Chapter 76: Princess VS Princess
"Second Star!"
Just as Genma Shiranui swung his arm down to signal the start, Temari opened her Three-Star War Fan to its second star, converting her chakra into Wind Release nature transformation, forming a small tornado that roared towards Hinata.
Unlike her playful demeanor with Tenten in the central tower, Temari, despite her words about hoping Hinata would entertain her, actually regarded Hinata as a formidable opponent.
After all, unlike her younger brother Kankuro, Temari was Rasa's eldest daughter, the Sand Village's eldest princess, just like Hinata, carrying the honor of the Kazekage and her village.
If the opponent were anyone else, losing would simply be losing.
But she absolutely could not lose to a woman from an allied nation, especially one who was the heiress of a prestigious clan.
"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"
Facing the roaring miniature tornado, Hinata simply raised her hand and unleashed a shockwave no less powerful than her opponent's Wind Release, colliding with it head-on.
The resulting air pressure from the tornado and the shockwave instantly stirred up a large cloud of dust and mist.
Genma Shiranui leaped backward, putting distance between himself and Hinata and Temari, demonstrating that, as he had said, even if someone's life was in danger, he would not intervene due to their status.
Whoosh—
The dust and mist had just risen when Temari swung her fan, instantly blowing it away.
After all, she hadn't forgotten that her opponent was the Byakugan princess, capable of seeing through and seeing far.
Unfortunately for her, her speed was still a fraction too slow.
Just as the dust and mist cleared, Hinata had already shot forward, arriving right in front of her. Her fingers, seemingly slender and delicate as jade, yet capable of easily shattering wooden training dummies and causing instant internal bleeding even with a light touch, were now enveloped in a blue chakra aura, thrusting towards Temari.
If struck, Temari's body would instantly become stiff and immobile. If her resistance to impact wasn't strong, the battle would essentially be over.
However, in the next moment, Hinata's beautiful eyes widened slightly.
Just as her fingers were about to strike Temari, the latter suddenly smirked. Her figure flickered slightly, and she reappeared several meters behind.
That method of movement...
"It's not just your teammates who can incorporate nature transformation into the Body Flicker Technique," Temari said, as if reading Hinata's thoughts. A proud expression spread across her face as she fully opened her Three-Star War Fan and shouted, "When it comes to Wind Release, our Sand Village is the strongest! Wind Release... Great Sickle Weasel Technique!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
The wind howled, and the distorted air currents transformed into countless invisible blades, carving lines into the ground as they swept towards Hinata.
The area of the storm was incredibly vast, and its speed was unbelievably fast, making it impossible to evade with a Body Flicker.
"What powerful Wind Release nature transformation!"
Even Genma Shiranui, who had already distanced himself, had to use the Body Flicker Technique again to appear even further away, watching the storm tear gashes into the earth in its wake, slightly amazed.
Observing the chakra spreading within the storm like a surging tide, Hinata calmly adopted a Gentle Fist stance and shouted, "Eight Trigrams... Heavenly Spin!"
At this moment, Hinata's advantage as a prodigious eater was fully displayed.
A massive amount of chakra surged forth from the chakra points throughout her body. Under her powerful chakra control, as Hinata rotated in place, it instantly condensed into a huge, ultra-high-speed rotating hemisphere.
The storm engulfed the massive hemisphere, and a series of loud clanging sounds echoed through the arena.
It was as if countless blades were hacking at a high-speed spinning steel shield, only to be deflected away.
In the contestants' waiting area, Neji Hyuga's hands gripped the railing tightly, his eyes flickering with emotion.
At this moment, a sense of frustration washed over him once again.
They were both using Heavenly Spin, yet the chakra shield he could create was inferior to Hinata's in both size and quality by more than just one level.
"Is that the family's secret technique, Heavenly Spin? It's so big! Big sister is amazing!" Hanabi in the audience seats was equally stunned.
"Your Gentle Fist talent is no weaker than Hinata's. As long as you train diligently, you'll be able to do it too in the future," Hiashi Hyuga encouraged, his heart filled with both relief and a shock no less profound than Neji's.
He felt as if he had saved the entire world in his past life.
How could both his eldest and second daughters possess such astonishing chakra reserves and Gentle Fist talent?
Moreover, Hinata's transformation had only begun a few years ago; she hadn't been this outstanding from the start.
Could it be that the power of love was truly this strong?
Or was the Hyuga clan's teaching method flawed, and Izayoi's guidance was the correct one?
Little did he know, it was because Izayoi had become a potent tonic, and only the Hyuga clan members reaped its benefits.
Whoosh—
The high-speed rotating blue hemisphere didn't last long.
As soon as the storm dissipated, the energy sphere also vanished into blue chakra flames.
Hinata, who had spun countless times in place, didn't feel the slightest bit dizzy. She transformed into a blur, appearing before the astonished Temari in a flash of lightning, her fingers once again thrusting forward.
Temari had clearly not anticipated that her powerful attack would be blocked so easily.
Seeing Hinata reappear before her eyes, she didn't have time to use the Body Flicker Technique to create distance. She could only raise her giant fan to block.
