Naruto: The Teaching System - 276

Chapter 276: Eight Trigrams Flow: Gentle Spiral Strikes

On the battlefield, Neji’s palms flowed like twin dragons, each strike landing clean and precise. One after another, the charging Iwagakure shinobi fell at his feet. His white tunic was soaked through with blood, the color harsh against the cloth.

There were no more Hidden Leaf shinobi in sight. Neji had just passed through this area when he was surrounded. The Iwa shinobi, seeing the Byakugan, lunged like starving wolves.

Neji fixed his gaze on the last Iwa shinobi before him and drove his palm forward again. This time, his strike was blocked outright. The Iwagakure Special Jōnin’s right hand was sheathed in stone, his hardened arm stopping Neji’s blow.

“So strong for someone so young. You must be the main house Hyūga, right?” the Special Jōnin said with a grin.

Neji didn’t answer. A kunai flipped into his grasp and stabbed for the man’s chest. Whatever else he was, anyone who coveted the Byakugan had to die.

The man caught the thrust like he was catching a child’s toy, palms clamping the kunai. “No answer? Fine. I’ll just pry those eyes out myself.”

Neji’s brow tightened. He dropped the kunai. His hands rose. The air in his sight bloomed with the phantom of an eight-trigrams diagram.

“Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.”

His palms blurred to their limits and hammered in. The Iwa shinobi, arms still coated in stone, swatted at Neji’s hands like teasing a cat.

“What, you think this is enough to break my rock armor? How naive.”

The last palm landed. The stone plating on the Iwa shinobi’s forearms exploded.

Shards skittered across the ground. Neji looked up at him and spoke softly. “If I don’t crack your turtle shell, your mouth just won’t shut.”

“Leaf Whirlwind.”

His leg whipped out in a snapping spin. The kick smashed into the stunned Special Jōnin and sent him flying. The man grunted and skidded back several paces.

“Seems you want a painful death.” He gritted his teeth, ignoring the stab of pain in his chest. He was going to tear this brat apart.

Neji drew a long breath. He had spent a lot of chakra on the Iwa shinobi he’d just cut down. There were no Leaf shinobi around. His sensei was still fighting that Iwa commander who looked anything but simple. He could only rely on himself.

“Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm.”

Neji lifted his hand. Chakra condensed and slammed forward.

“Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall.”

The Special Jōnin slapped both hands to the ground and raised a massive wall of stone.

The chakra blast thudded against the wall and dispersed. He smiled. Just a genin. Even if this one hit above his weight, he was still just that.

A palm struck from behind, ghost-silent. “Your Earth Release is miles behind Naruto’s.”

The blow sent the Special Jōnin tumbling, blood splattering the ground. He hacked and spat red. “Damn brat. I’ll rip you apart.”

“Earth Release: Rock Lodging Destruction!”

A web of cracks shot across the ground toward Neji. He leapt, body folding into a flip. Below him, the Iwa shinobi bared his teeth. His right fist sheathed itself in stone, and he sprang to hammer Neji’s back.

“Li Form: Spiral Rush.”

Neji’s mouth tipped up. He twisted from the waist, elbows carving a helical line as he drove straight down. The instant they touched, the chakra at his joints spun like a drill at high speed. Panic flashed across the Special Jōnin’s face. The stone plating on his fist burst apart.

Neji flipped and landed lightly, eyes dropping to the Iwa shinobi who slammed into the ground. The man hauled himself up with a roar. His meridians felt like they were on fire, agony ripping through him.

“You little brat. What did you do to me?”

Neji didn’t answer. He sprinted at full speed. Before the shinobi could react, Neji slid past his flank and chopped for his neck with a blade-hand. The strike didn’t finish it. Thick stone plating took the blow. The Special Jōnin snarled and slashed a kunai toward Neji.

Neji ducked and swept the leg. Chakra flooded the ground and cracked the earth beneath the man’s feet. Before he could wrench free, Neji clamped both hands onto his shoulders. Sticky chakra pulsed from his palms.

“Gen Form: Mountain Lift.”

The Special Jōnin froze as if bound. Neji heaved and slammed him into the ground. The impact thundered, fissures spiderwebbing from the crater.

Neji vaulted and rained rapid strikes down on the joints and chest. “Zhen Form: Stacked Waves.”

The Iwa shinobi’s eyes went wide. Blood sprayed from his mouth. His body slackened and went still.

Neji finally exhaled. This taijutsu set was the special training Sawada had given him before leaving the village. It was called Eight Trigrams Flow: Gentle Spiral Strikes. It wasn’t perfect yet, but it fused Gentle Fist with inch-force, using yin-yang shifts and positional changes as its core. It wove spiral power and shock pulses together, balancing offense, defense, and control.

“I’m still too weak,” Neji thought as he straightened. His sensei had said he was above Special Jōnin level, but fighting an opponent at that tier had still been this hard. Then again, if Sawada had seen the seven or eight Iwa shinobi sprawled around him, he might have flicked Neji’s forehead for talking like that. These were not nobodies. Facing a group like this and still winning was an enormous growth.

“Neji?”

A voice sounded. Neji turned quickly. Yusuke stood there with a long blade in hand, guard high.

“Yusuke-senpai, it’s me.” Neji steadied his breathing and spoke. Hearing his name, Yusuke relaxed and came over. The surprise on his face only deepened as he reached Neji’s side and saw his wounds. He hurried to start treatment.

“Did you do all this?” Yusuke asked, his hands already moving.

“Yes.” As Yusuke’s healing took hold, Neji’s color improved. He had at least a few hairline fractures.

“Neji really is strong,” Yusuke said, unable to help the note of admiration.