Although Hinata Hyuga had changed somewhat, Neji Hyuga saw no difference. A change in personality didn't equate to a change in strength.
Neji Hyuga didn't hesitate any longer and activated his Byakugan. As the meridians around his eyes bulged, he flashed in front of Hinata.
His expression was calm and collected, his chakra gathering in his palms as he struck at her vital points.
Hinata was slightly startled. She felt Neji's speed was slower than before.
Previously, during their sparring, she couldn't see his movements clearly, but now she could see them perfectly.
No, it wasn't that he had slowed down; it was that she had become faster and stronger. In a flash, Hinata's palms struck his wrists from bottom to top.
Neji's pupils contracted involuntarily. How could she be so fast? Even though he struck first, Hinata had arrived first.
Although Neji was surprised, his reaction was quick. With a flick of his wrist, he met Hinata's palms.
The two streams of chakra collided. They each took a half-step back.
"Hinata isn't the same Hinata she used to be."
Hiashi Hyuga, hiding in a tree nearby, nodded with satisfaction. The first exchange seemed evenly matched, but he knew Hinata had gained a slight advantage.
This meant their strength was now on par. This was something Hiashi Hyuga had never dared to imagine before.
"Amazing!"
Rock Lee's face showed an eager expression.
"Hinata has become this strong?"
Tenten knew Neji's style well. His attacks were relentless; if they were interrupted, it meant he was in trouble.
The students of Class 2-A were dumbfounded.
In their minds, Neji Hyuga was invincible, unless they encountered a monster like Yakumo, whose mechanics and stats were both formidable.
Hinata couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. In their previous sparring matches, she had been at a disadvantage from start to finish, utterly powerless.
But now, she finally felt no longer oppressed.
"You have indeed become much stronger."
Neji paused for two seconds before slowly speaking.
"Neji-nii, I..."
Hinata was interrupted halfway through her sentence.
"But our fates were already sealed from birth."
Neji said expressionlessly, "Your talent is inferior to mine, and no matter how hard you try, you can never beat me."
"That's not true."
Hinata quickly shook her head, "Although I used to think so too..."
"There's no point in saying more."
Neji leaned forward again, unleashing a double palm strike. A visible wave of chakra was generated, and a muffled sound filled the air. Clearly, Neji was using his full strength this time.
The excessive chakra compressed the air, creating a visually striking effect.
Hinata's heart skipped a beat, and she felt the Neji of the past again. Both his talent and strength filled her with despair.
But... Hinata glanced at Kitazawa not far away, and her heart calmed down again.
She had worked hard all summer, just so that she could stand in front of Neji today. Hinata's eyes were resolute as she stood firm, her palms meeting the attack. Chakra clashed, and wave after wave of energy erupted from the point of contact.
Neji's expression changed slightly.
Had she withstood his full power? Hinata's strength and speed had improved dramatically. No, and her mastery of Gentle Fist was even greater.
Before, Hinata's Gentle Fist was riddled with flaws, but now it was flawless. Neji's gaze darkened, and he continued his attack.
In an instant, their figures intertwined. Both exchanged blows, a series of crisp sounds ringing out.
"Too strong!"
Kiba was dazzled. He felt he couldn't keep up with their movements, only seeing afterimages.
"Is Kitazawa-sensei's special training really this outrageous?"
Kiba found it unbelievable.
Neji was more talented than Hinata Hyuga and a year older, having learned both the Byakugan and Gentle Fist first.
Yet, in just one summer, Hinata had caught up, it was simply incomprehensible.
"This is a youthful showdown between taijutsu ninjas!"
Naruto was thrilled, wishing he could immediately join in for a three-on-one battle.
As for why Hinata had become so strong, his mind went blank, and he simply ignored it.
A chilling aura appeared. Sakura subconsciously turned her head and saw Sasuke activate his Sharingan.
Judging from his serious expression, he definitely sensed something was amiss.
"Sasuke-kun, who do you think will win?"
Sakura Haruno asked curiously.
"Hard to say."
Sasuke Uchiha paused for a moment, then said, "But Hinata has a better chance of winning."
"Why?"
Shino adjusted his glasses and said, "I feel that Neji has the advantage in experience and stamina."
"Because of my eyes."
Sasuke Uchiha's lips curled up slightly, and he said confidently, "I can see very clearly that Hinata completely followed Neji's movements."
"The Sharingan has powerful insight."
Shikamaru chimed in, "Since Sasuke says so, Hinata definitely has a higher chance of winning."
"That's good."
Ino felt much relieved.
Compared to Neji from Class 2-A, she naturally supported her close classmate Hinata more.
"Sasuke-kun is definitely right!"
Sakura immediately exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with hearts.
"..."
Sasuke suddenly felt less confident again.
Don't say that!
"That's not necessarily true."
Tenten looked at them and said, "Neji hasn't even used his full strength yet!"
"That's impossible, right?"
Kiba was stunned, feeling incredulous.
