"Neji Hyuga vs Hinata Hyuga. Begin."
They stepped forward together.
Two Byakugan activated simultaneously. Sukuna for once really wished to know, with so many changes to the original matchup lines, why this one match was kept like this. What higher power was pulling the strings here?
For a moment, they simply faced one another, circling around in Hyuga-style Gentle Fist stances. Eyes watched each other for any opening. Hinata was nervous. Of all the matches, the two she didn't wish to undertake were facing Naruto and facing her cousin Neji.
Neji, on the other hand, saw this as a chance. A chance to show just how much better he was than the main house. He, a branch house boy, was much better than the main house brat.
"You've improved," Neji said calmly. It was obviously a retort, not much of praise as sarcasm.
Hinata swallowed. "I've been training."
"I can see that."
His tone was neutral. Too neutral.
They moved at the same time.
Gentle Fist met Gentle Fist.
Palms collided, deflecting one another with precise chakra control. Hinata's footwork was steadier than before. She slipped past Neji's first strike and countered toward his shoulder tenketsu.
Neji twisted, barely avoiding it.
A murmur spread through the hall.
"She's faster," Naruto whispered.
Indeed, Hinata was not the timid girl from before. Her movements were sharper, more confident. She pressed forward with a flurry of strikes, targeting key chakra points with surprising accuracy.
Neji blocked, redirected, deflected. And with each exchange, his mood became gloomier. There was a time when he had a legitimate reason to say he was superior to the main house, that it was because of his fate that he was chained, otherwise he was no less than any main branch kid.
But then, Hinata started to improve. Slowly and steadily she improved. Stronger, faster, and more confident. This happened after she started taking part in those morning trainings he had earlier dismissed as kids playing around.
No, his only logical retort, his way to describe his station of being a slave, a servant, was done for.
If the main heiress wasn't the same weak girl as before, what did that make him? Just a slave. Just another servant with a bit of talent?
He sidestepped and retaliated with a quick two-hit combination, forcing Hinata back.
"You've trained hard," he repeated. "For someone like you."
Hinata flinched slightly at the wording but didn't retreat.
"I don't want to fight you, Neji-niisan," she said softly. "But I won't run anymore."
Neji's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
Won't run?
'Does that mean that up until now she was holding back?' The thought alone made him angrier.
He remembered countless nights training alone. Perfecting his form. Mastering techniques that the main house guarded closely.
All while she—
The heiress.
By birthright alone was weak, lost all matches, and was a disgrace. Yet here she was, showing her superiority!
Hinata rushed in again, palm glowing with chakra.
Neji met her halfway.
Their strikes blurred.
Hinata landed one clean hit to Neji's side.
The crowd gasped.
Neji slid back a step, eyes widening faintly.
"You've improved more than I expected," Neji said through gritted teeth, forcefully bringing his focus back to the fight.
Hinata lowered her stance. "I've been trying to become stronger."
"For what purpose?" Neji asked. "Strength without resolve is meaningless."
"I have resolve!"
"Show it to me then!"
Neji's next strike came faster.
He slipped past her guard and tapped two tenketsu points in her arm.
Hinata's sleeve went limp.
She bit back a gasp.
"You hesitate," Neji said quietly, circling her. "Even now."
"I don't want to hurt you."
"That is precisely why you cannot win."
His voice remained controlled, but something colder lingered beneath it.
They clashed again.
Hinata forced herself forward, ignoring the numbness spreading through her arm. She spun, redirecting Neji's palm and striking toward his chest.
Neji blocked, but she pressed harder than before.
He felt it clearly now.
She's pushing herself.
Somewhere along the years, while he had sharpened himself to perfection, she had begun catching up—slowly, steadily.
That realization had once irritated him more than he cared to admit.
He had been better. Stronger. More disciplined.
Yet the world would always see her first.
Because her father had been born minutes earlier than his.
Neji's palm struck Hinata's shoulder, sending her stumbling back.
"You will always remain inferior in battle," he said, gaze cold. "Your nature does not suit combat."
Hinata's eyes trembled—but she stood.
"Then I'll change."
Neji's expression flickered.
Change?
Some things cannot change.
He advanced suddenly, delivering a rapid sequence of strikes. Hinata blocked three, four—redirected two—but the fifth slipped through.
A precise hit to her side.
Another to her leg.
She staggered.
"You can't, you're just weak… Admit it,"
From the stands, Kiyomi's nails dug into her palm.
