Chapter 157: Byakugan vs. Byakugan
The third stage of the Chunin Exams still had one preliminary match left.
Twenty-one candidates would be whittled down to ten for the real tournament.
From here on out there were no teammates to lean on; promotion depended solely on individual performance.
Before the match began, proctor Gekko Hayate announced that, because one Rain ninja remained too badly injured, only twenty contestants would fight.
Naruto's opponent was that Rain ninja's teammate.
They had been the ones Naruto's group strong-armed into handing over the heaven scroll before being shoved into the tower.
Their strength was mediocre, but the trio could combine Ninjutsu to conjure a wide-area Cursed Rain technique that weakened foes—hardly impressive, yet not without merit.
It was hard to tell whether it was deliberate.
Hinata's opponent, once again, was Neji.
Neji clenched his fist, then loosened it.
To think that in the Chunin preliminary he would face Hinata.
Stepping onto the field, Neji's heart swirled with mixed feelings as he watched Hinata approach.
He remembered when his father, Hizashi, had spoken with rare lightness about the Main House welcoming a baby girl—his new cousin—and the young Neji had been genuinely happy.
Even later, when the Caged Bird Seal that marked branch-house sacrifice was carved into his forehead, that joy never fully died.
His father had rested a hand on his head, voice heavy yet firm: "Neji, this seal is also duty. Grow strong and protect the Main House… protect Hinata."
Back then he had thought the seal changed nothing.
Even without Caged Bird he would protect his little sister.
The turn came when Hinata was three.
News of his father's death struck like lightning out of a clear sky.
The stern man whose eyes had always hidden deep love was forced, in the name of "Hyuga custom" and "peace," to die in the Main House's stead.
Anger, confusion, resentment—poison vines—wrapped round his childish heart.
Looking toward the Main House, toward the little sister for whom his father had given his life, Neji could no longer find simple affection—only cold distance and wordless blame.
The past is sand, scattered by time and by the winds of truth he would later learn.
He grew, grew strong, and finally reached the buried past.
It had not been his uncle Hiashi who drove his father to death, but the rigid Main/Branch system—and a few greedy, cold Hyuga Elders who treated Hizashi as a disposable pawn.
Those filthy schemes and betrayals were the true culprits.
When the truth stood revealed, blood debts demanded blood payment.
Together with his uncle Hiashi he struck like thunder, making those rotting plotters pay the price.
His father's vengeance was achieved.
The sand blew away, revealing what had been hidden.
Now, facing Hinata again as an opponent in the Chunin Exams, every shred of resentment, blame, and coldness had long since vanished.
In their place dwelt a deeper, more complex emotion that settled into clear affection—yes, affection.
An Elder brother's fondness for a sister too gentle for her own good.
He watched the slight tremor in her straightened back, saw the resolve written in her nervous white eyes.
Still… this time I won't hold back.
This is only an exam, a test.
And as her older brother, perhaps what he should offer is a fight that will truly let her see herself and surpass herself.
Neji slowly assumed the Gentle Fist opening stance; veins around his Byakugan bulged as his vision pierced everything. Calmly he spoke across the field:
"Hinata, give everything you have. Let me see what strength you've gained to reach this day."
"Yes. Please give your all too, Brother Neji."
Both activated their Byakugan.
The instant Gekko Hayate declared the match open,
Hinata's hands crackled with lightning and she shot toward Neji.
Divine Sky Strike: Raging Thunder!
Seeing the familiar Move, Neji's pupils flared.
Wasn't that the technique Uzumaki Naruto had used last time?
Though a bit slower.
Neji's Aura surged; reflexively he opened the Gate of Opening and answered with the counter he had used before.
Using Gentle Fist footwork he slid sharply back-left, evading the thunderous frontal rush.
At the same moment, his right palm gathered precise Chakra and, like a viper's tongue, whipped a reverse strike toward the rib-side tenketsu along Hinata's charging path.
Hinata, who had watched the last duel, was ready.
Before her forward momentum ended, the lightning wreathing her hands vanished, replaced by two sudden blooms of violet Chakra.
The Chakra solidified into two majestic, glaring lion heads, manes flying, encasing her small fists.
Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists!
A soundless roar seemed to shake the air.
Hinata's Chakra erupted.
The recoil jolted Neji's arm numb and his attack was flung aside!
Riding the burst, Hinata twisted; her right fist, wrapped in the purple lion, carved a fierce arc toward Neji's exposed flank as he reeled.
Attack and defense reversed in an instant.
True surprise—and admiration—sparked in Neji's eyes.
He retracted his arm to block, left palm gathering Chakra to meet the roaring lion fist.
"Boom!"
The dull thud of colliding Chakra burst across the field, a gust tossing their hair and clothes.
The two sprang apart.
Everyone around Naruto turned to him.
"Isn't that the Move you used?"
Kakashi asked.
He still remembered that after the movie Naruto had rushed in, knocked Neji's attack aside, and ended the fight with one kick.
"Yeah, that's Divine Sky Strike: Raging Thunder.
I created it while sparring with Hinata and Hanabi, mixing their Gentle Fist with elemental change.
With her Gentle Fist foundation Hinata picked it up quickly."
The first time Kakashi saw it Naruto had only just graduated.
Which meant the boy had invented the Ninjutsu-taijutsu while still at the Ninja Academy.
Astounding talent.
Naruto stood at the rail, eyes fixed on the fight below, ready to leap in if anything went wrong.
Hinata's talent was actually excellent, but because she had focused on Gentle Fist she could only use the lightning and fire natures she already possessed.
So she had only mastered Raging Thunder and Fierce Flame Rush.
Against Neji it would probably be tough.
After all, Wind Vacuum and Water Prison were about control, Earth Shift was finesse, while Raging Thunder and Fierce Flame Rush were pure numbers.
Simple numbers struggled against a mechanics master like Neji.
Below, Hinata and Neji traded blow for blow, looking evenly matched.
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