Chương 1319: 24
Kisame – Damn… It has been a really long time!
Itachi – For this story, yeah. Phoenixsun has been focusing on another fanfic… In actually, his update rate has improved in general.
Kisame – Sure, but what's a step up from abysmal? Is it mediocre?
Lee – That's not a nice thing to say.
Kisame – You're still here?
Lee – Yosh! Of course!
Itachi – Anyways, we're sorry for the delay, but here's PHD chapter 24…
Kisame – Still? This fic should be over by now!
Itachi – I just can't believe you actually got even bitchier during the last couple of months…
Let the Caged Bird Sing
"So, if you want him…" Neji finally spoke. "You will have to go through us." The Byakugan user firmly declared.
A light snicker escaped Sakon's lips. "We do not need to." The blue haired man nonchalantly turned his head to look at his female teammate. "Tayuya… Bind them…" He commanded.
Smirking, the kunoichi brought her flute to her mouth. "Mateki: Mugen Onsa!" She called out before starting to emit sound from her instrument.
Kiba and Akamaru were the first ones to feel the effects of the attack. "Gyargh! My body!" The Inuzuka screamed as the small white dog yelp in pain.
Before the others could react to their friend's predicament, the remaining Leaf nins found themselves with their limbs bound by an unseen force as pain ran rampant through their bodies.
Out of sheer force of will, Naruto managed to bring his hands up to his ears in an unsuccessful attempt to drown out the sound. "Hahah, that's useless, you retard!" Somehow, the blond could hear the redhead's voice through the melody. "My genjutsu travels in vibrations directly through the skin! Blocking your ears will do you no go, you poor bastard!" She gleefully and mockingly exclaimed.
"A wonderful melody." Sakon praised as he smirk wickedly at the struggling Konoha shinobi. "Now, Kidomaru, if you please."
The tanned man sighed. "I don't like this kind of tactics… It feels like a cheat code, but I guess a guy has to do what a guy has to do." He said before forming hand seals and taking air in. "Kumo Shibari!" Kidomaru shot another spider web towards the Uchiha.
Before the net could approach its target, it was caught by sudden powerful gust of wind that tore it apart. "I told you… That you would have to go through us to get to Sasuke…" Neji said with a low but firm voice as he stood up, apparently no longer affected by the sound based jutsu.
There was a small hiccup on the melody. "What? How is it not affecting him?" Tayuya's voice shouted through the music. The Kunoichi increased the tempo of her genjutsu and concentrated it on the insolent genin.
Still, the Hyuuga remained standing, staring down the three Oto nins and seemingly unhindered by the genjutsu. "Your sound…" Neji said as his body started to glow. "I can't hear it."
Tayuya's eyes widened. "What?" She screamed through the sound of her flute.
Unlike his teammate, Kidomaru grinned wickedly as he regarded the younger teen. "Heh… Someone seems to be leveling up as we speak." He commented. "But how?" The tanned man asked as he looked at his leader.
Sakon's eyes narrowed. Though it was extremely faint, he could sense something coming from the Leaf genin. "Incredible…" The blue haired teen muttered. "Not only was he able to fully discern the rhythm of Tayuya's song… But he's also able to emanate chakra from every part of his body at the exact same rate." The pale man explained.
"That bastard!" The redhead shouted without ever stopping to play her instrument.
Neji continued to stand defiantly between the remaining members of the Sound Four and his incapacitated comrades. "I have to find a way to stop that flute…" The Hyuuga thought as his white eyes settled on the kunoichi.
"I kind of like him!" Kidomaru suddenly stated. "I want to see what other kind of stunts he can pull out!" The strange man said before, in one swift movement, he pull out his bow and shot an arrow aimed the Leaf nin.
The black haired boy barely had time to form the Fudou Kaiten around him to stop the incoming projectile. "Damn it…! I cannot waste my time we him! I have to take stop that song!" Neji's mind raged.
