All eyes were locked on the two figures at the center of the arena.
No one dared to blink. They stared, breath held.
Kakashi and Might Guy stood on the high platform, also watching the battle between Neji Hyuga and Hanataki.
"That genin from the Rain Village… he's strong," Kakashi observed after a long silence.
Neji's strength was well-known in Konoha. Even Might Guy constantly praised his talent and power.
Yet, despite Neji's relentless, airtight assault, his opponent Hanataki showed no panic. He defended, methodical and calm.
On the surface, Neji was a whirlwind of offense, clearly dominant.
But experienced shinobi like Kakashi knew better.
The one truly in control was that Rain genin, Hanataki. His breathing never hitched. His movements were unhurried, effortless.
BOOM!
A Truth-Seeking Orb slammed into a wall.
Spider-web cracks raced across the stone surface.
Hanataki's figure danced through the air, light as a feather. The orbs couldn't even brush his clothes.
Neji's eyes narrowed. With a slight gesture, the orb embedded in the wall, wrapped in green chakra, flew back to orbit behind him.
He stopped attacking. The fight between them paused.
Their gazes met. A heavy, suffocating tension began to spread.
For the first time, the stands were silent. The audience was stunned, holding their breath under the weight of that tension, anxiously awaiting what came next.
"You're strong," Neji said.
In all his years in Konoha, among his peers, he had never met an opponent who could match him.
This was the first time. The first time Neji felt genuine pressure from someone his own age.
There's always someone better. The old adage resurfaced in his mind.
"You'll soon find I'm far stronger than you currently realize," Hanataki replied, his smile arrogant.
Neji's lips pressed into a thin line. "Is that so?"
His heart sank, then settled into a state of perfect calm. Neji Hyuga had his pride. He wouldn't let a few words rattle him.
The sharp edge faded from his eyes, replaced by deep tranquility. His Tenseigan pupils seemed to deepen, becoming like still, unfathomable pools of water that could absorb anything.
At his command, the chakra-coated Truth-Seeking Orbs began to spin. Fast.
A ring of green light expanded before the eyes of the crowd.
A collective breath hitched.
Might Guy grinned. "Oh! That's a serious move!"
Kakashi nodded in agreement. The sheer pressure said it all.
The ring of light condensed before Neji. At its center, a whirlwind sharp as lightning roared to life, tearing across the arena toward Hanataki.
"Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
The world dimmed.
Dust and sand were ripped up by the furious wind.
A yellow haze of grit obscured everyone's vision.
The only sounds were the shriek of the tornado and the harsh grating of sand against stone.
Just the noise was enough to make hearts pound. What kind of power is this?
Within the maelstrom, Hanataki's clothes whipped violently. His black hair lashed wildly.
A brilliant light erupted from his hands.
It pierced through the yellow dust storm, blinding and intense.
The light swelled.
Until a massive barrier of diamond crystal materialized before him, meeting the whirlwind head-on.
KABOOM!
The explosion was deafening.
Fine cracks webbed across the diamond's surface.
A shockwave of wind pressure blasted outward in all directions.
People threw up their arms to shield their faces.
As the dust cleared…
The diamond barrier slowly dissolved.
Neji frowned. The Silver Wheel had been completely blocked.
Though Hanataki had stopped it, the aftermath was devastation. The fighting platform was a wreck. Huge chunks of stone littered the ground, sliced clean by the wind.
A sudden wave of gravitational force pulsed from Neji, rippling outward. The massive stone fragments shot toward Hanataki from all sides.
Hanataki paused. The pull affected him too, rooting him in place. Not that he couldn't break free—he wanted to see what Neji would do next.
The countless stone shards trembled mid-air. Then, in an instant, they shot toward him.
Darkness.
A crushing sphere of rock sealed him inside, formed under Neji's control.
It was like a miniature Planetary Devastation, though not nearly as potent. Still, the potential for growth was terrifyingly clear.
"Did Neji win?" Might Guy asked, looking at the dark sphere.
"Not necessarily," Kakashi murmured, his instincts screaming the opponent wasn't finished.
He was right.
The next moment.
Dazzling light seeped through the cracks.
Diamond replaced stone. With a soft tap from Hanataki, the entire sphere shattered into glittering dust.
Hanataki brushed nonexistent dust from his sleeve and smiled at Neji. "My turn to take the initiative."
His movements, his tone—all dripping with casual disregard.
