Cap 68: The Frying Pan

Neji had again thrown himself at Hinata, who kept her expression serene as she deflected the attacks of the Hyuga prodigy.

"I think I have let you attack more than enough, so it is my turn," Hinata said as she broke her stance and lunged at her cousin. Neji did not respond, only remained in place while waiting for his opponent's next attack.

"Take this!" - Hinata exclaimed with all her might, moving her arm at full speed.

"Predictable, Hinata-sama," Neji replied as he deflected the blow but in the process, he felt his arm feel a little stiff.

"Do you think I only imitated the movements of snakes?" - Hinata asked with a smile - "If so, you are sorely mistaken..."

* * * * *

"Strange..." - Gai muttered as he looked at his student.

"Gai sensei..." - Lee said seriously - "The reaction time of Neji-kun's right arm..."

"Yes..." - nodded the Taijutsu expert from Konoha - "His reaction time was much slower than normal..."

"Sorry, I'm late!" - Anko exclaimed as she looked around - "I had to write a report on the events of the second test and let's just say that office work is not my thing"

"You're just in time, Anko-san," smiled Kurenai as she pointed to the Arena. "It's the first battle and Hinata-chan is the one fighting.

"Have she used Hebi no Ken yet?" - Anko asked excitedly.

"Is that the name of that Taijutsu based on Juken?" - asked Gai with curiosity.

"Yes," Anko nodded, "Hebi no Ken, as its name implies, is based on the movements and, let's say, qualities of snakes. Simple, fast, flexible and lethal"

"But that's not all... is it?" - Kakashi asked seriously as his Sharingan rotated as he watched the battle - "There is something about Hinata's attacks"

"As expected from the Sharingan, although I'm sure Hinata-chan's father must have noticed it too" - Anko nodded with a smile on her beautiful face - "As I said before, Hebi no Ken is based exclusively on snakes... And now comes a little question~! What quality do many of the snakes have~?"

"Poison..." - Kakashi answered immediately - "Chakra!"

Anko just smiled when she heard this - "That's right. Hinata-chan can leave a little bit of her chakra inside the victim, no matter if her opponent manages to release his Tenketsu, a little bit of Hinata-chan's chakra will stay inside them, slightly blocking the flow of Chakra and if she hits the same spot twice..."

"The accumulation will be worse and worse..." - Gai muttered in terror.

"But there's a problem with all that..." - Yamato said seriously - "A person with a lot of Chakra can destroy that 'toxin'..."

"That's why that poison is only effective against opponents with similar or lesser strength than her," Anko said calmly.

Those present were surprised when they heard this, even Ino who was training with Hinata did not know what her new fighting style was all about.

* * * * *

"The girl is surpassing the prodigy," said Choza with a smile.

"I would expect no less from Hinata-chan," Inoichi nodded. "That's why Ino-chan talks about her so much... I just hope none of them fall into the hands of that redheaded beast"

"You've already started with your daughter complex," sighed Shikaku as he shook his head. "Don't you think you should let your daughter grow up in peace?"

"Never! Ino-chan will always be Daddy's girl!" - exclaimed Inoichi, only to feel everything turn black because his wife hit him with her frying pan - "I'm sorry about that, Inoichi-kun is always like that when Ino-chan is involved"

"We know" - said those present at the same time.

"Again, I apologize for the interruption," said the woman as she dragged her husband away.

"I only hope that Ino doesn't bring out any of her parents' personalities" - mumbled Hana - "Although if so, I'd rather it was her mother's"

The others nodded when they heard this because they sincerely did not want another Inoichi to make an appearance in the village.

"After talking to Inoichi... I felt like asking for a vacation..." - Shikaku muttered as he sighed regretfully.

"You just got back from your vacation," Shack said with a scowl.

"That's the beauty of vacations," replied Commander Jonin. " They are never enough"

None of those present knew what to say to these words because there were no arguments to refute it.

* * * * * *

"Come on Neji Nii-san" - said Hinata with a half-smile - "Didn't you say it was my destiny to fall?"

". . ." - Neji just looked at his arm silently. He could finally notice how some of Hinata's chakra had remained in his tenketsu.

"That's one of the peculiarities of my Hebi no Ken" - Hinata said seriously - "But I won't go into detail because it would be stupid to tell it to an enemy"

"I'd better get this over with..." - Neji muttered as he closed his eyes for a few seconds. His aura slowly began to change to a much more stable one.

