There was no suspense in this battle from the very beginning, at least not for the Third Hokage and others.
As the leader who had always managed and directed Hinata's group with strong leadership and intellect, Hinata's wisdom and adaptability were undoubtedly the most brilliant they had ever seen. Such a person would naturally not allow herself to be in a precarious situation.
This battle was likely the last test for Hinata by the Third Hokage and others: her mastery over her own strength, the situation, and her enemies.
If Hinata's strength was inferior to Neji's, then even if she chose to forfeit, the Third Hokage and others would be satisfied with her choice, because it meant she would never fight a battle she knew she would lose. This was undoubtedly a very important quality for a leader.
And if her strength even surpassed Neji, the Hyuga prodigy, and she won the battle, it meant her power was equally outstanding, and she could accurately use it to defeat her opponents.
Of course, the most important thing was... how she would treat Neji.
Even if she and Neji were blood relatives, for a leader, blood ties should never influence judgment.
Neji, at this moment, had undoubtedly clearly expressed his opposition to her, with his killing intent and resentment undisguised. So, how should a leader handle such an 'enemy'?
Therefore, Neji, without realizing it, had become an important benchmark for measuring Hinata's character, and Hinata's handling and actions towards him were the final assessment by the Third Hokage and other Konoha higher-ups.
Indeed, facing Neji's provocation without anger or agitation, but calmly and rationally retaliating with words, earned her points for composure and demeanor.
Then, easily suppressing Neji in battle earned her points for strength. Next, not rushing to finish him off when she had the upper hand, but rather grandly and formally calling for his surrender, earned her points for morality and overwhelming advantage.
Finally, after the opponent refused to surrender, she decisively and ruthlessly issued a kill order, earning points for decisiveness and rationality.
It could be said that no one in Konoha's upper echelons cared about Neji's life or death now; they had already obtained the final answer they sought through this match.
On the field, Neji, who had launched another attack, had undoubtedly given up on testing Hinata's strength further. There was even a desperate ferocity in his attack as he tangled with Hinata again. Undeniably, even though he was consumed by anger and resentment at this moment, the Gentle Fist genius's battle instincts were not for show. He keenly grasped the weakness of Hinata's wide-open punching style and gritted his teeth, engaging Hinata in close-quarters skirmishing.
Originally, Hinata's Flame Killer Fist was indeed an overbearing style suitable for both long and close range. However, to increase the damage of her moves, her limb-strengthening actions were extremely obvious. Although she had long-range attacks like Dark Thrust, Neji also possessed the Byakugan, which could see the flow of chakra in the human body. Upon detecting abnormal chakra accumulation in Hinata's hands, he could immediately determine Hinata's attack intention and quickly take evasive action.
And moves like Wild Fang and Tiger Roar were also wide-open, powerful, and dazzling techniques. The power was certainly sufficient, but like a long-handled weapon, they required enough space to exert powerful destructive force. If a short-weapon-wielding enemy engaged in close quarters, it would undoubtedly become extremely passive.
Neji indeed seized this opening. The Byakugan user was not greedy, but cautiously moved within Hinata's close range, relying on his Byakugan and battle instincts to judge Hinata's attack trajectory. Although Hinata's power and speed already surpassed his, her moves had too many openings, making it difficult to defeat Neji immediately. Several consecutive Dark Thrusts were also dodged by Neji.
"...As expected of the Hyuga clan's genius. This is his first encounter with Hinata, and he's already figured out Hinata's attack style."
Sasuke on the stands was slightly surprised. It took him several beatings from Hinata to discover the weaknesses in her attacks, but Neji managed to find them on his first encounter, indicating that his close-quarters combat instincts were indeed superior.
"Damn it~! That slippery brat! Is he going to fight or not? All he does is dodge, it's so annoying!"
Naruto appeared extremely frustrated. For him, nothing was more annoying than such high-evasion opponents. If it were him, he probably would have summoned a field full of Shadow Clones to swarm the opponent by now. But Hinata's strength wasn't in Shadow Clones, so she certainly couldn't be like Naruto.