As if Neji wasn't even a real threat. As if everything before had just been… playing around.
The blatant disrespect grated on Neji, but he couldn't deny the oppressive, chilling sense of danger this person radiated. The feeling that victory was impossible could drive a man mad.
Fortunately, Neji's mind was steady. Unshakable. A lesser genius would have already broken.
Four pillars of silvery light erupted from the ground around Neji, shooting toward the sky.
Simultaneously, transparent silver barriers began to spread from the pillars, closing in, sealing Neji Hyuga completely inside.
The black Truth-Seeking Orbs behind Neji transformed into sharp spikes, stabbing at the barrier.
The barrier shimmered… and held firm.
A thread of silvery light extended from Hanataki's hand. It didn't pierce the barrier so much as fuse with it.
The barrier rippled like water touched by silver.
The ripples spread, consuming the entire enclosure.
A heartbeat later.
Countless points of silver light shimmered into existence across all four inner surfaces of the barrier.
Neji's instincts screamed danger.
He moved.
The nine black orbs merged into one massive sphere, encasing him completely.
Not a moment too soon.
In the next instant, countless beams of silver light pierced through space itself, converging on Neji's position.
Only senjutsu attacks could affect Truth-Seeking Orbs. And as luck—or terrible design—would have it, the power of Ultraman Cosmos was derived from cosmic energy.
A higher-order senjutsu.
Pinpricks of light began to appear on the surface of the black orb. Penetration points.
Inside, a beam of silver light pierced through the orb's defense… and through Neji's arm.
Neji froze, a shock running through him. Senjutsu?
His lips paled from blood loss. Only senjutsu could bypass a Truth-Seeking Orb's defense. There was no doubt.
A shadow fell over his eyes.
He knew. This match… he had lost.
To keep fighting was to risk his life.
But saying those words—'I forfeit'—was agonizingly difficult for Neji Hyuga.
"I…" Neji began.
He never got to finish.
The world flipped.
The barrier shattered.
The one who struck was Tsukimi Heshu, from the high platform.
"Hokage-sama," Hanataki asked, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Why disrupt the Chunin Exams publicly? Could it be… for your disciple?"
The audience was confused. The match was going fine. Why did the Hokage intervene? Was it really as the Rain ninja said? To protect his student?
"The genin of the Rain Village kidnapped Konoha's Sasuke Uchiha from the hospital and killed a medic-nin there," Tsukimi Heshu's voice boomed across the training grounds. "What is the Rain Village planning?"
What?!
When did this happen?
How?
Has the Rain Village gone mad?
Peace in the shinobi world was still fragile. This act was a direct challenge to that delicate balance.
Hanataki: "…"
What in the world are Shigure and the others doing? Who told them to move now?
Of course, he couldn't admit it. "I don't understand what you're saying, Hokage-sama. Words are empty. Who's to say you aren't lying? Or that another village isn't impersonating Rain to frame us?"
He began to retreat, his form blurring.
Several figures dropped around him. Konoha ANBU.
They had him surrounded. The message was clear: You're not leaving.
Hanataki laughed coldly. "I see now. What a clever scheme, Hokage-sama!"
"To keep your precious disciple from losing to an outsider, you stage this entire play with your own people!"
His words ignited doubt in the stands.
"That… sort of makes sense?"
"Makes sense my ass! The Hokage isn't that kind of man!"
"You never really know someone!"
"I don't believe he'd frame an innocent person!"
"…"
A heated debate erupted across the audience.
Tsukimi Heshu had expected this. He smirked. "You want proof? Fine. I'll show you proof."
He gave a glance to the ninja beside him. A nod.
Familiar figures were brought forward.
Shigure and the others, bruised and battered, were marched up by ANBU.
And Sasuke Uchiha, having received treatment, now awake and glaring.
"Sasuke. Was it them?"
Sasuke nodded, his face a mask of pure disgust.
On a distant platform, Itachi Uchiha's eyes turned to ice. His fists clenched, veins bulging at his temples.
They dared lay a hand on Sasuke.
"I don't believe it!" Hanataki pressed on, his composure flawless. "The Rain Village's development is founded on peace! Who's to say you didn't forcibly coerce our genin into this charade? And Sasuke Uchiha is a Konoha shinobi! His word means nothing!"
Tsukimi Heshu: "…"
Arguing with yourself was… mentally exhausting.
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