"I see. Using a large number of shadow clones to disrupt and overwhelm my vision and hinder the superior detection ability of my Byakugan is indeed a rather effective tactic, although it seems crude and chakra-consuming."
Neji finally spoke after a few moments of silent analysis, his tone now slightly more serious and no longer completely dismissive as before.
"I thought you would just rush forward without a care and attack blindly. It turns out you're not as stupid as the rumors say or as your careless outward appearance suggests, Uzumaki Naruto."
"Hmph. You talk too much and underestimate people, you arrogant bastard!"
More than a dozen Narutos standing at the forefront of the encirclement snorted at the same time, then they all simultaneously drew sharp kunai from their ninja tool pouches and aimed them threateningly at Neji, who stood alone in the middle.
"You won't be able to laugh anymore after this! Prepare to face the consequences of your arrogance!"
The dozens of identical Naruto figures didn't wait long.
With a simultaneous shout,
"ATTACK!"
they all threw the kunai and shuriken they had prepared towards Neji, who stood alone in the center of the encirclement.
Hundreds of sharp weapons whizzed through the air, creating a terrifying whistling sound.
Neji initially just snorted, his pale white eyes with active Byakugan carefully scanning each weapon's trajectory.
He was already preparing to dodge with the Hyuga's characteristic graceful movements.
However, just as he was about to move, the dozens of Narutos simultaneously formed the same hand seals at high speed.
"It won't be that easy, genius!" one of the Naruto clones shouted.
And sure enough, the shuriken, which initially numbered only in the hundreds, suddenly multiplied in mid-air, turning into thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands, like a heavy rain of sharp weapons in the midst of a storm ready to tear apart anything beneath it.
"WHAT?! What kind of jutsu is this?!" shrieked one of the spectators in the stands.
"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" all the Narutos roared in unison.
The spectators in the stadium, as if not surprised enough to see a Genin capable of using Kage Bunshin no Jutsu to such an extent to surround his opponent, were now once again made to stare wide-eyed and open-mouthed as they saw thousands of additional shuriken appear out of nowhere in the air, filling almost their entire field of vision.
Especially for the senior ninjas, the Jōnin and even the Third Hokage himself, they recognized that jutsu.
"That... isn't that a jutsu created by Sandaime-sama?"
"Correct,"
"An A-rank jutsu that requires high-level chakra control. How could Naruto master it?"
Neji, seeing that there was now almost no room left to dodge such a massive storm of shuriken, quickly made a decision.
He spun his body at high speed, both hands open.
Hakkeshō Kaiten! (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!)
A dome of light blue chakra spinning at an extremely high speed immediately formed around Neji's body, deflecting and repelling all the shuriken that hit it.
The sound of metal clashing with chakra was heard repeatedly.
"Hmph! Just a blind attack like this?"
Neji snorted from within his Kaiten vortex, his tone still sounding dismissive, although he was slightly surprised by the number of Naruto's shuriken.
"Do you think an attack of this magnitude can penetrate my absolute defense, Kaiten? Don't dream, loser!"
The real Naruto, standing among his clones, just smirked.
"Absolute defense, you say?"
He remembered Hana's words.
"Hana-neechan once told me, there's no such thing as absolute defense in this world, Neji! All ninjutsu, no matter how strong, definitely have weaknesses!"
Naruto also remembered Hana's other advice: ("As an Uzumaki, the thing you can be most proud of is your incredibly large chakra reserve and your physical endurance, my prince. So, if one jutsu attack doesn't work, don't hesitate to use two! If two attacks still fail, use ten! Twenty! Fifty! Keep bombarding him until his defense cracks or he runs out of stamina! That's the true Uzumaki fighting style!")
So, Naruto decided to follow Hana's advice completely.
"IF ONE SHURIKEN RAIN ISN'T ENOUGH, HOW ABOUT TWO?! OR THREE?!"
Naruto shouted.
His other clones immediately threw the next wave of shuriken, and the next, relentlessly bombarding Neji's Kaiten dome.
In the VIP stands, the Fourth Kazekage (who was actually Orochimaru in disguise) chuckled softly behind his hat, his snake-like eyes watching the fight with interest.
"Hohoho... very interesting, Hokage-dono,"
he said in a hoarse voice to Hiruzen, who was sitting next to him.
"I didn't expect that simple jutsu of your creation could be used in such a... 'wasteful' and troublesome way by that brat."
Hiruzen Sarutobi just smiled faintly, trying to look modest despite the pride filling his heart at Naruto's development.
"Ah, Kazekage-dono, you flatter me too much. It's all thanks to Naruto's creativity and his indeed above-average chakra amount. He's the one who made this jutsu more deadly and annoying for his opponent."
After using Kaiten for the third time in a row to withstand Naruto's seemingly endless shuriken assault, Neji finally stopped his rotation.
