Bang! Bang! Bang!
Neiki's black sword cut through wave after wave of incoming kunai.
Flames swept in from the side—Neiki raised his blade, and with a swift arc, his Water Sword Technique parted the fire cleanly.
The water blades surrounding the sword sizzled into steam, rising in a white haze—
Swish—
A kunai shot from behind him, an explosive tag attached.The moment Neiki sensed it, the tag was already about to detonate.
Normally, he would have used the Flying Thunder God Technique—
—but as he swept his gaze around, every marked location within sight was already being guarded by Konoha shinobi, poised to strike the moment he reappeared. And he suspected more were waiting out of view.
Escaping with Flying Thunder God would be dangerous.
After prolonged battle, it was clear:
Konoha had finally figured out how to counter the Flying Thunder God Technique—using sheer numbers to cover every seal Neiki could teleport to.
Neiki exhaled lightly.
The Flying Thunder God was convenient—yes.Invincible? Not even close.
Not when the enemy outnumbered him dozens to one.
But fortunately—
It wasn't his only skill.
With a sudden thrust, his black sword pierced through the rain. A Konoha shinobi rushing toward him froze mid-step—he couldn't react in time and was about to be impaled—
CRACK!
Tsunade appeared like a hammer.Her fist smashed the sword aside.
For the first time in this clash—
Neiki was forced onto the defensive.
Losing his weapon didn't faze him. He turned smoothly toward the incoming explosion, spread his palms outward, and chakra surged violently around his body—
On the ship offshore, Neji's hands clenched.
Neiki whispered the name of the technique:
"Eight Trigrams Palms: Revolving Heaven."
A sphere of spinning chakra erupted outward.
The flames vanished.Kunai bounced off with metallic clangs.The mist blew apart, revealing Neiki untouched inside the rotating dome.
Konoha's coordinated assault had been shredded once again.
"What happened?" Miyamoto Yoru rasped weakly from the ship's cabin.
Neji exhaled, something bitter twisting in his chest.
Even now—Even with everything Neiki had done—the Hyuga clan's techniques still shielded him.
Forcing a smile, he said:
"Nothing. Take your medicine and rest."
Miyamoto nodded and lay back, blanket pulled to his chin. Before sleep claimed him, he whispered:
"…Will Konoha win?"
Neji met his gaze.
Miyamoto wasn't asking about Neiki alone—but the war.The village.The future.
Neji nodded firmly.
"We'll win."
"That's good…" Miyamoto murmured, drifting peacefully into sleep.
Neji watched him, shaking his head slightly.
When he thought back to the forest—to the moment he nearly killed Miyamoto to defect and chase after Neiki—he felt cold.
Back then, when Konoha's hatred closed in on him from every direction, he had clung desperately to Tsunade's smallest sign of goodwill.
He thought he had gained her trust.
But when Neiki appeared, Miyamoto—acting on Tsunade's strict orders—had immediately sealed him.
So much for goodwill.Even Tsunade still doubted him.
The realization had shaken Neji to the core.
How close he had come to defecting…over such a foolish reason.
Yet now, looking at Miyamoto sleeping soundly—the very man who had sacrificed his legs and ninja future to protect him—
Neji saw clarity.
Miyamoto had no hatred toward him.No prejudice.He saw Neji as Neji, not as "Neiki's brother."
In that brutal fight, when Neji hesitated over killing the wounded enemy, Miyamoto had simply given him a thumbs-up and said:
"Great job, Neji!"
That simple praise had struck deeper than any lecture.
It shattered the darkness pulling him away.
Yes, the village still ostracized him.Yes, he still suffered.But Miyamoto's trust had become a lifeline.
"Brother…" Neji whispered as lightning flashed across the distant battlefield."I'll capture you myself—and get every answer."
Back on the battlefield, the truth was clear:
They would not capture Neiki in ten minutes.
But until the moment time ran out, every Konoha shinobi fought with everything they had.
The fighting grew fiercer.More jutsu.More explosions.More bodies falling.
When Neiki's Revolving Heaven dissipated, a flurry of weapons and elemental attacks converged on him.
He didn't teleport to any marked seal—
Instead, he vanished and reappeared atop the black sword he had hurled earlier, breaking through their encirclement.
A nearby medical kunoichi looked up—
—and froze.
Neiki stood above her, balanced on the embedded sword.
His shadow fell over her face.
She panicked, stabbing upward with a kunai.
Neiki caught her wrist easily, twisted lightly—
"Aaagh!"
She dropped the kunai instantly, collapsing to her knees.
Neiki stared at her, genuinely puzzled.
"…How did you get into the medical corps?"
"LET HER GO!!" Tsunade roared.
Neiki didn't even look at her.
The girl couldn't speak—only whimper.
Neiki shook his head in disappointment, then drove his knee upward, knocking the air from her lungs, and flung her bodily into the approaching group of Konoha shinobi.
Tsunade reached her in seconds, checked her pulse—
She was only unconscious.
Relief flickered in Tsunade's eyes before she led the next charge.
The battle continued—
Until the long, low horn sounded from the shoreline.
The Konoha ship.
Ten minutes were up.
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