131. Disbelief

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No way…

Kidomaru stared in disbelief.

His rain of spider-blade kunai every single one deflected.

Not a scratch.

And it wasn't just defense. It was rotation, chakra-heavy, exhausting. But Neji wasn't even winded.

"Where the hell is all that chakra coming from…?"

Kidomaru gritted his teeth.

He'd survived the massacre of Sound's worst. He'd been branded with Orochimaru's Curse Mark and lived. He wasn't supposed to feel this helpless.

"This ends now!"

Curse Mark – Stage Two!

His body twisted, contorted transforming into something monstrous. Five limbs stabilized him atop a massive bow made from webbing. He clenched an arrow between his teeth, one hand helping draw the bowstring taut.

His grotesque form trembled with tension.

Neji had stopped spinning.

Kidomaru narrowed his eyes.

Locked on.

This was his strongest technique. A sniper's kill shot. No one had survived it.

TWANG!

The arrow launched with terrifying force trees bowed under the shockwave as it ripped the air apart.

BOOM!

The impact rocked the forest. Dust exploded skyward in a cloud.

Kidomaru smirked.

"Gotcha."

He floated downward, eager to see the ruin he'd left behind.

The smoke cleared.

Neji was still standing.

Unscathed.

No… not unscathed holding the arrow between two fingers.

Kidomaru's blood turned to ice.

He caught it... with his bare hand?!

"You've been a good opponent," Neji said. "Thanks for the data."

Kidomaru staggered back but the pain in his chest stopped him.

He looked down.

His own arrow. Embedded in his heart.

The same one Neji had caught.

"You… You're the monster…"

Neji gave a faint smile. "Appreciate the compliment."

Kidomaru collapsed eyes still wide in disbelief.

Neji crouched, plucked a bead of blood into a container, and methodically harvested a few tissue samples.

"Excellent material. Useful for at least three years of biological analysis…"

He looked eastward, chakra pulsing at the edge of his senses.

"Orochimaru's patience must be wearing thin."

---

He was right.

Inside a crumbling hideout, Orochimaru winced his host body failing.

The Sound Four had stalled too long.

He had no choice.

"Kimimaro."

The white-haired youth bowed.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru?"

"Retrieve Sasuke, now Sasuko"

Kimimaro was still fresh out of experimental enhancement.

Perfectly obedient.

Utterly deadly.

---

Kimimaro arrived swiftly, retrieved Sasuko's coffin, and vanished again.

In his wake, chaos erupted.

Shikamaru vs. Tayuya.

Kiba vs. Sakon and Ukon.

Naruto, sprinting for the final retrieval mission.

And just in time, Neji arrived at one hell of a scene.

---

Kiba was on the ground, bleeding.

Ukon's grotesque head emerged from Kiba's shoulder, having forcibly fused with his body.

But Kiba wasn't panicking.

He was smiling.

"You picked the wrong host, pal."

Ukon froze.

Kiba stabbed his own shoulder not flinching once.

"Wha—What are you doing?!"

Kiba coughed blood but grinned wide. "Guess you didn't expect that, huh? Share a body with me, and I'll make damn sure it's your last mistake."

Ukon's scream echoed as Kiba raised his kunai for a second strike.

"No—! I'll die!"

"That's the idea."

He swung—

—but a hand caught him mid-strike.

Neji.

"Easy. I think you made your point."

Kiba grinned weakly. "Still dramatic as ever…"

"You tried to die, idiot."

"I scared him off, didn't I?"

Ukon pulled free, furious.

"HOW DARE YOU TRICK ME!?"

"Worked, didn't it?" Kiba wheezed.

Neji turned to Ukon with cold eyes.

"You're done."

Ukon backed away and froze.

A second figure stepped into view.

Painted face. Puppet bundle on his back.

Kankuro.

"Yo. Heard you needed backup."

Ukon looked between them, twitching. "Left… Left arm… gone…"

"Don't bother," Neji said. "You're not surviving this."

Ukon tried to re-enter Sakon's body but it was too late.

[Thunder Spiral Strike]!

Lightning flashed.

Neji vanished.

He reappeared with his hand through Ukon's chest.

"Over."

Electricity exploded from within, charring Ukon from the inside out.

Kankuro winced. "Yikes… Overkill much?"

Neji didn't respond. He calmly collected blood and tissue, placing it into vials.

"Always good to have spares. Sakon's DNA is still viable."

---

With backup arrived and the others regrouping, Neji focused again.

One more presence…

Naruto was still ahead.

But there was another chakra signature.

Unfamiliar.

And when Neji locked on with his Byakugan—

He blinked.

"…No way."

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