Chapter 35: Neji: You Fought With All Your Might, Yet You Couldn't Even Scratch Me
Looking at the tall, stern-faced Yotsuki Rin, Neji recalled the intelligence scroll Dodai had slipped him last Sunday.
'Yotsuki Rin, Jōnin. Two months ago, she was awarded the Treasured Tool, the Benihisago, by Lord Raikage. She is skilled in Lightning Release, nintaijutsu, and kenjutsu. In combat, she has a tendency to take unorthodox risks.'
An elite Jōnin of the Yotsuki clan was a world apart from the elite Jōnin of the Hidden Grass. The resources of the shinobi world were monopolized by the great and noble clans. The smaller nations didn't even have a proper system for passing down their ninjutsu. The children of the great clans received an elite education from a young age, something the shinobi of smaller nations couldn't even compare to. The gap between them was likely even greater than the gap between a Genin and a Chūnin.
For Rin to have been awarded the Benihisago by the Fourth Raikage—while partly a move to placate the Yotsuki clan—was also a testament to her own considerable talent.
Though Neji was confident he could defeat her, he wasn't sure how much of his true strength he would need to use. From Dodai's intelligence, her skills were well-rounded, with few weaknesses. And her habit of taking risks in a fight... it was hard to say if that was a strength or a weakness.
But Neji had a plan to use it to his advantage. He had just deliberately provoked her, hoping to disrupt her composure and secure a quick victory.
"So arrogant," Rin sneered. "No wonder you look down on the Yotsuki clan."
"Let me be clear," she said, her voice cold. "Even though this is a spar, I won't be holding back."
"Right," Neji replied, his tone dismissive.
Rin's eye twitched. "Are you even listening to me? What I mean is, I'm going to treat you like a real enemy. If you're not careful, you'll get hurt. You might even die."
Neji just held up his hands. "I told you, I'm in a hurry. Please, let's get on with it."
"You damn brat!" Rin glared at him, her voice filled with anger. "You're so full of yourself! Today, I'll show you the true power of the Yotsuki!"
As she spoke, she drew the katana from her back. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, glinting off the polished blade.
Neji spread his feet slightly, a pale blue sphere of chakra forming in each of his palms as he assumed a defensive stance.
Swoosh.
A cool breeze rustled through the trees, sending a few dry leaves fluttering to the ground. They spun through the air and struck the blade of Rin's sword, where they were effortlessly sliced in two.
A chakra blade?! Neji thought, his eyes narrowing.
Rin was already a skilled kenjutsu user. With a chakra blade in her hand, her combat power was significantly increased. The sheer pressure she exuded just by holding the sword was enough to make Neji a little wary. In terms of pure swordsmanship, he was her inferior. He had once tried to combine the Eight Trigrams Palms with kenjutsu to create an "Eight Trigrams Sword Style," but progress had been slow, and he had eventually abandoned it.
Swoosh.
Rin moved, her form a blur as she shot toward him with a piercing shriek.
Neji's eyes keenly observed the Lightning Release chakra in her body instantly surge, the electrical current stimulating her cells and making them vibrate at a high frequency. She's using lightning to stimulate her cells and enhance her physical abilities, he noted. The principle is the same as the Lightning Release Chakra Mode. It was a clear demonstration of her exquisite control over her lightning nature.
Rin's movements were swift, her sword strikes sharp and precise. But in Neji's Tenseigan vision, every move was perfectly clear.
He met her charge, his face an emotionless mask as he engaged her with his Eight Trigrams Palms.
In an instant, palm and blade clashed.
A person's fighting style is often a reflection of their inner self. Rin's tendency to take risks in a fight meant she was overly confident in her own abilities and in the blade she wielded. This confidence made her unconsciously take reckless chances. It was a habit she herself was likely unaware of.
In a battle between high-level opponents, such seemingly insignificant habits can be the deciding factor.
Swoosh!
With a piercing shriek, a massive tree, so large it would take two people to encircle it, was sliced vertically in two by Rin's blade. More than a dozen other trees in the vicinity had been similarly felled.
Neji stood at the absolute limit of her sword's range. "Your swordsmanship is sharp, and your power is considerable," he said calmly. "But if you can't hit your opponent, it's all for nothing."
"..."
Lightning crackled along Rin's blade, her killing intent palpable. Neji's words had infuriated her, but she had no rebuttal. Her attacks grew fiercer and fiercer.
Neji didn't meet her head-on. He used his superior agility to dodge, each of her strikes missing him by a hair's breadth.
Unable to land a single blow, Rin's frustration grew, and her chakra began to deplete.
Under Neji's deliberate guidance, their battle had moved deeper into the forest, and Samui and the others were no longer visible.
Neji began his counterattack.
Seeing him charge, a flash of joy appeared in Rin's eyes, and she swung her sword. Her strikes were now filled with killing intent, but they were also much sloppier. Neji's Tenseigan saw the openings in her movements, but he didn't attack. He was waiting for the perfect opportunity to completely shatter her confidence.
A few seconds later, it came.
Neji sidestepped and appeared in front of her, his palm striking toward her chest.
The best move for Rin would have been to retreat and create some distance, then counterattack once his momentum was spent. But, true to her nature, she took a risk. Instead of retreating, she swung her sword at him.
It was exactly what Neji had expected.
The next moment, his left hand, which had been aimed at her chest, suddenly shifted, and his fingertips struck her wrist.
The tenketsu point in her wrist was hit, and her sword fell from her grasp.
Neji caught it and held it to her neck.
It all happened in an instant.
It was only after the cold steel was pressed against her throat that Rin realized what had happened.
Neji withdrew the sword and stabbed it into the ground, his face an emotionless mask.
"I... I lost," Rin said, collapsing to the ground in a state of shock. She had never imagined she would lose, let alone so completely. Since she had first learned to wield a sword, only her master had ever been able to disarm her.
But then, she looked up at him, her confidence returning. "It won't be long before I challenge you again."
Neji shook his head. "The gap between us is as wide as the heavens and the earth," he said, his voice flat. "In this lifetime, you will never be able to defeat me."
"No," Rin said, her expression stubborn. "This fight... I had a chance to win."
Neji sighed. "You fought with all your might, yet you couldn't even scratch me. And I... only used ten percent of my strength."
"Ten percent?"
Rin's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're full of it!"