On the battlefield, the Hyuga Clan's members looked at Hinata's eyes, their faces full of surprise as well.
"What eyes are those?"
"The Byakugan... turned blue?"
"I've never heard of such a change in the Hyuga Clan..."
Someone suddenly recalled something and whispered, "The Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan can also evolve into the Mangekyo Sharingan, right? Since the Byakugan is also one of the Three Great Dojutsu, it should be able to evolve too."
As soon as this was said, many thought it made sense.
However, in the existing records of the Hyuga Clan, no one had ever achieved this.
For hundreds of years, generations of the Hyuga Clan had practiced the Gentle Fist and developed their Byakugan, but no one's Byakugan had ever undergone such a change.
No one could believe that it was Hinata, usually seen as timid and unassertive, who had awakened it.
Hiashi stood at the front of the crowd, his Byakugan fixed on his eldest daughter.
After a few seconds, he couldn't help but shift his gaze to Makoto on the high platform.
Makoto stood there, his expression calm, showing no surprise.
As if all of this was already within his expectations.
The pupils of Hiashi contracted slightly.
'As expected... this is related to the Leader.'
'I should have thought of it sooner.'
During the two years Hinata had been sent to Makoto for 'study', every time he saw his daughter, he could feel her changes.
'What exactly had happened?'
Hiashi took a deep breath, suppressing the jumble of thoughts.
Regardless of the process, his daughter Hinata had now awakened a Dojutsu that no one in the Hyuga Clan had achieved for hundreds of years.
That was enough.
Neji looked at Hinata's back, hesitating to speak.
"Neji-niisan."
Hinata didn't turn around, but her voice reached Neji's ears clearly. "Step back."
"...I'm sorry."
After a brief silence, Neji turned and retreated.
Although he had wanted to personally deal with the Fourth Raikage to avenge his father…
From the brief exchange earlier, Neji also realized that he was completely out of his league.
The Fourth Raikage studied the delicate-looking little girl before him again.
No matter how he looked at her, she didn't seem like someone who could fight.
But he had already experienced the power of her palm strike.
"Your strength is not bad."
The Fourth Raikage's voice was low and steady, lacking the earlier furious roar, instead carrying a hint of acknowledgment.
"But don't think that this level is enough to defeat me."
With that, the Fourth Raikage clenched his fists, crossed them over his chest, and the Lightning Release Chakra all over his body erupted violently.
Crackle—!!!
Blue electric light gushed from his body like a waterfall, shrouding him in a dazzling radiance.
His hair stood on end, resembling the form of a Super Saiyan.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode: Full Power.
In this state, even the Mangekyo Sharingan struggled to track his speed.
During the Third Great Ninja War, he was the only Ninja who could clash head-on with the Yellow Flash without falling behind, and this was the reason.
Seeing this, Hinata took a deep breath.
She slowly raised her hands, interlaced her fingers, and formed a hand seal that no one in the Hyuga Clan had ever used before.
Suddenly, pale blue Chakra surged from within her, condensing on her body's surface into a paper-thin cloak.
It's like a green version of Naruto's future Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
Tenseigan Chakra Mode!
In an instant, the Fourth Raikage made the first move.
His speed was so fast that the naked eye simply couldn't track it.
An afterimage remained in his original spot, but his true body was already behind Hinata.
He raised his right arm, Lightning Release Chakra condensing into a blue blade at his arm.
"Lariat!"
This same move had nearly killed Gaara and Naruto moments ago.
And now, its target was Hinata's neck.
Hinata didn't turn around.
She turned her body slightly, raised her right hand, and faced her palm outward.
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm."
An invisible shockwave erupted from her palm, colliding head-on with the Raikage's arm.
Boom—!!!
This time, it was no longer a stalemate.
The Fourth Raikage was pushed back five steps.
His right arm was slightly numb, and the wound caused by Hinata's earlier strike had widened further.
"How is that possible..."
The Fourth Raikage's pupils contracted sharply.
'I was already moving at maximum speed, yet she could still track my position?'
But the Fourth Raikage had no time to dwell on it…
Because Hinata had already struck.
Wrapped in her pale blue cloak, her speed was nearly comparable to his.
"Eight Trigrams: Two Palms!"
"Four Palms!"
"Eight Palms!"
Each palm carried pale blue Chakra, causing the Raikage's Lightning Release Armor to tremble.
The Fourth Raikage gritted his teeth, enduring Hinata's attacks while counter-punching.
But when his fists hit her pale blue cloak, it was like punching cotton... most of the force was absorbed, and the remainder couldn't cause significant damage to Hinata.
Hinata and the Fourth Raikage engaged in intense close-quarters combat in the center of the battlefield.
On both sides of the battlefield, both the Konoha forces and the Kumogakure forces watched, stunned.
The Kumogakure's Ninjas had their eyes wide open in disbelief.
The Konoha forces were also deeply shocked.
Kiba: "Is that really Hinata? When did she get so strong?"
Shino: "We've really been left far behind..."
Makoto seemed completely uninterested in this fight.
His gaze shifted away from the battlefield, and he casually waved Hayasaka Ai over.
"Ai."
Ai emerged from the crowd and came before Makoto.
"Leader-sama."
Makoto pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the collapsed Yugito and B on the ground.
"Can you extract the Tailed Beasts from inside them?"
Ai was momentarily stunned.
Makoto's thought was simple... he remembered that the Dark-Dark Fruit's ability to extract devil's souls was quite similar to how the Akatsuki extracted Tailed Beasts from Jinchuriki.
So, could the Dark-Dark Fruit perform the same function?
Of course, if the Jinchuriki were in a healthy state, it probably wouldn't be possible.
But the two were now in a near-death state, exactly like the Devil Fruit users whose abilities Ai had extracted in the One Piece World.
Ai nodded. "I'll try."
Saying this, Ai crouched down, her hands covered in dark black energy.
She placed her hands on the abdomens of B and Yugito—
"Stop!"
"What are you doing?!"
"Protect B-sama and Yugito-sama!"
Seeing this, the Kumogakure's Ninjas charged forward like madmen.
Although they weren't sure exactly what Makoto and Ai were planning, seeing the sinister black energy on Ai's hands confirmed it was nothing good.
"Get lost!"
Beam stood between them.
He used no weapons.
He just clenched his right fist, coating it with Armament Haki until his entire arm turned pitch black.
He then punched the ground.
Boom—!!!
The earth split apart.
Several crisscrossing fissures extended forward from beneath Beam's feet, blasting open the ground beneath the charging Kumogakure's Ninjas.
The leading few stumbled and fell, those behind piled up, causing chaos.
Taking advantage of this opening—
Ai's hands pressed onto the abdomens of the two Jinchuriki.
"Dark Water."