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Chapter 63 - 63. You’ve Been Nerfed!
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Dosu lunged, his lone visible eye gleaming with malicious intent. But Neji didn't flinch.
With surgical precision, Neji stepped into the attack and countered with a swift—
[High Kick]!
His foot connected cleanly with Dosu's forearm, the one embedded with that strange soundwave device,, knocking it wide.
Dosu's eye widened.
He knew?!
Just as the air shimmered unnaturally from the redirected sound wave, Neji twisted his body mid-air.
[Knee Strike]!
His knee rocketed into Dosu's gut, folding him in half with brutal force.
CRACK!
Dosu flew backward, slammed into a tree, and crumpled to the ground, coughing blood into his bandaged mask.
Neji stared him down coldly.
"Is this the so-called 'God of Shinobi' that everyone hypes up in mobile games? Tch."
"In those fantasy games, maybe you're a legend," he added, voice dripping with sarcasm. "But out here?"
"You've been nerfed."
Dosu staggered upright, eyes burning.
"H-How do you know my technique?"
Neji simply tapped his eye patch.
"Take a wild guess."
Zaku leaned in. "Dosu, isn't he blind?"
"Of course I know that!"
Dosu's frustration only grew.
A blind opponent meant hypersensitivity to sound. His biggest strength had just become a glaring liability.
Neji smirked. "Giving up already?"
"You're not here for the exam, are you?"
Dosu's jaw tightened, but he said nothing. No proof. No admission.
"Zaku," Dosu growled, "you take him. Kin, deal with the girl."
"With pleasure."
Kin's eyes locked on Sakura, specifically, her flawless pink hair. Her expression soured.
'Seriously? You're targeting her... over hair?'
Zaku stepped forward. The device on his arm whirred.
SHOOM!
A compressed air slash, silent, nearly invisible, sliced through the air.
It would've been deadly... for anyone else.
But this was Neji.
Zaku's sound-slash tore through rock, branches... until Neji's hand caught it mid-air.
BOOM!
The wave shattered in his palm, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris.
The Sound Duo smirked.
Even you can't tank a hit like that...
---
Hidden nearby, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio peeked from behind cover.
"This looks bad," Choji whispered. "Should we help?"
"Sasuke and Naruto are down... and is it just me, or does Sasuke look... different?" Ino squinted.
"We're talking about Neji here," Shikamaru muttered. "Guy-sensei probably planned this entire fight in his sleep."
But even Shikamaru looked uneasy. That last hit had looked legit.
"...You really think he got hit?"
"Doubt it," Shikamaru said. "Classic Neji. He lets you think he's vulnerable just so he can hit back twice as hard."
"...But Ino," he added carefully, "the girl over there, Sakura, she's in trouble. One of the Sound ninja broke off and is heading for her."
He paused.
"You were friends once, right?"
Ino's breath caught.
Shikamaru continued, tone softer. "We can probably trust Neji to win. But this part... this is your call."
---
Zaku raised his arm. "Let's end this."
"Right behind you!" Dosu shouted.
Before they could attack—
Two pale, pristine hands ripped through the dust cloud.
Neji stood, untouched.
Unharmed.
Unshaken.
Not a single scratch.
Zaku and Dosu froze.
"What... is this guy!?"
Neji didn't answer. He turned slightly toward the trees.
"Ino, Shikamaru, Choji."
His voice cut through the tension.
"You really gonna wait for me to call you out?"
Three shapes burst from cover.
"H-Here! We're here!" Choji stammered.
The Sound Trio scowled.
Konoha reinforcements... great.
Kin scowled and backed off from Sakura, returning to her teammates. Her grip on Sakura's hair loosened just long enough for Sakura's kunai to miss. Still, it clipped a few strands of pink.
Sakura blinked, confused.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Sasuke stirred. A sinister chakra began pulsing from her body. Neji's brow furrowed.
The Curse Mark... It's activating.
He said nothing. This wasn't his moment to intervene. He had already set the stage.
Now it was time for Sasuke's debut.
"Sakura!"
Ino's voice called out, breaking the tension.
"I'm fine!" Sakura shouted back, voice steady despite the trembling in her arms.
Ino stood frozen.
She'd never seen Sakura look this serious. This focused. It wasn't the same girl she used to argue with.
She's... changed.
Dosu growled. "Zaku. We finish this. Now."
"Kin, take the girl again. We'll handle the rest."
Kin snarled and charged. Chakra surged in her limbs.
Zaku raised both arms. His speakers began to resonate.
SHOOM!
SHOOM!
This time, the blasts were aimed at the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
They weren't prepared.
"MOVE—!"
Before the sound waves could connect, Neji blurred forward.
[Moonstep].
He appeared between them in an instant.
A single open-palm chop coated in [Armament Haki] shattered the incoming sound waves like glass.
KRR-CHHH!
"Quit standing there," he barked. "Sakura's still fighting! She needs backup!"
The three flinched, then nodded, bolting toward Sakura.
Neji's eyes stayed locked on Sasuke, whose body writhed with a mix of pain and power.
Almost there...
One more push and she'll awaken.
Let the drama begin.
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