"Brat of the Hyuga! Your chakra seems rather unusual!"
Feeling the stinging pain radiating from his arm, the Fourth Raikage finally realized why his men disintegrated into a mist of blood the moment they were struck, with even their hardest bones failing to remain intact.
The chakra erupting from those pressure points wasn't a solid mass as it appeared to the naked eye; instead, it was composed of countless ultra-fine, incredibly sharp filaments. When these needle-like chakra threads pierced through a body, they naturally shredded muscle and bone alike, creating that violent visual impact.
Had it not been for the formidable defense of his Lightning Release Armor, his fate wouldn't have been any better.
Dangerous!
Extremely dangerous!
Not since his clash with Minato Namikaze during the Third Great Ninja War had the Fourth Raikage smelled the scent of death so clearly.
"A mere barn rat in a grain bin shouldn't put on airs. In my eyes, you're no different from those dead men," Neji taunted in a condescending tone.
He was now certain that he possessed the power to kill one of the men responsible for his father's death right here, allowing Kumogakure to finally taste the meaning of pain and despair.
"You're too arrogant, brat!"
A was clearly incensed. He instantly pushed his Lightning Release Armor to its absolute limit. His blond hair spiked up vertically, and he vanished from his spot in a flash.
The next second...
BOOM!
He appeared directly above Neji, raising one leg high and utilizing the gravitational acceleration of his descent to amplify his destructive power. Though a conventional Taijutsu move, under the enhancement of the Lightning Release Armor, it achieved an effect comparable to a forbidden jutsu.
A direct hit would likely have crushed the steel plating of an armored vehicle.
Yet, Neji stood his ground unflinchingly. Relying solely on the myriad of chakra threads erupting from his pressure points, he easily forced his opponent back. The razor-sharp chakra even sliced through the skin and muscle of the Fourth Raikage's leg; while the wounds weren't deep, they bled profusely, staining his pant leg crimson within seconds.
After all, turning one's hair yellow and spiky doesn't automatically transform one into a Super Saiyan. The Fourth Raikage was merely a slightly more powerful mortal, his strength far inferior to that of his predecessor.
At this moment, Neji was like an unapproachable hedgehog, possessing a defense even more perfect than the Hyuga secret technique, Rotation. Simultaneously, these chakra threads possessed an almost unblockable quality when on the offensive.
In a sense, he had more right than the Third Raikage to claim possession of both the "Strongest Spear" and the "Strongest Shield."
Observing his opponent's pathetic state and the horror reflected in his eyes, Neji mocked, "Is this all you've got, you barn rat? Perhaps there's no need for Allen to lift a finger; I alone could level the entire Hidden Cloud Village. No wonder he has looked down on you ninja villages and shinobi from the very beginning, whether in strength or vision, your level is simply too low."
"Damn it! Killer B! Give me a hand! Let's show this Hyuga brat Kumogakure's A-B Combo!"
Realizing how troublesome his opponent was, the Raikage decisively called upon his partner. The A-B Combo was a Kumogakure tradition, designed in part to maximize the utility of the Eight-Tails, Gyuki, the second most powerful of the Tailed Beasts.
However, when Killer B entered with his eccentric attire—rhyming, dancing, and rapping—the tense and serious atmosphere took a sudden, jarring turn.
Seeing his sworn brother acting so out of character, the Raikage clutched his face and barked, "Hey! Cut it out! We have a major enemy in front of us! This kid seems to have developed a jutsu we've never seen before. If we don't take him out, all of Kumogakure will be threatened. Besides, he has a blood feud with us; he won't let this go easily."
"Wheee! You fool, you idiot! I got it!"
Whether he suffered from a speech impediment or was simply too devoted to his rap, Killer B remained unbothered, even drawing the seven blades from his back.
"The A-B Combo? I think 'The Moron Duo' fits better," Neji remarked, genuinely amused by the Jinchuriki's performance.
However, with the two strongest combatants of the Cloud now on the field, he tightened his guard, concentrating his unique chakra thread mode, derived from Allen's Six Paths power, deep within every pressure point of his body.
"Brat! Underestimating the A-B Combo is a death sentence!"
The words had barely landed when the Fourth Raikage took the initiative again, leveraging his superior speed to launch an attack. Killer B followed close behind, moving in a bizarre, contorted stance that somehow allowed him to swing all seven blades simultaneously.
"Interesting! Is this another specialized ability of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki?"
Neji had never seen anyone use more than two weapons at once with such perfect coordination.
"Acrobat!"
Killer B instantly channeled Lightning Release chakra into each of his blades. In the blink of an eye, the chakra caused the blades to vibrate at a high frequency, emitting a strange humming sound. He spun like a top, systematically severing the dense, sharp chakra threads one by one.
The Fourth Raikage seized this opening, concentrating a massive amount of chakra into his fingers. He lunged forward, attempting to pierce Neji's heart with a single thrust.
But at the moment of impact, a playful smile appeared on Neji's face. He threw his arms wide, releasing the linear chakra stored in his other pressure points.
Countless brilliant, dazzling blue chakra threads erupted like rays of light, instantly blanketing a hundred-meter radius centered on himself.
Nowhere to run!
Nowhere to hide!
Against such a saturated attack, all defense and evasion were futile. Unless one could turn intangible like Obito, there was nothing to do but be torn to shreds.
In that split second, the Fourth Raikage realized this. He instantly crossed his arms to shield his head, eyes, and heart, concentrating his Lightning Release Armor to the front to tank the hit.
But he had severely underestimated the terrifying destructive power of Neji's full release!
In less than a tenth of a second, his powerful, dark-skinned frame endured thousands of piercing strikes. Though the Lightning Release Armor held briefly at first, the savage tearing force soon shredded it to pieces, the rate of destruction far outstripping his ability to replenish the chakra.
Left with no choice, the Fourth Raikage bitterly abandoned the protection of his limbs in a desperate bid to save his life.
When the burst of energy finally subsided, his lower legs and forearms had been vaporized into a mist of blood. He collapsed from the air to the ground, his face a mask of absolute disbelief. He could not comprehend how, with his level of defense, he had been rendered a complete cripple in a single exchange.
With the loss of both hands and feet, his battle was effectively over.
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