Chapter 253: Hinata's Path

As Shinnō's eyes widened in fury, his entire body suddenly began to wither.

The black hair that had turned youthful due to the dark chakra now turned white, most of it falling out, leaving him nearly bald.

In just a few seconds, the muscular, youthful man was reduced to a frail, emaciated elder, looking even older than he had before.

"How... how is this possible?! What did you do?!" Shinnō stared at his trembling hands in disbelief, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"Using a forbidden jutsu to manipulate chakra points and modify your body in the presence of the Byakugan? You've underestimated the Hyūga clan," Neji said calmly, his gaze cold. "Do you think the Gentle Fist merely stops chakra flow?"

From the very beginning, Neji had seen through Shinnō's methods. While the fight had been challenging, largely due to the remnants of the Eight Gates power, it was nothing beyond Neji's expectations.

"You… you!" Shinnō staggered backward, refusing to believe that the power he had painstakingly obtained could be so easily neutralized.

"Relax, I won't kill you. I still need you to bring this fortress back to the ground," Neji said, stepping forward to grab Shinnō.

"Don't even think about it! If I'm going down, you're coming with me!" Shinnō's expression turned feral as two black pills dropped from his waist to the floor.

Neji's eyes narrowed, immediately retreating into a defensive stance.

The pills exploded, releasing thick black smoke that quickly filled the room.

"Smoke bombs?" Neji gritted his teeth, realizing he had been tricked.

Activating his Byakugan, Neji quickly located Shinnō. The man had reached the throne and activated some kind of mechanism, causing the floor beneath him to drop.

"That direction... Naruto!" Neji clenched his fists. Though Shinnō himself no longer posed a direct threat, if he managed to activate the Zero-Tails, it could complicate things.

Unable to follow Shinnō's route, Neji turned and sprinted toward the passage Naruto had taken.

Meanwhile, Jūgo's group hurried through the airborne fortress, heading toward their target.

Jūgo and Sakura took the lead, clearing the path while Hinata stayed behind to protect Amaru.

Jūgo's right arm had transformed into a monstrous, scaly limb, while Sakura used her superhuman strength to obliterate obstacles. The two were perfectly suited for clearing the way.

The Sky Ninja, as Natsuro had anticipated, were no match in direct combat.

Without the advantage of aerial mobility, their reliance on mounted artillery was laughably insufficient against the determined Konoha shinobi.

One by one, the patrolling Sky Ninja were dispatched by Jūgo and Sakura, each of them taken out with a single blow.

As they approached the final stronghold, Hinata turned to Amaru.

"Amaru, stay here for now and keep yourself safe. Once we've dealt with the enemies inside, we'll come back for you," Hinata said, her Byakugan showing a significant number of enemies in the next area.

"Alright," Amaru nodded. She wasn't a ninja and knew she couldn't help in the upcoming battle.

"Hinata, Jūgo and I can handle this," Sakura said, worried about Hinata's safety.

"We need to rescue the villagers as quickly as possible. As Shinnō mentioned, Dark Chakra is born from the darkness within people's hearts. The villagers might be fueling Shinnō and the Zero-Tails with their despair. If we free them, it'll make things safer for both Neji and Naruto," Hinata said firmly. "Please let me help."

"Fine," Sakura relented.

"Let's go," Jūgo said, stepping forward.

"Right!"

The three of them charged into the stronghold, with Sakura leading the way.

"Haah!" Sakura shouted, landing a powerful punch on a Sky Ninja who hadn't even had time to react.

The impact sent him flying, crashing into a group of others. One punch from Sakura knocked out over ten enemies.

Jūgo, on the other hand, had fully activated his Curse Mark transformation. His clawed hands and scaly body tore through the enemy ranks, each strike claiming another life.

Meanwhile, Hinata took a deep breath. For Naruto-kun, for Neji-nii-san, I can't falter here.

Staying close behind Jūgo, Hinata maneuvered into the center of the enemy formation. As the Sky Ninja turned their attention to her, thinking they had her cornered, she activated her Byakugan and prepared to attack.

"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms – Defensive Stance!"

Despite its name, this technique wasn't identical to the offensive Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. It was closer in concept to Revolving Heaven, Konoha's so-called "absolute defense."

In Hinata's version, her flexibility allowed her to swing her arms in a continuous, omnidirectional motion. By focusing chakra into her palms and refining it into needle-like projections, she could shatter anything within range.

Though less versatile than Rotation, this technique was more agile and adaptable.

Hinata had been working tirelessly to refine this move. She envisioned combining it with chakra scalpels, a suggestion from Natsuro, originally intended to enhance her close-quarters Gentle Fist techniques.

But after developing the Defensive Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, Hinata realized it was better suited for merging with the scalpel technique.

If successful, her technique would no longer be purely defensive but would gain devastating offensive power, transforming it into a short-to-mid-range area attack.

This would be a technique only Hinata could perform.

Normally, she could execute either technique flawlessly on their own, but combining them...

Hinata's eyes filled with determination as she thought back to Naruto's relentless efforts. If Naruto-kun can do it, so can I.

Guided by her Byakugan, Hinata moved with precision, memorizing every detail of her enemies' positions.

Her arms moved like flowing water, striking with pinpoint accuracy both in front and behind her. Every motion was deliberate, and every strike hit its intended mark.

Not only that, but Hinata even managed to shatter the incoming projectiles with her strikes. After all, the Defensive Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms was essentially another form of absolute defense!

The Sky Ninja hit by Hinata's chakra needles initially seemed unfazed, but soon after, the chakra infused in the needles began to cut indiscriminately.

This was the effect of the chakra scalpel, slicing through the muscles and veins of the Sky Ninja.

Although the chakra scalpel's power was limited due to the small amount of chakra each needle carried, as long as Hinata struck accurately, it was enough.

Hinata's every strike was aimed at their vital points or the chakra pathways in their bodies. Even if she missed a vital organ, she still disrupted their chakra flow. Each hit was either a fatal blow or a complete disablement of their combat abilities!

"Wow... she's incredible," Amaru murmured in awe as she hid nearby, watching the scene unfold with her mouth agape.

She wasn't surprised by Jūgo, whose towering figure and monstrous transformation exuded power, nor by Sakura, whose immense strength she had witnessed throughout their journey.

But Hinata? Amaru had assumed she was a gentle and non-combative medical ninja, given her soft demeanor and quiet presence.

Now Amaru realized how wrong she had been. Hinata's efficiency was the highest among the three!

Before long, all the Sky Ninja were defeated, and Amaru stepped out from her hiding spot to follow the group into the final chamber.

Inside, Amaru's eyes widened as she finally saw her fellow villagers. They were all confined in a strange, transparent cage.

Each of them wore expressions of despair, their eyes lifeless as if they had lost all hope.

The sight made both Hinata and Sakura's faces grow grim. It confirmed their earlier suspicion, the villagers were being used to generate a continuous supply of Dark Chakra for the Zero-Tails.

"Amaru, it's up to you now," Sakura said seriously. She then stepped forward and used her immense strength to shatter the cage.

"Right!" Amaru nodded firmly, recalling everything that had happened. Determined, she approached her fellow villagers.

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Currently on Chapter 308 - A Resonance of Sharingans & Urashiki's Arrival