Chapter 27 - Fierce battle! Absolute defense

"Mr. Guy, I'm sorry, I couldn't defeat my opponent."

Tenten lowered her head, feeling a sense of failure.

Guy comforted her: "That Sand Shinobi just had the perfect counter for you, Tenten. You are very strong."

"But it seems like I've come to this year's Chūnin Exams for nothing..." Tenten said, sniffing back tears.

"What are you talking about? Neji still has a chance!" Guy insisted, trying to focus on Neji's match details.

"Yes, I believe in Neji too!" Lee added, nodding firmly.

"Ugh..."

Tenten sighed, uncertain about Guy's optimism. She found it hard to believe that Neji could win against the Sand Shinobi.

Inuzuka couldn't hide his disappointment: "Damn it!"

He imagined the end of the match, feeling that Konoha would face a complete failure against the Sand Shinobi.

"Oh, how's it going?"

At that moment, Kankuro from the Sand Shinobi approached.

"You!" Inuzuka glared at him.

"Don't blame me. This is just a match. If you lose, you lose. You should be grateful. If I had pushed you harder, it would have been worse than the poison that hindered your movements."

Kankuro's eyes gleamed with mockery.

However, the injuries from the poison made Inuzuka reluctant to retaliate.

Tenten, also a loser in this match, remained silent.

Everyone turned their attention to the arena, where Neji and Gaara had begun their fight, neither of them moving yet.

Kankuro spoke nonchalantly: "Don't bother watching. This guy will lose. No Chūnin from Sunagakure can defeat Gaara!"

"Really? No Chūnin at all?" Lee's eyes widened in surprise, and Tenten and Inuzuka shared a similar shock.

Was this red-haired boy stronger than Kankuro and Temari?

"Even if Temari and I teamed up, we wouldn't stand a chance against Gaara," Kankuro said coldly, adding psychological pressure to the group.

...

"Referee, are you going to start?" Neji glanced at Hayate.

Hayate, startled, replied, "Ah..."

He had been focused on Gaara across the arena, who appeared indifferent but carried a menacing intent that felt pure and dangerous.

Caught off guard, he momentarily forgot to announce the match.

"Gaara vs. Hyuga Neji, the match...begins!"

"You're finally in my hands. Come, let me test the strength of Konoha!" Gaara glared at Neji with anticipation.

Neji didn't respond; instead, he thought carefully.

First of all, he couldn't use the lightning-based Chakra, and the same went for the wind-based Chakra of Revolving Heaven. Not to mention, those techniques weren't fully developed yet, and Jōnin would be suspicious of their origins.

Neji sighed internally: "Ah, dealing with these Jōnin is such a hassle!"

"Whoosh!"

The sand gourd flew toward him, but Neji tilted his head, dodging it.

"What are you dawdling for?" Gaara squinted, noticing Neji seemed unfazed.

"Let's see how this goes," Neji muttered to himself, disregarding Gaara.

Fast!

"Eh?"

Gaara was surprised to see Neji suddenly in front of him.

A swift palm strike!

Neji's movements were sharp and precise, unlike the clumsy attempts from their previous training.

But Gaara had already summoned sand to defend himself.

Gaara smirked: "You've improved tremendously since our last encounter on the training ground!"

Neji frowned and murmured, "Is this your absolute defense?"

The sound of shifting sand surrounded him.

Neji quickly retreated.

The sound was unnerving, but the sand moved slowly.

"Byakugan!"

"The speed of your absolute defense is clearly greater than your offensive sand. The quality of the sand must be different."

Neji realized the Chakra content in the sand was significantly greater than usual.

"Here I come again!"

As Gaara spoke, he raised his hand, and a wave of sand shaped like a claw rushed toward Neji.

As Gaara's Chakra grew, so did the amount of sand. It was as if the very air condensed into grains!

"Ah, so that's why there's so much sand!"

Neji retreated momentarily but quickly seized the opportunity to charge forward.

"With Byakugan activated, Neji's speed will be unmatched," Guy explained to the audience.

Neji skillfully dodged the sand attacks. As he closed in on Gaara, he swiftly moved behind him and delivered a strong palm strike!

"Puff!"

The sand erupted outward, dispersing.

"It's not the movement of all the sand but rather the refined sand from the gourd. Chakra quickly generates sand from thin air. The speed of movement has nothing to do with it!"

Neji analyzed the situation calmly, recognizing the true reason for his speed.

"Oh? You're quite intelligent in battle," Gaara remarked, impressed.

But Neji ignored him, raising his hand: "Let's see what you can do. Eight Trigrams...Sixty-Four Palms!"

"What's this?"

Guy frowned slightly.

"Two palms! Four palms! Eight palms!"

"Sixteen palms! Thirty-two palms!"

One palm after another struck the sand shield, but it was futile.

"This is the armor of sand—absolute defense!"

"Sixty-Four Palms!"

With a "poof," Neji was thrown back by a massive surge of sand, landing over ten meters away.

Gaara stood firm, his sand continuing to encase him like a living entity.

"Give up. Gaara's absolute defense is unbreakable," Kankuro said with pride.

Inuzuka sighed, feeling the weight of impending failure.

Tenten was also left speechless.

Neji charged in again.

"Is this really worth it?"

Gaara smirked and raised his hand.

A massive wave of sand swirled around, binding Neji tightly, constricting him further as Gaara's gaze turned icy.

The audience's hearts raced!

In a flash, a faint blue Chakra ignited around Neji, forming a small aperture that spun rapidly, generating a protective sphere of Chakra.

"Eight Trigrams: Revolving Heaven!"

The "zzizi" sound of sand disintegrating filled the air as it was obliterated by the Chakra, leaving no trace behind.

Neji landed gracefully, a smirk tugging at his lips: "This is my...absolute defense!"

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