"Kidomaru, stop!" Tayuya screamed, the music coming to an abrupt end. "That guy spat in my face by mocking my genjutsu!" She exclaimed, sending daggers at the Hyuuga through her eyes. "I'm going to teach that pretty boy not to make a ridicule of my music!"
Panting heavily, Shikamaru got back on his feet. The Nara looked his teammates over. "As soon as I give you guys the signal, we'll make a run for it… I'll use explosive tags to cover our escape." The team leader informed.
A sigh escaped Sakon. "Very well… Step down, Kidomaru." He ordered, earning a look from his teammate. "Oh come on, you know that she'll just get worse and worse if she doesn't get her way. Just make sure that none of the other brats tries anything funny during."
Finally, tanned man sighed in defeat. "I guess I'll be in guard duty then." Kidomaru commented before aiming at arrow at the group behind Neji.
"It's just you and me, white eyes!" Tayuya shouted as she moved several branches forward, standing right over her opponent.
"Neji, you don't have to do this!" Kiba stated as Akamaru barked in agreement. "We can just take them all on at once. There are five of us and only three of them."
The Hyuuga glanced back for a second. "And what would you do if she uses that genjutsu again?" The older boy questioned. "Then it would be all three of them against me." He stated before returning his gaze back upfront. "Don't worry about me… I will defeat her." The young man stated as he took a few steps forward.
A snort escaped the redhead. "You're a very cocky bastard, you know that, right?" She commented. "It must be that Hyuuga air of superiority I kept hearing about." She said, trying to bait the black haired boy, but to no bail as his white eyes remained unchanged.
"The only reason I have for fighting you is to protect my teammates and accomplish my mission." Neji stated as he shifted his body into a fighting stance. "Your words are worthless to me." He declared as the Byakugan activated.
If anything, the Leaf nin's words only served to infuriate the kunoichi even more. "I'm going to tear you apart limb by limp and then we will see who's truly worthless." Tayuya said through her gritting teeth before bringing her flute back up to her mouth.
Suddenly, Neji jumped onto a tree, and the next second an explosion went off right where he had been standing. "What the…?" Kiba exclaimed as Naruto narrowed his eyes.
The Hyuuga simply glared at his opponent while he continued to jump from branch to branch, explosions following him wherever he went.
"What is she doing?" Sasuke ask as he strained his ears to try and hear if the Sound kunoichi was playing something on her flute that was causing all those explosions. The Uchiha could not hear anything.
"It's just like back during the Chunin Exam…" Shikamaru commented. "The guy with the air canons in the palm of his hands… She's using her flue to control the air presses and reproduce the same attack." The team leader stated as he continue to watch his oldest comrade dodge air blasts one after the other.
Through the Byakugan, Neji could how the redhead's chakra extended from her instrument and shifted the air pressure between them to create those explosions. Had it not been for his kekkei genkai, the black haired boy was sure that he would have been splattered all over the ground by now.
Tayuya glared at the genin. "How long can you keep this up, you asshole?" She questioned before increasing the rate at which the air blasts were being released.
In order to compensate, the Hyuuga increased the chakra around his feet, making him jump both faster and higher. Little by little, the Leaf nin was shortening the distance between himself and the Sound kunoichi.
Tayuya's eye widened slightly when the black haired boy suddenly landed in front of her. The next second, Neji's extended, chakra covered fingers were traveling towards the redhead's chakra points.
Sasuke suddenly cringed as he could finally hear something. The girl's flute play a particularly strenuous note as barrier of high pressure formed around her body.
Neji's juuken strike was immediately stopped by the barrier around the Oto nin. Before, the Hyuuga could think what to do the next, the barrier exploded, sending him flying back until his back hit a tree with vicious force.
"Heh… Serves you right…" Tayuya commented. "Did you not think I wouldn't catch on to what you were trying to do?" She questioned. "Not everyone is as moronic as the five of you." The young woman taunted.
The Hyuuga panted as he got back on his feet, his Byakugan sending a glare at the redhead. Seeing another air blast forming, the genin jumped out of the way, barely able to dodge it.
"He's trying it again?" Kiba asked in confusing at seeing his teammate's intention. "Why? If she can just create a barrier around herself and blast him?"
