"Not good!"
Hiding in the tall grass, Hayashi Ren let out a sudden cry as he shot out of the bush with a burst of speed, launching himself straight at Neji Hyuga.
"Oh? That's you, Hayashi Ren?"
Neji sneered, his eyes cold and calculating.
"Too late. My Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms has already begun… and you've stepped right into my formation."
BAM! BAM!
Two strikes landed solidly on Sako, and then with a swift twist of his body, Neji delivered four rapid blows to Hayashi Ren.
Then came eight more palm strikes on Sako, followed by the full combo alternating between the two. By the time the Sixty-Four Palms technique ended, Sako was left critically injured, barely hanging on.
But just as Neji turned to finish Ren—
POOF!
Ren's body burst into smoke and disappeared.
"What the—?!"
Neji shouted, eyes wide.
"Shadow Clone,"
came Ren's icy voice from nearby.
The real Hayashi Ren appeared right in front of him, his gaze like a blade.
"Leaf Hurricane!"
BAM!
His foot connected solidly with Neji's body, instantly knocking off a quarter of his health.
"Leaf Shadow Dance!"
Without hesitation, Hayashi Ren launched another high-speed kick that sent Neji airborne. While he was in mid-air, Ren followed up with a series of basic attacks, whittling Neji's health bar down rapidly. By the time Neji hit the ground, only a quarter of his HP remained.
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Revolving Blast!"
As soon as his cooldown ended, Neji retaliated. A palm strike shot out like a cannon, blasting Ren back and shaving off a quarter of his HP.
He stood firm and coldly declared:
"I'll admit—you're strong. But now what? My Sixty-Four Palms is about to be off cooldown again. That means…"
"You're dead."
Neji's voice was flat and merciless.
"I wouldn't be so sure."
Hayashi Ren gave a quiet, confident laugh.
Neji's expression suddenly shifted—his Byakugan had picked up movement.
Sako was getting back on her feet.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
BOOM!
Neji dodged as fast as he could, but the edge of the massive fireball still grazed him, knocking off a sliver of his remaining health. His situation was now incredibly dangerous.
Still, his Sixty-Four Palms had finally come off cooldown.
Looking at both Sako and Hayashi Ren, Neji smirked.
"You're already dead."
"That's what you think."
Hayashi Ren calmly smiled. He formed the Ram hand seal with both hands, and with a poof, a Shadow Clone emerged from his body and rushed straight at Neji.
"Leaf Shadow Dance!"
With a powerful shout, both Ren and his clone unleashed the same technique at once.
The clone struck first, kicking Neji into the air, and then vanished in a puff of smoke.
Before Neji could even react, the real Ren followed up with a second kick, extending Neji's airtime. He didn't even need to follow with basic attacks—by the time Neji landed…
He was already dead.
"Impossible!"
Neji shouted in disbelief.
"There's nothing impossible about it,"
Ren said calmly.
"In battle settings like this, Shadow Clones are limited to one at a time. They can either absorb some damage for the original, or assist in one coordinated attack."
"So in the end… the one who dies is you."
As Ren finished speaking, a wave of praise flooded in from the audience—ninja from all over watching the match couldn't help but comment.
[Whoa… not only does he have a cool head under pressure, but he also understands the mechanics of every skill in detail and uses them flawlessly!]
[Is this the new generation of Konoha shinobi? Total prodigies!]
[Why don't we have geniuses like this in our own village?!]
Hayashi Ren didn't spare another glance at Neji's corpse.
He turned and headed straight into his red buff jungle, casting Smite on the Rift Beaks to regenerate health, and began grinding away with steady attacks.
BAM. BAM.
The game continued...