Six Eyes had more terrors than Kaede had even tested. For now, new powers could wait—his attention was on the Chunin Exam… and on Akatsuki and Danzo.
Neji's gaze had turned gloomy—off, somehow. It felt like he'd become someone else. Same face, different soul. He opened the White Eye; veins spread around his eyes. His pupils went pale and empty, and the world drained to black and white. Colorless sight, yet sharper than ever—sharp enough to fix on an "enemy."
"Neji's not right," Ino shouted back to Shikamaru as she hunted for whoever was controlling him.
Before her voice even faded, Neji lunged at Shino. On a normal day he would have led with Eight Trigrams Palms, but this time he vaulted and hurled a kunai at Shino—then a rain of blades followed. Shino wove a danger-sense web through ultrasonic pulses between his insects and slipped past the barrage.
Neji flickered behind him and chopped down with a palm. Too late to dodge—Shino shattered into a swarm, revealing an insect clone. A rolling black cloud scattered and vanished without a trace.
Neji stood, head tilted, the White Eye's full circle probing the arena. His sight threaded through heaped and broken earth—layer by layer—searching for Shino's true body. Whoever controlled him had locked his target; his eyes saw no one else. He didn't speak—only pressed the attack. The silence made it eerie.
Ino suddenly halted, eyes widening past Shikamaru's shoulder. Neji, who had been fighting Shino a heartbeat ago, now stood behind Shikamaru.
And in those hollow eyes, something changed—too faint for ordinary people or even skilled jōnin to notice in this moment. Kaede, through Six Eyes, saw it clearly: within Neji's gaze, a faint spiral of the Samsara Eye—threaded with the barest blue glow. It felt like a stronger sight power had seized his body.
Neji's own will was gone.
Ino finally realized this wasn't her clan's Mind Body Switch. It felt like another soul was occupying him.
At this point in history, only Kaguya of the Otsutsuki was known to be present. Even if Ino sensed a control technique of frightening strength, she would never suspect an Otsutsuki bloodline at work.
(End of Chapter)
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