The night forest was shrouded in silence. A cool breeze stirred the canopy, making the branches creak like old bones whispering secrets. In the midst of this quiet, the Cloaked Man's hoarse voice broke the stillness, carrying both mockery and cruelty.
"This dense forest is filled with the chakra powder I created. Your Byakugan is completely useless here."
Neji's pale eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
Chakra powder.
He immediately understood.
The Byakugan could penetrate flesh, bone, and even chakra networks, but it had one fatal weakness: it could not distinguish chakra from its surroundings if the environment itself was saturated with it. In this forest, the air was thick with artificial chakra particles. His vision, usually sharp and all-seeing, was rendered useless.
It was like a thermal imager that could track heat in the dark—effective until the background temperature matched the body's. Then, it was blinded.
Neji exhaled softly. So that's your plan. Clever… but you've made a mistake.
Because even if his Byakugan was sealed, Neji still had another eye—an evolution far beyond what this man could imagine.
"The Red Eye can create vast illusions using chakra mist," Neji muttered, more to himself than to the enemy. "The Byakugan may fail here… but what of the Tenseigan?"
He lowered his stance, his expression calm but alert. "It seems I have no reason to resist anymore."
The Cloaked Man sneered coldly. "Pointless struggling will only make your death more painful."
From his waist, he drew a short sword. A green wind current wrapped tightly around the blade, hissing sharply as if the air itself was being torn apart.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Blade!"
The air vibrated with killing intent.
Neji's voice was steady. "Can you tell me your origin, at least? To a man about to die, perhaps you could grant that much?"
The Cloaked Man's laughter was low and sinister. "When you're dead, I'll whisper it to your corpse."
With that, he lunged forward, his sword flashing like a venomous fang.
Neji's palm shot out, releasing a condensed sphere of chakra.
"Godly Air Palm!"
A light-blue orb exploded from his hand, slamming into the Cloaked Man's blade. The impact rang out like metal on metal, though the force was anything but ordinary.
The Cloaked Man's eyes widened in disbelief. His sword bent under the overwhelming pressure, his body hurled backward like a rag doll.
Neji did not hesitate. He took a deep breath and instantly ignited his Lightning Release Chakra Mode. Sparks danced across his body, wrapping him in a golden aura of speed and strength. In the next heartbeat, he blurred forward, pursuing the Cloaked Man's airborne form.
Strike while the iron is hot.
Anyone who dared to assassinate him had prepared carefully. That meant the Cloaked Man had confidence in his methods. But no amount of preparation could account for everything. Even the Fourth Raikage himself could not fully gauge Neji's true strength now.
The Cloaked Man's powder disabled the Byakugan, and he must have believed that alone guaranteed victory. But he was wrong.
Neji had mastered techniques that transcended simple vision—the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Black Lightning, and the devastating Godly Air Palm. Against him, even elite jonin of the Five Great Nations would fall short.
Which meant this opponent, who relied on tricks rather than overwhelming power, was already at a disadvantage.
As Neji closed in, his sword gleamed with Black Lightning, crackling menacingly. He intended to cut the man down before he even touched the ground.
But the Cloaked Man was no ordinary foe.
Still mid-air, he twisted violently, his right hand snapping out like a claw. He caught a thick branch, his fingers digging in with such force that wood chips scattered. Five claw marks scarred the bark as he wrenched his body to a stop.
Hanging from the tree, his masked eyes widened in surprise at Neji's speed. He had underestimated him.
But surprise was not panic. His left hand flashed into a seal, and with his right, he slashed downward, sword shrieking through the night air.
Neji's blade met it with a resounding clash. Sparks scattered like falling stars.
Though young, Neji's body thrummed with lightning. With Lightning Release Chakra Mode amplifying his strength, his sword strike carried the weight of a veteran warrior.
He flicked his wrist sharply, letting his blade slide down the enemy's short sword like water down a slope, aiming for his body.
The Cloaked Man, however, flowed backward with uncanny agility, using the momentum to drift just out of reach.