Hinata's eyes narrowed when she noticed the change but quickly calmed down - "So you want to end it this way..."

"I have to admit that your progress surprised me, Hinata-sama," Neji said as he opened his eyes. Slowly a pentagram spread from his feet - "But... that won't change the outcome of this battle..."

The pentagram quickly reached the feet of Hinata, who did nothing to move from her location.

"This is the result of my training... a technique I learned only by watching" - said Neji as his gaze grew colder and colder - "Because we of the secondary branch, we do not have the right to learn it from our teachers..."

"Is this why you feel so superior?" - Hinata asked calmly as she took the same position as her cousin. Quickly, a pentagram extended from her feet and reached the place where the prodigy Hyuga was. The two pentagrams became one to the surprise of those present, although they were now more excited than ever.

"How?!" - exclaimed Neji as he opened his eyes in surprise.

"Like you, I learned this by watching others," said Hinata as she looked at her cousin. "As the 'shame' of the Hyuga clan, I was not allowed to learn anything important despite being the heiress... that is why I only watched in silence during all this time..."

"I was beaten, insulted, ignored, but I didn't stop watching" - continued the Hyuga girl - "And after training for years, I finally achieved what everyone thought would never be possible..."

"Now... let's see who is right... the prodigy who believes that everything is the work of destiny... or the "Disgrace" who took her fate with her own hands" - said Hinata seriously while - " Gravity Seal... Kai..."

Hinata could finally feel her body free again - "I'm ready, Neji Nii-san. I'm going to fight on equal terms with you... I'm going to defeat you with a Hyuga Clan technique..."

Neji's anger was at its peak because he felt all his efforts were being trampled on by Hinata, the girl he had always seen as trash.

The two slowly drew closer and closer to one another as their gazes rested on the figure of their opponent, waiting until they were in an optimal range.

"Hakken Rokujuyon Sho!" - the two Hyuga shouted as they saw that the time had come.

"2 Palm!" - they shouted at the same time as they moved their hands against their opponent.

"I will not fail!" - exclaimed Hinata as he deflected his cousin's hand and struck the first blow.

Neji gritted his teeth furiously but did not stop, he ignored the pain of his closed Tenketsu and landed a blow on the girl's shoulder - "4 Palms!"

"8 Palms! 16 Palms!"

The two Hyugas continued to bump into each other while deflecting their opponent's attack but to Neji's misfortune, Hinata was much faster, more flexible and more accurate - "32 Palms!"

"Impossible!" - Neji cried out as he saw that he had been defeated with the move he was most proud of - "It's impossible that I've been defeated!

"I'm not finished yet, Neji Nii-san!" - Hinata exclaimed in pain. Even though she had given the most attacks, it didn't mean her body didn't suffer from her cousin's counterattacks - "64 Palms!"

"N-No..." - said Neji as he watched Hinata strike one last blow. He was aware of the situation. He had managed to hit 55 palms while Hinata had managed to hit number 64.

"It's... impossible..." - whispered the prodigy Hyuga as he felt himself begin to lose consciousness from all the pain he was feeling - "How... is it possible... that I... was defeated..."

Neji slowly closed his eyes although before doing so, he saw how Hinata was barely standing. Her breathing was irregular and her body hurt completely but she still clenched her teeth and continued to stand - "I-I won..."

"Battle over!" - exclaimed Hayate when he saw how Neji was unconscious - "Winner, Hinata Hyuga!"

"She won!" - exclaimed Ino happily but her expression changed when she saw her friend fall to the ground while spitting blood.

"Relax, she's fine" - said Kurama with a smile - "That's just the effect of Juken... massive internal damage..."

"Receiving 32 strokes is already more than enough to leave the chakra system completely damaged, as well as multiple organs" - added Kakashi while covering his Sharingan as the chakra consumption was massive - "That she as Genin has been able to endure so much pain, is more than enough reason to praise her... not to mention that she is still conscious"

"I guess it's my turn against the Extra," said Sasuke as he watched the two Hyugas being taken by the medical staff.

"Stop calling me extra!" - roared Yoroi in fury.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Chapter 88 available in Pa treon

I'm sorry I couldn't upload a chapter sooner. I just got home after spending the night at my mother's because I went to the hospital yesterday. Yesterday I had an awful cold and a high fever. Relax, this is normal... it happens to me like two or three times a year but it's better to be safe than sorry.