She had a rather good relationship with Hinata. They had been friends for a long time. Obviously she wished for Hinata to win.
But much more than that, it was something else that annoyed her. It was the tone.
The calm superiority.
It reminded her too much of the Zenin clan.
The way Neji spoke—measured, dismissive, as if stating facts rather than insults—was worse than shouting. It was the certainty behind it.
Hinata forced chakra into her legs and lunged again.
This time she surprised him.
A clean strike grazed Neji's ribs.
He stepped back, finally serious.
"So you refuse to accept your position."
"I refuse to accept that I'm weak!"
Neji inhaled slowly.
"Then allow me to show you reality."
His stance shifted.
"Eight Trigrams—Sixty-Four Palms."
'That move…' Hinata's eyes widened. This was no technique a branch family member should possess. This was, in fact, not a technique a genin of Neji's age should possess, period.
He moved.
A blur.
One palm. Two. Four. Eight. It all came like blurs.
His strikes accelerated, each one sealing a tenketsu with merciless precision.
Hinata tried to counter, landing two of her own in desperation—but his rhythm overwhelmed hers.
Sixteen. Thirty-two.
Her movements slowed.
Forty-eight.
Her chakra flow destabilized.
Sixty-four.
The final palm struck her abdomen with force, sending her collapsing to the ground.
Silence fell.
Hinata lay trembling, struggling to rise.
Neji stood over her, breathing controlled.
"You were never suited for this path," he said quietly. "No matter how much you struggle."
"Still, for a main branch girl, you're decent." Neji obviously didn't mean that as a compliment. It was sarcasm.
His words were not shouted.
They were delivered like a verdict.
Kiyomi stepped forward instinctively before Sakura grabbed her sleeve.
"Don't," Sakura whispered.
Kiyomi's jaw tightened. For some reason this reminded her too much of that brat Naoya. That older cousin situation between them was exactly similar.
It wasn't just the beating.
It was the look in Neji's eyes.
A bitterness and a sense of superiority so ingrained it had become part of his composure. Kiyomi knew this feeling. And it annoyed her to hell.
Hinata, on the other hand, tried to get up, but no matter what she did, she couldn't. Seeing her condition, the proctor finally made his decision. Even if the girl was able to fight more, for her own safety the match had to be ended here.
"Winner—Neji Hyuga."
Once the match ended, Kiyomi finally was ready to move in, help Hinata, and perhaps give that annoying big cousin of hers a piece of her mind when she noticed, at the side of her eyes, a shadow flickering.
Before the medics rushed forward, someone was already there.
"Sukuna-Sama…" A medic called, halting their momentum midway.
Yes, Sukuna was already there, one hand on Hinata's abdomen, healing all the damage with Reverse Curse Technique. Seeing him there, the medics just stopped.
Sukuna's exploits in Konoha Hospital were just after Tsunade. For the younger generation of Konoha medics, Sukuna was in fact a more tangible image of a perfect medical-nin over the long-passed legends of the Slug Sannin.
Everyone knew that if Sukuna was present, it was better to leave the patient to him rather than taking the patient to Konoha Hospital.
Kiyomi, seeing this, stopped midway. While grumpy with anything related to one Sukuna Haruno, even she couldn't deny the man was a genius when it came to Reverse Curse Technique. Even Tsukumo said he was even better than Shoko, Jujutsu technique's only healing-class staff.
Knowing Hinata was in good hands, her ire shifted to Neji completely. However, by then the boy had walked back without celebration.
Calm. Composed. Like he hadn't just almost killed his younger cousin.
As if he had simply confirmed what he had always known.
From the stands, Kiyomi exhaled sharply.
"…That bastard."
Not because he won. That was fine. Even Kiyomi said that Hinata did indeed hold back, but even then Neji was better.
She was angry because of the quiet cruelty hidden in his certainty. The way he treated Hinata and how much that reminded her of the Zenin clan.
'I'm gonna get that bastard one day.' She fumed.
xXx
A/N: What do you guys think, good chapter or unneeded? Out of all the fights I wished to write, Lee vs Suigetsu, Karin vs Haku, and Hinata vs Neji were the most important ones.
Lee's fight shows how sometimes even strong characters fail due to technical issues. Karin's fight was important to give her the urgency to get stronger. As for Hinata and Neji, well I'll say that was the most important fight, though I'll leave the reason to you guys.
Tell me if there are any mistakes, I'll fix them asap !
What do you guys think, why is it important?
As always, asking for stones and comments. Hope you guys do it.
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