Shikamaru shook his head. "I don't know… I don't know what Neji is planning…" The Nara admitted, his eyes still following the Hyuuga as he jumped around.
Gritting his teeth, Naruto tried to unclench his fist. "We have to have faith in Neji…" The blond said. "He was the only one that could fight off her genjutsu… He's the only one of us who can beat her." The spiky haired boy said, his fist still tightly closed.
"You just don't learn, do you, pretty boy?" Tayuya taunted as she saw the genin jump closer to her. Hitting the same note again, the air presser between the two shinobi built up, creating the barrier once more. "Maybe this time, you'll get it?" She shouted just went the black haired boy was about to collide with her barrier.
At the very last second, the Hyuuga's Kaiten formed. "Aaargh!" Neji shouted as his chakra clashed with the barrier.
The flute almost fell from the Oto nin's hand at the sight in front of her. "Wha… What the hell is he doing…?" She questioned as her skin could feel the friction emanating from the colliding forces. "Impossible…" The redhead muttered before she was suddenly thrown back by the explosion that ensued, throwing her down into the ground. Looking up, Tayuya could see her opponent's Byakugan eyes looking down at her from a tree branch.
Not wanting to lose his opening, The Leaf nin pumped chakra into feet and shot forward, appearing right in front of the Sound kunoichi.
Before Tayuya knew what hit her, her opponent had already delivered several juuken strikes on her chakra points. Just barely, the redhead was able to block the black haired boy's attack and immediately jump as far away from him as possible. "Damn… You…" She muttered, trying to catch her breath.
Neji remained silent as he simply returned to his fighting stance and continued to watch his opponent with the Byakugan.
The genin's silence only served to infuriate Tayuya even more as she glare back at his white eyes. "You're still mocking me, you bastard!" She exclaimed. "I'll teach you to respect me… No, to fear me!" The young woman stated in anger as a dark, crack-like pattern spread across her pale skin.
Sasuke immediately recognized the markings on the kunoichi's body as a Cursed Seal. "Neji, be careful!" He advised as he reactivated his Sharingan and looked at the redhead. "Her power has tremendously increased!" The Uchiha informed, his eyes confirming the rise of the girl's chakra.
Byakugan eyes narrowed at the sight of the young woman's chakra pathway going haywire. The boy shifted his stance to a slightly more defensive one.
Tayuya's hand immediately started forming hand seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" She called out before slamming her hand on the tree branch beneath her feet. Back on the ground, just a short distance from the Hyuuga, three monsters appeared in a cloud of smoke.
"What the hell are those?" The Inuzuka exclaimed in shock as Akamaru retreated into his jacket with a whimper.
The three creatures look human enough at first glance, but they had enough oddities in their appearance to be thought as anything else besides monsters. The largest one was bald and shirtless, with his eyes covered and two thorns tied to his arms. The second one had a green, full-body suit, hair that seemed to completely hide his face, and carried a large metal club. The last one, and perhaps the weirdest, had the upper part of his body almost completely covered with bandages, and his head was twisted upwards and filled with needles. As far as the Leaf genins could tell, all three monsters had their mouth sew shut.
"Now I'm going to enjoy watching you squirm as the Doki tear your body apart…" Tayuya stated as she brought her flute up to her mouth and started playing.
The three demons immediately reacted to the music and shot towards the Leaf genin.
Neji jumped just as the large metal club came down right where he had been standing. The largest Doki followed him, swinging the claws on his arm at the black haired boy.
Acting quickly, the Hyuuga kicked the monster, both to keep it away from him and to use it as a platform to propel himself even higher up. Through his Byakugan, Neji saw the third monster try to sneak up on him, a kick already traveling towards the back of his head. Forced to act quickly, the black haired boy created the Fudou Kaiten around his body, effectively propelling the bandaged creature away from him.
The Leaf nin landed safely on top of a branch, but his respite was cut short as the three monsters were already within striking distance from him. The genin was forced to jump around from branch to branch yet again, trying to stay as far away from the monsters as possible.
