Kaede frowned. "What you're worried about might be happening sooner than we thought."
Through the Divine Tree, Kaguya watched Neji—now marked by a Wedge. "That isn't Isshiki's chakra…"
She paused in thought. "I don't know whose it is. Perhaps someone I've never seen."
"Even you don't recognize it? Then I should go and meet them," Kaede said, stepping toward the Chunin Exam arena.
He had only taken one step when Kaguya flashed in front of him, blocking the way. "Why rush? Watch first."
"I hate the unknown," Kaede muttered. For the first time, his system returned no result—either the information was too scant, or the target was beyond its lock.
A bloodline curse that dared target the Hyuga—right under his eyes—felt like a provocation. There were few in this world who could stand as his equal, and fewer still who would ignore him. Push come to shove, only Kaguya had that right—and she had already lost and chosen to submit.
Excitement flickered with the urge to fight. This wasn't like his slow, careful plan to absorb nations. At last, a chance to try new powers: the Devil Fruit, the demon-slaying blade techniques, Six Eyes, the strange arts of Qimen Dunjia…
How would these fare against an Otsutsuki?
Kaguya's calm suggested Neji's selection as a vessel could wait a moment longer.
Kaede strolled to the tea table and began to brew. "Fine. We'll do it your way."
On the arena floor, Neji's power was waking. In those hollow pupils, a faint spiral etched itself—a Samsara Eye sigil. It was the first ever seen in this world… and it was blue.
Otsutsuki chakra surged inside him, acclimating to the vessel; the eye pattern sharpened, visible now to more than just Kaede and Kaguya.
"Neji's eyes… Is that the Samsara Eye?" Choji gaped, pointing.
Shikamaru had already slipped away with a Substitution Technique. On the far side, Shino returned, driving a dense tide of insects to surround Neji.
A heartbeat later, the impossible happened.
As the insects neared Neji, they vanished—simply ceased to exist—like they'd been ported to another spacetime.
It wasn't the same as Divine Might. Divine Might twisted space into a visible vortex, dragging a target away like a tornado. Neji did nothing at all—no tell, no gesture—and the attacking swarm was just… gone.
Shino stared, stunned and heartsick for his insects. "Neji… he isn't the same."
Not just different—utterly changed.
No Eight Trigrams Palms, no charge—he stood still and unraveled Shino's fiercest assault without lifting a finger.
(End of Chapter)
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