The crowd both looked and sounded animated after Naruto's fight.
Jada, among her friends, narrowed her eyes at the screen, revealing the next matchup: "Neji Hyūga versus Shira!"
"That's not good," she murmured.
Naruto, caught mid-cheer for his friend, turned to Jada with a frown. "What'd ya mean? Neji's strong! He can beat anybody!"
As Jada shook her head, causing her dark hair to sway with the motion, Arthur decided to chime in on their conversation.
"That's not what I meant," she said. "Naruto, you don't know who Shira is."
Margaret and William exchanged glances, each understanding what she knew. Iruka, observing the sudden shift in mood among the group, asked why they were so quiet now.
Jada let out a soft sigh. "For a guy like Shira, this tournament is his calling. He's like Lee—he grew up relying solely on taijutsu as his only method of fighting."
Lee perked up, and they could all see the spark ignite in his eyes. With enthusiasm, he screamed, "I would like to fight this Shira and compare our taijutsu then!" His boisterousness was just as infectious as Naruto's.
"It's not that simple," Jada cautioned. "Shira's also smart like Neji."
"And if Neji didn't have the Byakugan..." interjected Margaret, "he might have become a lot like Shira."
"I still don't get it," Naruto stated.
The two from earth decided to elaborate on Shira without giving too much information.
Shira was written to have been born in the Land of Wind and started his journey in a small town before relocating to the Sand Village at a young age. He faced significant challenges due to his lack of talent in genjutsu and ninjutsu, which led to a ban from the village's academy instituted by the fourth Kazekage.
As a result, he was subjected to the mockery of his peers but refused to be discouraged. That led him to perfecting his taijutsu by employing unconventional training methods.
Arthur was keen on those facts as well.
Last he recalled, Gaara, who became the fifth Kazekage, recognized Shira's dedication and impressive taijutsu skills. But that event couldn't unfold for at least another year.
Right now, Shira was just around the same age as the Genin. Just a tad taller with a fit build. He also had spiky taupe-gray hair, several scars on his face, and a blue dragon tattoo on his shoulder.
As excellent as the writers made him, he was still a filler character within the narrative. His role ultimately diminishes after the interlude, and he was never heard from again.
Of course, the three Naruto fanatics would know everything about that.
When asked how they knew so much, William came up with a crafty lie.
What really mattered was how Neji felt about the situation: stoic but quite intrigued by who Shira was.
"I know what I need to do," he firmly stated, refusing to show any sign of intimidation.
Jada, anticipating his resolve, smiled gently, knowing he would need some guidance. "Alright, Neji. Let me give you some pointers since I know how Shira fights."
From what Arthur recalled, Shira was strong enough not to be fazed by Neji's usual tactics when they would fight a year from now.
Should this fight be like that one, Shira would undoubtedly have the edge again. Not to mention, Neji would not be able to use his Byakugan.
Shira, meanwhile, was getting encouragement from some of the Sand shinobi who had traveled with him. None of those in his group were participants—just silent supporters who had come to watch.
"Do your best," one of them said.
"I will," Shira nodded as he walked forward.
"Will both fighters please come to the center stage!" the announcer begged.
"We're not ready yet!" Margaret yelled back.
"Ugh… Okay?"
Neji was still busy listening to his friends' strategies.
Arthur could tell that this new Neji was undoubtedly not the same arrogant one before having been converted early. That's when Arthur witnessed him say something interesting.
"While I might not be the strongest Hyūga in my clan," Neji said, "I have been training alongside the strongest—Alex."
"Alex is pretty strong," William exclaimed. "Since that's the case, then there's no doubt Neji's gonna win."
Arthur considered that statement. He, unlike the others from earth, wasn't aware of who the strongest was. He could make a guess, but he didn't want to be wrong.
Just hearing that Alex's training was enough to boost Neji's prowess by so much and that everyone else believed the Hyūga would win meant a lot.
'How strong is Alex?' Arthur thought to himself. 'No… if he didn't come here because he knew the opponents wouldn't be worth his time, then it'd be safe to assume he's the strongest player out of the other six.'
The arena's announcer once again called out the fighters to take the stage. With a calm stride, Neji approached Shira, who was already standing at the center. Both had determined looks.