Tayuya continued to control the Doki with her flute, coordinating their attack patterns in an attempt to catch the Hyuuga off guard.
Neji found himself surrounded as the three monsters all came at him from different sides. Activating his Kaiten, the black haired boy was able to fight the creatures off and jump away. Unfortunately for the genin, the monsters recover faster than he expected, and by the time that the Leaf nin saw the large club coming down on his Byakugan, it was too late to dodge it, and the young man was slammed hard down into the ground.
"There you go!" Tayuya cheered for a second before continuing playing.
Pushing himself off the ground, the Hyuuga had less than a second to catch his breath, before he had to jump out the way as the largest of the three monsters came crashing down, its claws trained on the genin. The Byakugan user was able to move out of the way just in time to only have a graze on his shoulder from the attack.
When Neji looked up, he saw all three monsters closing in on him. Gritting his teeth, the Hyuuga planted his feet on the ground. "Hakke Rokujuyon Shou!" The black haired boy called out. Through his Byakugan, the young man could see the Doki step into his divination field.
The first two strikes hit the green and the bandaged monsters, the second two hit the shirtless one. The next four strikes were spread throughout, with the green one receiving two of them, but it only received two while the other had three in the next set of eight strikes. However, Neji was half way through the sixteen strikes of the fifth step, when he felt the already too familiar feel of the metal club going against his skin, sending the young boy flying to the side.
"Neji!" Kiba and Shikamaru cried out in unison as the two took a step forward. The sound of a string being pulled back almost to its breaking point stopped the pair on their tracks.
"Stay where you are…!" Neji called out as he forced himself back on his feet, whipping away a trickle of blood that ran from the corner of his mouth. "I said I was going to be the one to defeat her…" He stated as he took a few steps forward, one of his legs giving up, almost causing him to trip over.
Tayuya's laughter echoed through the forest. "That's a better look for you!" She exclaimed. "I just hope that you remember, at least for the couple of minutes you have to live, that it was me who took you down a peg." The redhead stated as she continued to laugh.
The black hared genin let out a short laugh of his own. "I am very sorry to inform you… But I was knocked down off my high horse a long time ago before I had the misfortune of meeting you." The Hyuuga informed, taking a second to look at the spiky haired boy that stood on the sidelines. "And also…" Neji lowered his body back into a fighting stance. "I'm not planning to die anytime soon." He glared at the three monsters as a smirk appeared on his face. "In the next attack, I will take them down."
The Sound kunoichi growled at the defiance she witnessed. "Then I'll just have to prove you wrong on that!" The young woman called out before she started playing her flute again, this time at a faster tempo.
The Doki immediately responded, charging forwards at the young shinobi.
"Hakke Hyakunijuhachi Shou…" Neji muttered.
It was almost as if a chakra explosion went off in the forest as dust was pushed to every direction, preventing anyone from seeing what was happening within the young man's divination circle.
Even with their respective Sharingan, all that Naruto and Sasuke could see were countless of chakra streaks shoot out of the dome of dust that encompassed their teammate and the three monsters.
Suddenly, the Doki came out flying out of the cloud of smoke, falling a lifelessly by the tree where Tayuya was standing on. "What…?" The girl said in disbelief.
Once the dust was clear out, the Hyuuga stood painting heavily, but with a triumphant smirk on his face. "You can play your flute all you want, but I doubt that their bodies will respond to it anymore." He stated.
The redhead started shaking in anger. "How… How dare you…?" The kunoichi struggled to say through their building rage.
A sigh escaped Sakon. "Here we go again…" The blue haired teen muttered.
"I'm going to kill you! You bastard!" Tayuya screamed as the dark pattern started to grow and spread until it covered her entire body. The kunoichi's skin turned dark brown as several horns sprouted from her head.
"This again…" Sasuke said as he observed the transformation, his hand subconsciously moving to the seal on his left side of his neck.
Neji saw how far the changes went with his Byakugan. Her chakra went through the roof and became darker and more menacing.
