Neji could not understand anything that was happening before him.
He suspected he had fallen under some unknown Genjutsu.
The Gentle Fist's Tenketsu strike was an absolute attack on the enemy's Chakra circulatory system, the essence of the Hyuga Clan's Taijutsu, passed down for centuries. Once struck, Chakra would be sealed, and the enemy would instantly lose all ability to resist.
This was a theorem, repeatedly expounded countless times by the Hyuga Clan's elders.
But this theorem failed on Uzumaki Naruto.
"Your attack logic is based on sealing the enemy's Chakra circulation," Naruto stated a fact. "But when the target's energy output far exceeds the threshold of your sealing ability, your technique becomes meaningless. This is a basic theory of energy confrontation."
"Impossible!" Neji roared, unable to accept an explanation that overturned his cognitive system.
He charged forward again, faster, with denser palm strikes. He wanted to prove with facts that his Gentle Fist was perfect, and that fate was unchangeable.
This time, Naruto no longer dodged.
As Neji's palm strike came, Naruto raised his left arm, precisely hitting Neji's wrist with the hardest bone on the outside of his elbow. The soft, inch-force of the Gentle Fist was completely nullified before it even met this pure force.
At the moment of parrying, Naruto leaned forward, his right elbow naturally thrusting forward, heavily striking Neji's unguarded ribs.
"Ugh!"
Neji grunted, the impact on his body causing his palm technique to falter.
Naruto gave him no chance to breathe. A standard side kick, his heel precisely hitting the side of Neji's knee. Immediately after, he retracted his leg, spun, and the knee of his other leg was already slammed hard into Neji's abdomen.
The entire process had no superfluous movements; each counterattack occurred in the gaps of Neji's attacks, and each strike landed on the most fragile joints and soft tissues of the human body.
Neji was beaten back by this continuous and efficient assault; his proud palm techniques appeared flustered and clumsy in the face of the opponent's military close-quarters combat.
"Your proud talent is severely limited by a system vulnerability called 'Caged Bird,'" Naruto continued his discourse in a steady tone, while suppressing him with absolute superiority.
"It is not fate, but an inefficient, backward, and cruel man-made restraint."
In the VIP box, Hyuga Hiashi, who had been sitting upright, stiffened for a moment when he heard the three words "Caged Bird" clearly spoken from Naruto's mouth. The air pressure around him suddenly dropped, making even the elders next to him uncomfortable.
In the arena, Naruto's precise elbow strike completely interrupted Neji's palm technique, causing him to momentarily lose his balance.
Naruto seized this opportunity, instantly closing the distance to within one step. He lowered his body, continuing in a volume only Neji could hear.
"Turning talented warriors into slaves to maintain internal power balance is a huge internal drain on Konoha Village's overall combat strength. From a strategic perspective, this is a form of internal corruption that must be eradicated."
"So what?" Neji's expression remained stubborn, but his mental wavering made his physical reaction half a beat slower.
Naruto delivered a clean and crisp sweep kick, hitting Neji's ankle.
Neji could no longer maintain his stance, falling to one knee in embarrassment.
Naruto looked down at him from above, continuing his "education."
"I admit that the original design purpose of the 'Caged Bird' curse mark, to prevent the outflow of the Byakugan, an important strategic resource, had its rationality. The design idea was correct, but the execution method was utterly foolish."
"Granting members of the Main Family the power to destroy the brain nerves of Branch Family members at any time is not insurance, but tyranny. It creates not loyalty, but fear and hatred. And fear is the least efficient of all driving forces."
Neji looked up, his pure white eyes bloodshot.
He remembered his father's death, and the "fate" he had been taught since childhood: that the Branch Family must sacrifice for the Main Family.
Every word from Naruto was like a giant hammer, smashing hard against the cage of "destiny" within his heart.
That cage, which he had always believed to be indestructible, was now groaning under the strain, cracking with fissures.
Naruto ignored Neji's emotional fluctuations, calmly presenting his "solution."
"A qualified confidentiality system should only possess a single self-destruct function, passively triggered under specific conditions, rather than becoming a remote control that can be abused by those in power to satisfy their desire for control."
In the contestant viewing area, Kakashi helplessly spoke to Might Guy next to him.
"See? He's at it again. Although I can't hear what he's saying, I'm sure he's educating that kid opposite him again."
Sasuke's facial muscles twitched uncontrollably.
This scene, this suffocating, being-pinned-to-the-ground-and-repeatedly-ideologically-corrected education method... He was too familiar with it.
The moment this thought surfaced, a strange sense of balance welled up in Sasuke's heart. He looked at the retreating Hyuga genius in the arena, nodding slightly in approval.
Yes, this was the feeling.
In the arena, Naruto stepped on Neji's hand, which was trying to push off the ground to stand, completely depriving him of his last ability to resist.
He leaned down, his emotionless blue pupils looking directly into Neji's pure white eyes.
He was about to say the most crucial, and most lethal, words.
"So, the solution is, I will give Hyuga Hiashi a choice."
Naruto's voice was very soft, almost a whisper, yet it carried the weight of steel.
"Either he, with his own hands, removes this decaying, self-consuming, foolish enslavement curse mark for all Branch Family members."
In the VIP box, Hyuga Hiashi suddenly stood up from his seat, sensing that Neji's expression was extremely off.
Naruto paused, giving Neji enough time to process, and then he spoke the latter half of the sentence.
...Or, I will brand all Main Family members with an 'optimized version' of the Caged Bird, one that only I can control."
Boom.
These words, like a black lightning bolt, exploded in Neji's mind.
He was completely stunned, so much so that he forgot the pain in his palm, forgot that he was in a highly anticipated arena, forgot to resist, his mind a blank, leaving only an endless, indescribable shock.
He looked at Naruto before him, feeling that he was not facing a Ninja his age, but a monster who would overturn and reshape the order of the entire world.
Naruto released his foot and slowly straightened up.
He looked at the Hyuga genius who had completely lost all will to fight, delivering his final judgment.
"You are a valuable soldier, and you should not be buried by incorrect ideologies and outdated systems. This time, it's a 'reformat' for you."
"The next time I see you on the battlefield, I hope you are no longer propagating your ridiculous fatalism."
"You must live for yourself."
Having said that, Naruto turned and walked towards the contestant's passage, leaving the figure kneeling on the ground to the dead silent audience.
×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×
Read Extra Chapter Visit My Patreon
I have only 1 tier
19$ Tier – Access to 40 advance chapters
patreon.com/Lempil
patreon.com/Lempil