A Yin-Yang fish field rose from his body, but this Yin-Yang was much smaller than Hinata's.
Under the control of the two, their Yin-Yang fields collided invisibly.
"Let me see how powerful lady Hinata's Gentle Fist really is," Neji sneered.
With chakra wrapped tightly around his hands, he quickly pressed various pressure points on Hinata's body.
Hinata countered with the exact same moves.
Gentle Fist, Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms, One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Palms — their voices echoed in unison.
When Neji heard Hinata's shout, surprise flashed in his eyes briefly before he quickly suppressed it.
He unleashed his strongest Gentle Fist strike with both hands.
But as soon as their battle began, the arrogance on Neji's face vanished completely.
Hinata's speed, strength, and the amount of chakra surrounding her hands far surpassed his own.
In the time it took him to throw one palm strike, Hinata had already struck twice.
She absorbed his palm force steadily, and the feedback was so powerful that his arms trembled.
Before completing the sixty-four palm strikes, his arms had already weakened under Hinata's repeated blows, and his body was covered with palm prints glowing with chakra.
After the fight, Neji collapsed, shaking.
He knew he was defeated, utterly.
He had believed himself to be the strongest prodigy of the younger Hyuga generation but never expected to lose to this usually quiet and modest eldest daughter of the main family.
"Sorry, Neji San," Hinata lowered her hands and apologized softly.
Her apology did not please Neji but felt like mockery.
He felt as if Hyuga Hiashi was slapping his face, saying: You call yourself the strongest genius of the clan, yet you were defeated by my daughter in one move. This irony was unbearable to Neji's pride.
What followed was the reenactment of the scene from the Chunin Exam finals in the original story, but this time Neji's opponent was Hinata, not Naruto.
"Sorry, Neji San. I sympathize with everything you've endured. If I become head of the Hyuga clan someday, I might abolish this system," Hinata said thoughtfully, meeting his gaze.
After a pause, her expression brightened into a smile.
"But that chance is slim. I will marry Kaito, and my sister will inherit the main family's leadership. Maybe I will also carry the so-called 'caged bird' mark like you!"
"What? What did you say?" Neji pointed at her, his voice rising in disbelief.
"You! You're willing to give up your status as the eldest daughter of the clan for Kaito?"
"Do you know that bearing the caged bird mark means becoming a branch family member, where your life or death depends on the main family's word?"
"You don't understand! Before, my family was everything, but after meeting Kaito, there's no room for anyone else in my heart. When you meet someone you truly like, you'll understand how I feel." Hinata shook her head lightly and turned, walking toward the second floor.
The conversation between the two, especially Hinata's words, was clearly heard by everyone present.
What a girl—daring to love and hate openly! Asuma exclaimed.
He now understood why Kaito would risk everything for these two girls.
"Alas! It's just a Chunin preliminaries, but I have to eat dog food," Shikamaru sighed, slightly distressed but unable to hide the envy in his eyes.
Looks like I'll have to find Kaito in a few years to learn a few tricks.
"When did this girl get so bold? Is this a confession in front of so many people?" Kurenai felt deeply envious.
"Wow! Kaito is so lucky!" Naruto's eyes lit up, "I'm going to learn some moves from Kaito too, so I can catch up with Sakura!"
From the moment Hinata finished speaking, all eyes shifted to her, and Neji was completely forgotten.
Unlike before, shy Hinata was calm and strong this time. There was no fear or timidity.
Kaito was a little stunned. He hadn't expected Hinata's bold words.
Suddenly, his figure flashed and appeared before Hinata.
As a man, how could he let her bear such a burden alone?
Under everyone's gaze, he gently kissed Hinata's forehead, took her tender, fragile hand, and walked toward Ino and the others, talking and laughing.
"Wow! Hinata, you're amazing!" Ino hugged Hinata, cheering excitedly. Her eyes shone with pure happiness, no jealousy in sight.
Seeing the two girls so close made Kaito smile happily. When he came to this world, these two girls were his greatest gifts.
After savoring this moment, let's return to the original story.
Team 9, Gaara versus Rock Lee!
This was the most intense match of the preliminaries. Both were Genin, but the intensity far surpassed most.
Especially when Rock Lee opened all five gates, his strength rivaled Chunin level and beyond.
What a pity that a monster stood before him—it was unfortunate for Lee to face Gaara.
Otherwise, with those gates opened, Lee could probably defeat most opponents easily.
At this moment, the battle reached its climax.
Rock Lee, in his Five Gates state, used the Lotus Flower technique to shatter Gaara's sand clone, a side effect of opening the gates.
Lee had lost much of his strength but stubbornly refused to admit defeat.
Gaara's face burned with anger and murderous intent from Lee's relentless attacks.
Why not let Lee stay here forever?
As Gaara extended his right hand, sand instantly wrapped around Lee's right leg.
If entangled, Lee would be crippled temporarily, just like in the original story.
Only Tsunade's uncertain medical skills could cure him.
Kaito admired Lee's stubborn spirit and had no intention of letting him become useless.
In a flash, Kaito appeared before Lee and stepped on Gaara's sand.
His voice was calm: "Lee, admit defeat in this match. You win."
"It's you!" Gaara glared fiercely at Kaito, growling, "I will kill you in the finals!"
His voice left no room for concealment.
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