Seeing this, Hinata instantly changed her fingers into a palm strike, hitting the open surface of the Three-Star War Fan.
Boom—
The terrifying shockwave instantly pierced through the Three-Star War Fan and slammed into Temari's body.
Temari's feet left the ground as she was sent flying backward by Hinata's palm strike from a distance.
The shockwave raged within her body, and a trickle of blood escaped the corner of Temari's mouth. She forcefully suppressed the churning pain in her internal organs, intending to use the blood at her lips to unleash her strongest attack.
Unfortunately, she had forgotten that she was suspended in mid-air.
"Thank you for the guidance."
When Temari looked up, Hinata had already disappeared from her sight.
A soft voice reached her ears from behind.
"Roar..."
In the distance, Temari vaguely heard the roar of the king of beasts.
Immediately after, Temari felt a hand strike her back. The chakra in her meridians instantly vanished, as if she had been hit by a Gentle Fist technique, all her chakra points sealed shut. Her eyes glazed over as she knelt on the ground, as if she would faint in the next second.
Only when a kunai was placed against her neck, the cold glint seeping into her skin, did the chakra within Temari's meridians begin to flow again, restoring a bit of her consciousness.
"The battle is over. The winner is Hinata Hyuga."
Hearing the proctor announce the result, Temari initially felt a surge of unwillingness, but then, glancing at the kunai being withdrawn from her neck, a wry smile spread across her face. "I lost."
As the Sand Village's princess, Temari was undoubtedly proud.
And she had the strength to back up her pride.
However, the more prideful a person is, the greater the shock they experience upon defeat, especially when losing to someone their own age.
They would either train even more diligently or become discouraged and lose their drive.
But clearly, the proud princess would choose the former.
The victorious Hinata didn't comfort the ninja from the enemy village. After storing the kunai back into her wristband-style sealing scroll, she headed towards the contestants' passage.
As she approached the audience seats, Hinata heard a roar of cheers. She couldn't help but glance in the direction of her father and sister.
Seeing Hanabi waving her arms enthusiastically, disregarding all decorum, and her father not stopping her, a rare smile even gracing his usually stern face, Hinata's lips curved into a slight smile, her heart filled with a sense of accomplishment.
Entering the dimly lit passage, Hinata quickened her pace, eager to share her joy with Izayoi.
However, before even reaching the stands, Hinata vaguely heard the shouts of the audience, her face filled with confusion.
What was going on?
They had clearly been cheering just now, so why were they all shouting now?
Could it be because she hadn't acknowledged the crowd, or was it directed at that female ninja from the Sand Village?
It wasn't until Hinata reached Izayoi's side that she understood.
It turned out that Kankuro, who had drawn number 6, had chosen to forfeit.
Shikamaru Nara, like Naruto Uzumaki, had won without a fight.
However, unlike Naruto's automatic advancement, the audience didn't realize that the previous match was the second round.
Having just witnessed an exciting duel, the next round being a forfeit was akin to biting into a delicious meal only to find it tainted with filth. It disgusted the audience who had traveled from afar and paid high prices for their tickets.
But no matter how they shouted and cursed, Kankuro, preserving his strength for the plan, remained unmoved, even displaying a disdainful smile.
Genma Shiranui also ignored the audience's reaction and announced, "Contestant number six has forfeited, so contestant number five automatically advances. Contestants who drew numbers seven and eight, please enter the arena quickly."
As soon as the words left his mouth, sand appeared out of nowhere to Genma Shiranui's left, gradually coalescing into a figure.
Seeing this entrance method, the audience members who had still been shouting, and hadn't even heard Genma Shiranui's words, realizing they had almost missed two matches, simultaneously fell silent, their attention riveted on Gaara in the arena.
Such an entrance clearly indicated that this was no ordinary opponent.
"When did that guy leave?"
In the contestants' waiting area, Shikamaru Nara and Naruto Uzumaki were also slightly surprised.
They subconsciously looked towards Gaara's previous position, only to find his figure had already vanished.
"Hmph, making a fuss over nothing," Kankuro scoffed. "With Gaara's strength, he could kill you all, and you probably wouldn't even know how you died."
"What are you talking about, you face-painted weirdo!" Naruto Uzumaki pointed at Kankuro and mocked, "You didn't even dare to fight Shikamaru. How strong can your teammate be?"
One sentence directly offended two people.
However, Shikamaru Nara didn't mind. Instead, he said to Izayoi, "That guy with the gourd on his back is very dangerous, Izayoi. You need to be careful."
Looking at Izayoi's empty hands, with no camera in sight, Hinata vaguely guessed something, but still smiled gently. "Izayoi-kun, good luck."
"Yeah."
Izayoi didn't return her smile, only nodding lightly. Then, under the wide-eyed gaze of Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru Nara, and the other young elites, as well as Kankuro and Temari, who had just returned to the stands, his feet left the ground, his body floated into the air, slowly flying towards the arena.
This scene not only left the contestants dumbfounded.
The audience seats also fell into complete silence.
(End of this chapter)
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