Neji quickly realized his own physical conditioning couldn't keep pace with Ayato once the latter flooded every cell with chakra. Every strike Neji launched was read the instant it began—Ayato's reflexes pre-blocked with surgical speed.
Ayato didn't know formal palm techniques, but raw reaction time rendered Neji helpless.
"Heads up."
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Neji counted aloud as he struck.
The first eight were caught cleanly on Ayato's forearms. After eight, circulation in those arms froze—the remaining fifty-six landed flush.
Ayato could have leapt away; Neji couldn't chase. But he stayed. Win/loss didn't matter—data did. Neji's Byakugan pinpointed every tenketsu. Copy the pattern. Future me will have the eyes. Don't waste the tutorial.
Sixty-four hits later, chakra flow locked—like it had been glued in place.
"Nice." Ayato grinned.
"You let your guard down." Neji, stone-faced, knelt to unblock the points.
Ayato flopped to the grass. "So Gentle Fist = chakra spike through fingertips into the opponent?"
"Mm."
"Contact's too brief for real damage. Main effect: disrupt flow at key nodes."
Ayato stared at the sky. Whole clan… and that's the secret sauce?Anyone can spike chakra to fingers. I can spike a fist.
He tried. Chakra poured from his knuckles—visible blue haze.
That's it?Fire, water—just shape + nature, right?
Water nature → orb in his palm. Water Sphere. Tsunade who?
Lightning nature → crackling mess. Corpse-vein control wrestled it into a dense, chirping sphere. Color deepened; pitch rose. Chidori = this.
Ninjutsu = chakra volume + precision. Seals = shortcuts to route and transform fast. My volume and control are already top-tier. I just never tried.
"You said no ninjutsu," Neji deadpanned, watching the lightning ball.
"Didn't know it was this easy. Skipped class."
"You skipped class?"
Cough. "I'm good now. Rematch—test the new toys."
Neji shrugged, reset stance.
Ayato coated fists in chakra.
One punch. Neji flew.
Ayato yanked the aura back. Oops. Need practice before live fire.
Sunset – Gear Drop
Guy returned with a pile of weights. "100k… 200k… 50k…"
Ayato zeroed in on Lee's exact set—anklets, wristbands, vest. Strapped on.
Jump. Barely cleared an inch.Perfect. (No chakra = full resistance. With chakra = negligible.)
"Whole kit?"
"One million ryō."
Ayato paid cash.
"Inject chakra to increase load—holds for days."
"Thanks, Sensei." Invisible under clothes. Style + function.
"Tomorrow—escort mission. Few days out."
"Roger."
"Dismissed. Lee!"
"YES!"
"Youthful laps!"
Green duo sprinted off screaming.
Neji paused. "Talent's there. Master ninjutsu. Work harder." Gone.
Tenten approached—
"Ramen? Thanks for the hookup."
"Uh—early prep for mission. Go home." Blush.
"Nobody at either house. Ichiraku's."
Her parents = MIA in canon. Solo dinner sucks.
Tenten silent. Ayato took it as shy yes.
He waddled under new weight. "Keep up—I can't carry you."
"Who asked?!"
They walked. Closer.
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