The three of them collided together, unleashing a deafening roar.
Under the high-speed spinning defense of Rotation, their attacks were surprisingly not repelled first.
Naruto's Rasengan and Sasuke's Chidori pressed hard against the Rotation, constantly emitting a piercing shriek.
For a moment, the three streams of chakra continuously clashed, unexpectedly reaching a brief stalemate.
The intense vibrations generated by Rotation's high-speed spin traveled relentlessly through their arms to the very limbs Naruto and Sasuke were attacking with.
Naruto let out a roar, quickly raising his other hand to grip his trembling arm that held the Rasengan.
Sasuke was the same on the other side. Under their combined assault, Neji's originally perfectly round Rotation began to slowly cave in at the points of contact.
Hyuga Neji was the first to sense this change in his Rotation.
"I can't keep this stalemate going!"
An extremely grave expression appeared on Neji's face.
He could already feel that Rotation's defense had reached a certain limit. If this continued, Rotation would likely be shattered by Sasuke and Naruto's attacks before long.
A thought flashed through Neji's mind. In almost an instant, he retracted all the chakra flows releasing from every tenketsu point across his body.
At the same time, the high-speed rotation had already carved a small crater where Neji stood.
As Neji retracted Rotation, he swiftly crouched down, half-lying in the crater.
With Neji withdrawing his released chakra, Naruto — no longer blocked by Rotation — lost control and charged forward uncontrollably.
Thanks to his Sharingan, Sasuke immediately detected the change in Neji's chakra flow. But he never expected Neji's movements to be even faster than he'd imagined!
What terrifying chakra control!
Sasuke's heart jolted as his body likewise surged forward uncontrollably.
With Rotation gone, Naruto and Sasuke only now realized that Neji — who should have been right between them — had vanished!
"What!"
Naruto let out a cry, watching helplessly as his Rasengan collided with Sasuke's Chidori.
A massive roar erupted the instant the two attacks smashed together.
The explosive force generated by the Chidori and the collision forced both Sasuke and Naruto to stumble back a step simultaneously.
Only then did Naruto and Sasuke spot Neji, half-crouched in the crater between them.
This was what created the illusion of Neji's sudden disappearance!
In the moment the two were stunned, Neji burst upward, extending both legs and kicking out in opposite directions simultaneously.
Naruto and Sasuke raised their arms across their chests to block Neji's attack. Just as they were about to counter—
They discovered that Neji had used the recoil from their blocks to launch himself away, quickly retreating to a position about ten meters from them.
"Sasuke, you bastard! If it weren't for you, how could he have gotten away!"
Naruto glared at Sasuke beside him, speaking with obvious irritation.
"You're the one getting in the way," Sasuke scoffed with a mocking tone.
While Naruto and Sasuke bickered, Neji raised a hand and wiped his cheek.
A streak of blood appeared on Neji's fingertips.
"Was I grazed by that Chidori just now?"
Neji thought to himself in silence.
Neji quickly straightened up, raising his head to look at Sasuke and Naruto in the distance.
"I suppose I did underestimate the two of you after all. It seems I'm not the only one whose strength has been rapidly growing."
A hint of seriousness had crept into Neji's voice as he assumed the Gentle Fist stance.
But at that very moment!
An astonishing aura suddenly surged from Neji's body!
Sasuke and Naruto, who had been arguing, both froze. In that instant, they felt the hairs on their bodies stand on end.
"Gentle Fist — Hidden Mist — Silent Killing Jutsu!"
Neji calmly uttered these words.
A faint purple chakra seeped from Neji's entire body, enveloping him completely.
At that moment, both Sasuke and Naruto could faintly see a terrifying ghostly visage looming over Neji!
"While I was in Kirigakure, I fought every single member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist — the elite among the elite — with everything I had."
"I nearly died every time. But precisely because I faced them with the resolve to die, I learned something valuable from each and every one of them."
"And I fused everything I learned with the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist."
Neji looked at Sasuke and Naruto with an indifferent gaze, his voice remarkably calm.
Neji's calm voice echoed in everyone's ears.
The resolve to die, huh?
For some reason, a heavy weight settled in Naruto and Sasuke's hearts.
On the other side, Nagato — who had been silently observing the battlefield — couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly.
A genius, huh?
Fusing the unique techniques of each member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist into his own Gentle Fist — such a person could truly be called a genius!
This was likely why Lord Yuto valued Hyuga Neji so highly. He was a true genius!
"So if you're not careful from here on out, you'll die."
The moment Neji finished speaking, he vanished from where he stood.
BOOM!
