In an instant, a wave of force surged toward Hinata.
She stood her ground, eyes firm with resolve, palms surging with chakra that faintly shaped itself into needle-like forms.
"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms of Protection!"
Boom!
"What?!"
To everyone's astonishment, Hinata had withstood the blast of the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm.
"What technique is that? Rotation? No… this is another form of absolute defense!" Hyuga Hiashi was stunned.
Today, Hinata had brought him one surprise after another. He had never expected that the daughter he once overlooked had quietly developed such a formidable taijutsu technique.
Eventually, the energy wave dispersed. Though visibly drained, Hinata remained standing. She had succeeded.
"Brother Neji, do you recognize me now?" she asked weakly.
Neji nodded, satisfied.
Hinata smiled. Having gained Neji's recognition, she allowed herself to collapse backward.
But before she could fall, Neji appeared behind her and caught her.
"Referee, you can declare the result."
"Hyuga Neji wins!" Hayate Gekkō announced.
As his voice fell, another voice echoed in Neji's mind.
"Duel complete: Hyuga Neji vs. Hyuga Hinata. Reward granted – Eight Trigrams: Mountain-Crushing Strike."
Eight Trigrams: Mountain-Crushing Strike – A powerful blast of chakra concentrated into a beam of destructive force, capable of leveling a small mountain in a single strike.
It was indeed a formidable move. However, more than flashy techniques, what Neji truly desired was tangible growth in strength and ability.
Up in the stands, Orochimaru let out a low chuckle. Hidden behind his mask, his expression remained unseen.
"Hyuga Neji... quite a promising vessel. Unfortunately…"
Unfortunately, he had already witnessed Uchiha Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan. Just one glance, and Orochimaru had been stripped of any will to resist.
That was the true pinnacle of power.
Neji's strength, impressive as it was, still fell short when compared to the Mangekyō.
If Neji knew what Orochimaru was thinking, he would've mocked him mercilessly because Orochimaru had no true understanding of power.
"Next match: Rock Lee vs. Gaara!"
As Orochimaru pondered, the ninth battle was announced.
Back on the platform, Neji looked at the excited Rock Lee, unsure what to say. He simply patted his shoulder.
The peak battle of the Chunin Exams was finally about to begin.
"Go for it, Lee!" Tenten called out.
"Lee! Go unleash the full bloom of your youth!" Guy suddenly leapt to Lee's side, flashing his signature grin.
"Yes, Guy-sensei!" Lee replied, eyes brimming with tears.
No one could tell exactly what had moved him so deeply.
"Neji, soon I'll have the chance to test myself against you," Lee said seriously, glancing back.
With that, he jumped down into the arena.
Even Neji couldn't look away.
This was the pinnacle clash of the Chunin Exams.
At this point, if both fighters unleashed their full power, they were already at the level of Special Jonin and in some aspects, even elite Jonin would need to stay on guard.
Gaara's absolute defense.
Lee's Eight Gates.
Neither could be handled casually, even by veteran shinobi.
From the stands, Gaara looked at Lee with disdain. In his eyes, the only worthy opponent was Neji.
Best to end this quickly.
Gaara dissolved into a cascade of fine sand, drifting down from the stands before reforming into human form on the ground.
"So, it's Magnet Release…" murmured the Third Hokage.
Below, Lee faced Gaara, visibly exhilarated. His instincts told him: this was a powerful opponent.
"Hurry up," Gaara said, disinterested.
To him, this thick-browed nobody wasn't even worth the effort. He felt no thrill in the upcoming fight he only wanted to finish quickly and face Neji properly.
Lee struck a fighting pose, brimming with determination.
"I can sense your strength. You're a formidable opponent."
"I've heard about you back in the classroom. A prodigy of the Hidden Sand Village, right?"
Gaara's gaze sharpened. He didn't understand what Lee was getting at.
"I love facing you so-called prodigies… because I want to prove that hard work can surpass talent," Lee said.
"Stop wasting time. Hurry up," Gaara replied coldly.
But Lee remained undeterred and introduced himself proudly, "I'm someone who came in last. I can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu."
"What?!"
The crowd erupted in shock. Someone who couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu and he was still participating in the Chunin Exams?
Many instantly lost confidence in Lee.
But Lee continued, "Luckily, I have Guy-sensei. Even relying on taijutsu alone, I can still surpass you prodigies!"
"Well said, Lee!" Might Guy sobbed with emotion.
"Hurry and begin already!" Gaara snapped at Hayate Gekkō.
He could barely suppress his urge to crush this chatterbox.
"Begin!" Hayate announced.
Whoosh!
The moment the words left his lips, Lee kicked off the ground and charged toward Gaara.
"Leaf Hurricane!"
As he approached, Lee leapt up and aimed a sweeping kick at Gaara's head.
But a wall of sand rose and intercepted the blow.
Lee flipped, landing on his hands, and whipped his leg around in a sweeping kick toward Gaara's legs. Again, sand surged up to block him.
Naruto and Sakura watched wide-eyed. That sand it was the same reason none of their attacks had worked against Gaara before.
"What's going on? Gaara didn't even move," Naruto exclaimed.
Kankurō snorted. "It's pointless. No one can harm Gaara."
"What?" The crowd was confused.
"It's not about his intent. The sand moves on its own to protect him. That's the Shield of Sand a defense with no weaknesses," Kankurō explained.
Even if Gaara were unconscious, the Shield of Sand would still protect him from harm.
At that moment, waves of sand surged toward Lee, forcing him to flip and retreat repeatedly.
"So that's the power of Shukaku…" Neji murmured.
"What was that, Neji?" Tenten asked.
"Nothing."
In the arena, Lee continued his relentless assault on Gaara, but Gaara didn't move an inch. Lee couldn't even touch him.
"This won't do. If this keeps up, Lee's going to exhaust himself!" Tenten said anxiously.
"Don't worry. Lee hasn't shown all his cards yet," Neji replied.
"He hasn't? But this already looks like his full strength…" Tenten said, puzzled.