31: Chapter 31: The Final Battle Begins, Sasuke's Late ArrivalThe sunlight on the day of the finals, carrying a hint of heat, scorched the bustling Konoha Arena.
The stands were packed, with countless eyes focused on the audience, and the air was thick with a mixture of tension and anticipation.
Ordinary villagers, visiting nobles, and ninjas from various ninja villages—their emotions were complex and immense, forming an invisible torrent that continuously flowed into Naruto's senses.
[Ding!You've received 8500 units of "anticipation" from the audience!]
[Ding!You've received 7300 units of tension from the audience!]
[Ding!You've received 6900 "Curiosity" items from the audience!]
Naruto stood in the shadows of the players' tunnel, oblivious to the noise around him.
His gaze pierced through the surging crowd and landed on the highest platform.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat in the center, his expression solemn.
Beside him, the man wearing a Kazekage hat and with the lower half of his face covered by a veil was emanating a familiar yet pleasant chakra fluctuation, a mixture of greed and amusement.
Orochimaru.
He did indeed come.
[Ding!You have received 2000 [Judgments] from Orochimaru!]
[Ding!You have received 2500 [Expectations] from Orochimaru!]
The chief examiner, Genma Shiranui, walked to the center of the field and announced the start of the final round.
"The first match!"
He shouted.
"Naruto Uzumaki, versus Neji Hyuga!"
boom!
The atmosphere in the entire venue was completely ignited at that moment.
"The worst student versus the genius?"
Is there any suspense left?
"It's hard to say.That Naruto Uzumaki one-punch in the preliminaries."
The discussions, a mixture of disdain and curiosity, once again transformed into a massive surge of emotional points.
In the stands, Hinata Hyuga gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, her pure white eyes filled with worry.
Kiba Inuzuka pouted unhappily, still unable to accept the fact that he had been instantly killed by this loser with a single punch.
Naruto Uzumaki stepped out of the shadows and into the blinding sunlight.
He didn't shout or make any unnecessary movements like he did during the qualifiers.
He simply wore that orange jacket and calmly walked step by step to the center of the field.
His pace was neither fast nor slow, but carried a strange rhythm, as if he were not going to participate in a life-or-death duel, but taking a stroll in his own courtyard.
There was no expression on that face.
There was neither excitement nor nervousness, nor the usual silly grin.
There was only a deep, undisturbed calm.
This calmness made the genius opposite him, who had already assumed a soft fist stance, feel a strange unease.
"you..."
Hyuga Neji activated his Byakugan, and veins bulged at the corners of his eyes.
He tried to find a flaw in Naruto, to uncover the bluff hidden beneath his calm exterior.
But he failed.Naruto's chakra flow was frighteningly smooth, without the slightest disturbance.
This isn't right.
Why is this bottom-ranked employee so calm?
[Ding!You have received 1500 [Confusion] from Hyuga Neji!]
"You don't seem afraid at all," Neji said coldly, trying to regain the initiative with words."It seems you haven't come to terms with reality.A person's fate is decided from the moment they are born."
He glanced towards the podium, his gaze pointed.
"Some people are born to be shadows.Some people are born to be geniuses.And some people."
His gaze returned to Naruto, revealing the arrogance that comes with genius.
"You were born to be the worst.No matter how much you struggle or try, you can't change the fate that's etched into your bones.That's the truth of the world, an inviolable rule."
He attempted to use this theory, which he firmly believed in, to completely crush the unstable factor in his mind.
However, Naruto Uzumaki simply listened quietly.
He didn't even bother to refute it.
He was just analyzing.
Analyzing the intense resentment towards the main family emanating from Neji, and the deep-rooted arrogance built upon his talent.
These two emotions form the foundation of Hyuga Neji's character.
It is also his most vulnerable weakness.
When Neji finally finished his long-winded theory of fate, he awaited Naruto's reaction, whether it be anger or despair.
Naruto simply uttered a few words.
"You talk too much nonsense."
He raised his azure eyes, which met a frozen lake.
"I will show you with facts what true 'destiny' really is."
[Ding!You have received 3000 units of ultimate [Rage] from Hyuga Neji!]
"The match begins!"
Genma Shiranui's arm suddenly swung down.
Hyuga Neji made a move.
His figure left an afterimage in place, and with a speed beyond the comprehension of ordinary genin, he instantly rushed in front of Naruto.
The Byakugan has already clearly seen all 361 pressure points on Naruto's body.
He was going to end this ridiculous match with just one move, and defend his dignity as a genius.
Gentle Fist, Pressure Points!
Chakra gathered at his fingertips, and he stabbed Naruto in the vital spot in the chest with perfect precision.
However, just as his fingertips were about to touch Naruto's clothes.
Buzz.
An invisible, absolute barrier appeared out of thin air.