His breathing was starting to sound a little ragged, and there were a few small scratches on his clothes.
Although the Kage Bunshin Shuriken on the ground had begun to disappear one by one into puffs of white smoke because the chakra of the clones that threw them was exhausted, the original physical shuriken that were the core of the jutsu were still very numerous and now scattered all over the ground around Neji.
And those physical shuriken would not disappear until the Naruto Kage Bunshin that threw them also disappeared or was defeated.
'Damn it! This brat... is his chakra reserve really inexhaustible?! He keeps creating clones and multiplying shuriken like this!'
Neji though with annoyance, his eyes staring sharply at the dozens of Narutos still standing fresh and vigorous.
Continuous and massive mid-range ninjutsu attacks like this were truly the natural enemy for a close-range taijutsu ninja like himself, who heavily relied on speed and precision of attack to hit the opponent's vital points.
With a suppressed growl, Neji decided to take the initiative.
He dashed forward at high speed, attacking several nearby 'Narutos' with his Jūken strikes.
However, every 'Naruto' he hit just exploded into a puff of smoke.
They were all just Kage Bunshin.
The real Naruto was hiding well among them.
"Heh! Is that all your skill, genius?"
one of the Naruto clones taunted.
"I'm going to use my next jutsu now! So you better prepare with that absolute defense of yours again!"
Without waiting long, the dozens of remaining Narutos simultaneously formed different hand seals.
Their blond hair suddenly elongated and hardened.
Hari Jizō!
Then, they all aimed their needle hair towards Neji.
Hari Jigoku! (Needle Hell!)
Thousands of sharp and hard blond hair needles shot out from all directions, raining down on Neji like a deadly needle storm, giving him no room to dodge.
With a frustrated growl, Neji was forced to use Kaiten once again to protect himself.
After using Kaiten for the fourth time in a short period, Neji was really starting to run out of breath now.
His forehead was already beaded with sweat, and his Kaiten rotation this time felt slightly slower and not as solid as before.
"How about it, Neji?"
The real Naruto finally emerged from his thinning crowd of clones, standing with his arms crossed and a mocking smile.
"Is this what you call a destiny where I will lose? It seems your own destiny is to run out of chakra first, huh?"
Neji couldn't say anything to retort Naruto's taunt.
He could only pant, trying to regulate his ragged breathing and recover his depleted chakra.
He didn't even have time to explain at length about the fate of the Hyuga branch family as he did in the anime.
Right now, his main focus was just to survive Naruto's unexpected and troublesome attacks.
But unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, our beloved prince, Uzumaki Naruto, sometimes had an excessive curiosity and concern at less opportune moments.
"Hey, Neji!"
Naruto called out again, his mocking tone slightly reduced.
"What's really wrong with you, anyway? Why are you always so stubborn and keep harping on about fate, fate, and fate? Is it really that important to you?"
Hana could only chuckle amusedly at her prince's sometimes so innocent and overly caring behavior towards others, even towards his own opponent.
However, it was precisely that optimistic and empathetic side that made Hana, someone who was very pragmatic and cynical in her previous life (and perhaps still a little in this life), love him so very, very sincerely.
Hearing Naruto's seemingly sincere question, Neji fell silent for a moment.
His previously cold and hostile gaze softened slightly, replaced by a bitter and resentful expression.
"You... will never understand," Neji hissed softly.
"Then make me understand!" Naruto retorted firmly.
"I understand. Alright. Now that we've reached this point, and it seems you won't give up easily, I'll tell you."
Neji slowly removed the Konoha forehead protector covering his forehead.
And there, a complex dark green swastika-shaped curse seal was visible.
He began to tell the tragic story of the fate full of hatred and oppression experienced by the branch family of the Hyuga clan.
The Hyuga clan possessed a very cruel curse sealing technique, passed down from generation to generation, namely the Juinjutsu mark on Neji's forehead which symbolized the fate of a slave.
This mark was forcibly added to his head when he was only three years old, during the ceremony to determine the main and branch families. This mark was used by the main family to control and limit every action of the branch family.
As long as the main family chanted the seal's mantra, the mark on the branch family member's forehead would activate and damage their brain nerves, causing excruciating pain, paralysis, and even death. And what was even crueler, this seal would also render their Byakugan ineffective and destroy it after they died, so that the secrets of the Hyuga clan's eyes would not fall into enemy hands.
The fate of the branch family was always completely in the hands of the main family, and they had to dedicate their entire lives to serving and protecting the main family at all times, without being allowed to object or have their own desires.
Neji's father, Hizashi Hyuga, and Hinata's father, Hiashi Hyuga, were twin brothers. However, due to the fate of birth, Hiashi was born a few minutes earlier and was designated as the successor of the main family, while Hizashi, his younger brother, had to accept the fate of being a member of the branch family and receive that curse seal.