Thud!
Shhhk!
Neji's rapid spin not only deflected the kunai aimed at him but also nearly tore off Takenaka's grip on his wrist. Takenaka cried out in pain.
"Judging by your agony, maybe I should lend you a hand," Neji said.
"What?" Takenaka gasped.
Snikt!
In the next moment, Neji drove a kunai in a swift arc, severing Takenaka's right arm cleanly at the joint.
"Ahhh!!!" Takenaka screamed.
"Amazing," Lee and Tenten exclaimed from where they were mired in the mud. Neji's decisive, sweeping strike had left them utterly stunned. He had dismantled their opponent in one flawless motion, remaining perfectly calm under pressure. Takenaka was now firmly on the defensive.
Whoosh!
Takenaka stumbled backward, only to find Neji relentlessly closing the gap.
"Damn it… If that's how it's going to be…" Takenaka snarled, drawing a bundle of explosive tags from his belt.
"Let's die together," he declared, lunging forward to grapple Neji with his left arm.
"Heh." Neji allowed himself a cold smile. So much misunderstanding still existed about the Hyūga clan.
He formed hand seals in an instant, then unleashed a blazing orb from his mouth.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Wha?!!" Takenaka's eyes widened in disbelief.
He'd forgotten that Hyūga could use ninjutsu after all, they rarely demonstrated it in battle. Takenaka tried to retract his arm, but it was too late. The fireball struck the stump of his severed right arm, igniting the wound in a gout of flame.
By the time Neji reached him, Takenaka had only his left arm free.
"I'll give you mercy," Neji said quietly.
"Crap!" Takenaka shouted, scrambling backward.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!...
Suddenly, dozens of kunai flew from the surrounding forest.
Neji glanced up, then leapt back to evade. Above him, Might Guy let out a broad grin, the salt-white of his teeth shining. "Finally, I couldn't hold back."
A spy never operated alone reinforcements were on their way.
Boom! Boom! Boom!...
Each fleeing kunai burst into flame as their explosive tags detonated. Smoke and dust filled the clearing while Neji slid backward across the wet earth.
"Damn it," Neji muttered through clenched teeth. "I got too focused back there and didn't notice my surroundings."
True enough, his battlefield awareness still needed work.
Takenaka seized the moment to roll across the ground, smothering the flames on his left arm. Through gritted teeth, he muttered, "At last… they've arrived."
In the next instant, over a dozen figures emerged from the shadows Sound ninja, each bearing the Music Note insignia on their forehead protector.
"Sounds like you're in trouble," the one in the lead said to Takenaka.
At the sight of Takenaka's bloodied, broken form, even this Sound ninja shuddered Takenaka was supposed to be a Chūnin, yet he looked more like a corpse.
His right arm was severed, streams of blood dripping, and his left arm scorched nearly to charcoal though it still functioned, he could no longer form hand seals with ease.
"Sorry, I didn't expect them to catch up so fast," Takenaka said, lowering his head.
"Hmph. Attack," the lead Sound ninja commanded.
"Wind Style: Whirlwind Cutter!"
He raised his hand and released a razor-sharp gust of wind at the trapped Lee and Tenten.
"Lightning Style: Ground Burst!"
"Lightning Style: Thunder Fang!"
Two Sound ninja immediately formed seals and discharged crackling bolts of lightning to block Neji's path.
"Pathetic," Neji said, "thinking a little wind and lightning can kill them for me."
At that moment, Might Guy sprang into action. He flashed down to Lee and Tenten's side, sweeping both wind blades into rubble with a single palm strike. Even as mud churned beneath his feet, he remained steady a sight that made Neji's eyes shine with admiration. Guy truly was an elite jonin.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
Several Sound ninja responded in kind, forming seals and sending a fan of fiery blasts at Guy. The explosions lit up the clearing, but when the smoke settled, neither Guy nor the others could be found.
"Where are they?!" the Sound ninja shouted, scanning the trees.
"Up here!" came a voice from above.
All heads turned skyward to see Guy and his students standing on a thick branch high in the canopy.
"So many of you… quite the display of youth," Guy said, his bones crackling as he stretched.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Neji broke free of the Sound ninja who had been pressing him and bounded to the treetops, reuniting with Lee and Tenten.
"A jonin, huh? No wonder," the lead Sound ninja said coolly.
Neji felt a pang of sympathy. This Sound ninja had fought so many battles that nothing, not even Guy's arrival, seemed to faze him.
Including Takenaka, there were now fourteen enemies: ten Genin, three Chūnin, and one jonin.
"That was too close," Lee patted his chest, breathing hard. "I really still have a lot to learn."
"Yeah," Tenten wiped sweat from her brow. "I thought we were goners."
"But… they're so many."
"Alright! I'll take the jonin over there leave the rest to you two," Guy said with a hearty laugh.
"Huh? Guy-sensei, there are still three Chūnin down here!" Tenten called in alarm.
"Now that's what I call youth!" Guy glanced back at them, flashing a thumbs-up. With that, he dove toward the jonin waiting below.
"I…" Tenten clenched her fists, watching Guy's exuberant descent with a mixture of awe and frustration.
Facing one Chūnin was already tough; taking on three at once would be nearly impossible. And those ten Genin couldn't be ignored, either.
Neji fixed Guy with a steady gaze. Guy hadn't even asked Lee to remove his weighted training leg warmers, which meant Guy trusted them and that the situation was most likely a test in preparation for the Chūnin Exams.
Tenten she had solid skills, but could only serve as support, setting up ambushes from the side.
Lee enormous spirit and genuine ability, but…
Recalling how close Lee had come to defeat just moments ago, Neji shook his head. He would have to rely on himself.
"Alright, let's do this!" Lee jumped from the branch and sprinted toward the Sound ninja.
Having downed a ration pill, Tenten's chakra had partially recovered. She unrolled her scroll once more, ready to unleash her seal-mounted weapons.
Neji, too, dropped down to join the fray below.
"Hey you two, be careful don't let yourselves get caught again," Neji called out. He didn't want to see them taken by surprise a second time.
"Hmph! You brat, you're still talking while we fight?" one of the Sound Genin snarled, charging at Neji.
I just handled a Chūnin while barely breaking a sweat. You Genin are nothing to me. Neji permitted himself a small smile cold and unyielding before snatching a kunai in each hand and vanishing into thin air.
Moments later, two agonized screams echoed through the clearing as two Sound ninja fell to the ground, lifeless.
"What?!" the remaining Sound ninja cried in shock. Neither had seen Neji approach and yet, two comrades were already dead.
Neji barely bothered to slow down. These Genin were too weak. With a quick survey of the battlefield, he saw that Lee and Tenten were doing well: together they had almost beaten a Chūnin. With caution, they were hardly a threat.
He cast a glance upward toward the treetops, but Guy and the jonin had vanished from sight.
"All we've got are taijutsu novices keep them at a distance…" one Sound ninja snarled.
Before he could finish, a kunai plunged into his forehead with surgical precision.