The fight continued, both equally surprised at how powerful the other was.
Kiyomi had thought that she would most likely face trouble against her own team or her brother's team in the exam. Later, when Sukuna told everyone to be cautious of the team from the Hidden Sand, another team had been added to that list.
However, here was a Hyuga boy from Konoha itself, pushing her to the edge.
This was mainly due to his Byakugan, which was a hard counter to all her genjutsu. The majority of her skills were based on genjutsu, so this could have been the worst possible matchup for her—aside from someone like Sukuna himself.
Neji wasn't having an easy time either.
Just as his Byakugan rendered all of Kiyomi's genjutsu useless, Kiyomi's lack of tenketsu inside her body made his Gentle Fist useless against her. He couldn't even understand why.
Thus, neither of them had an easy way to knock the other out of the match.
Just another case of a bad matchup.
But a match it was nonetheless.
Since close combat was the only option—unless she revealed certain techniques and powers she wished to hide—Kiyomi could only accept the grind and head right into the fray.
Instead of trying to dodge away from Neji's relentless blows, she decided to tank an attack while maximizing her reinforcement to create a window for her to counter.
She growled under the stinging pain of Neji's Gentle Fist. Even when it wasn't working as intended, it hurt like hell.
Gritting her teeth, she pushed her body forward despite the pain and caught his wrist.
The impact alone sent a small shock through Neji's arm.
"What—?!" Neji's eyes widened in confusion and shock.
He twisted instantly, redirecting into a second strike toward her chest.
Kiyomi slid sideways. Her Sharingan had already predicted what Neji would do, and she countered with a straight punch.
Neji blocked—but the force behind it pushed him back three steps. His hands were numb and shaking at the point of contact.
"…What physical strength," he murmured, shock clearly visible on his face.
And he was no stranger to physically strong individuals. His team's jonin sensei was Might Guy, and his teammate was Rock Lee.
But to have such strength in such a slim body—in a girl, no less—he couldn't believe it.
Kiyomi smirked faintly.
"Don't get cocky. This match is just starting."
They clashed again.
Palm strikes blurred in rapid succession. Neji's Gentle Fist flowed like water, aiming again and again for chakra points. This time he was extremely cautious about avoiding Kiyomi's attacks.
His main goal wasn't just dealing damage.
It was dealing damage while not getting hit.
And it worked.
Unlike him, Kiyomi hadn't been trained by taijutsu geniuses. In fact, she had never had a proper taijutsu trainer before. Even Izumi was a genjutsu-type kunoichi.
Everything she had learned was by herself—and from sparring with Sasuke.
It was good.
But not good enough against someone like Neji, whose entire fighting style revolved around taijutsu.
She got hit. A lot.
While barely managing to dish out anything close to the damage Neji was doing.
Arg… so annoying.
If only the bastard didn't have a Byakugan.
Should I use my Mangekyo?
Kiyomi felt helpless in this condition.
However, she wasn't the only one feeling helpless.
Neji felt the same.
Every time his fingers touched—
Nothing happened.
No chakra disruption.
No tenketsu closure.
He had no idea how the Uchiha had found a way to hide their tenketsu locations, but it was working. It entirely made the Hyuga fighting style worthless.
It was annoying. And frustrating.
Beyond his own hatred for the main family, he was also a bit afraid for the position of the Hyuga clan if other clans learned this method to block their tenketsu.
Instead of falling behind in his thoughts, however, he accelerated.
His palms struck faster, chaining combinations meant to overwhelm rather than disable.
Kiyomi met him head-on. Her reinforcement was spot-on, doing everything possible to connect attacks on Neji.
Her movements lacked the elegant precision of the Hyuga style—but every blow carried frightening physical strength.
Most of the time Neji deflected or dodged.
But there were times when he couldn't.
And he was forced to block.
Whenever Neji blocked a punch or kick from Kiyomi, he felt the vibration run up his arm.
A few more of those and he was done for.
He pivoted and swept low, attempting to break her stance.
Kiyomi jumped over the leg and spun, her heel cutting through the air toward his temple.
Neji ducked under it.
Their eyes met mid-motion—Byakugan against Sharingan.
Two of the most rivaled clans in Konoha after the Senju were gone. There was no ancient dispute between the only two dojutsu clans in the world, but the rivalry born from being the only two known dojutsu users was enough reason for them to try to outdo each other.
Kiyomi lunged again.
Their fight shifted fully into close combat.
Neji's technique was cleaner—every movement refined by years of Hyuga discipline.
But Kiyomi's body absorbed blows that should have staggered others.
She was sturdier than any thirteen-year-old girl had any right to be.
A palm strike landed on her ribs.
She barely flinched.
Pain shot through her body all the same, but she powered through it, her counterpunch forcing Neji to slide back across the arena floor.
Even after blocking, Neji felt like he had almost cracked a bone.
No… I can't keep this up.
A few more punches like that and my hands will break.
Neji glared at Kiyomi with complicated eyes.
Kiyomi wasn't much different.
All the attacks from Neji had worn her down. She was panting and covered in bruises.
From the stands, murmurs spread.
"They're evenly matched…"
Neji dashed forward again.
For lack of any better option in his arsenal. Truly, a Hyuga's greatest weakness was long-range combat.
Kiyomi, on the other hand, wasn't eager to get bombarded with another round of those stinging Gentle Fist strikes.
If genjutsu and pure power didn't work—
Then she would use tools.
The earlier Kiba Blades she had put away so Neji would dare to attack her were out again.