"Let me play for you… A most wicked melody." The redhead said as she brought the flute back to her mouth. "Makyou no Ran!" She exclaimed before starting to play a whole new song.
The Doki's bodies started to convulse on the ground. Suddenly the seam over their mouth came undone. Out of each of the monster's body, a cloud of smoke started to come out, but what really surprised the Leaf nins were the multiple mouths that started to open on the clouds of smoke.
Tayuya glared at the black haired boy. "This demon will not stop until they finish devouring your flesh!" She called out through her song, right before the three monsters shot forward to attack.
Hinata walked through the streets of Konoha, admiring all the effort that it was still being put on its rebuilding. "I'm sure that they will be done in no time." The girl cheerfully said to herself.
"Hinata-chan! Hinata-chan!" At the sound of her name being called, the blue haired girl turned around to find Tenten walking excitedly towards her, with Sakura following quietly behind her. "Hey!" The brown haired girl called out as she got nearer.
The Hyuuga gave her fellow kunoichi a courteous bow. "Tenten-san… Sakura." She greeted them.
The older girl smiled. "It's surprising to bump into you twice in one day." She commented.
Nodding, Hinata returned the smile. "Well, since Kiba-kun and Shino-kun are both out on missions of their own, I did not feel right staying the entire day at the Hyuuga compound." The girl informed. "So I decided to take walk through the village… I have not done so since before the attack." She added.
"Oh, I see…" Tenten said in response. "Ah! Now that you mentioned it!" She suddenly exclaimed. "Remember that you told me that Neji went off with Kiba on the mission? Well, according to Sakura, Naruto and Shikamaru accompanied them as well." The older girl informed.
A pair of white eyes widened. "Naruto-kun and Shikamaru as well?" The girl repeated, receiving a nod of confirmation from the other kunoichi. "Then it must be something really important if that many were sent…" The Byakugan user pointed out.
"It seems that way…" Tenten commented as she crossed her arms. "A boy from each of our teams was chosen."
Sakura mind trailed off after hearing the brown haired girl's comment. Yes, one member of each other their young teams was sent off on that mission, but it was all to bring back the third member of her team. At that moment, the pink haired girl would have given anything to be with those guys searching for Sasuke, fighting for the future of Team Seven.
What type of challenges was the makeshift team of four young men going to face? Would they get along? Would Sasuke resist? What if they were attack by someone else after they found the Uchiha? What if they were attacked before?
"The biggest problem for those idiots will probably be finding their way back home." At the sound of Tenten's words, Sakura snapped out of her train of thought. Looking at the two girls next to her, Sakura realized that they had probably seen her dazed and worried face from a moment ago because Hinata had a worried look of her own and Tenten tried to smile reassuringly.
The Haruno tried to smile back, but all that she could do was nod. "Yes… Most likely…" The girl tried to agree.
"You know…. Neji-niisan has been training a lot more this last couple of weeks." Hinata commented, trying to deviate the conversation even if by a bit.
Tenten nodded in agreement. "Yes, I think he has already put in more hours than he did back during the Chunin Exam…" The older girl informed. "He has taken advantage that our team missions are on hold until Lee recovers. All he has been doing lately is training!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air for emphasis.
The Hyuuga giggled at the brown haired girl's antics. "Yes, Kiba-kun has gotten a lot more serious about his training after the attack as well. Saying that he's not going to be saved by anyone ever again… Whatever that means…?" She said. "But when I said he was starting to look like Shino-kun, he got all red and stormed off." The girl giggled. "Some people just get flustered too easily." She commented as she giggled.
Sakura and Tenten tried her best not to roll their eyes at the blue haired girl's words.
"Anyways!" The brown haired girl suddenly started again. "It seems that all of our boys are getting stronger and stronger at an alarming rate, soon they are going to leave us behind." She stated. "So we should start training ourselves and show those idiots with are just as strong as they are! If not better!" The older kunoichi exclaimed.
