Chapter 248: Qualifying Stage III

Shikamaru Nara vs Kin Tsuchi!

“Ha, well, here I am…” – grinning, the guy jumped off the balcony and ended up in the arena. A few seconds later, Keane appeared there as well. The same girl who confronted Chōji and Ino in the Forest of Death.

Everyone began to watch this battle with noticeable interest. Many have long wondered what Shikamaru is capable of. That's just everyone deep down knew - most likely the battle will pass too quickly. However, some even amused by this situation. Hiruzena, for sure... If Kin knew that she was facing a person capable of defeating even the Hokage, how much would her expression change? Although, in any case, it was clear from her gaze and stance that she was more than tense just from Shikamaru's presence alone. He, on the contrary, stood calmly and carelessly looked at the girl's face.

- Ready? Shikamaru. Kin. Get started! - as soon as Hayate announced the beginning of the battle, the Guy finally peered into the face of the girl:

- Will you give up?

- What more! Keane replied with obvious concern. Even in fear, she did not give up.

"Eh," Shikamaru let out a frustrated sigh, "Then I'll finish quickly."

- What? Zako... - the girl did not have time to finish, as he moved and dealt her a crushing blow to the solar plexus.

— Ha! She did not even have time to understand the situation and suddenly lost consciousness. Shikamaru nodded to Hayate and returned to his seat. Although he had the desire to show off a bit, using a weak genin to do so would be too boring.

Following the battle between Kiba and Naruto, this time the young Uzumaki turned out to be many times stronger than he should be, so Kiba quickly lost. Durable and strong, and also unrestricted by Orochimaru's seal, Naruto beat Kiba to the bone.

Then another important fight began - Hinata Hyuga vs. Neji Hyuga. This fight was supposed to show how strong the young princess has become. In this fight, it will become clear how much Shikamaru changed her.

Two relatives, separated at the same time by a long abyss paved by their own clans, entered the arena. Neji was showing clear hostility, only this time he didn't look at Hinata the way he could. This time he saw her as an interesting opponent. Still, he knew firsthand that Hinata trained hard, and she is not just considered the main heir of the clan. This is not the girl from childhood that he once faced and easily defeated. Even the young kunoichi's face showed an uncharacteristic confidence. If there was a slight excitement hidden in her eyes, it quickly faded as soon as the girl's gaze turned to Shikamaru. Then, a confident smile appeared on her face and she nodded decisively, as if to say, "Don't worry, I'll do my best!"

Following this, Neji tensed up, now he was even more afraid of this fight. If there was something between the two of them, and that's for sure - who knows how the battle will go ... No one was surprised by Shikamaru's victory, concluded in just a single blow. Besides, it showed his latent power. Could it be that Hinata also received a piece of his power? After all, in the past, an insecure and weak girl stands here with her head held high and looks stronger than ever. This is quite likely - that's why the battle seemed too unpredictable!

Neji frowned and quickly got into a Gentle Fist stance. Hinata did the same immediately.

“You have changed… I was wrong about you. Neji said calmly, nodding, "It's all about that guy?"

The girl changed her face, but quickly returned a concentrated expression on her face:

- Right. He helped me become stronger and I will not disappoint him.

"Okay," the boy nodded grimly.

At the same moment, Hayate announced the start of the battle. Immediately, both Hyūga activated their Byakugan and clashed their palms at impressive speed. A strong bang scattered around the arena with a deafening sound wave, but this was only the beginning of a true battle!

Dozens of times, his hands passed over Neji's body while his hands never touched Hinata. The two parried each other's blows and the chakra bursts on their palms sparkled brightly with blue lights. Shikamaru squinted at the girl's style and nodded in praise.

"She's a fast learner, Neji is not an easy opponent, but even he will quickly realize all his shortcomings..."

Suddenly, Hinata abruptly pulled forward and her knee went to Neji's head, he blocked in shock, absolutely not expecting such a maneuver! Hyuuga then landed a clear palm strike directly on his chest. Neji barely dodged, but the next moment, like a shadow, Hinata moved behind him and struck with the edge of his palm. Like a blade, the hand sliced through the air and Neji barely managed to parry as he tried to land his direct blow. But in the next second, the girl dodged her hand and substituted her elbow, as soon as the blow came to the bone, Neji tensed and realized his mistake. But it was already too late, Hinata easily survived the attack on her right hand and, due to Neji's openness, hit him in the heart! This clap marked victory and defeat.

Neji looked at Hinata's confident expression in disbelief and then coughed up blood.

“How so...” At the same moment, his Byakugan dissipated, and he immediately fell to the cold floor of the arena. Hinata looked at her brother a little guiltily and whispered:

“Sorry… But, I couldn’t lose. With a sigh, the princess turned around. Meeting his warm smile, all her worries instantly evaporated. She strode contentedly towards her team.

"Not bad..." Shikamaru nodded. He was already expecting something like this since he himself taught Hinata a slightly modified style. Of course, the Hyuuga have honed the Gentle Fist over the decades, there's no doubt about it. But for a genin like Neji, even with his talent, some surprises like using a simple Cloud Taijutsu can become a problem. For most of his life, he probably trained with other Hyuuga or met with the Liszt style. Even if he had other opponents, in the end, how could he expect such a set-up from another Hyuuga, like using someone else's style? Maybe Hiashi and the Elders could easily use it against Hinata, but not a genin, even one that talented.

Hinata's victory was not news to many. Yet at the academy, most of her classmates knew about her skills. Although, of course, there were some surprised faces. Guy was definitely surprised, and so was Rock Lee. These two considered Neji to be a real talent in taijutsu, and here it is ... Hiruzen looked at his student with a grin and quickly turned his gaze to Hayate, finally the time had come to announce the next battle!

Gaara vs Rock Lee! Their collision is unavoidable!

As soon as the two reached the arena, Hayate announced the start of the battle. Shikamaru clearly remembered every moment of the fight, but even so, he wanted to see him in person from the very front rows. This battle was truly legendary!

The fight went on for a minute. All of Li Gaara's attacks were easily blocked with a bored expression. It became clear that he did not expect much from this battle. It's just that things changed very quickly. Rock Lee removed the weights and the fight quickly changed. Gaara was shocked and was simply not able to keep up with the speed of the enemy. Although the sand continued to protect him, Li did not give up and unleashed constant attacks. Finally, he was able to hit Gaara and then again, sending him flying!

The fight quickly moved to a new stage and began to become even more spectacular...