Interesting~ It seems the title of Gentle Fist genius isn't for show.
After another Wild Bite punch narrowly missed Neji's cheek, Hinata couldn't help but nod slightly. Not bad, it seemed these rookies were indeed worthy of being the protagonists from the original story; they couldn't be underestimated.
However, it was almost time to end this farce.
"Enough!"
With a Demon Burn spin and jump, Hinata's arms formed two elegant spiral rings of fire. Caught off guard by this close-range AOE, Neji quickly ducked to evade, but a searing pain shot through his shoulder, and a wisp of smoke rose from his otherwise neat clothes.
"Take this!! Flame Killing Fist Secret Art! Great Serpent Scythe!"
Taking advantage of the opening created by Neji being forced back, a cunning curve appeared at the corner of Hinata's mouth. The Byakugan girl suddenly raised her right hand high, and powerful chakra overflowed from her aura, causing everyone in the surrounding arena to instinctively tense up. The illusion of being burned by flames made them realize that the enraged Byakugan girl was preparing to unleash her ultimate technique.
"No way!!"
However, Neji, gritting his teeth, did not give up. Instead, he charged directly at Hinata, not dodging, and frantically condensed chakra into his arms. To the surprised gazes of the crowd, the Byakugan user's index fingers, just before Great Serpent Scythe could be released, landed on Hinata's left shoulder and right ribs, interrupting Great Serpent Scythe!
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!!"
At this moment, Neji, having launched his attack, finally revealed his true trump card. Yes, it was the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, which in the original story was generally only learnable by the Hyuga Main Branch.
A trace of confidence returned to the Byakugan user's eyes, and his arms moved with a blur of afterimages, as storm-like pressure point attacks rained down on Hinata, who seemed to show astonishment.
This unexpected turn caused the Konoha jounin in the center of the stands to change their expressions. They, of course, understood the status of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms within the Hyuga Gentle Fist. It was a true secret art, one that even ordinary Hyuga jounin might not be able to perform, as it truly tested the Gentle Fist user's talent; even a slight deficiency could make it impossible to master.
However, this was understandable. After all, it required individually striking sixty-four pressure points on the opponent, and also discerning the order of strikes based on real combat situations. For someone with slightly poor math skills, even remembering so many pressure points might be a problem.
"Phew... What a shame..."
Kakashi on the stands shook his head regrettably. However, contrary to his words, the silver-haired jounin instead pulled up his forehead protector, then opened his left Sharingan, observing the two in the arena with a serious and meticulous gaze.
"He succeeded! Neji's Secret Art hit! Now, the winner can be decided!"
As Neji's teammate, Lee naturally spoke excitedly, but the usually boisterous Guy, uncharacteristically, spoke softly with a cautious look: "No... Neji's attack... something's wrong..."
"Tch~ So this was his trump card, huh?"
Shikamaru, on the other side, shook his head somewhat dejectedly: "What an unlucky guy..."
In the center of the arena, Hayate Gekko, the proctor, hesitated. In his opinion, Hinata had undoubtedly taken the full force of Neji's Eight Trigrams Palms. Logically, anyone hit by this technique would be unable to use their chakra for a period of time. So... should he announce the battle result now? After all, ensuring Hinata was unharmed was his primary concern.
"Hmph... This is what happens to arrogant people like you! In the end, you're nothing but useless trash who only talks big!"
Landing the final blow on Hinata's chest, Neji slowly spoke through gritted teeth. For him, the outcome of this battle had truly pushed him to his limits, even allowing for an extraordinary performance. But to achieve this result, Neji believed it was all worth it.
However...
"Is that so? What happens to me?"
Hinata's mocking and malicious voice, like a thunderclap, instantly made Neji feel his body go numb. Looking up incredulously at Hinata's still composed expression, Neji's voice even became fragmented: "Th-This... How is this possible..."
"You've already learned Pressure Point Striking and Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, Neji. It seems you've copied the Gentle Fist scrolls very well~
But, unfortunately, I am precisely different from you! You copied the Gentle Fist scrolls! But I!!"