Before the other two could say anything about the matter, Tenten grabbed them both by the hand and started pulling them along. "Hol… Hold on a second…. Tenten-san!" Hinata called out, trying her best not to get caught up in the moment.
"No time!" The brown haired called back. "We have to find Ino-chan and start training right away!" She exclaimed.
At that moment, all that Sakura and Hinata could think about was that, while Neji was training, perhaps Tenten had been spending too much time with Lee and their sensei.
Even with his Byakugan activated, Neji's vision was still getting blurry as he jumped around the forest trying to get away from the demons. In the last couple of minutes, the battle had taken a turn for the worse for the genin. His cloths were already stained by blood due to the flesh-eating monsters onslaught.
In their current form, the Doki were immune to any of the Hyuuga's juuken strike and were able to fight off his Kaiten with more ease.
Feeling a sudden jolt of pain from his leg, Neji look down at his leg and cursed. Not only was one of the monster biting down on his ankle, but the fact that he did not see it coming meant that his Byakugan was failing as well.
"How do you like it?" Tayuya's voice asked through the music. "The song that accompanies the Doki's dinner?" She asked before she started laughing.
With his foot hurt, the black haired boy missed a step fell crashing down to ground.
"Neji, look out!" Kiba cried out desperately as the Hyuuga tried to push his body off the ground.
Despite the Inuzuka's call, it was too late for the older genin to do anything to stop the next attack. All three demons bite down on his body, one in the leg, one in the hip, and the third one on the shoulder.
"Gyaaargh!" Neji's painful scream echoed through the forest.
"Damn it!" Naruto cursed and he took out a kunai and moved forward. The next second, an arrow fell less than two inches from the spiky haired boy's foot. Sharingan eyes immediately looked up at the trees.
Kidomaru smirked at the murderous glare he received. "Sorry, but this is not a multiplayer campaign." He joked as he trained another arrow at the blond.
The Uzumaki growled at the tanned man. He was more than ready to take on the strange looking shinobi, but he was not sure if he would be able to burn that bow away before the Oto nin could shoot at one of his comrades.
Before Naruto could act, another shout redirected his attention. "Aaaah!" Neji cried out. There was no pain in this scream, just sheer force of will as the next second chakra exploded out of the Hyuuga's body, pushing the Doki back.
One of thee black haired genin's leg give up and he fell to one knee in the middle of the forest. The monster that had bitten on his shoulder had ripped out the sleeve and part of the shirt's collar.
Everyone was surprised at the sight in front of them. Now that part of his body was in clear view, they all could see the many scars scattered all over the Hyuuga's alabaster skin, some that appeared to have healed only a few hour ago.
"What's this…?" Tayuya asked. Ever since they started their fight, she had thought that her opponent was the typical stuck-up member of an elite clan. She believed she was fighting the type of person that never had to work hard for anything in his life, but now, looking at his body, maybe she was mistaken.
"Please ignore the scars…" Neji calmly said, snapping everyone out of their similar trains of thought. "Let's just say that I went a little too far with my training."
The redhead growled at the return of the genin's nonchalant attitude. "It doesn't matter anymore… You're body is going to be mincemeat pretty soon!" She exclaimed before continuing playing her flute.
As the Doki rushed towards him, the Hyuuga simply closed his eyes. "No…" He muttered. "I told you that I will be the victor…" The black haired said as the rate of chakra that his body was emanation skyrocketed.
With their Sharingan, Naruto and Sasuke could see the chakra spilling out of the older boy and how it started to concentrate on his back.
"Hakke…" Neji said as he embraced his own arms and hunched over. "Naruto… Take a good look… These are the wings that you and Hinata-sama have given me." He thought as he forced chakra on his back to start to gather more tightly together. "Tenhoshou!" The young man called out.
Just as the Doki were about to bite back down on the Hyuuga's body, the chakra on his back became visible to everyone else in the forest as two shining pairs of swords appeared hovering over the genin's back, almost as if they were wings.
Suddenly, one of the blades started shining brighter than the rest. Neji straightened back up and swung one arm forward, the brightest blade immediately followed the motion, slashing one of the Doki in two, causing both the monster and it disappear, and sending out a shockwave that pushed the remaining two away.
