The air inside the arena was heavy, the audience stands were silent, and everyone held their breath, anticipating the next moment of this brilliant duel.
Neji moved!
With a sudden stomp of his feet, his figure shot out like a bolt of lightning. His silhouette constantly shifted positions as he moved, attempting to confuse Mamoru's vision. The moment he neared Mamoru, his hands transformed into hooked fingers, striking precisely at the acupuncture points on Mamoru's body.
Eight Trigrams Two Palms!
At a speed difficult for the naked eye to capture, his hands turned into a sky full of palms.
Four Palms, Eight Palms, Sixteen Palms...
Thirty-Two Palms!
The Eight Trigrams Palms offensive flowed like water, never stopping. Neji's hands were so fast they became afterimages, completely enveloping Mamoru within the palm strikes in an instant.
Mamoru's body swayed under the storm-like assault, like a small boat in a tempest.
Sixty-Four Palms!
Neji's final palm struck heavily against Mamoru's chest.
Boom!
Pale blue Chakra erupted, sending out a pale blue circular shockwave through the air.
Neji then withdrew his stance and calmed his breathing, looking at his opponent while panting slightly. Mamoru's head hung low, his body trembling as he stumbled backward, looking as if he might collapse at any moment.
In the stands, the audience witnessing this scene was silent, everyone tensely watching the changes in the field.
Just as everyone thought Mamoru was about to fall—
Mamoru suddenly raised his head and playfully stuck out his tongue. "Fooled ya, hahaha..."
He easily straightened his body and casually brushed off non-existent dust from his clothes. "This Eight Trigrams Palms move is quite interesting. I'll try using it next time."
At that moment, a commotion broke out in the stands above. Everyone was shocked by Mamoru's completely unharmed appearance.
"This... what exactly is going on?"
"Didn't all of the Hyuga's attacks land on his body? Why is he unharmed?"
"Under that kind of assault... he's actually uninjured? How did he do it?"
...
'As I thought...'
Neji furrowed his brows, looking down at his palms. He had felt the dissonance—all the attacks hitting Mamoru felt like hitting thin air, completely lacking the expected tactile feedback.
"Neji, give up." Mamoru said lazily. "Continuing to struggle is futile, it has no meaning."
Neji didn't respond, his mind racing to think of a countermeasure. He had been pondering how to break through that layer of protection around Mamoru's body for a long time, but unfortunately, he had yet to find an answer.
Seeing him standing there thinking, Mamoru decided to end this battle.
"It's my turn."
Maintaining a playful smile on his face, Mamoru's body slowly rose until he was suspended in mid-air.
Above his head, a constantly distorting sphere of blue light appeared.
Rumble—
Crack... Crack...
Without warning, a massive fissure split open in the arena floor. The crack spread rapidly like a spiderweb, soon covering the entire arena. Debris and stone fragments burst from the ground, converging from all directions toward the blue light sphere above Mamoru's head.
All the spectators in the arena were awestruck by this scene. Many subconsciously stood up, their faces filled with terror.
By the time everyone reacted, a massive sphere with a diameter of twenty meters had gathered in the sky above the arena. Its surface was uneven, pieced together from countless fragments of rock, casting a suffocating shadow under the sunlight.
Neji stared upward with a blank gaze, completely covered by the massive shadow, momentarily losing the ability to speak.
Equally shocked was Genma. His mouth hung open, not knowing how to describe his current feelings—this Genin's strength had already surpassed common sense.
"Neji, you haven't even figured out your own heart." Mamoru said, looking down at Neji from above. "What right do you have to look down on those who want to resist their fate?"
Having said that, he raised his hand and gave a light downward wave.
The massive sphere of mud and stone in the sky trembled slightly, as if it would fall at any second.
At this critical juncture—
"Stop!"
Genma suddenly appeared in front of Neji, holding up a hand and shouting, "The match is over!"
As a dutiful proctor, he had to prevent unnecessary casualties immediately. His judgment could also decide the outcome of the match.
Of course, Mamoru didn't actually intend to smash this miniature 'Chibaku Tensei' onto Neji, he was just putting on a show.
Under his control, the massive mud and stone sphere slowly moved toward a corner of the arena.
As the technique was released, the sphere instantly disintegrated, and the debris fell straight to the ground with a deafening roar, kicking up a cloud of dust that filled the arena.
Genma and Neji both breathed a sigh of relief, their backs already drenched in cold sweat.
After landing, Mamoru strolled over to Neji, a faint smile on his lips. "How does it feel? Surviving a disaster..."
In that instant, before he could finish his sentence, several dark figures suddenly leaped into the arena, scattering around the perimeter.
It all happened so fast that Neji and Genma didn't even have time to react.
But Mamoru grasped the situation in a flash and reacted. He instantly closed in on Neji, who was a few steps away, and sent him flying with a powerful sidekick.
Neji slammed into the startled Genma, and the two of them tumbled toward the edge of the arena, rolling several times before stopping.
Almost at the same moment Neji and Genma hit the ground, the four dark figures took their positions at the corners, formed hand seals, and pressed their palms to the ground.
Ninja Art: Four Violet Flames Formation!
A rectangular transparent barrier rose from the ground like walls of glass, surrounding Mamoru. It formed in an instant, completely sealing him inside. Simultaneously, at the four bottom corners of the barrier, four triangular protective walls emerged, shielding the casters within.
"A barrier?" Mamoru furrowed his brows, looking around.
The transparent barrier walls were tinged with a dark gloom, and the fire energy contained within was heart-palpitating—he knew clearly that just a touch would be enough to ignite his entire body.