Neji's attack stopped abruptly just one centimeter away from Naruto's body.
His fingers felt as if they were embedded in solidified amber; no matter how much chakra he channeled, he couldn't move them any further.The force of the rebound even made his finger bones sting.
What happened?
For the first time, Neji's face, which always carried absolute confidence, showed shock and bewilderment.
Barrier?
wrong!The Byakugan couldn't detect any barrier made of chakra!
Repulsive Ninjutsu?
No!He didn't feel any force pushing him away!
That was a much stranger and more illogical phenomenon.
His attack was abruptly "stopped".
[Ding!You have received 5000 units of ultimate [shock] from Hyuga Neji!]
"impossible!"
Neji roared, retreated, and then launched an attack from another angle at an even faster speed.
The result was exactly the same.
His fists, his palms, all his attacks were blocked just one centimeter away.
Naruto didn't move an inch from beginning to end.
He simply stood there calmly and activated the [No Limits Technique].
unlimited.
Any object that gets close to him will slow down and slow down, and will never be able to actually touch him.
Because there is an "infinite" distance between him and the object.
This is an interference with "space" itself.
It is a power unlike anything ever seen before in this world, a power akin to a dimensional reduction attack.
"hateful!"
Neji's anger was ignited.
He attributed this incomprehensible phenomenon to some kind of secret technique that he had never heard of before.
"Since one palm strike isn't enough, then I'll show you the true power of the Hyuga clan!"
"Bagua Palm - Reversal of Heaven!"
Neji did not attempt to attack again, but instead chose to defend and counterattack.
Chakra surged from all the pressure points in his body, and his body spun at high speed, forming an absolute defensive chakra sphere.
However, Naruto still didn't move.
He simply watched the spinning top silently, waiting for his chakra to run out.
A few seconds later, the rescue stopped.
Neji was panting heavily when he realized that Naruto had no intention of attacking at all.
This is a humiliation.
A silent, extreme humiliation.
"You bastard!"
Neji's reason was completely consumed by rage.
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
He exploded.
His hands transformed into countless afterimages, enveloping Naruto in a storm of palm strikes.
Two blows!
Four palms!
Eight palm strikes!
Sixteen palm strikes!
Thirty-two palm strikes!
Sixty-four palm strikes!
Each palm strike was precisely aimed at Naruto's pressure points, and each palm strike contained enough power to seal his chakra.
But each strike stopped just one centimeter away from that absolutely insurmountable obstacle.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
A dense, dull thud echoed through the air, but not a single blow actually landed.
The entire arena fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone stared in disbelief at this bizarre and extraordinary scene.
The boy known as the genius of Hyuga unleashed a series of fluid palm strikes into the air, while his opponent, the perennial underachiever, remained completely still throughout.
On the platform, the pipe of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, slipped from his lips.
Kakashi Hatake's single eye was filled with incomprehensible horror.
Even Orochimaru, disguised as the Kazekage, straightened his body for the first time, and his snake eyes beneath the veil erupted with the extreme fervor of a scientist discovering a new continent.
[Ding!You have received 25,000 points of ultimate [shock] from the entire audience!]
[Ding!You have received 12,000 units of the ultimate [Greed] from Orochimaru!]
"Huff.huff."
After unleashing sixty-four palm strikes, Hyuga Neji had exhausted most of his chakra.
He was holding his knees, breathing heavily, his long hair soaked with sweat.
His body was trembling, not from exhaustion, but from a fear rising from the depths of his heart that was enough to overturn his entire world.
His pride, his talent, his "fate" were crushed to pieces at this moment.
Just then, the boy who had been silent finally spoke.
"Did you see that?"
Naruto's voice was soft, yet it clearly echoed throughout the deathly silent arena.
"The power you're so proud of isn't even qualified to touch me."
He raised his hand and pointed to Neji, who was kneeling on the ground, exhausted.
"Your strength does not stem from your bloodline, nor from your so-called destiny.It comes only from your resentment towards the main family and your pathetic arrogance."
"Once you strip away all of that, you are nothing."
These words were more vicious than any Gentle Fist; they precisely shattered all the mental pillars that supported Hyuga Neji.
Just as Naruto was about to continue attacking Neji's mental defenses.
"The second match's contestant, Uchiha Sasuke, please arrive immediately!"
The entire audience's attention was instantly diverted.
However, the players' tunnel was completely empty.
Time passed by, second by second.
A commotion began to rise in the meeting room.
"What happened?Where's the Uchiha kid?"
"Could it be that he deserted his post?"
Genma Shiranui glanced at the podium, and after receiving a heavy and helpless nod from the Third Hokage, he took a deep breath and announced loudly.
"Uchiha Sasuke, the match time has arrived, but you have not yet arrived."
"According to the rules, I hereby declare that Uchiha Sasuke."
"Abstain!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire arena erupted in uproar.
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