'No, that's not right! It's not Guy's Eight Gates!'
Asuma immediately rejected this judgment.
Although it was also a Taijutsu secret technique that erupted Chakra, the way this Chakra operated on Yusuke's body was clearly different from Guy's Eight Gates.
The Eight Gates forcibly releases latent Chakra by opening the eight 'pressure points' in the body that limit Chakra Flow. Its Chakra appears as furious green and red, and places a tremendous burden on the user's body.
Whereas the pale blue Chakra on Yusuke's body, although equally vast, was more introverted and did not seem to be obtained by opening 'pressure points'.
"It's not the Eight Gates."
Yusuke's voice carried a hint of pride.
He held the Kubikiribocho with one hand, slowly raising it, the tip pointing at Asuma.
"This is our Land of Stars' secret Taijutsu technique, the [Seven Heavens Breathing Method]." Yusuke explained.
"Through a special breathing method, it increases lung capacity in a short time, raising the activity of cells throughout the body to its extreme, thereby erupting with far beyond normal strength, speed, and reaction."
He paused, then added: "Although with my current level, I can only open up to the [Fifth Activity]. However..."
"Combined with this body, which has been enhanced through seven genetic modification surgeries, in a short time, I should be able to touch the threshold of 'Kage-level'."
'Seven genetic modification surgeries?'
Asuma didn't know what genetic modification was, but the phrase 'touching the threshold of Kage-level' made his breath stagnate for a moment.
'The Land of Stars... that country that had risen in just a few short years, seemed to be conducting some kind of forbidden human experimentation?'
'Is this why Orochimaru allied with the Land of Stars?'
'And, judging by the opponent's tone, this kind of surgery seems to have matured to the point where it can be applied in batches?'
Asuma didn't dare think further.
Because Yusuke didn't give Asuma more time to think.
The pale blue Chakra around him suddenly boiled!
That Chakra rose from the surface of his body, like a column of fire, enveloping him.
The branch beneath his feet finally couldn't withstand this force. With a 'crack', it completely snapped, but Yusuke's body also moved!
His figure left a pale blue afterimage in place, while his true body had already appeared less than a meter in front of Asuma.
The Kubikiribocho was held in both hands, the pale blue Chakra entangling the blade flowing like a living creature, emitting a low hum like the roar of a wild beast.
Then, the simplest horizontal slash!
Whoosh—!
The blade wind arrived before the blade itself.
The howling wind pressure almost made it hard for Asuma to breathe.
He could see that wherever the edge of the Kubikiribocho passed, the sword energy caused the air to distort visibly, as if even space would be cut open by this slash.
'I absolutely cannot take this head-on!'
Asuma's pupils contracted to pinpricks, his combat instincts screaming warnings.
The power of this slash had already exceeded what he could handle.
If he forcibly blocked with his Chakra Blades, there would be only one outcome!
The blades would break, and he would die!
"Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!"
In the spark of an eye, Asuma made the most correct choice.
His chest swelled, then he suddenly opened his mouth.
Whoosh—!
A large amount of high-temperature ash mixed with Chakra gushed from Asuma's mouth, instantly completely enveloping the space five meters in front of him.
The ash was extremely hot. Wherever it passed, leaves and branches, the moment they contacted the ash, emitted a 'sizzling' sound, rapidly turning black and carbonizing.
The Ash Pile Burning technique, Asuma's original Ninjutsu, was not known for its lethality, but rather used high-temperature ash to block vision and interfere with breathing, creating opportunities for the user to attack or retreat.
At this moment, this technique became Asuma's only chance of survival.
The moment he sprayed the ash, Asuma's body rolled backward somewhat awkwardly.
Only seeking to escape the range of this slash as quickly as possible.
Rip—!
Almost as Asuma rolled backward, a pale blue blade light cut through the rolling ash.
The scene was truly terrifying.
As Yusuke's slash swept across, the high-temperature ash sprayed by Asuma was cut in half by the blade, rolling and dispersing to the sides.
And the blade light's momentum didn't diminish, viciously slashing into the towering trees behind Asuma, which had been created by the Deep Forest Emergence.
One slash.
Just one slash.
Over a dozen giant trees, requiring several people to wrap their arms around, were cut in half at the waist.
The cuts were smooth, as if they were blocks of tofu.
The unsupported giant trees toppled, producing deafening roars, kicking up a sky full of dust, further shrouding the already chaotic battlefield.
Asuma rolled several times in the ash, finally kneeling on one knee on a thick, horizontally growing branch twenty meters away, his chest heaving, fine cold sweat appearing on his forehead.
He looked back at the area cleared by that single slash, at the over a dozen giant trees crashing to the ground, at the pale blue figure in the smoke and dust slowly withdrawing the Kubikiribocho. His Adam's apple rolled uncontrollably.
'That slash just now...'
'If I had taken it head-on, I would definitely have died!'
Asuma gripped his Chakra Blades tightly, looking at the figure slowly emerging from the smoke and dust, at Yusuke's eyes, which, under the pale blue Chakra's glow, were like cold stars. He felt death, so close to him.
"Pretty fast escape."
Yusuke walked out of the smoke and dust, the Kubikiribocho dragging at his side, its tip carving a shallow groove in the trunk beneath his feet.
The pale blue Chakra around him was still burning, his eyes locking onto Asuma, like a hawk locking onto its prey.
"But how many times can you escape?"
The moment his voice fell, Yusuke's figure disappeared from its spot again.
Asuma's pupils suddenly contracted.
...
Boom—!
On another battlefield, the roaring sound continued to explode like rolling thunder.
Two figures moved at speeds almost impossible for the eye to capture among the branches of the giant trees, colliding, separating, and colliding again.
