C12 The Strong! the Fear of Death!

"Boom!"

A thunderous explosion sent the bonfire beside him hurtling through the air!

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

It smashed through three trees, hurtling more than ten meters!

Long and Meng Duo were startled; the guy's sudden palm strike had such a powerful effect!

"Ah... the power is decent, but the range is somewhat limited."

Neji examined the flow of his Chakra. The Vacuum Palm didn't require much Chakra, but it depleted rapidly. It was a high-explosive body technique powered by Chakra.

Yet, that was all it was. The high rate of consumption didn't translate to equally high damage; air resistance sapped much of the force.

The quicker the burst of Chakra, the longer the resulting pause.

"Using this as a diversion seems impractical."

As Neji murmured to himself, he swiftly closed in on another target.

"Meng Duo!"

The man reacted, retreating just in time, his movements as lifeless as a zombie's.

"Water Release..."

With a "Puff," Meng Duo's hand, poised to form seals, was slapped down by Neji, followed by several more strikes.

Meng Duo's body shuddered, and he stumbled back several steps.

Standing next to the astonished Long, Neji flexed his wrist and murmured with a frown, "If I were to try and kill you right now, it wouldn't be easy for me."

"Damn it!"

Long clenched his teeth and demanded, "You little punk, are you using us as your guinea pigs?"

Neji cocked his head, his gaze laden with lethal intent.

"Ah..."

Long stepped back, fear taking root in his heart.

The strong, the one rumored to be weak, now exuded the aura of a true powerhouse with his Chakra!

"Illusion Technique - Long Clone Jutsu!"

Suddenly, the area was filled with over a dozen indistinguishable clones of Long!

"An illusion?"

Neji retreated, checking his Chakra flow, which remained swift and untroubled.

"Heh, save your effort. My illusion isn't just any trick; it doesn't target you directly but creates visual disarray with light and shadow. That's why it's flawless!"

"Ha!"

At the sound, Neji instinctively dodged, but the punch, seemingly from Long's clone in front, came at him from the side!

Neji tumbled to the right, struggling to regain his footing when Long's clone launched another assault.

This time, however, the attack came from behind.

Neji hit the ground, a cloud of dust billowing up.

"Swoosh!"

With a desperate flip, Neji narrowly evaded the strike, more by luck than skill. Yet, the kunai grazed his arm, drawing blood that quickly began to flow.

"Haha, looks like you're all bark and no bite. How does it feel, this fear of being shrouded by death?" Long taunted with a light chuckle. Neji's ears twitched, his brow furrowing slightly.

A visual clone?

Neji shut his eyes, tuning into his senses.

Again and again, countless times in the sealed training room, he had closed his eyes to sense the incoming kunai, dodging by pure bodily instinct...

"Swoosh!" Sensing the kunai from behind, Neji leaped to the left.

Footsteps followed!

"Drip."

The sound of water droplets was crystal clear. With his eyes closed, Neji honed in on the sounds veiled in darkness.

His movements were lightning-fast, his genuine body techniques leaving no room for disguise. He dodged every attack with precision!

And at the perfect moment, he struck with a punch and a kick, taking down Long's two concealed teammates.

Having targeted their chakra points, they were now on the ground, unconscious.

"Impossible! You..." Long's eyes bulged in disbelief. Neji, with his eyes closed, moved with a grace that surpassed even the use of his Byakugan.

Neji chuckled, "A visual illusion, you say? Then keeping my eyes open would just cloud my judgment, wouldn't it? Don't assume that a shinobi of the Hyuga Clan can only fight with the Byakugan!"

Neji charged towards Long.

"I've got a technique I've been itching to test out on someone!"

With a sly grin, Neji waited for the right moment and then snapped his eyes open!

"Two Palms!"

He struck Long's left and right shoulders in rapid succession, effectively rendering her immobile.

"What's this? My body's numb?" Long's brows knitted together, unable to move a muscle.

"Four Palms!"

"Eight Palms!"

Neji continued with a flurry of palm strikes to the abdomen. As he prepared to shift his stance, Long crumpled to the ground, completely incapacitated.

"Neji!"

"What's happening?"

The illusionist was down, breaking the illusion and waking up Tenten and Lee.

Neji sighed, resigned to abandon his plan and went to rescue them.

...

"Perfect, these scrolls are exactly what we needed!" Tenten said, smiling as she held up two scrolls.

Lee remarked, "Neji has really gotten strong lately. To think he could take down three people on his own!"

Neji chuckled sheepishly, "Not at all! They were just skilled in illusions and clueless about body techniques. They underestimated me and challenged me to a physical fight..."

Tenten added, "Though, if word gets out that Neji took out all three by himself, they'd be utterly humiliated!"

Neji agreed, "Yeah."

After regrouping and replenishing their energy, they plotted their next move.

With the scrolls in hand, they aimed to reach the central point quickly to pass the exam.

"Kiba and his team have probably passed by now. We need to pick up the pace!"

Neji proposed, "We'll split up. I'll trail behind you, using my Byakugan to keep watch and provide support whenever needed!"

Lee expressed his disbelief, "Really, Neji? Are you being cautious?"

But Tenten defended him, "Oh, come on, Neji's been working hard. Don't be hard on him. Let's let Neji stay back while we move ahead with the scrolls!"

Neji just smiled, offering no explanation.

Lee and Tenten set off first, with Neji following at a distance of about 100 meters.

As they neared the center, they also got closer to the Forest of Death, and Neji wouldn't miss this chance.

He veered right, dashing off in a new direction, activating his Byakugan to diligently search for any signs.

His primary goal in entering the Forest of Death was clear: to find "that person."

The "strong one."

...

"Orochimaru! You won't get away!"

Karui clutched her stomach, watching as the Anbu reinforcements clashed with Orochimaru.

"Are you okay?" asked the muscular Anbu member at her side.

Hong Dou snapped back, "Okay? You're all too slow!"

With a hiss, an Anbu mask clattered to the ground, revealing Yakushi Kabuto's long purple hair and strikingly beautiful face.

Orochimaru let out a cold snort, followed by a mocking chuckle, and with a swift kick, sent him flying. When another Anbu attacked from behind, Orochimaru effortlessly spun around, extended a serpentine hand, and delivered a vicious bite to the assailant's neck.

Then, with a few bounds, Orochimaru landed atop the thickest branch of the towering tree.

"Is this the best that Konoha's Anbu and Jounin have to offer?" Orochimaru taunted, advancing step by step, driving the three Anbu and Hong Dou into a relentless retreat.

They were cornered by the terror of death, teetering on the brink of despair.

"The true power of a formidable opponent," Neji observed, his eyes ablaze with an intense yearning.

After a brief pause, he deftly picked up the Anbu mask that Kabuto had dropped and placed it on his own head.

"I've finally found my target," Neji whispered, the corners of his mouth turning up in anticipation.