"I have a friend just like you," Neji began.
Shira's interest piqued. "There aren't many shinobi like me."
Neji allowed a small smile. "You'd be impressed because the friend I'm referring to just fought in the first match."
"Lee?" Shira wondered. His eyes didn't lie; he had been in admiration of Lee and clearly wanted to fight him. "I was looking forward to meeting him… But right now, it's my destiny to advance to the finals."
"I knew it!" Lee tried to scream out until his friends brought him back down.
"Lee," Margaret whispered while covering the boy's mouth, "don't ruin the scene!"
Neji's attention remained on Shira as he said, "I know a thing or two about destiny. You see, it can always change." He then turned his head back to his friends, who had given him the insights he needed. "Thanks to them, I can see something that even my Byakugan can't: the truth."
His declaration struck a chord within Shira, momentarily softening the competitive vibes surrounding them. Both knew at that moment they had a purpose: to compete.
The announcer's voice boomed through the arena, capturing everyone's attention. "Fighters ready?" The breathless crowd leaned forward with anticipation. "Begin!"
Neji and Shira exploded into motion as their feet barely made a sound on the floor.
Each of Shira's movements was so fluid that Neji scarcely heard a thing; it was as if the arena was enveloped in an eerie quietude around them, where even a pen drop could be heard.
That's when he realized what his friends had meant about Shira's fighting style: the boy had been using the "Silent Fist" taijutsu skill.
In response, Neji relied on his acute instincts.
He blocked and evaded, which belied his lack of the Byakugan's enhanced vision. Every punch and kick Shira threw towards him was met with an equational evasion. Neji countered deftly, trying to anticipate Shira's moves. Shira, in turn, began to note Neji's uncanny performance.
Suddenly, the two stopped, allowing the crowd to erupt in wild cheers.
"Have we met in the past by any chance?" Shira asked, feeling a tad frustrated.
He was asking because Neji was fighting as if he had seen his techniques before—the way he blocked and dodged with an almost supernatural ease.
"Maybe I'm just that good," Neji responded with a smirk.
"Yes!" cheered Lee. "Show him who is the boss, Neji!"
Shira grimaced with determination. Drawing from his own reserves of strength, he pushed forward, and the two exchanged blows for another round.
Jada, absorbing the fight, had her worries ebbed.
"Bet you're frustrated not using that fancy Byakugan," Shira taunted as he sent a kick aimed directly at Neji's midsection.
Swish! It missed.
"I can see just fine without it," Neji said. As he spoke, his body shifted to a familiar stance. "The moment you stepped foot in this ring, you were already within my Eight Trigrams range." At those words, he launched into his signature technique: "Eight Trigrams: 64 Palms!"
Blurred hands unleashed a rapid sequence of strikes toward Shira, creating loud banging noises against flesh.
"Look at him go!" Naruto yelled.
Arthur, intrigued, activated his Crimson Gaze, only to see that each palm was directed at Shira's tenketsu points.
That was scary because, to use an Eight Trigrams technique like that, one required the Byakugan. Otherwise, one couldn't target those tenketsu points effectively.
Now Arthur understood why Neji's new friends were so confident in his skills.
Neji continued. "Sixteen palms…! Thirty-two palms!"
But Shira, being resilient, managed to stay squarely on his feet. That left Lee shocked; no one had ever been able to withstand Neji's sixty-four palms without losing balance before.
"It's alright, Lee," Margaret addressed. "He's just testing Shira's defenses."
Jada also recognized it. This prompted Naruto to dart his head from left to right and ask, "Huh? Why's he doing that? I thought they were going all out."
"Naruto," Margaret answered, "Neji wants to gauge him without overcommitting."
"Oh… I knew that!" the boy smiled.
To be frank, not even Iruka was aware of what Neji was doing. His attention immediately fell on Margaret. Were his students really that analytical when it came to taijutsu?
"Impressive," Shira smirked after withstanding the sixty-fourth strike. He actually remained standing. "But let's see how you handle this." He was going to use the Seven Heavenly Breaths.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, Neji lunged forward and shouted, "Last resort: eight gates assault!"
Bang! A direct hit!