Suigetsu's sword advanced as Neji, who had already opened his Byakugan, realized that dodging would be difficult.
Frowning, he didn't hesitate. - Kaiten!
The chakra vortex even lifted the water around him, increasing his defense while Suigetsu's sword, even covered with a layer of wind, was deflected.
Neji's vision was not impaired by the water, he could see everything with the Byakugan, so he advanced through the water. - Eight Trigrams... Two palms!
Neji's hands moved straight towards Suigetsu, whose guard was open due to the rebound of his sword, but the moment Neji plunged his two palms into Suigetsu's body, Suigetsu exploded into water, literally, it was a water clone.
A series of laughs were heard as several Suigetsus emerged from the water, each seemingly taking shape directly from the water.
Neji frowned, all this water was covered in Suigetsu's chakra, and Suigetsu could perfectly camouflage himself within it. Neji couldn't tell if the real Suigetsu was among the water clones.
Suigetsu had long been accustomed to dealing with Dojutsu, whether it was Ranmaru's or Sasuke's, and he could easily handle Neji's vision.
Neji clicked his tongue in annoyance before lunging forward again.
Suigetsu's clones were undeterred, each brandishing their swords covered in wind chakra, unfortunately, the clones were no match for Neji.
Each one was blown up little by little.
Even so, Neji didn't seem at all satisfied, the number of water clones emerging from the water just kept increasing!
If things continued like this, his chakra would be depleted before he even found Suigetsu.
Suigetsu's clones were still smiling, letting out mocking laughs continuously.
Neji didn't hesitate any longer, applying most of his chakra, he began to spin - Kaiten!
The vortex wasn't small, instead of being a simple defensive move, Neji was making it much bigger. The water rose along with the growing vortex, much to the shocked eyes of the audience, with more and more water being drawn towards the center of the arena.
Neji, still spinning, became the focal point of this vortex, sweating profusely, feeling the weight of the water through his chakra. He knew it wouldn't last long, but by this point, Suigetsu's clones had been blown up one after another as the waterspout took shape, rising straight into the sky.
Suigetsu was forced to step out, his eyes wide with surprise, but while all that water was in the air, Neji didn't hesitate, stepping straight out of it and advancing towards Suigetsu. He didn't have much time, his chakra was almost exhausted. The water in the air would soon lose its support, held up only by inertia, and would soon fall directly onto the arena.
Suigetsu was very excited about this, he laughed as he increased the wind chakra of his sword to the maximum, the great sword gained an even wider sharp edge made of wind, Suigetsu waved this sword directly at Neji.
The blow cut Neji straight in half!
Suigetsu was still smiling, but his smile quickly froze as Neji, standing before him, exploded in a cloud of smoke!
From the ground, opening a hole right below Suigetsu, Neji emerged with his hands ready.
-Eight Trigrams... 2 palms, 4 palms... 64 palms, 124 palms! - Neji directly applied a combo of 128 palms to Suigetsu, this time Suigetsu took it head-on, at the end of the strike, he was sent flying, screaming in pain.
Neji didn't chase after him, instead, breathing heavily, he knelt right there, his breath almost gone, he could feel his consciousness trying to slip away.
At that moment, the waterspout completely lost its energy, and water began to fall like heavy rain all over the arena.
The mud on the ground soiled Neji's clothes, but he was ready to endure it and go to Suigetsu to force him to surrender, knowing that after those blows, Suigetsu's tenketsu points were already closed.
His eyes widened.
A sinister chakra began to leak from Suigetsu's body, Neji recognized it and quickly jumped back.
-Puff... Hahahaha! Hyuga guy! You're good! - Suigetsu laughed excitedly, a laugh that would have made any Uchiha proud.
His body became covered in cursed patterns, immediately entering the second stage. His skin became similar to Kisame's, bluish, his eyes shrank, his teeth became sharper, and fins sprouted from his back and arms.
The curse chakra directly forced all of Suigetsu's tenketsu points to open, and not only that, but Neji, sensing Suigetsu's power, gave a wry smile.
He knew it was over, his chakra so thin it barely kept him standing. He raised his hand and looked at Orochimaru, standing not far away. Even with all that movement, Orochimaru was perfectly fine, standing still as the last drops of water fell.
-I give up.- Neji said.
Suigetsu froze, confused for a moment and slightly annoyed, he had finally used this form to fight, but before he could do anything, Neji gave up.
Shaking his head, Suigetsu returned to normal.
Orochimaru smiled and licked his lips. - Winner, Hozuki Suigetsu.