Neji frowned. He couldn't allow the enemy to recover. Just as he prepared to press forward, his body suddenly stiffened.
A chill ran down his spine. Looking down, he saw two inky shadows snaking out from tree hollows, linking seamlessly with his own shadow.
His eyes widened slightly. Shadow Imitation Jutsu?
A Shadow Clone had appeared, hands locked in a seal. The technique bound him firmly.
"Someone from the Nara clan?" Neji whispered, realization dawning.
The Cloaked Man landed heavily, his gaze dark with anger. From the moment the battle began, nothing had gone as he envisioned. Yet his determination did not falter. His left hand sealed once more, while his right hand's sword trembled violently.
The blade shot forward, splitting into countless afterimages. One became two, two became four, then eight, then sixteen—until the night seemed to bloom with a lotus of glowing green sword shadows.
Neji's eyes narrowed.
These were no illusions. Each afterimage carried deadly weight. A single cut would draw blood.
"Heroes are as numerous as carp crossing the river…" Neji murmured, his heart steady despite the danger. "This man's swordsmanship is extraordinary."
Even with his vision, he could not distinguish the real strike among the countless shadows.
His chakra surged like a flood breaking through a dam. With a sudden burst, he shattered the Shadow Imitation Jutsu binding him.
But by then, the lotus of swords was upon him.
In one fluid motion, he shifted his grip. His blade, once ready for a downward cut, spun into a vertical circular dance.
Steel clashed on steel. Sparks erupted like a storm of fireflies.
When the flurry ceased, Neji stood firm, his sword still in hand. But crimson stained his sleeve—a shallow cut from the enemy's Wind-imbued Vacuum Blade. Blood dripped down to his fingertips, falling onto the blade's dark lightning.
The Cloaked Man, however, fared far worse. His left arm lay severed on the ground, blood pooling around it.
Neji's breath was calm. His swordsmanship might not rival the man's pure skill, but his Lightning Release Chakra Mode and Black Lightning tilted the battle firmly in his favor.
He advanced, blade poised to end it.
The Cloaked Man howled in pain but refused to yield. He rolled desperately toward his fallen arm, intent on retrieving it.
Neji blinked in momentary surprise. Even now, he remembers his arm?
But hesitation was not his style. He slashed downward, his blade shrieking as it cut the air.
The Cloaked Man abandoned his arm at the last instant, rolling frantically across the blood-soaked earth. Neji's sword cleaved the ground where he had been, leaving a deep scar in the dirt.
Blood splattered across the leaves, painting the forest in a grotesque crimson.
Pale beneath his mask, drenched in sweat, the Cloaked Man bolted into the forest, his movements desperate but agile.
Neji's palm glowed, a chakra rosary forming in his hand. He aimed at the retreating back.
But before he could release it, four shadows burst from the trees, surrounding him from all sides.
Reinforcements.
Their timing was perfect—arriving on the heels of the Cloaked Man's howl of pain.
Neji's eyes sharpened. He flicked his wrist, releasing the chakra rosary at one of the figures.
The man raised a kunai, attempting to block. Futile. The rosary pierced both steel and flesh, killing him instantly.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A roaring inferno surged toward Neji, the heat searing his skin.
He sneered coldly. Without even turning, his palm struck backward.
"Godly Air Palm!"
The fireball shattered apart under the shockwave, scattering embers across the forest floor. Neji blurred forward with Body Flicker, closing in on the remaining three.
They were only chunin. Against Neji's lightning-charged speed and precision, they were as helpless as academy students.
In mere breaths, three bodies crumpled to the ground, joining their fallen comrade. Blood soaked the earth, the coppery stench thick in the night air.
Neji stood amidst the carnage, his expression unreadable. With practiced hands, he knelt beside one corpse, removing the mask. His fingers pried open the mouth, extracting the tongue.
As expected, the cursed seal began to fade, destroying the brain as the victim's final defense.
Neji's eyes hardened.
"Root," he muttered. "As I thought."
The forest was silent again—except for the quiet dripping of blood from his blade.
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