"What?" Tayuya screamed incredulously.
Shikamaru's eyes were as wide as they could be. "Incredible… Each of those wings is like a reshaped Kaiten." The Nara said. "All that chakra compressed into that shape… It must really pack a punch…"
The Byakugan user took a few steps forward, the three remaining blades following his every move. "Like I said before… No sound that you produce with that instrument of your can hurt me." The black haired boy declared.
The monstrous girl shook with anger. "Shut up!" She cried out before ordering the two Doki to attack.
Neji was not even fazed by the two incoming demons, instead the young man simply extended his arm to the side and immediately another wing started to shine. Beckoning the blade to swing forward, the chakra weapon slashed the two fanged monsters clean through before disappearing. "Stop already. Your actions are futile." The Leaf nin stated, two wings still on each side of his back.
Shaking uncontrollably in fury, Tayuya gripped her flute. "I hate you… I hate you…" She muttered. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" The red head started screaming before starting to play something that no one could hear on the flute. "I'm going to kill you even if it's the last thing I do!"
Sensing something was off, Shikamaru looked up at the trees and gasped in surprised. To the Nara, it appeared as if something invisible was growing among the trees, pushing leaves and branches out of the way as it expanded. "Air pressure…" The black haired boy said as he realized that a giant wall of pressure was being built up in the trees. "She's planning to drop that thing down on herself and Neji!" He exclaimed.
The Hyuuga looked up and the only sign of acknowledgment he gave to the building air pressure was a narrowing of his eyes. Wordlessly, the Byakugan user jumped onto a tree and rushed towards the Sound kunoichi.
"Die!" Tayuya cried out as the wall of air above their head started to come down.
Now closer to the redhead, the last two wings on Neji's back begun to glow. Just as he started to feel the air pressure above him, the black haired teen brought both of his hands together in front of him, causing the blades to follow suit and combined into a single concentrated mass of chakra. Neji swung his arms downward, releasing a potent blast of chakra that hit the Oto nin across her body.
The air pressure disappeared as Tayuya was propelled through the forest, flying trough branches and tree trunks, until her body fell limply onto the dirt.
Back on the ground, the younger Leaf genins breathed sighs of relief as the panting Hyuuga straightened back up, turned to face them, and presented a knowing smirk. The next second, their eyes widened in horror as an arrow flew drilling through Neji's chest, leaving a gaping hole behind as the teen fell with a silent scream caught on the boy's throat, blood already falling spilling freely from the wound and his mouth.
"Neji!" Naruto and Kiba shouted in unison as they rushed forward. The blond was just barely able to catch his teammate's falling form before it hit the ground.
"I'm your next opponent!" Kidomaru called out from a tree, an arrow trained on Uzumaki and the Inuzuka, as a delightful smile formed on his face in responds to their murderous glare. "So, who's going to step up to the challenge?" The teen with the six arms asked.
Hakke Rokujuyon Shou – Eight Divination Signs, Sixty-Four Palms
Hakke Hyakunijuhachi Shou – Eight Divination Signs, One-Hundred and Twenty-Eight Palms
Makyou no Ran – Revolt of Demonic Spirits
Hakke Tenhoshou – Eight Divination Signs, Heaven Sentinel (Made up)
Kisame – You know, I was prepared to label this chapter as a fail until that little twist at the end.
Lee – Neji!
Kisame – I like when good guys get slapped around.
Lee – You have to hold on, Neji!
Kisame – Though, he's getting even more annoying…
Lee – Don't go into the light!
Itachi – Even if this chapter doesn't really show it, while working on his other story, Phoenixsun has gotten more comfortable with writing fight scenes. This would help PHD's update rate in the future.
Kisame – Then again, what's an improvement over atrocious
Itachi – You still on that?
Kisame – The right answer was awkward!
Itachi – You know what else Phoenixsun has gotten better on? Holding grudges… So I would shut up if I were you.
Lee – Neji, don't give up!
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