Chapter 177:
"Oh? Is that so? You're really pissing me off. Watch it, or I'll cut you down."
Delta glared at Hanabi Hyūga as she spoke.
Hanabi responded with a mocking expression. "Is that so? Maybe it's because women tend to get jealous of those more beautiful than themselves."
A gust of wind blew between them, rustling softly.
Delta took the initiative and launched the first strike. This wasn't a mistake on Hanabi's part—rather, the Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist style was inherently more suited to counterattacks.
Delta's long, slender legs became a blur as she unleashed a flurry of rapid kicks toward Hanabi.
With excellent coordination, Hanabi dodged fluidly, finally seizing an opening to grab one of Delta's legs. However, the force behind the kick still pushed her back a step.
The veins near Hanabi's eyes bulged.
"Gentle Fist Art—Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
In truth, the Hyūga clan was essentially a taijutsu clan. Their fighting style centered around using specialized pressure-point techniques to seal their opponent's chakra points, blocking chakra flow and forcing them into hand-to-hand combat where the Hyūga excelled.
That was exactly what Hanabi was aiming for.
With the aid of the Byakugan, Hanabi could clearly see the chakra flow and its key nodes within Delta's body.
Her fingers darted rapidly, striking Delta's body in swift succession. In the blink of an eye, she landed the final blow and sent Delta flying.
"So this is the famed pressure point technique the Hyūga clan is so proud of?"
Delta stood back up, brushing the dust off herself as she spoke.
"What?!" Hanabi's face filled with shock. "How is that possible? Gentle Fist had no effect on you?!"
In her eyes, Delta—who had taken the full Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms—was completely unharmed. Even her chakra flow remained unaffected.
"Your surprised face is really something else, Hanabi Hyūga…"
"Damn it!"
The moment Delta finished speaking, Hanabi instinctively leapt into the air. At the spot where she'd just been standing, a blade suddenly emerged from the ground.
"This is… scientific ninja tools!"
Perched on a tree branch, Hanabi stared down at Delta.
"You're pretty quick, huh…" The blade reshaped itself into the form of Delta's foot, then burrowed back underground. Delta folded her arms and looked up at Hanabi. "Now then, how about it, Hanabi Hyūga?"
"Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists!"
Chakra gathered in Hanabi's hands, forming two blue lion heads.
Though this technique had been created by Hinata Hyūga, Hanabi—her younger sister—had naturally learned it as well.
Hanabi surged forward with a fierce punch.
But Delta didn't dodge. This caught Hanabi slightly off guard, but there wasn't time to alter her attack mid-strike.
Just before the Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists made contact, the blue lion heads surrounding Hanabi's fists were suddenly absorbed by Delta's eyes.
Delta spun and launched a sidekick, sending Hanabi flying.
"Ugh… not just your legs—your eyes are scientific ninja tools too…"
As the future head of the Hyūga clan—and with the Hokage as her brother-in-law—Hanabi knew far more than the average shinobi.
"That's right. Much of my body has already been transformed into scientific ninja tools."
Delta said this proudly, a confident smile on her face.
Six small circular ports opened at the back of her legs and began expelling nitrogen, instantly boosting her speed.
"Now die, Hanabi Hyūga!"
Though Hanabi managed to react in time, she was still sent flying by another of Delta's powerful kicks.
"You've turned your entire body into scientific ninja tools… Can someone like that even be called human anymore?"
Hanabi got back on her feet, wiping blood from the corner of her mouth, and took her Gentle Fist stance again.
"Good. Now I'm really pissed off."
As Delta approached, her legs began to morph.
Sharp edges appeared, and additional exhaust ports emerged.
With a roar of pressurizing jets, she assumed a runner's stance.
With a loud bang, the ground beneath Delta's feet shattered. Wind howled as she launched a kick at Hanabi.
Having avoided both Pain's invasion and the Fourth Great Ninja War, Hanabi had limited combat experience. Instinctively, she shut her eyes.
But the expected pain never came. Slowly, Hanabi opened her eyes.
She was now on a tree branch, lifted from the ground—and standing in front of her, having taken the blow in her place, was a man with spiky hair, a single arm, and a white cloak stained with blood. Faintly visible on the cloak were the characters for "Eight" and "Shadow."
"Who are you?!" Delta shouted, quickly putting distance between herself and the man after her kick was blocked with a single sword. "And your Rinnegan…"
"You talk too much."
As he spoke, the man suddenly threw his Kusanagi sword into the air above Delta and charged forward, forming a Rasengan with one hand.
Just as the Rasengan was about to strike Delta, and as she prepared to absorb the technique with her scientific ninja tool-enhanced eye—
"Amenotejikara!"
The man abruptly switched places with the airborne Kusanagi sword, putting him directly above Delta.
The sword embedded itself in the ground in front of Delta.
"Rasengan!"
The man's Rasengan slammed directly into Delta before she could absorb it, foiling her plan.
"Damn… how humiliating."
Delta got up again, forming blue chakra in her hands.
"This is my technique! Watch out!"
From the tree above, Hanabi called out a warning.
Delta wasn't just absorbing ninjutsu—she could reuse it without any chakra cost.
"Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists!"
"You're just a clone… Whatever. No need to waste time. Let's finish this quickly."
"How did you know?!"
Delta asked in shock. Her status as a clone should have only been known to a few inner members of the Kara organization.
The man didn't answer. He closed his eyes and let out a furious roar.
"What the hell is going on?!"
Though confused, Delta still charged at him.
"Super Nine-Tails Mode!"
Combining the Super Saiyan-like transformation with the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode—this was the Super Nine-Tails Mode.
The man's spiky hair suddenly stood upright as golden chakra exploded around him.
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