A kunai shot out from an unknown direction, and Neiki tilted his head to dodge it, signaling the beginning of a new round of battles.
“Lightning Sword Technique: Lightning Strike!” Lightning crackled along the blade as Neiki charged at Nara Suzaku without hesitation.
Seeing the two clash, Ao’s eyes lit up. He then silently signaled his men to retreat, intending to let Neiki wear down the Konoha forces before launching an attack on Konoha.
“Shadow Imitation Technique!” Suzaku’s shadow extended towards Neiki like a rapidly growing plant.
Neiki didn’t back down, nor did his expression change. He simply threw two kunai, engraved with time-space marks, towards Suzaku.
“Tch,” Suzaku muttered, keeping a mental note of the kunai’s positions while maintaining a blank expression.
Just as Neiki was about to come into contact with Suzaku’s shadow…
Neiki’s figure vanished.
“Suzaku!” Yamanaka Masao shouted.
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio, having served under Minato Namikaze, had prepared contingency plans for dealing with the Flying Thunder God Technique. Their teamwork was seamless; Suzaku altered his shadow’s form, splitting it into two to discreetly wrap around the kunai Neiki had thrown.
Masao formed his hands into a heart shape, ready to use his Mind Transfer Technique, while Akimichi Sidou stood by as the final blow. If Neiki appeared by either kunai, he would face a coordinated attack from the trio. It was a crude but effective counter to the Flying Thunder God Technique.
They had memorized the positions of all nearby time-space marks, ready to strike the moment Neiki teleported.
However, Neiki didn’t appear by either kunai. A silence fell over the battlefield, even Ao furrowed his brows and activated his Byakugan to scan the surroundings.
Suddenly, screams and cries of agony erupted from Kirigakure’s rear.
Seeing Neiki slaughtering his way through the Kirigakure ranks, Ao’s face darkened, and he gritted his teeth.
“This guy…”
He immediately led his men to attack Neiki.
Meanwhile, Konoha’s ninjas watched in confusion and bewilderment. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio exchanged puzzled looks.
“Is he helping us?”
“Clearly not,” Suzaku shook his head with a strange expression.
It seemed Neiki wanted to eliminate all of them…
Neiki’s position was too far for Suzaku to extend his shadow to assist the Kirigakure forces, and they likely wouldn’t welcome his help anyway.
Watching Neiki rampage through the Kirigakure ranks with a black sword, Akimichi Sidou asked, “What should we do… just watch?”
They didn’t understand why Neiki was attacking Kirigakure. Was it his bloodthirsty nature?
“Let them fight it out first,” Suzaku decided. Regardless, it was beneficial for Konoha. Letting the two enemies fight each other while they reaped the benefits was the best course of action.
“He has grown stronger.”
Joining the discussion was Hayate Shirakumo, who had been freed from his battle with Samehada. He watched Neiki’s movements closely, his face grim.
Neiki had once asked him for swordsmanship lessons, a long time ago. Back then, the “Twin Stars of Konoha” had just made a name for themselves. This young Hyuga genius, who had just become a Chunin, had inquired about the possibilities and drawbacks of combining Hyuga’s Gentle Fist with swordsmanship. Though Shirakumo thought it was a waste of Hyuga’s perfect Gentle Fist style, he was impressed by Neiki’s determination.
Eventually, he secretly taught Neiki swordsmanship for a few days, allowing him to experience the differences between Gentle Fist and swordsmanship.
A few days later, Neiki said he would give up swordsmanship, which left Shirakumo with mixed feelings. He was relieved that Neiki hadn’t pursued it further, as it might have caused trouble with Hiashi Hyuga. However, he also regretted that the combination of Byakugan and swordsmanship wouldn’t produce a more spectacular future. After Neiki’s rebellion and the death of Hayate Gekko, another Konoha swordsmanship genius, these feelings were replaced by anger and sorrow.
Seeing Neiki skillfully and elegantly wielding a sword among the Kirigakure ninjas, Shirakumo realized Neiki had been lying about giving up swordsmanship. His refined and deadly swordsmanship was the result of long, secret practice.
He had indeed mastered the combination of Byakugan and swordsmanship, shining brilliantly in battle, surpassing his former teacher.
“Such a person… defected from Konoha.”
That was the tragedy and frustration Shirakumo felt.
In front, the Kirigakure ninjas, initially struggling against Konoha, were now being slaughtered by Neiki. They hadn’t encountered someone who could decimate their ranks so efficiently. They weren’t unable to fight back but hesitated for fear of harming their comrades.
Neiki, like a nimble and elegant bee, wielded his sharp black sword with deadly grace. The Kirigakure ninjas, unaccustomed to such a devastating weapon, fell like grass before a scythe.
Only when Ao and Samehada led their elite forces to engage Neiki did they start to find ways to fight back.
Outside, unaware Kirigakure and Konoha ninjas continued their battles.
But within the inner circle, centered around Neiki, an eerie situation developed. Konoha and Kirigakure were still fighting, but the real battle was between Neiki and everyone else.
This man, who had almost single-handedly started the Fourth Great Ninja War, was now the undeniable center of attention.
A severed Kirigakure arm landed before Akimichi Sidou.
“The battle is intense…” he remarked.
Nara Suzaku and Hayate Shirakumo suddenly paled.
“That arm is suspicious!”
“The force of that strike was wrong!”
Before they could finish speaking, Neiki appeared beside the severed arm.
Smiling, he thrust his black sword into Akimichi Sidou’s abdomen.
Neiki looked at the close-up Nara Suzaku and said, “How’s my combat awareness?”
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