Sasuke's hand seal speed was astonishing.
So fast, in fact, that even some Jōnin felt embarrassed after all, their own seal formation speed couldn't come close to matching Sasuke's.
"Fire Release!"
"Fire Dragon Flame Bomb!"
Boom!
The moment Sasuke completed his hand seals, he took a deep breath and exhaled a violent torrent of flames in an instant.
As the blazing firestorm erupted, the arena was illuminated in fiery light.
In a flash, the flames coalesced into the shape of a dragon, its jaws wide open, lunging fiercely toward Neji.
The searing waves of fire surged outward, spreading uncontrollably in all directions.
The resulting heat wave from the scorching air radiated across the arena.
The ninja in the audience could feel the wave of heat brushing against their skin, leaving a faint sensation as if they'd been singed.
"What an incredible Fire Release!"
"At his age, to perform a Fire Release of this level how is that even possible?!"
"Even a Jōnin-level fire-style ninja might struggle to wield Fire Release at this caliber!"
"And he's only a Genin a twelve-year-old kid at that!"
"Terrifying... an absolutely terrifying talent!"
As the flames roared toward him, Neji stood in their path, staring at the oncoming inferno.
For a brief moment, he was reminded of the last time his teacher, Might Guy, had clashed with Sasuke.
Back then, Neji had witnessed Sasuke's frightening skill with ninjutsu, but now, experiencing it firsthand, he truly understood the overwhelming sense of dread.
Not only that, but Sasuke's Fire Release had grown significantly more potent since that last encounter.
'This guy's rate of improvement is way too fast!'
'But... I'm not the same person I was back then, either!'
Sasuke's Fire Release was too swift, leaving Neji with little time to dodge.
Moreover, the fire technique had engulfed nearly a third of the arena, making evasion nearly impossible.
Neji gritted his teeth and made a decisive move.
"Rotation!"
Neji's body began to spin rapidly, releasing a massive amount of chakra to create a protective barrier that deflected the oncoming flames.
The collision between the roaring fire and the high-speed chakra rotation unleashed a deafening roar.
When Sasuke finally ceased his attack, nearly a third of the arena had been scorched, reduced to charred ground.
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Sasuke with visible astonishment.
"This Fire Release technique... its hand seals are somewhat similar to the Fire Dragon Flame Technique," he thought.
"But that's only a C-rank Fire Release jutsu, and yet this boy managed to unleash power rivaling an A-rank technique!""Such incredible talent in Fire Release..."
Hiruzen was stunned, but he was unaware that if Sasuke had unleashed the technique at full strength, it could have covered the entire arena. The resulting explosion and force of the flames would have been far stronger, leaving Neji with no chance of defending himself.
Sasuke had held back this was merely a warm-up to get into the rhythm of the fight.
Amid the fading flames, Neji's figure slowly came into view.
He stood in place, panting heavily, beads of sweat covering his forehead. Neji had barely managed to repel Sasuke's Fire Release by using his strongest Rotation technique to its fullest extent.
"Damn it... Is the gap really this big?"
Before the fight began, Neji had believed he had caught up to Sasuke.
But he had overlooked one crucial point while Neji was improving, Sasuke was also advancing, and at a much faster pace.
"I need to end this quickly. I can't let him have too much time to attack."
"If he keeps launching ninjutsu of this caliber, I may not be able to block them all."
Neji glanced briefly at Hiashi Hyuga seated in the audience.
Hiashi's recent guidance on Gentle Fist techniques and advanced Hyuga clan techniques like Rotation had significantly enhanced Neji's strength.
Neji had thought that would be enough to secure a victory against Sasuke.
But now, it was clear that defeating Sasuke even with Hyuga clan's secret techniques was far more challenging than he had anticipated.
Still, despite the odds, Neji refused to give up.
The Byakugan locked onto Sasuke in an instant.
The next moment, Neji struck a peculiar stance.
"You've been within my Eight Trigrams Domain this entire time!"
"Whether I can defeat you or not all depends on whether you can withstand this move."
Neji thought silently to himself, his gaze unwavering.
Observing Neji's stance, Hiashi Hyuga sighed deeply.
Using the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms at this moment wasn't the wisest choice.
The technique's effectiveness depended on being able to strike the enemy. If the opponent refused to give any openings, executing it would be exceedingly difficult.
But now, Neji was determined to force it.
At that instant, Sasuke also sensed Neji locking onto him.
"Trying to make one last desperate attempt, huh?" Sasuke smirked slightly.
Boom!
Neji suddenly accelerated, his burst of speed far exceeding anything he had shown before.
When the Eight Trigrams Domain was activated, it was less a domain and more the pinnacle expression of the Byakugan's capabilities.
The Byakugan's enhanced perception allowed Neji to exert perfect control over his chakra, channeling it to his body's various tenketsu.
This precise control unleashed a surge of chakra from his body, enabling Neji to move faster, strike harder, and act with unparalleled precision.
In that fleeting moment, Neji's speed increased so dramatically that it seemed as if an afterimage of him remained at his original position.
"He's so fast!"
Naruto was stunned, unable to follow Neji's movements.
All he could see was that, in the blink of an eye, Neji had closed the distance and was already right in front of Sasuke.
At that instant, Neji's hands shot out with force, aiming straight at Sasuke.
With the Gentle Fist technique, even a single strike could seal an opponent's chakra points. If Sasuke was hit, his chakra flow would be disrupted, drastically reducing his combat abilities.
"Sasuke, be caref"
Before Sakura could finish her sentence, a streak of lightning erupted from beneath Sasuke, spiraling around his body and climbing upward.
Electric currents, like serpents, flowed rapidly along Sasuke's figure.
In that instant, Sasuke retreated, narrowly evading Neji's strike.
"Two strikes!"
"Missed?"
"He missed! This isn't good!"
"He managed to dodge an attack even within the Eight Trigrams field!"
"What was with that sudden burst of lightning?"
Members of the Hyuga clan widened their eyes in shock, watching Sasuke's astonishing speed in disbelief.
He had dodged the first two strikes, but it didn't guarantee he could avoid the rest.
"Four strikes!"
Neji launched four more strikes in quick succession.
Once again, a surge of lightning coursed through Sasuke's body, this time concentrating around his legs, pushing his speed to an even greater level.
Effortlessly weaving through the rapid strikes, Sasuke dodged all four blows in an instant.
"So, it's a contest of speed now?" Neji growled, focusing intensely as he took a powerful step forward. "Let's see if you can keep dodging faster than I can strike!"
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