Arthur had a twenty percent chance of facing Jada, Chōji, Neji, Shino, or Gaara. Regardless of who it was, he wasn't planning on losing.
Anticipation intensified as the screen started to reveal the names of the next combatants: Jada Uchiha vs. Neji Hyūga.
A roar of approval erupted from the crowd.
"Wish me well!" she said to Arthur and immediately hopped over the rails and onto the platform.
Many in the audience were already rooting for her. Neji soon came down from his position and stood across, slightly excited.
An Uchiha versus a Hyūga was a clash of two prestigious clans, a display of Kekkei Genkai prowess that promised to be a spectacle.
Arthur happened to notice the rapt attention of Sasuke and Kakashi in the stands. Both, especially Sasuke, seemed genuinely intrigued by this upcoming fight.
"Neji," Jada began, "I was really hoping to fight you."
"That so?" Neji said with a smirk.
"Yeah! You have no idea how much people like you." Neji gave her a confused look. "Ugh! I mean, in the village, everyone's really hoping that you do well in the Hyūga clan."
Neji let out a small laugh, seemingly accepting her comment. "I see…"
Now the small talk was over as Jada gave a serious look. "I'm not gonna go easy on you just because you're you." Then she activated her Sharingan. "Go all out, okay? I want to see how strong I've become."
The challenge was welcomed as Neji activated his Byakugan. "Let's see what the Uchiha clan's got then…"
The tension in the stadium reached a fever pitch. Hayate raised his arm. "Begin!"
Both fighters then launched themselves forward, meeting each other in the middle. They began with taijutsu. Jada, utilizing the Sharingan's ability, parried his blows. Her strikes were aimed to exploit weaknesses he couldn't react to.
Yet Neji was far different than she expected; he was employing his Gentle Fist style, aiming at her chakra points to disrupt her flow.
The battle raged on at speeds that an ordinary Genin wouldn't have been able to achieve. The crowd, on the edge of their seats, held their breath with each clash.
Arthur watched them to understand what forces might cross him one day.
The two fighters then skid across the arena floor. Both of them were panting.
"Ready for round two?" Jada mused.
"Come and try," Neji said, returning to his stance.
They then charged at each other again.
Neji launched a quick attack, hitting a pressure point on her bicep. The pain sent a jolt through her arm, but she remained standing. He went in for another attack, but she deflected it with a well-timed block, only to see another strike incoming.
Using her momentum, she slipped underneath, leaving Neji momentarily off-balance. She then aimed an elbow at his side. But Neji quickly recovered, meeting her elbow with one of his own.
Bang!
"You should know," he smirked, keeping her in one place, "I have no blind spots."
"It would be boring if you did," she shot back.
Jada, with a burst of energy and a well-timed Gentle Fist strike of her own, lowered her elbow and landed a blow squarely on his chest, sending him flying back several feet.
The crowd could barely believe it. She had landed the first real attack. And not just any attack, but one copied directly from her own opponent.
"Not bad," Neji said, clutching the hurt spot.
Seizing this opportunity, she ran toward him. Neji quickly shook himself off. Seeing her coming, he launched a series of pinpoint strikes aimed at her vital chakra points. But Jada, knowing his strategy well, countered with her repertoire of pinpoint strikes.
"Those movements!" Guy yelled.
Even Kakashi recognized them. It was the 'Ferocious Fist' taijutsu—the exact opposite of the Gentle Fist, involving smashing an opponent with sheer physical attacks that could break bones.
Only a few seconds into their clash, Jada unleashed a whirlwind of kicks, forcing Neji to weave at awkward angles. When he thought he saw an opening, she changed her pace and twirled around him and delivered a swift uppercut to his jaw, momentarily disrupting his chakra flow.
The moment he recovered, it was clear to everyone that her agility and quick reflexes were superior.
"Why isn't Neji using the Rotation?" Tenten asked.
Arthur knew.
It wasn't that Neji couldn't use the Rotation; Jada simply wasn't giving him the opportunity. Her Sharingan was predicting the Gentle Fist's circular deflection pattern, so she incorporated sharp changes in direction and feints to throw Neji off balance.
The fight soon devolved into a breathtaking display of speed.
Jada continued to predict Neji's Gentle Fist strikes, using the Sharingan to analyze his movements a fraction of a second faster. This kept leaving her opponent open for a well-placed kick or punch.
Neji, frustrated by Jada's ability to see through his every move, changed his tactic.
Charging in again, he'd feint left, then strike right. Jada, however, remained undeterred. So he changed up his moves again.
He initiated a spinning kick, only to slam his fist into the ground at the last moment and aim for an uppercut instead. Once again, Jada saw through it and dodged before it could land.
"Will," Naruto said, looking to the side, "I thought you said Neji was a genius with his Byakugan."
"He is, cuz. I guess all this time I've just been underestimating Jada."
Even Arthur hadn't expected this turn of events. That is until he remembered that Alice claimed Jada had been copying virtually every talented shinobi's skills in the Leaf Village.
Now in this fight, her Sharingan was analyzing the subtlest of muscle twitches. Even when Neji masked his true attack, she could predict it a split-second before impact, allowing her to react right on time.
Each combatant was pushing the limits of their skills to gain the upper hand. The crowd, captivated by the display of taijutsu, roared their approval.
"I'm impressed," Neji said calmly after gaining some space. "Your clan is worth keeping in the village after all." Then he turned to the balcony where Team 7 was watching. "But you aren't the Uchiha I was looking to fight."
"That supposed to be an insult?" Jada asked, keeping herself composed.