They've already fought to this extent, and you're telling me he didn't use his full strength?
Is that right? Am I in a ninja academy? Why are there such absurd classmates?
Kiba was filled with deep doubt for a moment.
"They've temporarily ended the battle."
Sasuke's words stopped everyone's discussion, and they looked at the two people in the arena.
"You've improved a lot."
Neji put some distance between them and said, catching his breath.
It wasn't just a big change; he felt Hinata had become a completely different person, a radical transformation.
Was this still the Hinata Hyuga he knew? It was hard to see the fear and tension she once possessed.
"Neji-nii," Hinata seized the opportunity to finish her sentence, "I only learned that fate can be changed after meeting Kitazawa-sensei."
"Ridiculous!"
Neji scoffed. "What does a ninja academy teacher say about changing fate? Hinata, your fate of defeat is unchangeable!"
He raised his hands, adopting the starting stance of Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
Hinata Hyuga felt a sudden tightness in her chest upon seeing the familiar stance. But she quickly relaxed, because she had Kitazawa's guidance.
She felt she wouldn't lose to Neji Hyuga in Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
"This is Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms?"
Hiashi Hyuga, perched in a tree, suddenly widened his eyes.
Although he hadn't paid attention to Neji's peeping during his usual boxing practice, he hadn't expected Neji to have learned it.
Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms is a secret technique of the Hyuga clan's main family. Since it's a secret technique, its difficulty is considerable.
He couldn't imagine that Neji could master Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms by simply stealing information without any instruction.
Hyuga Hiashi's expression turned serious. He wanted to see just how much Hyuga Neji had learned.
Hinata assumed the same stance. Her chakra surged, causing her aura to shift.
Neji was surprised upon seeing this.
But then he thought, it would be strange if she, as a member of the main family, hadn't learned Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
"Hinata, I'll show you the difference between us,"
Neji said in a deep voice, "just like the unchangeable fate of the main family and the branch family."
"I will defeat you!"
Hyuga Hinata said fearlessly, "Fate is just your excuse!"
"What do you know?"
Neji roared angrily upon hearing the word 'excuse'.
"Please enlighten me."
Hinata suddenly stepped forward and slapped down on two pressure points on his body with both palms. But the next second, Neji met the attack with both palms. A massive amount of chakra surged forth. Hinata felt her body stiffen and involuntarily took a half-step back.
In terms of chakra, she was indeed no match for Neji.
After all, she was younger.
"This is your fate!"
Seeing this, Neji unleashed an even more powerful burst of chakra. Palm after palm, chakra waves surged, creating whistling sounds between his palms.
Although every palm was blocked, under his powerful offensive, Hinata appeared to be in grave danger.
"Neji is going to win!"
Tenten's eyes lit up, and she said excitedly.
"Is Hinata really going to lose?"
Ino's face showed worry.
"A year's difference is still hard to overcome."
Kiba said in a deep voice, "But Hinata has done very well, she's just a little bit away from winning."
"Not necessarily."
Uchiha Sasuke saw that Hyuga Neji's so-called advantage was based on his chakra superiority.
"Hinata! Go for it!"
Naruto shouted loudly. Now that he was the class monitor, he naturally had to fully support his classmates. Under his influence, many students in Class A of the first year cheered for Hinata.
"Useless!"
Hearing the cheers, Neji took a deep breath and said, "It's time to end this, Hinata!"
His movements changed, and his palms unleashed a torrent of power.
In the blink of an eye, the first eight palms of Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms were unleashed in one go.
What!
Neji eyes widened.
He had thought Hinata could only block five or six of his palms at most, but she had blocked them all.
Hinata, her face tense, unleashed the ninth and tenth palms.
Both palms struck Neji's chest.
"Fate can't decide anything," Hinata Hyuga said earnestly, looking at him.
"…"
Neji took two steps back and coughed up blood.
"Neji-nii, are you alright?"
Hinata panicked upon seeing this; she hadn't expected her two palms to be so powerful.
She rushed forward and helped Neji up, then instinctively looked at Kitazawa.
"He's alright."
Kitazawa stepped forward, placed his hand on Neji's chest, and cast a healing jutsu.
Although he had coughed up blood, it was actually only a minor injury.
After all, Hinata was only six years old, and she had unconsciously held back, so it wasn't as serious as it seemed.
Of course, for Neji, the blow to his spirit far outweighed the physical injury.
Hinata, whom he had always considered his defeated opponent, had defeated him, and in a fair and square way.
Why was this?
Neji had always believed that his talent was superior to Hyuga Hinata's.
Moreover, he had awakened his Byakugan earlier and learned Gentle Fist earlier, giving him an early advantage, yet he still lost to her.
Didn't this mean that the truly talented one was actually Hyuga Hinata?
The students of Class 2-A exchanged bewildered glances.
Losing to Yakumo could be attributed to a taijutsu ninja being countered by a genjutsu ninja.
But losing to Hinata offered no explanation.
