"Heh," Kurama lay in the sealed space, watching the outside events like a spectator.
He deliberately didn’t lend Naruto any chakra. Relying solely on his own chakra wasn’t going to cut it. Looking back at the original story, Naruto’s rise began when he stopped using Kurama’s chakra. Before that, whenever Naruto couldn’t win, he’d call on Kurama, and his personal growth was minimal.
At the start of the Hayate saga, all the other twelve young ninjas except Sasuke were at least Chunin, with Neji even becoming a Jonin. Naruto, however, knew nothing but Shadow Clone Jutsu and Rasengan. That Naruto probably couldn’t beat any of the twelve.
It wasn’t until after his battle with Orochimaru that he realized he shouldn’t ’rely’ on the Tailed Beast’s power anymore and started to learn to control the Tailed Beast’s chakra. Only then did Naruto’s combat power truly soar.
Although lending Naruto chakra now wouldn’t affect much, Kurama couldn’t wait that long. He needed Naruto to understand that constantly relying on his power wouldn’t lead to true strength. True strength comes from within.
Look at Naruto after the Fourth Great Ninja War. Even though he still only knew Shadow Clone Jutsu and Rasengan, he fought Otsutsuki Toneri on the moon, faced Otsutsuki Momoshiki in Boruto’s tale, and with his taijutsu, tactics, and combat awareness, even without Kurama’s chakra, Naruto remained one of the strongest in the ninja world.
That is true strength.
So what if he uses Kurama’s power to go berserk and defeat Neji now? It would be Kurama’s strength, not Uzumaki Naruto’s. Unless he understands this, Naruto will never grow.
Naruto doesn’t get this yet. To him, Kurama’s strength is his strength. After all, he can borrow chakra from Kurama anytime, so he subconsciously believes Kurama’s power is his own.
In the original story, Kurama lent Naruto chakra to erode the seal whenever Naruto used his chakra, until the borrowed chakra exceeded Naruto’s limits. Then Kurama could kill Naruto and escape the seal.
But now, Kurama has no such intentions. To face the Otsutsuki clan in the future, Naruto’s power is essential, so Kurama won’t do that. Moreover, he has to find a way to leave the seal without harming Naruto.
For this, he needs Naruto’s strength to reach a level where he can confront the Akatsuki organization without him. Only then can Kurama be at ease to do his own thing.
The first step now is to make Naruto realize that relying solely on his own chakra isn’t enough.
On the field, Neji has resolved not to hold back anymore, and all Naruto can do now is to fend off Neji’s attacks with all his might, either by coordinating attacks with his shadow clones or finding a flaw in Neji’s attacks to counter.
But the Byakugan isn’t so easily countered. Even if the shadow clones can disrupt the line of sight, it’s useless. The Byakugan’s 360-degree vision keeps a tight watch on all clones, and coordinated attacks aren’t so easy to come up with.
Feeling his shadow clones being destroyed one by one, Naruto’s real body also frowns. The sensation of the clones being destroyed is transmitted back to the real body, and even with his strong will, having so many clones destroyed at once is somewhat painful.
On the other side, Neji, surrounded by dozens of shadow clones, looks solemn: "Naruto, is that all you’ve got? With your keen awareness, you lack matching strength. Can someone like you change fate?"
"Impossible!" Dozens of Narutos shouted in unison, charging forward with kunai in hand.
Watching this scene, Neji’s gaze remained unshaken: "Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation!"
The power of the rotation was indeed formidable. Even though Neji’s current strength wasn’t considered strong, the all-encompassing attack still gave him an absolute advantage, blocking any assault.
As dozens of shadow clones vanished in an instant, Naruto, who was sent flying, landed hard on the ground, gritting his teeth. He pulled out a shuriken as big as a head from his ninja tools pouch: "If that’s the case, I have no choice but to use this move!"
Neji halted his rotation, his eyes sharpening: "Giant Shuriken, indeed, its attack power is formidable. But controlling it requires a certain level of skill with shuriken techniques. As far as I know, shuriken isn’t your forte, is it?"
Giant Shuriken, a massive shuriken, its cutting force, penetration, and impact area are much higher than the usual palm-sized shuriken. Even ninjas who specialize in shuriken techniques use this colossal shuriken.
But wait, how did that tiny ninja tools pouch fit such a large giant shuriken?
Neji felt something was off, but before he could ponder further, he saw Naruto in the distance swinging the giant shuriken like a massive fan in his hands.
"You can actually use it." Neji was somewhat surprised. Shuriken techniques might sound simple, but they’re not something you can learn just by wanting to. The Uchiha clan’s shuriken techniques were considered the strongest in the ninja world, and after the Uchiha clan’s downfall, these techniques became the property of Konohagakure.
He didn’t expect to see it now in Naruto’s hands.
"Wait!" Neji, who was ready to counter, suddenly flashed a knowing smile, "I see, I thought shuriken techniques weren’t so easy to master. It’s a shadow clone transformation, isn’t it?"
Indeed, the giant shuriken in Naruto’s hands was transformed from a shadow clone. He had intended to catch Neji off guard with this move, but it was exposed in an instant.
Naruto’s expression turned sour.
Neji took a stance, his Byakugan eyes fixed on Naruto: "I must remind you, the Byakugan can see through chakra, so I can’t distinguish your shadow clones from your real body. But conversely, all transformations, clones, and substitutions are ineffective against me."
The Transformation Jutsu is an illusionary ninjutsu that wraps the user’s body in chakra, which the Byakugan can see through. Clone Jutsu creates clones without chakra, so the Byakugan can spot the real body, and the same principle applies to substitutions.
"Tch." Naruto clicked his tongue in annoyance, but he still held up the giant shuriken, shouting at Neji, "You should get your eyes checked, you’re seeing things wrong."
"Whether I’m wrong or not, we both know the truth," Neji responded.
Naruto felt that if he kept talking, he’d give himself away, so the moment Neji finished speaking, he threw the giant shuriken in his hand.
Although it was just a Transformation Jutsu shuriken, its momentum was quite frightening. After all, the giant shuriken, due to its size, was not weak in power. With a sound like a howling wind, it sped towards Neji.
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