On the field below.
Hyuga Neji looked surprised, Hyuga Hinata was shocked.
What's happening?!
What happened?!
Why would Miss Hinata say such a thing?!
Although he didn't like the eldest daughter of the main house, he still knew that she shouldn't be like this—but why was she saying these things today?
This is so disrespectful; it's an insult to the reputation of the Hyuga clan!
"Hmph!" Hinata snorted coldly, her demeanor changing completely.
"Coward, you don't even dare to step forward?!"
"Looks like your so-called genius title is just flattery based on empty words!" Hinata mocked Neji mercilessly.
"If you're not coming, then I will!"
Hinata shouted, stomped on the ground, and rushed toward Neji.
"So fast!" Neji's eyes narrowed as he muttered, watching Hinata turn into a blur.
"Byakugan!"
The two voices echoed nearly simultaneously. Veins bulged around Hinata and Neji's eyes, signifying the activation of their Byakugan.
"Hmph!" Neji sneered as he shifted stance.
"You may be the eldest daughter of the main family, but people don't change that easily. The weak remain weak. Even if your personality shifts, your strength remains the same," Neji said coldly while exchanging blows with Hinata.
"It's exactly because people can't change that we have social hierarchy!
That's why there are words like elite... and failure.
Just like how I am from the branch family and you are from the main—it can never be changed!" Neji said, voice laced with anger.
"I've seen it all with these eyes. That's why I know no matter how you change, this match's result is set in stone!"
"You're right!" Hinata suddenly appeared behind him and said coldly.
"The result of this match won't change!"
Neji's body stiffened at the sudden proximity of her voice.
Now's the moment!
"Sunflower Acupuncture Point Hand!"
Hinata narrowed her eyes and shouted. She pressed her index and middle fingers together like a sharp blade and struck Neji hard on the back.
Neji's chakra flow froze, his body as rigid as if struck by Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms.
Even his muscles were sealed off as if all motion had been disabled.
In front of everyone, Neji, who had been moving at full speed, suddenly halted and collapsed in a contorted position, motionless.
"The match is over!" Haruto said calmly from the stands.
"But I don't agree with what you said about fate."
Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and continued, looking down at Neji.
"I understand what you're saying," she said, voice sharp.
"But so what?!
Stop pretending you're the only one carrying pain in this world!"
Hinata turned toward the stands and met Naruto's gaze. Her icy eyes softened with warmth.
"Some people struggle while bearing much more pain than you.
Even though he was always at the bottom of the class, he never gave up.
He would train alone, in silence.
If once wasn't enough, he'd try ten times. If ten failed, he'd try a hundred."
She remembered everything she saw when she followed Naruto as a child.
"Even if no one acknowledged him, he kept trying to change.
Despite being shunned and scorned... he worked harder than anyone!"
Tears began to well up in Hinata's eyes.
"And what about you?!"
She shook her head slowly and looked back down at Neji.
"I know why you say the things you do," Hinata said coldly. "It's because I'm from the main house."
"You think your father died because of my family's decision.
You believe your cursed seal, the Caged Bird Seal, is the reason your Byakugan is incomplete!"
"Is that it?" she asked, kicking Neji up from the ground.
Neji sneered. "So, you're not the clueless princess after all."
"That's right!" Neji shouted. "This is reality! This is fate!
This match, too, proves fate is absolute!"
Suddenly, Neji turned into a puff of smoke.
A rock behind Hinata transformed into Neji, veins pulsing around his eyes.
"Those born into the branch family are meant to serve!
Even if our fathers are identical twins, born just minutes apart—one is main, the other is branch!
That's fate!"
He clenched his fists.
"I told you, you can't win.
Even with finger techniques that seal chakra, you're no match for me!"
He raised his stance.
"This is it!" All the Jōnin in the stands widened their eyes.
They knew this move well. Neji was preparing to unleash the Hyuga clan's Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms.
The fact that someone his age could perform this was astonishing.
If Hinata got hit, even if she survived, she would suffer serious injuries.
The four Jōnin mentors of the Rookie Nine prepared to intervene—but they were held in place by an invisible force.
"Don't worry," Haruto said calmly, playing with two glowing vials. "Keep watching."
The Jōnin glanced at one another and nodded.
If Haruto said it was fine, it meant he had a plan. If things went wrong, he'd act.
Reassured, they eased their stance.
The invisible force lifted.
In the arena, Neji stood inside an Eight Trigrams circle, his Byakugan locked on Hinata.
"It's over, Hinata," he said coldly.
"The weak will always be the weak. A main family princess like you can never compare to someone who works as hard as me."
Just as Neji prepared to strike—
"What?!"
His eyes widened as they caught something unexpected.
His body froze.
END OF THE CHAPTER.
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