No longer concerned about finding openings, she intended to cut through her path with them.
She brought the blades together by their pommels. A metal construction extended from the handles, connecting the two blades.
Her technique had created a link between them.
The weapon now resembled something similar to Thanos's double-bladed sword from Endgame.
Neji's eyes focused on the blades and he pursed his lips.
He had to be extra careful with those blades. Anything capable of cutting through his Revolving Heaven was dangerous.
Those blades were the only reason he wasn't using Revolving Heaven anymore.
If she cut open his chakra dome while he was rotating, it could be extremely dangerous.
With both sides cautious, they drove back into the fray.
This time, the fight was getting dangerous.
Instead of instant knockouts, both were now going for lethal takedown methods to win.
Kiyomi spun the double-bladed weapon once, twice—then the blades began rotating like a whirling propeller as she rushed Neji.
The sound cut through the arena while electricity thundered along the blade's edge, making it look like a jet engine going haywire.
Neji hastily backed off.
He remembered what those blades were capable of.
Earlier, during his attempt to use Revolving Heaven, the weapon had sliced through the rotating defense.
He would not make that mistake again.
He could have lost a limb during that last attempt.
Kiyomi lunged, the spinning blades carving the air toward his shoulder.
Neji slipped aside at the last second.
His 360-degree vision warned him of the incoming danger from every angle, and his reflexes allowed him to dodge.
The weapon tore through the stone floor instead.
"You're avoiding it. Well, obviously. But how long do you think you'll be able to do that, Hyuga?" Kiyomi asked, smirking as she circled him.
"It would be foolish not to," Neji replied calmly. "As for how long—we'll see."
Kiyomi chuckled knowingly.
"Guess we will."
She swung again, forcing him back.
From the stands, Naruto groaned.
"Why's he just running?!"
"He isn't running," Sasuke said quietly.
Technically, Kiyomi had the advantage.
However, Sasuke had a bad feeling about it.
The way Neji was exploiting Kiyomi's lack of experience was obvious.
At times like this, Sasuke cursed his own thoughtlessness for not including Kiyomi directly in their training sessions before.
Training with them—especially sparring against Sukuna—had given them incredible experience.
He should have dragged her along.
Kiyomi pressed harder.
Neji ducked under one slash, stepped over another.
Then—
He moved forward.
A sudden feint.
Kiyomi's Sharingan predicted the moment early enough.
But Neji wasn't simply feinting.
He was ready to take damage to make it work.
Kiyomi reacted instantly, bringing the blade down to intercept—
—and drove it straight toward Neji's shoulder.
It hit.
The blade cut through like a hot knife through butter, though not very deep.
Neji pulled back immediately after stepping in.
A wide gash opened across his shoulder.
But it was a trade he had intended to make.
Using that momentary opening, he slipped inside her guard.
His palm struck her chest.
By the time Kiyomi's Sharingan registered the incoming attack—
—it was too late.
She couldn't dodge the point-blank counter.
A sharp impact hit her abdomen.
Not the tenketsu-sealing strike he usually used.
But a focused Gentle Fist blow directly into her lung.
An internal attack—the Hyuga clan's specialty.
In the shinobi world, there were countless ways to improve external durability.
But there was no way to strengthen internal organs.
The earlier strikes Kiyomi felt had already damaged tissue internally.
Neji hadn't been targeting vital points earlier.
But now—
anything went for victory.
The Kiba Blades slipped from her hands, clattering across the arena.
Kiyomi staggered back.
"Hah—!"
Air wouldn't come.
Her lungs refused to draw breath.
Neji lowered his arm slowly.
"That technique you use is strange," he said calmly. "Your tenketsu cannot be sealed."
Kiyomi dropped to one knee, clutching her chest as her lungs fought to breathe.
"But that does not make you invincible."
He stepped closer.
"The Gentle Fist does not only close chakra points. It destroys the organs beneath the skin."
She glared up at him.
Neji's voice remained steady.
"Some things cannot be changed, no matter how much you glare. Fate determines the course of our lives."
Kiyomi's eyes twitched.
Those words hit something deep.
Her own fate in her original world had not been much different.
Twins were born weak—fated to fade away unless both existed together.
Her fingers trembled.
Power had never meant much to her.
All she had wanted was a normal life.
But being born in the Zenin clan had decided that for her.
There, weakness was normal.
Only cursed energy and cursed techniques mattered.
Her breathing worsened.
The strike to her lung had done its job.
The lack of oxygen began to numb her mind.
Darkness crept into her vision.
Neji turned slightly, believing the match finished.
"You fought well," he said. "But the result was decided long ago."
Something snapped.
Kiyomi's hand slipped inside her clothes.
Metal appeared silently.
One last desperate effort.
Pure stubbornness inherited from her sister—and raw anger toward the word fate.
She wasn't thinking anymore.
Neji's Byakugan detected the weapon—
—but he couldn't identify it fast enough.
Too late.
A compact gun.
The same one she had hidden since the Forest of Death.
Her technique formed the bullet instantly.
"Fuck off," she rasped.
Bang.
The shot thundered through the arena at point-blank range.
And then—
there was only darkness.
xXx
A/N : Honestly, this ending was deliberate and it would be soon be known why. As for Kiyomi is capable enough, gods know both sisters are crazy as hell.
I personally enjoyed writing this battle. It put two victims of almost similar yet different reality against each other. Both trying to find ways to break the chains.
Hope you like the chapter, more will be coming soon. Sorry for late upload in Patreon, I'm currently travelling so can't be consistent but that will change soon.
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