooded figure slightly raised his head, and a glint flashed across the lenses hidden in the shadows.
"Cough, cough..."
Naruto struggled to get up from the ground, the intense pain of his broken bones leaving half of his body numb.
"Damn it... it's not over yet!"
He roared defiantly, forming hand signs again.
However, Neji gave him no chance.
His figure flickered, reappearing in front of him, delivering another incredibly precise palm strike.
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Naruto felt a numbing sensation in his arm, and the flow of his Chakra was instantly cut off.
Neji's figure constantly flickered around Naruto. Each appearance was accompanied by a precise and heavy palm strike.
Naruto was like a helpless punching bag, passively enduring the relentless attacks, completely unable to fight back.
"Give up, Naruto."
Neji stopped his attack, looking down at Naruto, who was kneeling on the ground, all his Chakra points sealed, unable to move.
"The gap between you and me is farther than heaven and earth."
"I have already shattered my former destiny. It is impossible for you to defeat me."
On the viewing platform, Hansen rarely covered his face.
These past few days, he had been so focused on improving Neji's strength that he forgot to make him change his annoying habit of chatting during battles.
However, it was not a big problem.
As long as the villain was strong enough, it was difficult to die from talking too much.
"D-damn it..."
Perhaps Neji's taunt triggered a power-up mechanism. Naruto's consciousness began to blur, but he still didn't give up.
Just then, a surge of red Chakra, distinct from Naruto's own, filled with violent and sinister energy, suddenly erupted from his body!
"Roar—!"
A fierce wind howled, Naruto's eyes turned crimson, and fox-like whisker marks appeared on his face.
His fingernails sharpened, and an ominous red aura enveloped him.
Driven by severe injuries and despair, Naruto unconsciously entered the 'Nine-Tails Chakra Form'!
—It wasn't easy, but he finally reached the second phase.
On the viewing platform, Hansen chuckled softly, picking up his teacup and taking a sip.
On the other side, a glint of greed flashed in Orochimaru's eyes.
—The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... certainly interesting.
Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly felt a chill and instinctively shrank his neck.
Feeling that evil Chakra, Neji's brows furrowed for the first time.
He could feel that Naruto's strength and speed were increasing geometrically, and the injuries he had sustained were visibly self-healing.
"Is this your trump card?"
Neji took a deep breath, adopting the starting stance of the Gentle Fist, but this time, his aura was completely different.
He remembered Hansen's teachings.
"The essence of Gentle Fist is not acupressure, but control."
"When you can control every ounce of your own strength, you can control everything about your enemy."
"Strength has no good or evil, only strong or weak."
Buzz—
An invisible force field spread out with Neji at its center.
Naruto roared and charged forward, his claws, enveloped in Nine-Tails Chakra, tore through the air, heading for Neji's face with a piercing shriek.
Facing this furious attack, Neji did not dodge, merely extended a single finger.
He integrated the little bit of force field application technique Hansen had taught him into his Gentle Fist, lightly touching Naruto's incoming wrist with his finger.
The violent Nine-Tails Chakra, upon contact with Neji's finger, was instantly guided, deflected, and neutralized by a soft yet resilient force, as if it had met its nemesis!
Naruto felt as if his full-power punch had hit cotton. He was uncontrollably sent flying to the side, crashing heavily into the wall!
"Boom!" Naruto was sent flying like a cannonball, slamming violently into the distant wall.
"Damn it..." Naruto struggled to get up, a trace of blood spilling from his mouth. He could feel that something had entered his body with that last strike, disrupting his Chakra.
"It's useless," Neji's voice remained calm. "Your Chakra flow, your attack intentions, are all transparent to me."
"This is the gap between you and me, an insurmountable destiny."
"Destiny... destiny! That word again!"
Naruto was completely enraged. His eyes instantly turned crimson, and violent, ominous red Chakra continuously erupted from his body, forming a grotesque fox cloak.
"I'm going to... tear you apart!"
A beast-like roar echoed throughout the arena, and the terrifying Chakra made the very air tremble.
The civilians in the stands screamed in terror, and Anbu members instantly appeared around them, as if facing a formidable enemy.
On the viewing platform, Orochimaru licked his lips excitedly.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed, and he was about to order the match to be stopped.
However, just then, facing the menacing Naruto, who had already begun to take on the form of a one-tailed beast, Neji slowly closed his eyes.
He took a deep breath, and the surrounding air seemed to still at that moment.
"In that case, let me show you the power I used to shatter destiny."
He murmured softly, and when he opened his eyes again, those pure white eyes were now tinged with a sacred golden hue.
An energy completely opposite to the Nine-Tails' violent aura, filled with immense vitality and majesty, erupted from Neji's body!
A primal and sacred dark gold eye shadow appeared at the corners of his eyes.
At this moment, the sheer force of the Chakra explosion created a whirlwind that made most spectators unsteady in their seats and unable to open their eyes!
"This Chakra... Masaka!?"
"Sage Mode?!"
"This Hyuga brat... how is it possible?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's old face twisted into a delighted grin. Every ninja who mastered Sage Mode was a strategic weapon.
Although his foolish disciple had deep attainments, he… was never home!
Now there was a righteous Hyuga Neji. Although the young man's ideology seemed a bit problematic, it was not a big deal after all.
A few more special lectures on the Will of Fire would surely set him straight!
Compared to his teacher, Orochimaru's expression was also quite something. He himself had diligently practiced Sage Mode from Ryuchi Cave for a while.
But due to frequent body changes, and his body and soul not meeting the requirements, he ultimately failed to master it.
Seeing a young genin so easily activate a highly complete Sage Mode, it was impossible for him to say he wasn't jealous at all.
This was unscientific, but very ninja-like!
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