Guy saw it even more clearly—after Tenten finished her hand seals, an extra pair of arms truly appeared behind her. She deliberately kept them hidden from Neji, and even with the Byakugan, it'd be hard to immediately figure out what was going on.
Sure enough, right as their kunai clashed, the hidden hands behind Tenten's back whipped out two high-powered flashlights and shone them straight into Neji's eyes.
Neji instinctively shut his eyes, but he already knew it was too late.
The very next moment, one of Tenten's other hands launched a punch that landed squarely on Neji's shoulder, sending him staggering back.
Guy and the secretly slacking Lee couldn't help but cheer.
Even though Tenten used a little trickery, that was par for the course with shinobi—using tools and deception was perfectly normal, and no one thought it was underhanded.
More importantly, Tenten's technique—having extra hands emerge from her back—was incredibly intriguing. The whole point was to be unexpected, and even someone from the Hyūga clan, encountering this for the first time, could easily be caught off guard.
Guy could already imagine it: if those hidden hands secretly performed hand seals, she could launch ninjutsu when her opponent least expected it.
That would be super effective!
Tenten pressed her advantage, but Neji had already recovered.
Mainly because the flashlight's brightness wasn't strong enough. If it had been sunlight, Neji's eyes would've been dazzled for much longer.
Besides, Tenten hadn't even used Solar Fist yet—that move was one of her trump cards and couldn't be used lightly. The flashlight was just a low-grade substitute.
And since Tenten could use space-time ninjutsu, bringing along a few flashlights was no big deal.
"Jūken! Hakkeshō Sanjūni Shō!"
Neji launched his counterattack. His palms moved with both power and finesse, laced with chakra—if they connected, they'd do serious internal damage.
But Tenten already knew plenty about the Hyūga clan and wasn't about to meet that head-on.
She abruptly halted and raised her leg for a sweeping Rankyaku, sending out a two-meter-wide crescent-shaped water blade that startled Neji into dropping flat to dodge.
Tenten used the opening to pull out another scroll and summoned a massive boulder from it. Unlike Guy, Neji didn't have the raw power to smash through stone, so he had to dodge again.
After just a few exchanges, Tenten had gained the upper hand—much to everyone's surprise.
Neji was more convinced than ever: Tenten was definitely a worthy opponent!
"Alright, that's enough!"
Guy quickly intervened. "Ahem! You both fought well—the Hyūga's Gentle Fist lives up to its name, and Tenten, your performance was absolutely brilliant. But now Lee's slacking off from the mission, and that's not good. Let's all get back to work for now. You can spar again another time."
Tenten was fine with that. "Sure. Neji, we're on the same team—plenty of chances in the future."
Neji nodded. "Then let's do the mission."
The group returned to focusing on the task at hand, and even Guy joined in, making conversation along the way to strengthen their bonds.
"Oh right, Tenten," Guy asked, "that slash you kicked out earlier—was that ninjutsu?"
"Probably counts as nin-taijutsu. It's one of the Rokushiki, created by my boyfriend. That move's called Rankyaku," Tenten explained without hesitation.
"Nin-taijutsu, huh? Very impressive!" Guy gave a big thumbs-up.
"Definitely impressive," Neji added with rare praise.
"Six styles, you say? So there are more?" Lee's eyes sparkled. "Tenten, after the mission, could you show us? I'm super interested!"
For someone like Lee, who couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, taijutsu was everything. Even if Tenten's "six styles" were part-ninjutsu, the taijutsu elements alone were worth studying.
Tenten didn't refuse. "Sure! I'll show you all just how powerful the nin-taijutsu my boyfriend invented really is!"
Now, Tenten was constantly bringing up her boyfriend in conversation.
That only made Guy, Neji, and Lee even more curious.
At the Ninja Academy, outdoor sparring resumed.
Before Naruto could even start shouting, Sasuke stepped forward first. "Natsuki, fight me. Don't give me that chakra-control excuse again. I know you weren't going all out. This time, no forfeiting. Either you beat me or I beat you."
Yup, the Second MC wasn't stupid.
He'd probably been suspicious for a while, and now he just came right out with it.
Natsuki figured the timing was about right—there wasn't much point in hiding anymore.
He'd wanted to stay low-key before because his strength hadn't matured yet. He didn't want to attract the attention of shady types. But now that he had grown stronger, and his girlfriend could hold her own, he no longer needed to stay hidden. Showing off some strength would prove his value—and that would prompt Hiruzen to assign him a good jonin sensei.
And that was important.
A good team leader could teach you a lot—both in technique and in ninja experience. Things worth learning.
So Natsuki didn't mind making a splash before graduation. Let the old geezer really think through the team assignments.
Even if it accidentally messed up the original team structure, so what? Natsuki was acting in his own best interest.
That said, it'd be great to end up in a team with Shino.
Not only because they were close, but also because Shino was dependable—and who wouldn't want a reliable teammate?
Natsuki grinned. "Heh, you caught me. I should explain though—see, I was worried if I showed off too much, all the girls would fall for me. But I've already got a super cute girlfriend, so that wouldn't be good. Now that you've called me out, I won't hold back anymore. Let's have a real fight!"
Of course, that excuse was meant for Hiruzen's ears.
A bit flimsy, sure, but still acceptable.
As long as Hiruzen understood that Natsuki had been hiding his strength for reasonable reasons, not shady ones, it was fine.
Sasuke, satisfied, didn't care what the reason was. All he cared about was finally seeing Natsuki's true strength—and testing himself against it.
They made the seal of confrontation, then both pulled out kunai and faced off.
As Iruka's voice fell, Natsuki charged first, clashing kunai with Sasuke.
Then, in the very next instant, Natsuki did something that stunned everyone—he raised his left hand and rapidly formed a few seals before casting a jutsu right in Sasuke's face.
(Water Release: Water Bullets!)
Three water balls, each the size of a human head, blasted from Natsuki's mouth. Sasuke managed to dodge sideways, but one ball hit a tree behind him and shattered its trunk on impact.
While Sasuke stumbled, Natsuki followed up with a kick, sending him tumbling across the ground.
Everyone watching felt their scalps tingle. Who would've thought—Natsuki, with that honest-looking face, had been hiding such terrifying strength all this time?!
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