Each clash erupted with astonishing air waves, shattering the surrounding leaves and branches.
This was the ultimate duel of Taijutsu.
A wild symphony of power and speed.
Guy stamped his foot on a tree trunk, the thick branch exploding with crack lines like a spider web beneath his foot.
Using the recoil force, his body shot out like a cannonball, his right leg swinging high like a battle axe, carrying a tearing shriek, fiercely chopping down at the white figure opposite.
"Konoha Whirlwind!"
"Gentle Fist Technique: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
Neji did not dodge. His hands drew a circle in front of his chest, gentle Chakra flowing in his palms. Then, the moment Guy's roundhouse kick was about to land, he suddenly pushed out both palms.
Thud—!
The invisible shockwave and Guy's roundhouse kick collided fiercely.
There was no explosive sound of metal clashing, only a dull thud like a drumbeat.
Guy only felt a gentle yet incredibly tough force transmitting from his leg, layer upon layer like a tide, constantly dissipating the power of his kick.
'Was it the Gentle Fist's technique of striking into the body to interfere with Chakra Flow?'
'No, that wasn't right.'
Guy keenly noticed that Neji's Vacuum Palm was completely different from traditional Gentle Fist.
Traditional Gentle Fist seals an enemy's Chakra by attacking Tenketsu Points, whereas Neji's palm strike seemed more like pushing the 'gentleness' and 'penetration' of Gentle Fist to their limit, striking out as palm force through the air, specifically destroying the 'nodes' in an enemy's technique.
Just like now, Neji's palm strike accurately blasted the weakest point in the power flow of Guy's roundhouse kick, forcibly neutralizing 70% of the kick's power.
The remaining 30% of the force, Neji merely turned sideways, stepped, and spun with ease, and had already dissipated it.
"What a surging battle!" Guy landed on a branch, looking at the composed Neji opposite, a glint of appreciation in his eyes.
"Combining the 'gentleness' of Gentle Fist with the 'hardness' of Taijutsu to create a unique fighting style of your own, Neji, you are likely the one who has gone the farthest among the current generation of the Hyuga Clan."
Neji slowly withdrew his palms, his white eyes calmly watching Guy, without the slightest fluctuation due to the other's praise.
"I once heard my father mention you, Guy-senpai." Neji spoke, his voice clear as a mountain stream: "He said that when it comes to the strongest Taijutsu in Konoha, it should be you."
Neji remembered his father also mentioning that the Eight Gates was a forbidden technique that even Shura had praised highly.
"But what I don't understand is." He paused, his white eyes slightly grave: "Since you possess such powerful Taijutsu, why have you never used the Eight Gates in your fights with me? Are you looking down on me?"
"Looking down on you?" Guy shook his head, a complex expression tinged with recollection appearing on his face: "No, I have never looked down on any opponent, especially you, Neji."
He took a deep breath, slowly assuming the starting stance of his Taijutsu.
"I knew your father, Hizashi-senpai." Guy's voice deepened a few notches. In his eyes, always burning with passion, there was now a reflection of the vicissitudes of past events.
"During the Third Great Ninja War, I fought under his command. He was a good captain and a good Ninja. Calm, wise, extremely high Taijutsu skill, especially skilled at mediating the conflicts between the various Ninja Clans in the unit at the time."
Guy's gaze fell on Neji's forehead.
It was smooth there, without the Caged Bird Curse Mark.
"My father died young. When I was on a mission with my comrades, we encountered Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen. To protect me and my comrades, he opened the Eight Gates Formation and died from exhaustion." Guy spoke slowly, the veins on his clenched fists bulging.
"After my father died, I was immersed in grief for a long time. It was your father, Hizashi-senpai, who took the initiative to find me."
Neji's eyes moved slightly.
"He said he had watched my father and me train and recognized our efforts. He invited me to the Hyuga branch family's compound as a guest, to spar with me, to guide my Taijutsu skills." A bitter smile tugged at the corner of Guy's mouth.
"He even said that after his son was born, he wanted to find a teacher skilled in Taijutsu for his son. He said he had high hopes for me, believed I could become a Jonin, and believed I could become a good teacher."
The air fell into a brief silence at this moment.
Only the sounds of explosions, killing, and the roar of falling giant trees from the distance echoed continuously like background noise.
Neji listened quietly, his white eyes revealing no emotion.
But the hand hanging naturally at his side clenched slightly.
"If not for that incident..." Guy's voice was very soft, almost drowned out by the distant noise.
"Perhaps, you really would have become my student, Neji."
Neji was silent for a moment.
His father had indeed praised Guy's Taijutsu skill more than once when he was young. If not for the [Night of Defection], perhaps he really would have become Guy's student after graduating from the Ninja Academy.
Neji exhaled, then slowly raised his right hand, fingers together, palm forward, assuming the Gentle Fist's starting stance.
"But reality has no 'ifs', Guy-senpai." Neji's voice carried firm fighting spirit.
"Regardless of whether it was me and my father, or the other clan members, we are very grateful for our choice back then."
He paused, his gaze passing over Guy, looking towards the direction of the Hyuga main family's spectator seats in the distance.
Unfortunately, that place was already empty.
When the upheaval first occurred, Hiashi had taken his daughter Hanabi and evacuated under the escort of the branch family's members.
This disappointed Neji somewhat.
He had originally intended, today, in this Konoha Crush Plan, to have a proper fight with that uncle of his.
To use these Byakugan, free from the Caged Bird, to use this body enhanced by five genetic modification surgeries, to use everything learned in the Land of Stars over these six years, to prove.
The branch family is not weaker than the main family!
Our choice was not wrong!