Gripping Neji's right wrist with a snap, Hinata's voice took on an utterly vicious intensity: "I integrate the knowledge and key points of the Gentle Fist!! Firmly into my own system! Making it even stronger! In front of an innovator like me!! Do you, a copy cat traditionalist, still hope to achieve victory?"
As the Byakugan girl's shout echoed, her right elbow suddenly dropped, slamming into the Byakugan user's chest like a battering ram. Neji, whose right arm was held, couldn't avoid this blow at all. As his body bent painfully from the impact, his neck was suddenly seized by Hinata's right hand, and he was lifted entirely, like a rag doll, by the Koto Tsuki In technique, then sent flying backward with a resounding explosion!!
"Neji's pressure point strike... didn't seal her chakra at all... No, rather, she used some method to resist Neji's pressure point attack..."
Watching Neji get sent flying, Guy on the stands slowly spoke. Clearly, even for him, this fact was too astonishing; it was the first time he had seen the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms fail.
"Distributing chakra evenly beneath the entire skin, covering and protecting all meridians and pressure points like a soft armor... This method is extremely difficult for ordinary ninjas to achieve.
However, Hinata herself is a member of the Hyuga clan. This technique, in Gentle Fist, should be extremely similar in principle to the 'Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven.'
It's just that Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven expels this chakra covering the body all at once, while Hinata's method is to passively cover her entire body with this layer of chakra, functioning like a permanent armor.
Furthermore, the chakra covering her entire body also makes her variations and attacks much faster and more agile.
And for Neji's gentle fist strike, this layer of chakra armor is an impenetrable wall. Therefore, it's not surprising that his Gentle Fist attacks would fail."
Analyzing the chakra form around Hinata with his Sharingan, Kakashi's tone became solemn: "Undoubtedly, Hinata's words were completely correct. Neji passively copied the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist, but Hinata dismantled the essence and key points of the Gentle Fist one by one, then combined them with her own taijutsu to form this offensive and defensive personal technique!"
"That's right... the only thing this chakra armor requires is extremely high chakra control... so, that child had to undergo that special training with Shikamaru..."
Asuma, who had also clearly perceived the chakra distribution on Hinata's body, nodded slightly. So that was it. Before the Chunin Exams, Hinata had gathered everyone for a collective special training. Her training required Shikamaru to use his Shadow Imitation Jutsu to restrict her limb movements, forcing her to train by only moving her internal chakra.
Now that he thought about it, this special training, specifically designed to exercise internal chakra circulation, was probably the fundamental reason she could perform this internal Revolving Heaven. This technique not only allowed her to mobilize chakra more swiftly to react, but its greatest characteristic was that she could effectively nullify chakra attacks with insufficient single-strike power!
And the gentle fist technique was precisely a method of striking an enemy's pressure points with swift and precise movements in close-quarters combat. Because it demanded speed and precision, its force undoubtedly couldn't be very strong, even with the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
It felt as though the gentle fist's damage was 9, relying on accumulated damage over multiple strikes and the special effect of restricting the enemy's chakra activity.
However, Hinata's internal Revolving Heaven had a passive effect that was: Ignoring all attack damage below 15 and their associated negative effects, while also increasing overall speed by 20%, with the value increasing based on her level.
Naturally, Neji's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms was, to Hinata, like being lightly sprinkled with rain. Not a single trace of Neji's chakra penetrated her pressure points.
Moreover, Hinata was definitely not the only one with such a defensive method. Gaara's Sand Armor and Kidomaru's Sticky Gold Armor were also examples of covering the body's surface with armor to defend against smaller but more frequent damage.
"Now! It's my turn!!"
Watching Neji barely stand up after being thrown, Hinata at the original spot also smiled slightly. The Byakugan girl's body once again assumed a unique attacking stance. Unlike the single hand raised high for Orochi Nagi, this time the Byakugan girl's hands were both raised high above her head, and an incredibly terrifying, bloody aura erupted from her stance!!
"Nanto Seiken Ultimate Technique"
"Yamata-no-Orochi"
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(Eight-Fold Serpent Maiden)!