Chapter 38: A Dance in the Forest
A mocking look appeared in the cloaked man's eyes. "This forest is filled with a special chakra powder I created," he said, his voice a low rasp. "Your Byakugan is useless here."
"..."
Neji's eyes narrowed. The Ketsuryūgan could create large-scale illusions filled with chakra. The Byakugan could see through a person's body, but it couldn't see through chakra itself. In an environment saturated with it, his vision was completely whited out. It was like a thermal imager, which could easily detect a person's body heat in the dark, but became useless if the ambient temperature was the same as the body's.
He had never expected someone to be able to neutralize his Byakugan with something as simple as chakra powder.
But you've only sealed my Byakugan, Neji thought. That has nothing to do with my Tenseigan.
"It seems there's no point in resisting," Neji said, testing the waters.
"A futile struggle will only make your death more painful."
The cloaked man drew a short sword from his belt, a current of green energy coiling around the blade.
Wind Release: Vacuum Blade.
"Since I'm about to die anyway," Neji said, his expression grave, "could you at least tell me who you are?"
"Heh..." The man let out a derisive laugh, his cold eyes fixed on Neji. "I'll tell your corpse after you're dead."
With that, he lunged, his sword aimed at Neji's heart.
Neji threw a punch.
Divine Air Strike!
A pale blue sphere of chakra shot from his palm and collided with the man's sword.
The moment they made contact, a look of disbelief flashed in the man's eyes. His sword was bent into an arc by the force of the attack, and he was sent flying backward.
Neji took a deep breath, activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, and charged after him.
Strike while the iron is hot.
If this man had dared to come and assassinate him, he must have been confident in his abilities. But not even the Fourth Raikage knew the full extent of Neji's power. The man had thought that by neutralizing his Byakugan, victory was assured. He had no idea that even without his Tenseigan, Neji, with his mastery of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Black Lightning, and the Divine Air Strike, was already well above the level of an elite Jōnin from one of the Five Great Nations.
The cloaked man had set up a barrier and used his chakra powder. That meant his strength was below the Kage level. An enemy of that caliber was no threat to Neji.
He appeared below the flying figure, his katana wreathed in black lightning, ready to cut the man down before he even hit the ground.
But the man didn't fall. In mid-air, he reached out, his hand clawing into a thick tree branch. Wood splintered, leaving five deep gouges in the bark. He had managed to stop his momentum.
He looked down at Neji, who was now cloaked in lightning, his blade crackling with black electricity. A look of surprise appeared in his eyes. He had underestimated the boy.
But he was not panicked. He formed a hand sign with his left hand while his right hand, holding the sword, slashed down at Neji.
Neji swung his own sword in an upward arc.
Sparks flew as the two blades met.
Though Neji was still young, his strength, augmented by the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, was no less than the cloaked man's.
With a flick of his wrist, Neji's katana slid along the other's sword, aiming for his body.
But the man used the force of the blow to gracefully leap backward.
Neji, not wanting to give him a moment's rest, was about to press his advantage.
But then, he found he couldn't move.
He looked down. Two black shadows had stretched out from the hollows of two nearby trees and were connected to his own.
Shadow Clones, created with a one-handed seal... the Shadow Imitation Technique... This man is from the Nara clan?!
By now, the cloaked man had landed on the ground, his eyes filled with a mixture of shock and anger. From the moment he had begun his attack, nothing had gone according to his plan.
He formed another hand sign with his left hand, and the sword in his right hand shot out like a venomous snake, so fast it was just a blur.
The blur then split into two, then four, then eight... a blooming lotus of green light. It was a unique sword style he had created, inspired by the Second Hokage's Shadow Clone Jutsu. The sword images were not illusions; they were real, and they could draw blood.
Neji was surprised. The world was full of heroes. This man's swordsmanship was cunning and deceptive. He was a true master of the blade. Even with his eyes, he couldn't tell which of the images was real.
Neji took a deep breath, and his chakra surged. The Shadow Imitation, cast by a Shadow Clone, was only a temporary restraint. He broke free in an instant.
By then, the sky was filled with sword images, all of them bearing down on him.
Neji changed his grip on his katana, switching from a downward slash to a spinning, defensive maneuver.
The sound of metal on metal rang through the forest as a shower of brilliant sparks erupted around him.
He stood his ground, a bloody gash on his arm where he had been cut by the man's Vacuum Blade. A drop of crimson blood fell from the tip of his own katana.
The cloaked man was more severely wounded. His left arm had been severed and lay on the ground.
Though Neji's swordsmanship was inferior, his Lightning Release Chakra Mode and Black Lightning gave him the advantage in a head-on clash.
He charged.
The cloaked man, enduring the intense pain, let out a long, loud cry. He then rolled toward his severed arm, intending to retrieve it.
Neji was surprised that he would still be thinking of that at a time like this, but he didn't slow his attack, his sword swinging down.
If the man insisted on picking up his arm, he would be killed.
Hearing the piercing shriek of the blade behind him, the man, his face covered in a cold sweat, abandoned his arm and rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.
He staggered to his feet, blood pouring from his wound, his face deathly pale beneath his mask. He didn't dare to stay any longer, and he fled into the forest.
A Chakra Receiver Rosary bead appeared in Neji's palm. He took aim at the man's back.
But just as he was about to fire, four more black figures appeared, coming from four different directions. They had been drawn by the man's cry.
Neji flicked his wrist, and the rosary bead shot toward one of them. The man raised his kunai to block, but the bead pierced straight through it, and through him, killing him instantly.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball shot toward Neji from behind, the intense heat searing his skin.
Neji sneered and, without even turning around, threw a Divine Air Strike behind him. He then used the Body Flicker Technique to charge at the other two.
The four newcomers were all Chūnin-level. Against Neji, a master of close-quarters combat, they were no different from Genin.
A few breaths later, four more bodies lay on the ground, their blood soaking the forest floor.
Neji walked over to one of them, pulled off the mask, and pried open the mouth.
The Tongue-Cursing Seal on his tongue was slowly fading. At the moment of his death, his brain had been destroyed by the power of the curse mark.
"Root, as I thought."