Now that Kagami had mastered the techniques for opening the first three gates of the Eight Gates, all that remained was to train diligently.
To that end, Kagami exercised his privileges as Principal of the Ninja Academy and designated a secluded training ground in a wooded corner of the campus for his exclusive use.
During the day, he would train there alone.
...
At the Academy Training Ground.
The children were busy finding opponents, preparing to engage in one-on-one taijutsu sparring matches.
Since next month’s Academy examination would focus on taijutsu, everyone was taking it seriously. Even the usually mischievous Naruto and Kiba were behaving themselves for once.
What had happened to Rock Lee last month had been so miserable that it had left a lasting impression on all the children.
Even someone as mischievous as Naruto, as lazy as Shikamaru, or as willful as Shion no longer dared to underestimate the Academy’s examinations.
After all, everyone was terrified of ending up like Rock Lee—finishing dead last and having their name publicly displayed on the noticeboard outside the Academy.
Standing in a corner of the training field, Neji swept his gaze across the grounds, searching for a suitable sparring partner.
Taijutsu had always been his specialty. Moreover, after training diligently over the past few weeks, he had made considerable progress in every aspect of his abilities. As a result, there were very few students in his year who were qualified to be his opponents.
Before long, Neji’s gaze unconsciously settled on Sasuke in the distance.
And Sasuke, who seemed to have been keeping an eye on Neji as well, looked back at him with an eager expression, itching for a fight.
"Is this our fated showdown?"
Neji slowly activated his Byakugan and murmured to himself.
Although he felt that now wasn’t the best time to confront Sasuke head-on, the eager look Sasuke was giving him made it impossible for him to back down.
Just then, Neji suddenly noticed an enormous concentration of chakra within his Byakugan’s field of vision, so dense that it had almost taken on a tangible form!
"This..."
Neji was so startled that he instinctively took two steps backward.
Thanks to his Byakugan, Neji had seen countless different chakra signatures, both openly and in secret. However, this was the first time in his life that he had ever encountered chakra so powerful and so highly concentrated!
"Even the Clan Head probably doesn’t possess chakra this powerful. No... Even the Three Sannin of Konoha, or the Lord Hokage, couldn’t possibly possess chakra this powerful! Just whose chakra is that?"
Still reeling from the shock, Neji stared suspiciously in the direction from which the enormous surge of chakra was erupting.
Seeing Neji’s expression suddenly change as he stood staring blankly into the distance, Sasuke furrowed his brows. Then, with both hands tucked into his pants pockets, he walked over and asked coolly, "What’s wrong with you?"
Neji replied in a serious voice, "Find someone else to spar with. I have something else to take care of."
With that, Neji strode off in the direction of the chakra without waiting for Sasuke’s response.
Such an immense amount of chakra was simply beyond anything he could have imagined. Unable to suppress his curiosity, he was determined to investigate and discover the identity of whoever possessed such terrifying chakra!
"What the heck is he up to?"
Watching Neji walk away, Sasuke muttered under his breath before quickly chasing after him.
Neji asked, "Why are you following me?"
Sasuke shot back, "I should be asking you that! What are you up to? Are you deliberately running away because you’re afraid of losing to me?"
Without breaking stride, Neji shot Sasuke a glare with his Byakugan and replied, "In a taijutsu match, you’re no match for me!"
Sasuke immediately activated his Sharingan as well. A single black tomoe slowly revolved within his crimson eyes as he snorted, "Hmph! We’ll see about that!"
Before long, the two boys arrived, one after the other, at the edge of a small grove in a secluded corner of the Academy grounds.
Sasuke looked puzzled. "What are we doing here?"
Neji replied gravely, "It’s right in there!"
The confusion on Sasuke’s face only deepened. "Hey, would you explain yourself already? What exactly is in there?"
In fact, the Sharingan also possessed the ability to perceive the flow of chakra within the human body.
The reason Kakashi, who had once possessed a Sharingan, had become renowned throughout the shinobi world as the ’Copy Ninja’ was that, with his exceptional talent, he could not only memorize an opponent’s hand seals at a glance but also use his Sharingan to observe the flow of chakra within their body, allowing him to instantly copy their ninjutsu.
However, the Sharingan lacked the ability to see through obstacles over long distances. Once something obstructed its line of sight, there was nothing it could do.
Consequently, although the immense concentration of chakra was as clearly visible to Neji’s Byakugan as a towering torch blazing into the sky, Sasuke hadn’t noticed anything at all.
Neji didn’t bother explaining further. Instead, he lowered his voice and instructed, "Don’t make a sound. Stay close to me!"
With that, Neji headed into the grove.
Sasuke curled his lips in annoyance and followed him, looking thoroughly irritated.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Thud! Thud!
The two boys had barely stepped into the grove when a series of piercing whistles and deep, muffled thuds reached their ears.
Although they were still young, both came from prestigious shinobi clans and were no strangers to such sounds. They immediately recognized that the whistles and thuds seemed to be coming from someone practicing taijutsu.
However, the whistles were so piercing that their eardrums ached and their heads spun, while the thuds were so deep and heavy that they felt as though an invisible hammer was repeatedly striking their chests, disrupting their breathing.
"Huff... Huff..."
The two boys panted heavily as they exchanged frightened glances.
The mere sounds produced by this person’s taijutsu training were enough to leave them breathless and dizzy. They couldn’t even begin to imagine just how powerful the person inside the grove must be!
Sasuke asked incredulously, "Who... who’s in there?!"
Neji shook his head. "I don’t know either. That person’s chakra is incredibly powerful. I’ve never seen chakra this powerful before!"
Sasuke hesitated before asking, "It might be an enemy. Should we go in and take a look?"
Neji shook his head. "We’re right in the heart of the village. Even if an enemy managed to infiltrate this far, they wouldn’t be making such a commotion! I’m going to take a look regardless. If you’re too scared, you can go back to the training field!"
Sasuke immediately flew into a rage. "Who says I’m scared?! Fine, let’s go!"
The two boys composed themselves and cautiously crept deeper into the grove, moving as quietly as they could.
Whoosh!
Just then, a figure suddenly landed behind the two boys, placed a hand on each of their shoulders, and asked, "What are you two doing here?"
"Brother Shisui! You scared me to death!"
After recognizing the newcomer, Sasuke let out a long sigh of relief.
"So it was you training in the grove, Shisui-sensei..."
Neji suddenly stopped halfway through his sentence.
The piercing whistles and muffled thuds were still coming from deep within the grove, making it obvious that Shisui wasn’t the one training inside.
The two boys immediately pointed toward the depths of the grove and asked Shisui in unison, "Then who’s training in there?"
Shisui smiled. "Remember this. From now on, this is the Principal’s private training ground. You’re not allowed to enter without permission!"
"The Principal?!"
The two boys froze for a moment before exclaiming in unison, "But what’s going on in there..."
Before they could finish, Shisui waved his hand dismissively.
"Don’t be so surprised. That’s just the Principal’s regular training. Business as usual, business as usual..."