The roaring flames surged forward.
The scorching heat permeated the air.
With nowhere to dodge, Neji's pupils constricted sharply. A massive amount of chakra erupted from every pore of his body as he began to spin rapidly.
"Rotation!"
Before the shocked eyes of Hiashi Hyūga, who had come specifically to watch, and a section of the ninja in the stands...
A rapidly spinning sphere of blue light materialized.
Bang!
Rumble...
It perfectly blocked the incoming Fire Style jutsu.
However, in that brief interval...
Sasuke had closed the distance again. Locked firmly under the gaze of his Sharingan, Neji had nowhere to hide his presence.
Whoosh.
Sasuke appeared right in front of him.
His left leg was raised high.
He brought it crashing down.
"!?"
Neji instinctively raised his arms to block.
Thud.
With a dull impact, Neji felt his body sink under the weight of the blow.
'This guy!'
The speed and power far exceeded his pre-match expectations.
Looking at Sasuke, who was now within arm's reach...
Neji's expression had lost its initial composure. As a member of the Hyūga clan, renowned for possessing the strongest taijutsu heritage in Konoha, he was actually being completely suppressed in close-quarters combat by an Uchiha.
This was a development Neji had never anticipated.
Specifically, the disadvantage in speed meant Neji couldn't even deploy many of his techniques.
"Rotation!"
He was forced to use his signature defense once again.
Rumble!
Whoosh!
Once more, he repelled Sasuke.
"What an annoying turtle shell. I'd like to see just how hard that shell of yours really is!"
A cold look flashed across Sasuke's brow.
Whoosh!
With a leap, Sasuke did something Neji didn't expect again: he actively retreated, widening the gap.
"Eh?"
"What is he doing?"
"Creating distance?"
"Why is he going up so high? What is he planning?"
Amidst the confused expressions of tens of thousands of spectators, Sasuke leaped onto the high wall at the back of the arena, standing perpendicular to the ground.
"Heh!"
A second later.
Sasuke's hands blurred through seals.
Zzt-zzt-zzt-zzt-zzt!
"What is that!?"
"Lightning!?"
"It's so loud!?"
"Could it be?"
As the sound of chirping birds erupted, amidst the shocked expressions of countless viewers, a brilliant blue lightning gathered in Sasuke's hand.
"You actually taught that boy that technique!?"
In the front row of the stands, Might Guy turned his head sharply, a rare look of seriousness on his face as he addressed Kakashi in a low voice.
"Heh, it's Sasuke's talent. Besides, that kid... he's a lot like me, Guy," Kakashi replied with a light chuckle, hands in his pockets, looking at Sasuke on the wall with a hint of pride.
All eyes focused on the Uchiha.
"Whoa!? What kind of jutsu is that, Sasuke?"
"Sasuke-kun!?"
In the participants' gallery...
Naruto and Sakura's eyes went wide.
Menma's gaze sharpened slightly.
Lee and Tenten, sensing the terrifying surge of chakra, instinctively gripped the railing in front of them.
"Neji."
Both of them looked at their genius teammate with worry.
As for Neji himself, he stared at Sasuke standing high on the wall, shock written across his face.
'What kind of jutsu is this!?'
He could feel the chilling aura washing over him.
His Byakugan clearly saw the raging fluctuations of chakra.
In that moment, Neji smelled the scent of danger. His nerves were stretched to the breaking point.
"Hmph!"
The lightning raged.
Looking down at Neji, who was bracing himself for a formidable enemy...
A look of disdain appeared on Sasuke's face.
Boom!
The explosive roar followed.
"Chidori!!!!"
Like the chirping of a thousand birds.
Accompanied by that ear-piercing screech...
Whoosh!
His figure launched forward.
In an instant...
Moving at a speed invisible to the ordinary spectators...
He flashed into Neji's close range.
"Rotation!!!"
Facing the raw, imposing threat...
And the chilling killing intent that had become suffocatingly dense...
Knowing he couldn't hold anything back, Neji unleashed his chakra to the maximum, spinning into a sphere of blue light.
"Is this it?"
"Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!"
"Here it comes! Here it comes!"
"!?"
Amidst the stunned expressions of the crowd...
The two collided violently.
Bang!
A terrifying force erupted, sending shockwaves rippling outward.
In the center, unseen by ordinary eyes...
Squelch!
The Rotation, which had only just begun to form its barrier, was forcibly pierced by the Chidori.
As the clear sound of shattering rang out...
Neji's heart sank completely.
The cold sensation was right in front of him.
The intense killing intent washed over his face.
Byakugan met Sharingan.
All he saw was crimson.
With absolutely no room to maneuver and unable to mount any further resistance, Neji closed his eyes in despair.
Rip!
"Ugh!?"
But at the very last moment...
Sasuke forcibly altered the trajectory of the Chidori.
Avoiding the vitals.
Grazing the shoulder.
Tearing through clothes and flesh, blood sprayed into the air.
The piercing pain struck him, followed by a violent numbness.
Just as Neji's expression twisted and he was about to lose the ability to resist...
Sasuke closed in, driving his right fist hard into Neji's abdomen.
"Gah!?"
Neji's face contorted as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Sasuke then seized Neji by the collar...
And slammed him heavily onto the ground.
Thud!
A heavy impact.
Having taken consecutive heavy hits...
Neji felt as though his body was falling apart.
He could no longer control his limbs.
As the dust settled...
Sasuke standing, Neji lying down—the disparity was laid bare for everyone in the arena to see.
Seeing this, Genma Shiranui immediately raised his right hand and shouted:
"Winner of the first match—Sasuke Uchiha!"
"Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!"
"As expected, the Uchiha is superior!"
"The Sharingan! That is the ultimate secret of the Uchiha clan!"
"Konoha's number one clan, indeed!"
"Truly worthy of being an Uchiha!"
"Haha! I told you the Uchiha would beat the Hyūga!"
As Genma's declaration fell, the stands erupted into a cacophony of loud, enthusiastic cheers.