Chapter 55 Neji vs. 'Hinata'

After both of them stood in the arena, Neji on the opposite side had a cold expression.

Naruto began to regret the complaints he made about Hyuga Clan using the Shinobi God Avatar. After exacerbating the internal conflicts of the Hyuga Clan, the karma had come back to haunt him now.

'Damn, karma is real?'

Naruto looked nervously at Neji opposite him. The other's face was so gloomy that water could drip out of it, which made Naruto shudder.

'Fortunately, I chose to fight in Hinata's place, otherwise, Hinata-chan would have been caught up in the mess I created and possibly gotten seriously hurt.'

'This guy is really scary after going to the dark side. It was clear he will definitely be ruthless!'

"Hinata-sama, I didn't expect to fight with you." Neji said to Hinata.

At this time, it was Naruto who was controlling Hinata's body. He could talk to Hinata in the consciousness space while controlling Hinata's body. At the same time, Hinata in the consciousness space could naturally perceive everything happening outside.

"Neji-niisan…" Hinata's voice in the consciousness space was noticeably low.

Naruto didn't care about all that. Right and wrong were already clear, as the main family of the Hyuga Clan was indeed behaving unethically.

'But for now, I had to protect Hinata first, and then I can slowly deal with the other things.'

"Yeah, I didn't expect it either." Naruto really couldn't call Neji 'nii-san', so he could only respond reluctantly.

At the same time, Naruto controlled Hinata's body to take a half-step back, which is his usual starting move in a fight. This was definitely a high-level match, and he didn't know much about the Hyuga Clan's Techniques, he had to improvise on his own.

While fighting, he also has to pay attention to his Chakra to avoid running out.

The examiner, Gekko Hayate, stood nearby, glanced at the two of them, and said lifelessly, "Well then, let the match begin."

Neji took a half-step to the right, also adopting a starting stance. He looked at Hinata seriously and spoke, "Before the match starts, I have some advice for you, Hinata-sama. Give up. You are not fit to be a Shinobi."

"You're too weak, have no opinions of your own, and can't refuse anyone. You're kind to everyone, and that's why you're always bullied. Shinobi are killing machines, and someone as kind as you can't be a Shinobi. You will only bring harm to yourself and others!"

"I know." Naruto, who was controlling Hinata's body, said, "Giving up is not an option. Everyone has something they need to stick to in life."

"Hinata-sama, you are a little different from before." Neji said coldly, "In the past, you were always used to running away. Although I don't know why you're so insistent now, it won't change the fact that you'll fail."

"My Byakugan sees very clearly. Your past failures will soon reveal your true nature."

Faced with Neji's psychological assault, Hinata was on the verge of a breakdown. Even though Hinata didn't say anything, Naruto could feel the panic and anxiety in her body.

In the consciousness space.

"Aren't you from the main family?" Naruto asked

"Yeah." Hinata responded softly.

"The main family has absolute control over the branch family." Naruto said, "So why are you afraid of him?"

"I don't want to fight Neji-niisan." Hinata said hesitantly, "The relationship between the main family and the branch family has always been bad. Neji-niisan wasn't like this when he was younger, but... but..."

"But the affairs of the main family aren't something you can decide, right? Unless you become the Clan Head." Naruto said, "Neji probably hates you because he thinks that since you are a member of the main family, you are also a beneficiary of the system. So why do you have a conflict? It doesn't make sense?"

"I… I don't know." Hinata said.

"Large families are really troublesome."

After saying that, Naruto stopped talking to Hinata and locked his gaze on Neji, who had activated his Byakugan.

In an instant, Naruto shifted from open palm to clenched fist, simultaneously activating Hinata's Byakugan.

Neji on the opposite side was a little surprised when he saw Hinata activated her Byakugan without forming any hand seals just like him.

Up in the stands, Sakura suddenly asked, "Um, why does Neji look so surprised? Did Hinata do something?"

Hearing this, Lee on the side interjected, "It took Neji a long time to activate his Byakugan without making any hand seals. Perhaps he felt that Hinata's ability exceeded his expectations."

The battle had already begun, and the two had started fighting.

Naruto, controlling Hinata's body, found that his combat abilities have been significantly reduced.

Just like Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation. Although his abilities follow the soul rather than the body, but in Hinata's body, Naruto will be limited by her Chakra and stamina. Additionally, the strength of their bodies was incomparable, with clear limits on Hinata's physical capabilities.

Naruto didn't know his own speed limit, but with Kyubi's Chakra, his body became highly responsive, almost as if he was on a stimulant.

However, in Hinata's body, Naruto could feel a limit, a limit from her body. He was sure that if he pushed past this limit, her muscles could tear or she might sustain worse injuries.

Neji advanced with a palm strike, his movements as sharp as a spear, moving so quickly that it seemed like a flash of silver.

Naruto didn't counter with a palm but instead sidestepped, instantly creating some distance.

The Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist infused chakra into their palms, enabling them to damage an opponent's internal organs even without direct contact.

In that split second, Neji stepped forward, pursuing Hinata relentlessly.

Naruto took the opportunity to dodge a palm strike and countered with a kick, hitting a Tenketsu on Neji's arm.

Feeling his rhythm disrupted, Neji cautiously retreated. This also gave Naruto an opening to move forward with a palm strike aimed at Neji's face. At the same time, his waist turned sideways like a knob, and when Neji countered with a palm thrust, Naruto used the force of twisting his waist to turn around and follow through with a backhand strike.

Neji deflected both attacks with his hands. The Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist relied on skillful deflection, using force to neutralize force.

Naruto used brute strength, retreating and advancing quickly, maintaining a relentless pace. While Neji deflected his strikes, Naruto followed up with a sweeping kick.

Neji, steady in his stance, parried with his palms, which were as sharp as swords.

Naruto didn't engage in a pure palm strike contest with Neji. Not only was it the style he's not good at, but also because Hinata's understanding of the Gentle Fist was inferior to Neji's. And Naruto, being a temporary substitute, couldn't possibly execute the Gentle Fist better than Neji.

The key to battle was leveraging strengths and avoiding weaknesses. Naruto, controlling Hinata's body, moved nimbly within the arena, like a lithe cat.

He continuously made offensive moves, interspersing them with numerous feints. Even with the Byakugan, it was hard for Neji to anticipate and counter all the feints. These were moves Naruto usually didn't use, but he had to improvise under the current circumstances.

Neji was clearly irritated, and with an angry shout, he unleashed the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms.