Out of the swirling smoke, Sasuke emerged — blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
He dashed forward and punched Hinata squarely across the face. Pain flared on her left cheek, jolting her mind back to clarity.
"An illusion…?" she realized instantly. "When did it start!?"
Her earlier inability to see the future — the missed strike — there was only one explanation.
Genjutsu.
Sasuke pressed the advantage, striking again and again. Hinata countered with graceful precision, retreating while parrying each blow. Their taijutsu exchange became a blur of movement — fast, fierce, and mesmerizing.
To ordinary eyes, their motions were invisible.
But to Sasuke's Sharingan and Hinata's enhanced Byakugan, every detail was crystal clear.
It was a clash between the two greatest ocular powers — one reading every move, the other foreseeing every second.
Sasuke had speed.
Hinata had foresight.
And for a time, they were perfectly matched.
Thud!
Then came a heavy thud — a metallic clatter on the ground.
Sasuke glanced down.
It was one of Hinata's weighted wrist guards.
As the second fell, her movements began to blur. Her speed doubled, then tripled. From struggling to keep up, she shifted to equal footing — then to dominance.
The damaged puppet suddenly moved again, advancing toward Sasuke with eerie precision. Its broken arm sparked, but its power was undiminished.
The puppet's construction was extraordinary — forged from materials of immense density. The only thing that could pierce it was Sasuke's Chidori.
But Sasuke hesitated.
He had already used Chidori once; his chakra reserves were dangerously low.
That brief hesitation was all Hinata needed.
The puppet lunged.
Its kick struck his waist with bone-cracking force. Sasuke coughed up blood, his body twisting midair before crashing into the ground.
Before he could recover, Hinata's short hair lengthened to her knees, shimmering with chakra. With a flick of her head, countless Rabbit Hair Needles shot forth like a silver storm.
At this range, there was no escape.
…
"She won!" Hanabi cried out, clapping her hands in joy.
Even Hiashi allowed himself a faint, proud smile.
But below, Sasuke's lips curved into a faint smirk.
He stomped his foot.
A sharp snap echoed through the ground — and suddenly, dozens of nearly invisible chakra threads burst upward, snaking around Hinata.
Before she could react, they coiled around her body several times, binding her tightly.
At the same moment, Sasuke curled into a defensive position, using his arms and legs to shield his vital points as the rain of Rabbit Hair Needles struck.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
The sound of impact filled the air.
…
Having witnessed Hinata's battle with Gaara — and the terrifying power of those Rabbit Hair Needles — Sasuke would have been a fool not to prepare countermeasures. The shuriken he had thrown at the start of their fight had all been a prelude to this moment.
The chakra threads that now bound Hinata were impossibly thin, yet sharp enough to slice into her skin with ease. A faint line of red appeared on her pale cheek. For a brief instant, her expression froze. Then, with a surge of determination, her chakra exploded outward, flooding her body with power.
The threads shattered instantly.
"!!"
Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief. He had seen Hinata use her partial Palm Rotation technique before, but witnessing it firsthand was another matter entirely. He hadn't expected her chakra to be so forceful. When he refocused, she was already facing him again — her stance calm and centered, ready to strike.
Sasuke's expression hardened. He cursed himself for hesitating and quickly tore off the rabbit hair needles embedded in his arms and legs.
"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!"
Hinata's voice rang clear through the dust.
Her Byakugan flared, veins pulsing around her temples. The puppet behind Sasuke moved in perfect synchronization with her strike, delivering a heavy kick that sent him spinning through the air.
Then Hinata was upon him — her palms flashing like lightning.
Each hit landed precisely on his chakra points, one after another.
The final blow sent Sasuke flying across the arena, rolling several times before crashing to the ground. He lay face down, motionless.
"Huf…"
Hinata exhaled softly. Her breaths were steady and controlled. Years of disciplined training had made breathing second nature to her — no matter how exhausted or dizzy she became, she never allowed her rhythm to break.
Then she felt it — a faint tingling beneath her skin. Her vision blurred slightly.
Poison.
Sasuke had coated his threads with poison. When they cut through her skin, the toxin had seeped into her blood.
Across from her, Sasuke struggled to rise. His chakra flow was unstable, his body trembling, and his organs screaming in pain. Yet he still managed a strained smirk.
"Don't… underestimate the Uchiha."
Hinata said nothing. Her pale eyes remained calm, but a quiet resolve flickered behind them. She unfastened two scrolls from her waist and unrolled them with a single motion.
With two soft puffs of chakra smoke, two more puppets appeared beside her.
The sight made Sasuke's expression falter completely. He let out a weak sigh, then flopped backward onto the ground, motionless once more.
The referee — clearly amused — couldn't help but chuckle.
"Winner: Hyuga Hinata!"
The crowd erupted into applause.
…
But even as cheers filled the arena, chaos had already begun elsewhere.
In the audience, a figure disguised as a member of the Anbu formed a series of seals. A wave of chakra rippled outward. Within moments, white feathers began drifting down from the sky — and one by one, people all around the stadium began to fall asleep.
A large-scale Genjutsu.
At the same time, on the high viewing platform, the Kazekage suddenly turned and placed a kunai against the Third Hokage's throat. In one swift motion, he dragged the Hokage upward to the top of the building.
Four masked shinobi appeared, surrounding the two Kage in four directions. Then a massive purple barrier rose between them, sealing the space completely. No one could enter or interfere.
It was the signal.
The invasion of Konoha had begun!