A Shadow Clone?
But Neji and Hinata both said before that the Hyūga Gentle Fist required such precise chakra control that it couldn't properly be used through clones…
The mont Sasuke realized what happened, he instantly changed the hand seals he had been forming halfway through, attempting to destroy the Neji behind him first and escape.
However—
The timing and angle of the Shadow Clone's appearance had been absolutely perfect.
Sasuke had only just noticed the clone's presence when Neji's strike already landed.
"Too slow."
"Four Palms!"
Almost the instant the initial two strikes connected, Neji's real body followed up directly onto Sasuke's chakra points.
Sasuke imdiately felt the chakra flow throughout his body begin freezing.
Under the Byakugan's support, once Gentle Fist successfully landed its opening strikes, escaping the follow-up beca nearly impossible.
Especially under a front-and-back pincer attack.
The attack speed and pressure had doubled.
And after fighting Neji so many tis already, Sasuke knew this perfectly well.
The mont Neji successfully struck his chakra points at the beginning of a battle—
The fight was effectively over.
"Eight Palms!"
"Sixteen Palms!"
Another barrage of nearly simultaneous strikes hamred into Sasuke's body.
Yet strangely—
Sasuke didn't react at all.
Instead of attempting resistance, he simply crossed his arms before himself, protecting his face and eyes.
He had completely abandoned counterattacking.
Neji naturally noticed sothing wrong.
Still, he suppressed the suspicion and continued his combo without hesitation.
"Thirty-Two Palms!"
"Sixty-Four—"
Suddenly—
The final attack failed to arrive.
Under the overwhelming pressure of both Gentle Fist and Byakugan, the Shadow Clone abruptly dispersed before completing the last strike.
Neji's clone simply couldn't withstand the strain long enough to complete the final blow.
Still—
The damage already inflicted was more than enough to send Sasuke crashing helplessly to the ground.
As Sasuke fell, Neji himself landed atop a nearby branch while breathing heavily.
Clearly, maintaining both the Byakugan and a Gentle Fist-capable Shadow Clone consud trendous chakra.
Pain spread violently through Sasuke's entire body.
His disrupted chakra network trembled uncontrollably.
"This…"
Neji stared down toward him seriously.
"Is my new technique."
"Dual Pole Gentle Fist."
"I studied Naruto carefully and discovered one of the secrets behind his strength."
"It isn't only his massive chakra reserves."
"It's also his strange ability to sense hostility."
"Although your chakra and mine are already considered large for our age…"
"They're still nowhere near his level."
"Like you already know…"
"Hyūga Gentle Fist isn't rely taijutsu."
"With the Byakugan, it requires extrely refined chakra manipulation through the fingertips."
"The chakra consumption isn't low."
Neji recalled one of his earlier defeats against Sasuke before continuing.
"So I experinted."
"Even after pouring enough chakra into Shadow Clones, they still wasted chakra because they couldn't properly reproduce the Byakugan's effects."
"So I changed my approach."
"My Shadow Clone doesn't attack."
"It serves as bait for my real body."
"And…"
Neji's Byakugan narrowed proudly.
"In order to counter Naruto's strange sensory abilities, I specifically trained my concealnt techniques."
"Even your Sharingan failed to notice that my real body hadn't attacked yet."
"As long as my speed is fast enough…"
"And the clone remains hidden enough…"
"I can completely disable an enemy's chakra before they react."
"Even Naruto—"
"... But that still wouldn't defeat Naruto."
Sasuke suddenly interrupted him.
"And honestly, you're calling this a 'new technique'?"
Unexpectedly, Sasuke still remained lying on the ground.
Instead of struggling back up, he sounded almost self-destructive while questioning Neji.
Neji frowned in confusion.
"You…"
"Did sothing happen to you?"
Neji knew his own attacks well.
Although Gentle Fist strikes resembled a storm of blows, the missing final strike from the dispersed clone ant Sasuke absolutely shouldn't be acting like this.
At minimum—
Sasuke should already be forcing himself back onto his feet.
"... I saw Naruto go all out."
"... The difference…"
"Was it that large?"
"I asked around afterward."
Sasuke slowly looked toward the sky.
"Our assigned Jōnin, Hatake Kakashi, is supposedly one of the strongest Jōnin in the village."
"But even soone like him…"
"When fighting Naruto…"
"He didn't really hold any advantage at all."
And perhaps even…
Hatake Kakashi…
Guy-sensei's eternal rival?
Neji silently widened his eyes slightly.
Originally, tonight's duel had two purposes.
First—
To show Sasuke his new technique.
Second—
To remind Sasuke to continue maintaining his fighting spirit against Naruto.
To continue improving alongside him until the day they finally surpassed Naruto together.
But now—
Sasuke almost seed completely crushed.
No.
Suddenly, Neji's eyes sharpened.
That's impossible.
Sasuke would never collapse rely because Naruto beca stronger.
After six straight years of defeat…
And while carrying the hatred of his slaughtered clan…
How could soone like Sasuke possibly break over sothing like this?
"Hmph."
Sasuke suddenly sneered.
"So you noticed after all?"
Sure enough—
The mont Neji expanded his Byakugan again, he finally discovered sothing shocking.
A strange chakra was now rapidly erging from Sasuke's body.
After Gentle Fist sealed soone's chakra points, ordinary chakra could no longer gather.
But…
That didn't stop him from absorbing another kind of energy entirely.
"This technique…"
Sasuke slowly lowered the arm that had covered his eyes since the battle began.
"Unlike Naruto, I can't activate it casually yet."
"That idiot's teaching thod makes absolutely no sense."
"I spent years figuring it out before finally getting sowhere."
"So I needed you distracted long enough."
"Otherwise your eyes would've noticed imdiately."
The eyes hidden behind Sasuke's arm finally appeared fully.
Three tomoe slowly rotated around vertical fox-like pupils.
Dark eye-shadow spread from the corners of his eyes.
And the senjutsu chakra created from natural energy now surged violently throughout Sasuke's body.
He truly had been shaken.
The intense frustration and self-mocking rage he felt after witnessing Naruto's strength earlier had even caused his Sharingan to evolve once more.
But instead of crushing him—
That shock completely reignited Sasuke's fighting spirit.
He was Uchiha Sasuke.
The one carrying the entire na of the Uchiha clan upon his back.
Until killing Itachi.
Until defeating Naruto Uzumaki.
He had never once considered giving up.
Defeat?
Despair?
Having weaknesses pointed out?
Sorry.
He had already experienced all of that countless tis thanks to Naruto.
He was long since used to it.
"Sorry, Neji."
Sasuke slowly rolled his shoulders and flexed his wrists while staring toward the fully prepared Neji.
"That 'second rookie' title you wanted…"
"You can have it."
Then the three-tomoe fox-eyed Sharingan narrowed arrogantly.
"But…"
"I also recently stole a new technique."
"And I need soone to test it on."
"You'd better be careful too."
"It belongs to our assigned Jōnin teacher."
"Even with my Sharingan, I only barely managed to imitate part of it…"
"Of course…"
Sasuke's eyes sharpened dangerously.
"I can't control the damage very well either."
The next instant—
All the senjutsu chakra Sasuke had gathered surged violently into his right hand.
The chakra fluctuations beca visible to the naked eye.
Even Neji could clearly hear the sound—
Like countless birds screaming simultaneously.
For the first ti ever—
Neither Sasuke nor Neji held anything back.
Under the terrifying pressure, Neji imdiately moved first.
"Rotation!"
"Senjutsu…"
Lightning exploded violently around Sasuke's arm.
"Chidori!"
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