Starts In Konoha: Unlocking Shadow Clone

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"

Sasuke did not dare to be careless. He swiftly formed hand seals, unleashing a Fire Release Ninjutsu in an all-out assault.

He knew he had to strike first. If Neji managed to take the initiative and released his new technique, it would likely spell disaster for him.

"Revolving Heaven!"

Neji spun on the spot, creating a formidable defensive barrier that even the intense flames couldn't penetrate.

As the fire dispersed, Neji reached out his right hand and sharply tapped his own head.

"What the—what's he doing?!"

Naruto couldn't help but shout out in shock.

To him, it looked like Neji was harming himself.

'What kind of trick is this?'

'A technique that injures the user first? Could this be the long-lost Seven Injuries Fist?'

But then Neji smirked, and with a sudden step forward, he vanished from his spot, his speed now several times faster than before.

When Neji appeared again, he was already in front of Sasuke, landing a fierce punch to Sasuke's abdomen.

Bang!

Sasuke had no time to dodge and was sent flying, coughing up a spurt of blood as he crashed down.

"What incredible speed... This feeling… this is the Eight Gates!"

Lee's face turned serious. He hadn't expected that Neji had also learned the Eight Gates.

Naruto's mind raced as he pieced it together. Now he understood why Neji had tapped his own head. This was a method of opening the brain's restrictions through the Gentle Fist.

Neji had forced open the Gate of Opening by targeting specific Tenketsu in his brain.

Byakugan's internal sight ability allowed Neji to precisely locate Tenketsu, even in his own brain, but this was still extremely dangerous, and any slight error in targeting could lead to unexpected consequences.

'How should I put it… Neji is really a man of great skill and courage.'

'But even opening the Gate of Opening might not be enough to compete with Sasuke in his Cursed Seal state. So, what exactly is this so-called new technique?'

Bang!

Sasuke sprang back to his feet and dashed toward Neji like a cannonball.

As he closed in, Sasuke rapidly formed hand seals, and lightning crackled in his palms, emitting a sound of thousand birds chirping.

"Chidori!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. This was Kakashi's original Ninjutsu. Because it made the sound of birds chirping, it was called Chidori. However, this Ninjutsu also had another variation: Raikiri!

Kakashi had used this technique to cut off lightning, hence the name.

Chidori is not only powerful, but also comes with a special effect: muscle activation.

While using Chidori, the user's speed and strength increase as Lightning Attribute Chakra activates their muscles. With the Cursed Seal boosting his speed and Chidori amplifying his power further, Sasuke became a nearly invisible blur, leaving only dark shadows in his wake.

However, Neji's speed was equally extraordinary, moving so fast that even Sasuke struggled to keep up. Both left trails of afterimages across the field.

"Eight Trigrams: Four Heaven Vacuum Palms!"

Neji shouted, unleashing a barrage of powerful, long-range strikes at Sasuke.

"So that's his new technique?" Naruto's eyelids twitched slightly.

The Eight Trigrams: Four Heaven Vacuum Palms was an advanced version of the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. It involved a sequence of three Vacuum Palm strikes to disorient the opponent, followed by a final, stronger Vacuum Palm to finish the attack.

Normally, Neji shouldn't have been able to unleash multiple consecutive Vacuum Palms, but thanks to the First Gate, he could bypass the body's natural limits, allowing him to perform this devastating sequence.

Each strike was so powerful that it caused explosive sonic booms, rippling the air like waves on water. These weren't merely vibrations in the air, as the impact was akin to air cannons, powerful enough to pulverize solid rock.

'Although Sasuke had made rapid progress since graduating from the Academy just two months ago, he was seemingly outmatched by Neji's ferocious onslaught. Neji was winning this round.'

Just when Naruto was deciding the outcome in his mind, Sasuke refused to surrender.

"Sasuke Release: Hidden Shadow Lightning Hands!"

'Hmm?'

'Hidden Shadow Lightning Hands?'

Naruto was slightly startled. He had only seen the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands before, which was a Ninjutsu created by Orochimaru.

'What was the Hidden Shadow Lightning Hands?'

'And Sasuke Release? Was it created by Sasuke himself?'

He then saw that the Chidori on Sasuke's hand was no longer condensed, but emitted several long snake-like lightning bolts.

Seeing this, Naruto suddenly realized.

'Back in the Forest of Death, Sasuke must have seen Orochimaru use the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands. Perhaps he'd replicated it with his Sharingan and adapted it by combining it with Chidori, creating a new variation: Hidden Shadow Thunder Hands.'

It made sense, as once someone understood the basic mechanics, fusing Ninjutsu to innovate was feasible. But who would've imagined Sasuke would master a fusion technique like this?

Naruto was impressed, feeling that Sasuke was truly worthy to be called an Uchiha genius.

However, Naruto couldn't help but feel the name was slightly off, 'Hidden Shadow Lightning Hands didn't capture the essence… if anything, it looked more like a Lightning Whip.'

But before Naruto could think further, Neji's Four Heaven Vacuum Palms closed in on Sasuke.

Sasuke's expression hardened. He whipped his lightning whips into the air, and, with his body spinning like a top, he created a vortex of crackling electricity.

"Sasuke Release: Lightning Revolving Heaven!"

Where the Eight Trigrams Revolving Heaven involved spinning while releasing Chakra from Tenketsu to deflect attacks, Sasuke's Lightning Revolving Heaven relied on spinning while brandishing his lightning whips. Lightning crackled around him as he spun, colliding with the air in explosive snaps, like firecrackers going off.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Neji's Four Heaven Vacuum Palms smashed into the lightning barrier, producing the sound of artillery as each strike hit.

The force was so intense that the ground beneath Sasuke's feet caved in, forming a half-meter-deep crater.

However, Naruto could tell that Neji was running out of steam.

Unlike Sasuke's Lightning Whip, which only consumed chakra and could be sustained as long as Sasuke still have Chakra, Neji's Four Heaven Vacuum Palms was limited to four strikes. And with the extra strain from opening the first gate, Neji was starting to wear down.

Just as Naruto expected, Sasuke stopped spinning and seized the moment to charge at Neji.

When Sasuke was just a few meters away, he took a firm stance, whipping his Lightning Whip into the air again and assuming the Gentle Fist stance. He shouted, "Sasuke Release: Lightning Sixty-Four Whips!"

Seeing this, Neji clenched his teeth and activated the Gate of Healing, releasing the body's fatigue restriction and pushing his energy reserves to the limit.

"Eight Trigrams: Great Revolving Heaven!"

This was a more powerful variant of Revolving Heaven with a larger range.

Originally, Neji had intended to save this move for his next opponent, but given the circumstances, he had no choice but to unleash his trump card. The Gate of Healing was also his current limit.

As Neji prepared to spin into action, aiming to unleash a massive five-meter defense, Sasuke's lightning speed proved too fast for even Neji to counter.

By shifting his fingers, Sasuke could control the Lightning Whip with lightning-fast reactions, surpassing even the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms in speed and intensity.

Not only was Sasuke's attack faster, but the Lightning Whip also had a paralyzing effect.

Although Neji started to spin, the Lightning Whip lashed against his arm before he could fully activate the technique. Missing the first strike, his body seized up in a momentary paralysis, unable to continue his rotation.

The remaining strikes of the Lightning Whip hit him in rapid succession.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

Within three seconds, all sixty-four whips struck their mark.

The scene was both awe-inspiring and surreal. It looked like something far beyond the level of a Chunin.

But to the audience, it seemed like Sasuke was spinning Neji around like a top with a lightning whip, which looked both shocking and hilarious at the same time...