The ground where Naruto and Sasuke had just stood was instantly shattered. They barely dodged and leapt backward, but before they could even land, Neji was already upon them.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
In the blink of an eye, the three of them were locked in combat, blows ringing out one after another.
Sasuke and Naruto, who had been so dominant just moments ago, were instantly suppressed under Neji's Silent Killing assault!
Whether in speed or explosive power!
In this state, Neji outclassed both Naruto and Sasuke by a notch. Even more terrifyingly, his movements produced absolutely no sound.
This was clearly a special technique!
Sasuke could barely track Neji's movements using his Sharingan's insight. Naruto had it far worse — even when he could see Neji's movements, his body couldn't keep up.
If not for the formidable defense of his Tailed Beast Cloak, Naruto would likely have been the first to be eliminated.
A fierce sound of cutting air rang beside Sasuke's ear. Without even looking, he swiftly twisted his head aside.
Neji's palm sliced past Sasuke's face at blinding speed!
SPLATTER!
A spray of blood erupted!
Even though it was only a graze, a gash had opened on Sasuke's face!
Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply.
Both of Neji's hands were coated in a thin layer of chakra. By channeling chakra flow through his tenketsu points and combining it with terrifyingly precise control, he could achieve a blade-like effect.
Right after striking Sasuke, Naruto lunged from behind. Neji sidestepped effortlessly and simultaneously drove a straight punch directly into Naruto's chest.
Naruto's eyes went wide as his body was sent flying by the blow. After tumbling across the ground several times, he quickly regained his footing with a roar and scrambled back into the fray.
"So what if you're a genius? I'm not gonna lose to you, you annoying bastard!"
The Tailed Beast chakra surging from Naruto's body grew even denser.
Naruto charged back at a speed even faster than when he'd been sent flying.
"At this level, you can't beat me. Give it up!"
Neji looked coldly at the charging Naruto, raising his arm and shaping his hand like a pistol, pointing it straight at him.
"Gentle Fist — Secret Jutsu — Chakra Iron Cannon Jutsu!"
Neji's indifferent voice rang out as chakra swiftly gathered at his index finger, firing a bullet-like chakra cannon!
This jutsu was one Neji had learned from Hozuki Suigetsu!
The original jutsu was called "Water Style: Water Iron Cannon Jutsu," a secret technique unique to the Hozuki clan.
It was unique because the jutsu relied on the Hozuki clan's ability to transform their bodies into liquid water.
Although Hozuki Suigetsu didn't mind explaining the principles of the jutsu to Neji, it still took considerable time and effort for Neji to learn it from him.
The primary reason he was able to learn it at all was because Neji was Yuto's disciple.
Though the principles of this jutsu seemed unrelated to the Gentle Fist, the Gentle Fist already contained techniques like Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm that converted chakra into shockwaves.
All Neji needed to do was modify this conversion process, using the principles of the Hozuki clan's jutsu to transform the shockwave into a solid chakra cannon.
It may sound simple, but achieving this had taken Neji a great deal of time and effort.
The bullet-like chakra cannon blasted directly toward Naruto's forehead.
Naruto, sprinting at full speed, quickly adjusted his stance. Even so, the chakra cannon still struck him in the shoulder.
The Tailed Beast Cloak enveloping Naruto's body was torn open the instant it made contact with the chakra cannon.
It struck Naruto's arm with tremendous force!
A spray of blood erupted!
Naruto couldn't suppress a pained groan. Although the Tailed Beast Cloak absorbed most of the impact, a fingertip-sized blood hole still appeared on his arm.
But in that brief moment, the torn portion of Naruto's Tailed Beast Cloak had already regenerated.
And the wound on his arm began to heal under the influence of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
[
Dear Readers,
I am currently posting two chapters every day across two active fictions, along with bonus releases and extra chapters. The workload is steady, and I am putting in the effort to keep the schedule consistent for everyone.
Right now, my financial situation is not great. Patreon support is what keeps this translation work sustainable. If you have been following the stories and want to help, joining a tier makes a direct difference.
Here is what membership offers:
Adventurer — $3 per month
10 chapters in advance for all of my works
Warrior — $7 per month
20 chapters in advance for all of my works
Immortal — $10 per month (Highlighted Tier)
30 chapters in advance for all of my works
Access to character images
Important note: Subscribing through the Apple App adds an extra 30 percent fee (Apple/Patreon policy). Subscribe through your browser to avoid the extra charge. Apple also processes payments very late (2 to 3 months), which makes it much harder for me to receive money quickly after you subscribe.
If you can support, it would genuinely help me continue the daily releases and early access content. If you cannot, reading and sharing the work is also appreciated.
Thank you for your time.
Patreon: patreon.com/anish_44
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/anish_44
]