Naruto struck an identical Gentle Fist stance.
"Now, let me show you—my Gentle Fist!"
"Your Gentle Fist?" Neji sounded as if he'd heard the biggest joke in the world. What did this blonde kid just say? Too simple? I learned it? Listen to that, just listen… Is Gentle Fist something you can learn so simply? If it were that easy, such a powerful taijutsu would be known by everyone in the ninja world. It was utterly preposterous!
"You think striking the same starting pose means you've learned Gentle Fist?"
A taijutsu blank, dreaming of learning Gentle Fist just by exchanging a few blows with him? Neji was utterly disdainful, even thinking Naruto had lost his mind.
"Hey," he called out, suggesting with pity, "you should just surrender. Because my next attacks won't be like child's play."
"That kindhearted?"
Naruto stared at him, finding his expression didn't seem feigned. Seeing this, Naruto chuckled, "Looks like you're not as bad as I thought."
Since that was the case, he'd go a little easier.
"Then don't blame me for not holding back."
Neji raised a palm and fiercely charged forward. This palm strike was heavy!
But—
Clap~
His full-powered palm strike was effortlessly deflected by Naruto. The defensive posture, and the chakra overflowing from Naruto's palm, felt strangely familiar to Neji. This is my Gentle Fist? Is this still the taijutsu-blank kid from before? No… impossible!
Again!
Clap clap clap~~~
Next, the blonde kid used nothing but Gentle Fist techniques, forms, and palm strikes, identical to his own. This guy, did he really learn Gentle Fist so easily?
"Impossible..." he mumbled, then suddenly realized. Wait, this isn't Gentle Fist. He doesn't have the Byakugan. It's just a taijutsu similar to Gentle Fist! It must be.
Byakugan? Naruto indicated: Not needed.
His terrifying 432 points in Chakra Control brought more than just control; it brought incredible chakra perception. When controlling ninjutsu, he could control it down to the molecular level. When perceiving, it was the same. No Byakugan needed; every chakra flow within Neji's body was perfectly clear in his perception!
Do you understand what a stats monster is?
Clap~
He dispersed Neji's attack again.
[You have used Gentle Fist once. Given your Jutsu Comprehension of 452, Gentle Fist +1152]
A critical hit.
"Take this palm!"
Seeing this, Naruto no longer had the patience to play with Neji. He swiftly delivered a palm strike to Neji's abdomen, sending him flying.
"Cough, cough." Bent over, Neji spat out a mouthful of blood.
He glanced at his skills.
[Gentle Fist: 10000/10000 (Perfect)]
At this point, he had mastered all the profound secrets of Gentle Fist.
Thank you, great Hyuga Neji.
"Impossible, it's just a coincidence." Neji coughed twice, his eyes filled with disbelief. At first, he'd seen Naruto's taijutsu; although the moves looked similar, they were chaotic, not targeting his tenketsu and chakra pathways. But that last strike, it actually hit his abdominal tenketsu, instantly leaving him powerless.
A dead last, a taijutsu blank, actually learned Gentle Fist?
A coincidence, it must be a coincidence!
"Impossible? I find you seem to really like that word."
Naruto glanced at him, scoffing, "But do you think this is luck? Luck, that thing, is a humble word for the strong, and an excuse for the weak. Which one do you think I am?"
"Luck? Heh… cough, cough!" It seemed the gasp pulled at his internal injuries, and Neji coughed violently twice before finally catching his breath. "I have a move I've never used before. Let me see if you, the dead last, are strong or weak?"
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" He suddenly gathered his last strength and charged at Naruto with incredible speed.
"You call that the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms? Well, I have a move too: Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!"
Huh?
In Neji's shocked gaze, Naruto's speed was even faster. In an instant, he was in front of Neji. Their muscles, nerve reflexes, and everything else were not on the same level at all.
One palm strike broke Neji's offense. With a powerful downward push to Neji's chin, Neji was suspended in mid-air, losing his ability to counterattack. Then:
Two palms, four palms, eight palms, sixteen palms, one hundred twenty-eight palms.
Done and done.
Thud~
Neji was finally freed from the torrential assault, falling to the ground like a rag doll. Having been struck in one hundred twenty-eight major tenketsu, even with Naruto holding back, he had lost his will to fight.
"This, this..." Lying on the ground, he painfully closed his eyes.
This one strike had utterly shattered his pride. Neji couldn't believe it was true; what this dead last said was actually true. He really did learn Gentle Fist, and could precisely locate tenketsu and chakra pathways. And he even knew the legendary One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms.
His Gentle Fist, which he had practiced assiduously for 11 years, was utterly useless before him!
"Cough, cough... Without the Byakugan, how did you see it?" Despite his unwillingness, Neji still raised his head and stubbornly asked.
"See?" Naruto scoffed. Why go to such trouble? "It's true that your eyes can see chakra flow, but I can clearly sense such things with my eyes closed."
"Cough, cough, cough~" Hearing this, Neji coughed even harder.
With eyes closed, relying entirely on chakra perception? Is this still... that dead last? Can fate, which has been decided since birth, also be changed? But then, why did Father die? Why have I put in all these years of effort? No, I don't believe it!
A pill of Xiaoyao Wan entered his stomach, and Neji, with renewed strength, forced himself to stand again.
"Hey, you—"
The referee was about to interrupt this cheating behavior but was cut off by Naruto.
"Don't disturb him. I like tenacious opponents."
"I don't believe it. People are born unequal; there is a pre-arranged destiny." Neji said this, emphasizing and simultaneously trying to convince himself. "Otherwise, what meaning does Father's death have? Only death brings equality to everyone."
He stared blankly at Naruto. "You're a dead last, just a dead last! Why can you defeat me, a genius!?"
"Dead last?" Naruto grinned brightly. This Neji, he didn't know what he had gone through, or if today's defeat was too hard to accept, but he was truly acting like a fanatic.
"Since that's the case, I'll show you something interesting."
Boom~
Releasing the chakra that had been self-sealed within his body, a terrifying wave of chakra rapidly surged through Naruto. Outwardly, there was no difference, but Neji, with his Byakugan, could clearly see this terrifying chakra within Naruto's body.
"This..." Neji was inexplicably horrified. This... this chakra was truly too terrifying. It was the first time he had seen such a vast amount of chakra. If a Genin's chakra was a drop of water, and a Jonin's was a small bowl of water, this guy's chakra was a bathtub.
And this is a dead last? Human destiny? Father?
"I don't believe it, I don't believe it!!!" Neji charged at Naruto like a madman!
"Are you coming? Then I'll show you something even more interesting." Seeing his reaction, Naruto decided to brutally MUA-wake him up! With that, he formed his hand into a palm and suddenly pushed forward. Surging chakra erupted, transforming into an invisible giant palm that shot out from his hand.
Whoosh~
As Naruto unleashed his move, Neji felt a fierce gale rushing towards him. The violent storm made it impossible for him to move, he couldn't even open his eyes! Then, a strong whistling sound swept past his ears, and the gale instantly disappeared.
Boom~
A massive crash came from behind, as if a building had collapsed. Turning around, it wasn't a collapsed building, but a giant handprint that abruptly appeared on the thick wall of the hall, leading straight outside. Inside the dim hall, sunlight now streamed in from outside.
Was this caused by the gale just now?
"I call this the Buddha's Palm!" Naruto's calm voice drifted over.
Turning his head again, Neji found Naruto had already walked beside him. He snapped back to reality; this one seemed to be the true instigator.
"You... you... this... this..."
This was Gentle Fist? Was this still the Gentle Fist he had known and practiced for 11 years?
"What? You wanna learn? I'll teach you!"