As he spoke, a vicious fist cut through the air, distorting the light and seemingly revealing a blurry, struggling figure. But just as quickly, under Daigan's control, the figure vanished once more.
"It's no use!"
Gritting her teeth against the pain, Hinata struck out around her with her Gentle Fist. While it could momentarily disrupt Daigan's control over the air and light, he could readjust in an instant and blind her again.
***
"He'd rather suffer broken limbs than reveal his full strength. What an interesting guy." Hatake Kakashi pulled his headband down to cover his Sharingan and let out a sigh.
"Kakashi-sensei, what's going on? Why did Hinata disappear?" Uzumaki Naruto asked anxiously.
"Hinata's in danger. If she can't use a large-scale disruption jutsu, she'll be completely helpless." It was like being caught in a genjutsu—the Technique of Bringing Darkness. The principle might be different, but the effect was much the same. "Her only hope is to use her Byakugan's chakra vision to locate his real body. That Sand Ninja is heavily injured. If she can just sever the chakra threads he's struggling to maintain with her Gentle Fist, she can win."
This was hardly an even fight. It seemed that Sand Ninja had come prepared for a wide range of unfavorable situations. If the match continued, he might have even more tricks up his sleeve.
"Polarizing Light Killing Formation..." Baki chuckled. "So that's what it means."
Kankuro leaned against the railing, his arm draped lazily over the top. "I thought the guy just picked a flashy name, but... this move actually seems pretty useful for a Puppet Master. Maybe I should learn it?"
"Besides fiddling with that pile of junk puppets, you're actually thinking about learning Wind Release? If you had studied with me when you were little, you wouldn't be envying Daigan's half-baked wind ninjutsu," Temari scolded her incorrigible brother.
Aside from the inscrutable Baki, everyone felt a little more at ease seeing that the heavily injured Daigan seemed to have victory within his grasp.
Chi piped up mischievously, "Temari, you don't seem too impressed with Daigan's little tricks. But just the other day, he was saying he hoped you'd be his opponent so he could show you what he's made of..."
"He said that?" Temari glanced at Daigan, who was leisurely playing a game of "blind fire" with his puppets. "Confidence is a good thing," she said with interest. "But does he really think he can challenge me just because he beat a few Konoha ninja? I'll beat him until he's black and blue and crying for his mommy."
Chi giggled, covering her mouth. "I've never seen Daigan cry. Temari, if you can actually do it, I'd love to see what a crying Daigan looks like."
"That day will come. You just wait. I'll let everyone see it."
The tense and lengthy preliminaries of the third stage were finally nearing their end. Gaara, having crushed Tsurugi Misumi, seemed to have vented some of his bloodlust and had grown quiet. This grueling period of immense mental strain was almost over.
Down in the arena, the disadvantaged Hyuga Hinata pulled the senbon from the joints of her arms and legs. Enduring the pain, she charged straight towards Daigan's position.
"Commendable spirit, but..."
The charging Hyuga heiress suddenly stepped on a small patch of caltrops. The iron spikes pierced her feet, and with a cry of pain, she stumbled and fell to the ground.
"It's useless."
The Byakugan was powerful. Even in the faint light of night, it could perceive faint silhouettes without any blind spots. Its primary focus was chakra, and since bio-energy was a form of chakra, it could make out the general shape of living things. But a lifeless trap, with no bio-energy or chakra, was completely undetectable when not a single ray of light could enter the eye.
Daigan didn't understand how the Byakugan perceived bio-energy and chakra, but he knew that as long as it was an eye, its ability to rely on reflected light for detection would be completely nullified.
"There are traps all around. You can't escape."
Listening to Daigan's half-true words, Hinata pulled the caltrops from her feet and stubbornly got back up.
"I'm being so cruel. No one can even see your determined expression. In that case..."
Suddenly, the field of darkness dispersed. The arena lights, after several refractions, were focused into a single beam and shot directly into Hinata's eyes.
"Agh!"
In the darkness, her pupils had dilated to their maximum to see, and the sudden blast of intense light was like a flashbang going off in her face. Hinata cried out in pain and instinctively shielded her eyes with her arm.
"They may just be a bunch of cheap tricks, but they work when it counts."
The invisible Temari puppet suddenly appeared behind Hinata. It swung its makeshift Three-Moon Fan, and a whirlwind of wind blades enveloped the defenseless girl, launching her into the sky. A few seconds later, as she fell, the Substitute Puppet caught her by the collar of her shirt and slammed her into the ground with a backbreaker.
"Hinata!"
Naruto, seeing her get caught in a combo and spit up blood the moment she reappeared, couldn't hold back any longer. "Hang in there! Don't lose to that cripple!"
"Not crippled yet. Just broken arms and legs," Hatake Kakashi sighed wearily.
Nearby, Yuuhi Kurenai was hesitating, wondering if she should stop her student from continuing. Though the Hyuga heiress wasn't highly regarded in her clan, a humiliating defeat here wouldn't be good for anyone.
At that moment, Hinata, her clothes stained with blood, staggered to her feet once more.
"How boring." Hyuga Neji frowned, arms crossed. Though she was the unimpressive heiress of the main family, she was still representing the Hyuga clan. Losing so badly was hardly a glorious affair.
"Neji," Might Guy asked, "you also have the Byakugan and Gentle Fist. Do you have a way to break that Sand Ninja's Polarizing Light Killing Formation?"
"Of course," Neji answered matter-of-factly. "It's not that impressive of a jutsu."
The Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Empty Palm could take him down in one hit. Furthermore, the main family's secret technique, Revolving Heaven, which served both offense and defense, could completely disrupt the surrounding chakra balance. Even a poorly aimed Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique would have been enough to disrupt Daigan's control over the airflow.
But Hinata could do none of these things.
"The Hyuga heiress happens to fall right into the category of people who can't break through the field of darkness. If it were Lee, he wouldn't be afraid of this at all. A simple burst of speed would be enough to break out of the formation's range."
Different opponents required different tactics. One had to wonder if that Sand Ninja could come up with an even more impressive strategy if faced with the more capable Hyuga Neji.
"It seems like a minor trick, but it has many variations. This jutsu already has the foundations to support a Jonin-level fighter," Guy observed. At least for now, it was devastatingly effective against Genin like Rock Lee and Hyuga Hinata, who were poor at ninjutsu and had flaws in their taijutsu.
"One after another, they're all like this. My good reputation, built up over a decade, is being ruined today," Daigan muttered. Watching the swaying Hinata refuse to fall, he raised his right hand and pointed it in her direction, as if about to deliver a cruel finishing blow.
As everyone watched, his thumb folded into his palm, followed by his pinky and ring finger, and finally his middle and index fingers, changing his hand from an open palm to a fist.
Just as they were wondering what he was doing, Hinata suddenly collapsed, unconscious.
"The poison works well. Took about as long as I expected to take effect. That's a relief."
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