With the declaration of the Fourth Great Ninja War, every unit across the Shinobi Alliance was assigned different missions.
Although Neji had just killed the Hyūga Clan's main house elder, it was seen as a personal grudge. Moreover, his overwhelming strength, combined with the Byakugan's exceptional scouting ability, quickly earned him an assignment—to locate and confront the mastermind behind the Edo Tensei.
Dressed in white and carrying a long sword, Neji soon tracked down Kabuto Yakushi's location—beating both Sasuke and the reanimated Uchiha Itachi to the punch.
A battle erupted immediately. Kabuto took the initiative, unleashing White Rage Technique, bombarding Neji with intense light and sound to disorient him.
For sensory-type shinobi, such interference could be fatal.
Especially with the Byakugan, which surpassed the Sharingan in pure sensory capabilities—Neji was at a natural disadvantage.
But after breaking his inner shackles, Neji had exchanged the ability to store his own power for the ability to freely harness all energy in his surroundings.
He activated Gentle Fist, drawing in the blinding light and deafening noise into his palms, then redirected the energy back toward Kabuto.
Seeing the tide turning, Kabuto quickly switched tactics, casting 〖Inorganic Reincarnation〗. Using natural energy to animate rocks and earth, he launched an assault from within the cave.
Inorganic Reincarnation combined both offense and defense. The massive stones, empowered by Sage Art, were so durable they could even withstand Susanoo—so how could a mere human body like Neji's possibly endure it?
Neji drew his ninja blade. One hand clenched into a fist, the other gripped the sword.
With both Ultimate Meaning: Sword Dao and Ultimate Meaning: Fist Dao activated, and by drawing upon the ambient natural energy, he unleashed waves of fist imprints and sword aura.
Both combatants tapped into the same natural forces, but the way they did so was fundamentally different.
Even with perfect Sage Mode, Kabuto had to first blend natural energy with his chakra to form Sage Chakra he could use.
Neji, however, having shattered the barrier between body and nature, didn't need to spend his own chakra at all. He could directly manipulate ambient natural energy to fight!
As long as chakra and natural energy remained dispersed in the environment, Neji's power would never run dry!
Even if Kabuto had implanted himself with the bloodlines of countless shinobi to reach the peak of non-reincarnated power, his chakra would still be limited!
With Neji rising and Kabuto depleting, the outcome was inevitable.
Kabuto was defeated.
But even in defeat, he didn't lift the Edo Tensei—he simply stopped controlling it.
After all, this was his magnum opus.
Neji saw through Kabuto. A man born ordinary, yet consumed by his hunger for power. He was just about to speak—
When Itachi and Sasuke arrived, cutting the conversation short.
Sasuke had no interest in Neji. He went straight for Kabuto, aiming to eliminate him.
But Itachi was different.
He was Konoha's loyal hound—even after suffering a million cycles of mental torment at the hands of Uchiha Kirin's Genjutsu Tsukuyomi, breaking his mind in the process.
After death, however, he was "saved" by the pre-planted Kotoamatsukami, which altered his consciousness again, returning him to the Konoha-loving person he once was.
So when faced with the weakened Kabuto and the rogue ninja Neji—formerly wanted by Konoha—it was clear who he saw as the greater threat.
Neji, having just fought a full-blown battle, was suddenly ambushed by Uchiha Itachi's Sharingan.
It looked like a clash over credit among the Allied Shinobi Forces...
But in truth, it was the start of a secret struggle between the Sage of Six Paths and Uchiha Kirin—a high-stakes game played on the grand chessboard of the Shinobi World. Their chosen pawns were beginning to move.
And the outcome of this battle would determine the distribution of the final spoils...
And the future of the world itself.
...
Amaterasu.
Neji was struck by a sneak attack. Black flames burst out on his white robe.
Yet Neji remained calm, even in the face of what should've been a fatal blow.
He began to breathe slowly, rhythmically—activating the Breathing Art of the Sage Path. Drawing the scattered chakra of Uchiha Itachi's black flames into his body...
He threw another punch.
Boom!
The dark fire-infused fist smashed the reanimated body into dust on the spot.
The black flames began burning the disintegrated remains. If an Edo Tensei body was completely incinerated without leaving a single speck of ash, then even someone as strong as Itachi couldn't sustain their form.
If Amaterasu couldn't be extinguished, then Itachi would be locked in a cycle of endless rebirth and burning—no different than being sealed.
After all, he couldn't deactivate Amaterasu on his own.
But just then—the flames vanished.
It was Sasuke who extinguished them.
During Neji and Itachi's confrontation, Kabuto had caught a breather. With his perfect Sage Mode, he quickly healed both his stamina and injuries.
A sudden White Rage Technique struck Sasuke, forcing him back. Kabuto then dove into the ground and escaped.
Sasuke had lost his prey—and had no choice but to return to assist his brother.
...
The two launched a joint assault on Neji—Sasuke raining down various black flame transformations from afar while Itachi closed in.
But none of it worked.
For someone like Neji, who resonated with nature and had broken all limits, any energy-based attack below his threshold was utterly ineffective.
Itachi did everything he could—repeatedly using Tsukuyomi to trap Neji in Genjutsu...
But Neji's body and spirit had long reached resonance.
To pull him into a Genjutsu illusion, Itachi would have to drag in his physical body as well.
And any Genjutsu chakra was instantly absorbed and neutralized by Neji. It had zero effect.
Then, the two deployed Susanoo.
Sasuke provided long-range support while Itachi charged in, aiming to seal Neji with the Totsuka Blade.
But Neji struck first—shattering the approach with a single punch!
At the final moment, though, Itachi managed to make contact and drew Neji into Izanami—a Genjutsu designed for self-reflection.
It was a good plan… if only Neji had guilt to reflect upon.
But he didn't.
He had never truly wronged the Hyūga Clan. Demanding everyone live by a pre-determined ideal—that was the real distortion.
Let alone someone like him, a bird that had broken free from its cage.
Izanagi? Kotoamatsukami? It didn't matter.
Neji would never follow the twisted scripts embedded into Uchiha illusions.
He held his sword in one hand, and his fist in the other—and shattered the illusion world completely.
Uchiha Itachi died for good.
Not because Edo Tensei was lifted.
Not because of Yin-Yang Release.
But because his soul and spiritual will were utterly annihilated by something that could truly be called conviction.
Leaving Sasuke frozen in shock.
Neji activated the Byakugan and scanned underground.
He punched downward—his Gentle Fist attack carrying peerless penetration.
Kabuto was finally defeated.
Faced with Neji's persuasion, and witnessing it all firsthand, Kabuto at last chose to accept reality.
He released the Edo Tensei.
And began following Neji to train in the Breathing Art of the Sage Path—seeking to break through the unbreakable limits of bloodline with effort and resolve, like a normal person.
...
"Old man of the Six Paths, this round is mine!"
Uchiha Kirin, concealed in the shadows alongside the Sage of Six Paths, had been observing the battle the entire time.
In the end, Neji's complete victory through the Breathing Art of the Sage Path had cost the Sage of Six Paths an irreplaceable pawn.
Thus, the outcome was decided.
Uchiha Kirin stepped forward, sifting through the remains of Uchiha Itachi.
He picked up the shattered fragments of the Three Sacred Treasures and walked away.
He might not be able to use them himself—but tossed into the Kamui Dimension, they could serve as stars to decorate his own realm...
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