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There was still one preliminary round for the third stage of the Chunin Exams.
Ten people would be selected from the twenty-one participants to compete in the actual Chunin Exams.
At this stage, it meant there were no teammates to rely on; becoming a Chunin depended entirely on one's own performance.
Before the matches began, the proctor, Gekkō Hayate, announced that because one Rain Ninja was too severely injured to recover, only twenty people would participate in the preliminaries.
Naruto's opponent was that Rain Ninja's companion.
They were the ones Naruto and his group had forced the heaven scroll upon before throwing them into the high tower.
Their inherent strength was nothing special, though the fact that the three of them could combine their Ninjutsu to use large-scale Curse Rain techniques to weaken enemies was somewhat commendable.
It was unclear if this was intentional.
Hinata's opponent was still Neji.
Neji clenched his fists, then relaxed them.
"He hadn't expected to face Hinata in the Chunin Exams preliminaries."
Walking onto the competition arena and seeing Hinata walking toward him, Neji felt a complex mix of emotions.
He remembered the beginning, when he heard his father, Hizashi, speak with a rare tone of relief that a Young Miss had been born into the Main Branch and that he now had a cousin; young Neji had felt genuinely happy.
Even later, when the "Caged Bird Seal" — that symbol of the Branch Family's shackles and sacrifice — was carved onto his forehead, that happiness had not been completely extinguished.
His father had touched his head, his tone heavy yet firm: "Neji, this mark also means responsibility. You must become strong, protect the Main Branch, and protect... Hinata."
At that time, he thought it was the same whether he had the Caged Bird Seal or not.
Even without the Caged Bird Seal, he would still protect his cousin.
The turning point occurred when Hinata was three years old.
News of his father's death arrived like a bolt from the blue.
That tall figure who always demanded strict discipline from him but hid deep love in his eyes had been forced to die in place of the Main Branch for the sake of the so-called "Hyuga Clan rules" and "peace."
Anger, confusion, and resentment, like poisonous vines, had coiled around his young heart at that moment.
When he looked at the Main Branch, and at Hinata—the cousin his father had traded his life for—his eyes could no longer hold pure affection, only cold estrangement and an unspeakable displaced anger.
The past was like sand, gradually blown away by the winds of time and the truth he later learned.
He had grown up, become stronger, and finally touched the past that had been buried under layers of secrecy.
It wasn't his uncle who had driven his father to death, but the rigid Main and Branch family system, and even more so, those few greedy and cold-hearted Hyuga Elders who viewed his father as a sacrificial pawn.
Those dirty calculations and betrayals were the true culprits.
The day the truth came to light, blood debts had to be repaid with blood.
He and his uncle, Hiashi, joined forces and, with thunderous momentum, made those corrupt conspirators pay the price they deserved.
His father's revenge was fulfilled.
As the quicksand dissipated, the buried scenery was revealed.
Now, standing across from Hinata again as her opponent in the Chunin Exams, the resentment, displaced anger, and coldness that Neji once held had long since vanished.
In their place was a deeper, more complex emotion, which ultimately settled into a clear sense of affection.
Yes, affection.
The affection of an older brother for a sister who was too gentle.
He watched her slightly trembling but determinedly straightened back, and looked at her Byakugan, which, despite her nervousness, were filled with resolve.
"However... this time, I will not hold back."
"This is just an exam, a test."
And as an older brother, perhaps what he should do was give her a battle that could truly help her see herself clearly and achieve a Breakthrough.
Neji slowly assumed the starting stance of the Gentle Fist, the Meridians around his Byakugan bulging, his vision piercing through everything.
His voice echoed calmly across the arena:
"Hinata, please give it your all. Let me see what kind of power you possess having come this far."
"Yes, please give it your all as well, Brother Neji."
Both of them activated their Byakugan simultaneously.
As Gekkō Hayate announced the start of the match.
Lightning gathered on Hinata's hands, and she rushed swiftly toward Neji.
"Divine Sky Strike: Raging Thunder!"
Seeing such a familiar Move, Neji's pupils shook violently.
"Is this the Move Uzumaki Naruto used last time?"
"But it's a bit slower."
Neji's Aura surged, and he subconsciously opened the Opening Gate, then used the Move he had employed to counter it last time.
Relying on his Gentle Fist footwork, he forcibly slid to the side and backward to dodge, avoiding the thunderous frontal impact.
At the same time, in the instant of dodging, his right palm condensed precise Chakra, and like a viper flicking its tongue, he struck backhand, aiming directly at the vital point under Hinata's ribs along her charge trajectory.
Having observed the last battle, Hinata naturally had a countermeasure.
Hinata's forward momentum had not yet ended when the lightning wrapped around her hands suddenly dissipated, replaced by two rapidly expanding orbs of purple Chakra.
That Chakra instantly condensed into shape, revealing itself to be a pair of majestic, glaring lion heads with flowing manes, encasing her small fists.
"Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists!"
It was as if a silent lion's roar had sounded.
The Chakra on Hinata's body erupted with a boom.
The rebounding force from her fingertips made Neji's arm go slightly numb, and his attack was instantly deflected!
Utilizing the thrust from her Chakra eruption, Hinata twisted her body, her right fist wrapped in the fierce purple lion head, tracing a sharp arc as she countered, smashing toward Neji's flank, which was slightly off-balance from his missed attack.
Offense and defense were reversed in an instant.
True surprise finally appeared in Neji's eyes, but it was accompanied by even more admiration.
He didn't hesitate to pull his arm back to block, his left palm also condensing Chakra, meeting the roaring lion fist.
"Boom!"
The muffled sound of Chakra colliding exploded in the arena, and the shockwave lifted their hair and the hems of their clothes.
The two instantly put some distance between them.
The people around Naruto all looked at him.
"Is that the Move you used, Naruto?"
Kakashi asked.
He still remembered that after watching the movie last time, Naruto had used that exact Move to charge in, deflect Neji's attack, and end the battle with a single kick.
"Yes, this is Divine Sky Strike: Raging Thunder."
"It's a Move I created when I was training with Hinata and Hanabi, observing their Gentle Fist and incorporating Chakra nature transformation."
"Hinata has the foundation of the Gentle Fist, so she learned it very quickly."
When Kakashi first saw this Move, Naruto had just graduated.
In other words, this was a Ninjutsu-Taijutsu technique Naruto had created while still at the Ninja Academy.
What incredible talent.
Naruto stood by the railing, watching the battle below intently; if anything went wrong, he would rush down immediately.
Hinata's talent was actually quite good, but because she had previously focused on cultivating the Gentle Fist, she could only use the Lightning and Fire attribute Chakra she naturally possessed.
Therefore, she had only learned Divine Sky Strike: Raging Thunder and Great Flame Charge.
Dealing with Neji would likely still be quite difficult.
After all, Vacuum Attack: Wind Pressure Siphon and Vacuum Attack: Water Dragon Prison were mechanics, Vacuum Attack: Earth Transformation was manipulation, while Divine Sky Strike: Raging Thunder and Great Flame Charge only had simple numerical values.
Relying on simple numerical values to fight a mechanics-heavy monster like Neji was a bit of a stretch.
Below, Hinata and Neji were trading blows back and forth, appearing evenly matched.
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