"Call it what you will." Neji then smoothly adopted a familiar stance. "It's time to end this…"
Jada could see the patterns form on the ground as if they were tangible. Hinata, watching from the stands, felt surprised. This powerful technique, a cornerstone of the Hyūga clan's taijutsu, wasn't meant for a member of the branch clan to learn.
"Witness the Hyūga style's secret technique!" Neji boldly declared. "Eight trigrams: sixty-four palms!" He then launched himself forward as his strikes began to rain down. "Two palms!" he yelled with each blow. "Four palms!!"
Jada was moving in sync with his attacks before they landed, deflecting his strikes with only two of her fingertips from each hand.
It was then that everyone saw that she wasn't just deflecting them; she was copying them!
"Eight palms, sixteen palms," she playfully said.
His strikes intensified, increasing speed and ferocity with each passing palm. "Thirty-two palms!"
The crowd watched in amazement as Jada mimicked the same moves. "Thirty palms!"
When his final bout reached the sixty-fourth palm, a pinpoint jab aimed at her vital chakra point, it was met with a perfectly timed block.
Bang!
Silence descended upon the arena.
Neji, panting heavily, stood shocked. One of his ultimate techniques had been completely nullified. Something like this was never seen.
Jada only had a single bead of sweat rolling down her cheek.
"That was pretty intense," she remarked. "You're not bad, but it looks like you aren't the one I was looking to fight either."
Neji, his pride wounded, gritted his teeth. He had poured his heart into training to surpass his destiny, only to be met with such nonchalance.
Before he could retort, Jada wasted no time forming hand signs.
Chakra erupted from her palm, creating a torrent of water that flowed beneath Neji's feet. The water then solidified, forming a geyser that propelled him skyward with a surprised shout. Jada quickly leaped after him.
At the peak of her jump, a massive whirlpool formed around her whole arm. Then it extended outward like a giant aquatic drill.
"Water style: hardened water drill!"
With a powerful thrust, she slammed the swirling vortex down.
Neji's eyes widened. There was only one technique he could use from this position. So he quickly spun himself in the air, creating a spinning barrier of chakra.
"Eight trigrams: rotation!"
The two techniques impacted one another, sending a shockwave through the arena.
Neji was pushed straight to the ground as their clash continued, showcasing a spectacle of elemental power.
The water drill churned and the chakra sizzled, but for a moment, Neji seemed to be holding his ground. Jada seeing this fueled the jutsu with every ounce of chakra she possessed.
"I'm not gonna lose!" she shouted.
Crack!
To everyone's surprise, the water drill pierced through Neji's Rotation technique, engulfing him before causing a deafening explosion that echoed through the whole arena.
For a second, the stage was in a haze of mist.
The crowd held its breath, and when it finally cleared, gasps could be heard. Neji, the famed genius many came to know as, lay sprawled inside a mini crater. Several feet away, Jada stood panting with ragged breaths.
A wave of cheers erupted from the stands, louder than any of the previous battles.
Jada finally slumped to the floor. Arthur could see that, because she had exerted herself, she received a small bruise on the arm that was encased in water.
With a smile, she managed to say, "That was a fun fight, Neji... You actually made me use up all of my chakra. Ha-ha."
Neji's clothes were damp, and his entire body could no longer move. Surprisingly, he was still conscious. "You were a worthy opponent, Jada…" While the comment was sincere, deep down, he regretted having underestimated her. "I lost fair and square."
It's then that Jada managed to get herself up, allowing Hayate to step forward and raise his hand to declare, "The winner of this match is Jada Uchiha."
The cheers intensified as Jada basked in the applause. There was no doubt she had shown sportsmanship and admirable qualities as a kunoichi, leaving many of the Jōnin to show admiration for her talents.
Those most surprised by this outcome was Team Guy. Not a single one of them believed Neji would lose.
Arthur himself remained silent.
Her victory, especially the way she had managed to overcome Neji's Rotation technique, was significant. And that water technique: he had never seen it before, as it was from a video game and used only once by the second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
The key, he understood, wasn't just the piercing power of the drill itself; he recalled Jada's earlier display of agility and her attention to detail.
The Rotation was a technique that could repel an attack (and anything else in the vicinity) by constantly spinning. The greater the force of that attack, the greater the force with which it was repelled.
Jada, through careful manipulation of her chakra, had spun the water drill counterclockwise. This subtle twist in the jutsu's execution served a crucial purpose. Neji's Rotation couldn't handle a counter-rotating object spinning faster than him.
Instead of being deflected, the water drill, with its opposing spin, had essentially flowed with Neji before drilling through his chakra barrier.
Combined with the sheer amount of chakra Jada had poured into the jutsu, it had overwhelmed Neji's defense. His Rotation could only sustain itself for so long until it drained his chakra reserves, leaving him vulnerable to the full force of her jutsu.
Then there was her Sharingan. It only had two tomoe still, but she had made full use of it by utilizing its copying ability. Jada, not originally being a fighter, now knew how to execute combos flawlessly thanks to it.
These players and their hidden abilities were proving to be far more challenging than he had believed.
Not long after, medical ninjas carried Neji away. Arthur watched as Jada greeted her teammates on the opposite end. They congratulated her non-stop while much of the crowd continued applauding.
"Way to show them you're not just a pretty face!" Sakura said upon approaching their group.
The comment made Jada's face turn red; she hadn't expected someone like Sakura to think she was pretty. "Gee, thanks, Sakura! I didn't think someone like you would think that."
"What? Why not?"
"Because you're just as pretty as me."
The two girls then giggled, sharing a heartwarming exchange.
With Jada's fight now over, there were only two more remaining. Either Arthur would fight Shino, Chōji, or… Gaara.