'He opened his eyes right away! Brother Neji, what grudge do we have that you're doing this to me??' The moment Neji activated his Byakugan, Ishikawa instinctively pulled back, putting distance between them, while grumbling to himself in silence.
This was troublesome. Under the gaze of the Byakugan, every move he made would be laid bare. He had no choice but to go on the offensive.
So...
"Take this!" Ishikawa quickly pulled out three shurikens from his pouch and shouted, hurling them forward in a sharp V-formation.
Neji, seeing the incoming projectiles, gave a dismissive snort and leaned aside at an impossible angle, dodging them effortlessly. The force from his movement sent dust and debris flying from the ground like cannon fire.
"Here it comes!" Ishikawa's pupils shrank as he immediately flung another barrage of shuriken and kunai at high speed, trying to keep Neji at bay.
Clang, clang, clang…
Neji barely flinched in the face of Ishikawa's textbook Genin assault. With a flick of his wrist, a kunai appeared in his hand, and he cleanly parried each weapon.
"With these eyes, I see your every move! If this is the best you've got, then this match is already over." With a cold snort, Neji deflected the last blade and hurled his kunai straight toward Ishikawa's face, trying to throw off his rhythm.
'As expected, he's a formidable opponent.' Ishikawa sighed inwardly as his chakra flared, shifting his body mid-movement to dodge the kunai narrowly.
"Then how about an attack you can't see?" The moment he landed, Ishikawa yanked sharply on his arm and smirked with sudden confidence.
"What?" Neji's expression darkened, and the veins around his eyes bulged fiercely.
At that moment, the shuriken Neji had just batted aside were yanked back into motion—connected by nearly invisible wires. In the blink of an eye, a web of ultra-thin steel thread glinted in the sun, surrounding Neji like a trap sprung shut.
"That's a special wire, thinner than fishing line!" Watching from the sidelines, Tenten's eyes widened in realization. "He never meant to hit Neji with ninja tools. It was all a setup!"
The wire was nearly hair-thin yet incredibly durable. Even the Byakugan could miss it if one wasn't paying close attention. Neji was in danger!
"In battle, intelligence is everything!" Ishikawa said with a knowing smile, tightening his grip on the wires. "The Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist is famous across the ninja world. Did you really think I'd let you get close?"
"Using intel on Neji to preempt a Gentle Fist assault… Such clear tactical thinking," Might Guy mused aloud. "Kakashi, I think I see a bit of you in him!"
"Do you?" Kakashi's tone remained calm, but his eye never left the battlefield. "Don't count the Hyuga prodigy out just yet."
"Hahaha! You noticed that too? You really are my eternal rival!" Might Guy grinned proudly, then grew serious. "It may sound boastful, but Neji truly is a genius. No matter how clever your disciple is, he won't defeat him."
As Guy's words fell, Neji suddenly relaxed, his voice cold and even. "So, you fear the name Hyuga..."
"But you've forgotten one thing." Pale blue chakra flared visibly from Neji's palms. "I told you—I can see everything. Including your wires."
"That little trick of yours has only lured yourself into my Eight Trigrams field."
"Eight Trigrams field?" Kakashi's expression shifted sharply. His Sharingan eye narrowed at the surging chakra in Neji's hands.
The Gentle Fist… Could he already have mastered the Hyuga clan's secret taijutsu?
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Almost before the words had left Kakashi's mouth, Neji twisted his body at an uncanny angle, slicing clean through the wires with his Gentle Fist and charging directly at Ishikawa.
"Of course, I knew that. The wires were just to stall and lock you down!" Ishikawa shouted back, and as Neji lunged, his fingers danced through a rapid sequence of hand seals.
"Lightning Style: Thunderclap Arrow..."
It happened in a flash. Just as Neji closed within two meters of Ishikawa, a sharp arc of lightning condensed in Ishikawa's palm—then was hurled with precision.
Crackling electric currents intertwined, and the white-hot bolt turned into a streaking afterimage as it surged toward Neji. The situation turned critical in an instant.
Without hesitation, Neji abandoned his attack, bursting chakra beneath his feet in an attempt to dodge. But at that very moment, Ishikawa's other hand yanked the wire—now frayed and nearly severed—swinging it into the path of the lightning.
Crackle... crackle...
The lightning's speed was blinding. The moment Neji lifted off the ground, the redirected current formed a web of lightning-charged wire above him—slamming down before he could escape.
A jolt ran through Neji's entire body. His muscles locked, and he plummeted to the ground, completely paralyzed.
Whoosh—
As Neji's body hit the ground, twitching slightly, Ishikawa's feet exploded with chakra. In a blink, he appeared at Neji's side, moving with wind-like speed. His kunai was already at Neji's neck.
"Sorry, I win."
"I... actually lost?" Neji stared wide-eyed, his voice hollow with disbelief as Ishikawa's calm declaration echoed in his ear.
How could this be? He hadn't even used the Gentle Fist technique he'd trained so hard to master. How could he lose so... absurdly?
But the cold pressure of steel on his neck said it all—if this had been a real battle, he would be dead. That was the truth. A cruel, undeniable truth he couldn't accept.
"Come on. Seal of reconciliation." Ishikawa paid no attention to Neji's shock. While Neji sat stunned, Ishikawa calmly extended his hand and formed the seal of reconciliation, formally ending the duel.
He knew full well that this victory was won through strategy and surprise—not strength. In terms of raw power, even two of him couldn't take Neji down head-on.
Especially not if Neji had unleashed the full force of Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. Ishikawa's small frame couldn't have withstood that barrage.
"You bastard..." Forced to sign the seal of reconciliation, Neji finally came to his senses, resentment blazing in his eyes.
He understood now why he lost. The truth was simple: he knew nothing about Ishikawa. He hadn't even known Ishikawa could use Lightning Release.
But Ishikawa? As a classmate, he knew all about Neji—the chief student. He'd clearly taken advantage of that knowledge to plan and execute every move perfectly.
And even when Ishikawa had the kunai to his throat, Neji still had options. If he had funneled chakra from his Gentle Fist to his neck at that moment, he could've minimized the damage and retaliated. It wasn't a difficult technique for someone like him.
But Ishikawa—damn him—announced the victory right at that moment. That single declaration threw Neji's concentration, leaving him stunned long enough to be trapped in reconciliation.
Psychological warfare. That sly bastard had used psychological warfare!
"Call it inexperience or carelessness... but a loss is a loss," Might Guy's voice came from behind as Neji fumed, his tone unusually serious. "On the battlefield, there are no take-backs."
Less than half a second later, Might Guy's sorrow vanished. With a wide grin, he clapped Neji on the shoulder, practically beaming. "Congratulations, Neji. You've finally found a true rival—someone who can push you to grow. I'd say Ishikawa taught you a pretty valuable lesson today, wouldn't you?"
"Hmph. I'll be the one teaching him next time." Neji's face shifted, struggling between anger and pride. In the end, he simply gave Ishikawa a frosty glare.
Next time... next time he would make Ishikawa understand the true power of the Eight Trigrams!