The same Gentle Fist, the same Byakugan, a loss is a loss, a win is a win.
"How is this possible?"
Tenten struggled to accept that the ever-genius Neji had lost to Hinata.
"Both of them are stronger than me. No wonder they're geniuses of the Hyuga clan!"
Rock Lee declared spiritedly. "I'm going to do thirty extra laps after school! Youth is all about hard work!"
"Just one summer vacation, and Hinata's strength seems to have increased several times over,"
Shino said gravely. He had narrowly lost to Hinata in the previous semester's final exams. But after watching this match, he felt that if they fought again, the outcome would be uncertain; he might lose miserably.
"This is Kitazawa-sensei's special training!"
Ino exclaimed.
"Kitazawa-sensei is truly amazing!"
Naruto immediately echoed.
He had learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique during the summer vacation, resulting in a dramatic increase in strength.
Although he wasn't entirely clear how groundbreaking the A-rank forbidden technique Kitazawa taught him was, he could make comparisons.
"People like Mizuki and Iruka Umino, both teachers at the Ninja Academy, are far inferior to Kitazawa."
Shikamaru hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back. Although he wanted to complain about Kitazawa's overly grueling training, he had to admit that his special training was indeed very effective.
He felt that after another ten days or so, he could try learning the Nara clan's second secret technique.
"Indeed," Sakura said, clenching her fist. "With Kitazawa-sensei's special training, we won't be any worse than Hinata!"
She followed Kitazawa every day to learn medical ninjutsu and had long recognized his terrifying strength.
"Is it really that good?"
Kiba stroked his chin thoughtfully. As far as he knew, Naruto and Sakura had both participated in Kitazawa's special training. Indeed, as they said, they had made great progress.
The only one who hadn't paid much attention was Choji Akimichi. He only had one thought now: to eat, eat, eat.
He wanted to beat Hinata in the next eating contest.
Sasuke's lips twitched. Special training was important, but ultimately, it depended on individual talent. Sasuke snapped out of his daze and looked at Hinata .
His previous plan was to challenge Neji after Neji won, to avenge his loss to him last semester. But now that Hinata Hyuga has won, challenging the loser isn't the Uchiha clan's style.
However… he wasn't absolutely certain.
Before the two used Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, Sasuke felt he could win.
After all, he had his Sharingan and could see their movements clearly.
But Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms is a high-level secret technique of the Hyuga clan, and he only saw half of the ten palms Hinata Hyuga had just used.
Kitazawa had told him to observe, think, and reflect more.
Sasuke believed he needed to observe a couple more times before he was confident. In short, he needed to play it safe first. He didn't want his Sharingan to fail in its first battle.
That would not only lose the Uchiha clan's face but also make it difficult for him to maintain his position at the Ninja Academy.
In a tree not far away, Hiashi Hyuga fell silent.
He never dreamed that Neji would actually be able to successfully steal and learn Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
And in terms of progress, he was only two palms behind Hinata.
It's important to know that Hinata had his guidance.
Hiashi Hyuga believed that no one understood Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms better than him.
Undoubtedly, Neji was a super genius no less than Hinata Hyuga.
The Uchiha clan had Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha, while the Hyuga clan had Hinata Hyuga and Neji Hyuga.
In terms of the number of geniuses, it was a rare tie.
Hiashi Hyuga recalled Neji's harsh words and thought to himself, "Hizashi, I'm sorry."
In this situation, he had to let Neji know the truth of what happened back then. With this thought, Hiashi Hyuga made up his mind.
In his view, if Hinata Hyuga and Neji Hyuga worked together, they would surely bring the Hyuga clan to new heights.
[Current Mission: Help your classmate Hinata Hyuga defeat Neji Hyuga.]
[Mission Reward: Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation.]
[Host has completed the mission: Reward issued.]
A large amount of information appeared in Kitazawa's mind.
The Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation is considered the ultimate secret technique of Gentle Fist, touted as absolute defense.
Its effect is to form a hemispherical protective shield from the ground to the entire body, reflecting physical attacks.
The actual principle is to release a large amount of chakra from the chakra points within the body, then spin like a top.
Of course, generally speaking, absolute defense is not truly absolute.
For example, Gaara's Sand Shield.
Even so, the Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation is not bad.
It's not a problem against most ninjas.
Especially, it's considered the nemesis of taijutsu ninjas.
"You guys return to your lines, prepare for class," Kitazawa paused, then said, "Neji, come find me later."
Hyuga Neji looked up blankly, not understanding why he was being asked to come find him.
But Kitazawa didn't explain further.
Seeing this, Hyuga Neji silently returned to Class 2-A.
"Ne..."
Hyuga Hinata hesitated.
Although she was happy to have defeated Hyuga Neji, seeing him so distraught made her feel guilty.
"It's alright," Kitazawa said, patting her head. "Leave it to me."
Hinata Hyuga was too young to realize Neji Hyuga's real problem.