Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 76 Opening

The high walls of the circular arena were almost completely filled, and the roar of the crowd reached its peak as the competitors slowly entered. Previous competitions had never seen such a spectacle, but this time not only was the Kazekage of Sunagakure in attendance, but also the final descendant of the Uchiha clan was participating, and many people who didn't usually watch competitions had bought tickets. Of course, how many of these people were spies with ill intentions? That was hard to say.

The Hokage and Kazekage exchanged a few brief pleasantries, their words often laced with barbs, but both sides needed to maintain decorum, exchanging a few words before gracefully backing down.

"Thank you all for traveling so far to Konoha..." The Third Hokage's opening remarks were very simple. He knew very well that the people who came here weren't here to see an old man like him. No matter how the so-called plan proceeded, this match had to be played, and it was best if it was played beautifully.

Originally, there were six Konoha members, three Sunagakure members, and one Otogakure member who made it to the finals, making a total of five teams. However, the only member of Otogakure disappeared half a month ago, and then his team leader withdrew, resulting in the team not being able to form a complete group, leaving Sakura without a bye.

During the address, Naruto sensed an intense hatred. He suppressed the urge to say anything, silently sighing and rubbing his forehead. Problems with troubled youths just keep piling up; three to five years of fulfilling life and a good night's sleep wouldn't solve the root of the problem. To resolve the inner conflict, he needed to address the issue at its source. He had a bad feeling about this; after all, wasn't Sasuke in the same situation? But… he still hadn't figured out how to bring it up with Sasuke. Should he wait until he became a captain, then take on a two-person mission with Sasuke and bring him directly to the headquarters of "Hikari"?

"The first round contestants stay behind; the rest of you go to the lounge to wait."

Naruto paid no attention to the other examiner, who was chewing on a senbon needle, giving an inspiring pre-match pep talk. A third of his enormous brain was devoted to Hui's communication needs, two-fifths to monitoring chakra movements in and around Konoha, especially the five Hui members operating independently, and only the remaining portion was reserved for the arena, to face the battle-ready Neji.

This was the first time Neji had ever so intensely desired victory.

"We probably don't need that pre-duel trash talk anymore," Naruto said, trying to ease the tension.

Neji's fighting spirit remained undiminished. He said, "You are a worthy opponent, but today is different. Show me your true strength, because I will not hold back this time."

Naruto, forced to be the target again, smiled helplessly. It seemed he had once again become Neji's tool for proving himself, but he wouldn't give up because of a soft heart. He was determined to completely untangle Neji's inner knot and guide him onto a new path!

As is customary, the two joined their two fingers together, forming opposing hand seals. As the opening words were uttered, Neji launched the first attack!

Neji knew very well that this was his best chance to catch Naruto. If he missed this chakra monster, he might have to fight shadow clones the whole time. But Naruto was fast too. He slightly turned to the side and blocked Neji's attack with his elbow, and in a flash, he formed the hand seals for a shadow clone.

The smoke from the successful execution of the ninjutsu appeared. Neji stared intently ahead, afraid that even a moment's distraction would cause him to lose track of Naruto's true form. While the Byakugan did grant him full vision, his gaze was focused. To counter the ever-present shadow clones, Neji had specifically trained himself to focus on three areas outside his focal point. This was extremely energy-consuming; currently, he could only maintain this high level of concentration for half an hour. He had to finish this quickly!

Baguazhang!

Three clones rushed up, one was underground, and the main body was still moving away, so it was very likely that more clones would be created. Neji had long since mastered the Eight Trigrams Palm and could easily break down and use the techniques. In order to finish off his opponent more quickly, he did not hesitate to expend his chakra.

The explosive pressure point strike was so fast it was a blur, quickly obliterating the three clones. Even the lurking hand on the ground was fooled by the unpredictable footwork. Neji continued his charge towards Naruto's main body, who was forming hand seals. He knew he couldn't dodge this attack, so he had prepared his defenses early. Now wasn't the time to worry about exhaustion; he couldn't give Naruto any chance to use Shadow Clones again!

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"Return to Heaven!"

The wind blast hit a spinning chakra hemisphere, and at the same time, due to the continuous backward movement and recoil, Naruto's back slammed into the wall.

"Now!" Neji burst out of the chakra and struck the abdomen, which was difficult to dodge.

Naruto did not dodge. He suddenly took half a step forward and responded to the palm with a punch. After their hands collided, neither of them stopped. They exchanged blows dozens of times in the blink of an eye.

Neji grew increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed. He had initially assumed Naruto's taijutsu was inferior to Sasuke's, who possessed the Sharingan. During their usual sparring sessions, their main bodies would often transform into shadow clones mid-fight, and Neji wouldn't even know when the clones were switched. The clones were, of course, weaker than the main body, but Neji genuinely had no idea by how much. However, now it seemed that even with obstructed vision and feints, Naruto could precisely anticipate his attacks, dodging or counterattacking in advance, as if he possessed dynamic tracking abilities!

The first wave of combat ended with a powerful punch. Neji flew through the air for a moment, and when he landed, he quickly took a few steps back to barely absorb the force. Even so, his arms, which had received the punch, were still trembling slightly.

Is this the kind of opponent who can fight Li, who has opened three gates, to a standstill? Sure enough... this guy is never short of surprises.

"This is the first time you've been so eager to beat me, isn't it?" Naruto didn't seize the opportunity to attack, but instead chuckled and strolled towards the center. "Is it because today is a match?"

Neji assumed an attack stance once more. He had confirmed that there was no second Naruto on the field.

After testing the speed, are you no longer planning to use clones? This confident and relaxed attitude...does he think he's bound to lose? He's miscalculating!

"I will definitely be the winner!"

Neji's second charge wasn't reckless. As he charged, he swung his palm forward, seemingly throwing a punch into nothingness, but Naruto's hand seals suddenly paused, instantly changing to summon a wall of water. Almost the instant the water wall formed, a splash erupted from its center. It was indeed only the size of a palm, but behind that small hole was Naruto's hand forming hand seals; if he continued, the seals would definitely be broken!

The distance between the two could be reduced to nothing with just this one pause, and Neji's arm rushed through the water wall and struck Naruto's throat!