Chapter 62 - The Jonin in Genin's Clothing!

Even though Ekyt was using the Kaguya blood, that didn’t mean he couldn’t use other attacks. Or even his other kekkaigenkai. Against Neji, Ekyt suspected he’d need them all.

His chakra pool runs deep. My best bet is to make him burn that chakra off. My clone helped. I wonder…if I put a temporary seal on those annoying eyes of his…that might just do it! He can’t hit my tenketsu if he can’t SEE them…his style is almost useless without the Byakugan. And it means that I could attack normally, he’d have to rely on normal senses. I’ve just got to get close enough to do it…

“Why did you decide to attack me?” Ekyt asked. It was a valid question. Why DID Neji attack for no reason/

“You disobeyed a direct order, and refused to acknowledge my title,” Neji replied, aiming for two strikes at the chest. Ekyt swept them away with the blunt end of the bone, then made a cut at Neji’s stomach, forcing Neji to move. Ekyt was right with him, though, aiming for a shuffle side kick, then a high round house kick, Neji blocked the kick by jamming his arm under the kick, and then ducking under the leg. He and Ekyt simultaneously punched/palmed. Both strikes hit, and each was laced with chakra, creating something of a light show. But to Neji, something felt off.

“You didn’t give me a direct order. And you haven’t earned the title of sensei. As I explained yesterday. Do you have some resentment against me? Or is it the pure pain of knowing fate ISN’T on your side?” Ekyt questioned flatly. With Neji still holding his leg, Ekyt jumped and kicked at Neji’s head with his free leg. When Neji moved aside, that broke his grip, and left Ekyt in place for a hook kick. The kick tagged the back of Neji’s head. Ekyt used that to pull Neji in for a quick strike. Neji, however, had enough of this. He used his Rotation Jutsu. POOF! He had just nailed a shadow clone.

“What the hell? I knew something was off! Where’s the real you?!”




Ekyt cursed under his breath; he wasn’t done yet. That clone DID burn up Neji’s chakra pretty good, though. If I’m right…the “release” technique for genjutsu forces someone to halt the chakra flow to their brain. In effect, their senses are halted as well. Which would give me a split-second opening while Neji’s Byakugan would be down. That’s not enough time…But it’s enough to MAKE the time, if I do this correctly.

“Dance of the Clemantis: Vine!” Ekyt pulled out his spine, using it as a whip. Neji began his rotation. The calcium-hardened bone didn’t break, but it didn’t penetrate the chakra cocoon Neji was hiding in, either. Undeterred, Ekyt used his next jutsu, one he had used when he fought Neji once before.

“Dragon’s Ember Jutsu: Clone Instigation!” Four Shadow Clones of Ekyt all used his signature fire jutsu. The flames couldn’t touch Neji in his dome, but they DID ruin his vision. The Byakugan didn’t hold up so well under a lot of heat. It decreased the vision. The only other think Ekyt knew for sure was that Neji had a blind spot at the back of his neck. The last time Ekyt had fought him, he had made the mistake of attacking that blind spot. Neji had buried him with a solid attack because he saw it coming. This time, that’s exactly what Ekyt was counting on.

“Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique!” Ekyt called. Neji had a choice: Either let the genjutsu hit him, or stop his rotation and release it. He chose to release it, jumping over the fire attacks as he did so.

“Bringer of Darkness Technique!” Ekyt shouted just as Neji used the release ability. Ekyt had succeeded in part one of his plan: Neji was blinded. But it wouldn’t last long. A jutsu like that ate up a ton of chakra. This was wear the other half of Ekyt’s strategy came into play. Ekyt ended his Shadow Clone Jutsu, save for one other clone. That one clone was going to be important, however.

Neji was near panic. No one had done this to him before! Blinded? Impossible! I can’t release the jutsu if I rotate. And even without rotation, this is a Hokage’s jutsu, it’s nearly impossible to break! So I have to anticipate…what would Ekyt do? What did he do before? My blind spot, at the back of my neck! He’ll strike there…he always says he’s not a killer, but in the classroom the other day, he said he’d “make sure my students were never hurt by you again.” He said he’d do anything- including kill me? Regardless, I know where he’s aiming. And I can still hear. Here he comes…10 meters…5 meters…2 meters…NOW!

Neji spun around and blasted Ekyt in the stomach. POOF! Shadow Clone! That was distraction enough for Ekyt to get in front of Neji. Neji had only heard one set of footsteps, and Ekyt was silent. Until now:

“Five Elements: Seal!”

Ekyt could hear the crowd gasp in shock as Ekyt put both hands over Neji’s eyes. The Five Elements Seal was what Ekyt had used against Itachi’s Sharingan. Now, he had sealed Neji’s Byakugan in BOTH eyes. Knowing what was next, Ekyt leapt up, ending his “Bringer of Darkness” genjutsu. He didn’t jump fast enough, as Neji’s rotation caught his leg and hurled him across the stadium. Fortunately, he righted himself and skidded several meters in the dirt on one knee, panting from the effort all that had taken.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! MY EYES! I’LL KILL YOU!” Neji shouted, pawing at his eyes when his Byakugan wouldn’t work.

“With what? I just destroyed all of your attacks but one. I can’t touch you, and you can’t touch me. At least until your chakra runs out. THEN it’s over. I can wait, Neji.”

In one part of that, Ekyt was wrong. Neji still had his incredible speed, and he ran up to Ekyt surprisingly quick. Punch, elbow, knee, kick. Ekyt barely got his blocks up in time. Then Neji tried his Rotation again. Ekyt got hit again, this time across the stomach. Blood spurted from his mouth and stomach as he fell through the air. Suddenly, Neji was above him. Ekyt rolled to the side in mid-air as Neji’s leg came crashing down. Ekyt seized Neji’s hair and threw him, then landed on the ground himself, panting harder than before.

I need to end this…I need to be faster than he is, and I need to get past his rotation…My chakra’s too low for anything elaborate, and he’s faster than I anticipated. I thought he would stay true to his style and stay in one place, but he’s forcing ME to move instead. Damn it!

Neji succeeding it hitting Ekyt again, this time bashing him in the stomach, three inches below his navel at his chi point, then following through with an uppercut that knocked Ekyt’s teeth together with an audible “Click!”

“Get up! Now you’re not facing the genius of the Hyuuga clan, you’re facing MY OWN genius! You fool, how could you think yourself a match for me? Even without my Byakugan, you’re still easy prey!”




That was when Ekyt heard it:

“Screw him, Ekyt-sempai! You can do it!” Naoto shouted. “You said you’d win, and you said you always keep your word!”

“C’mon Ekyt-kun!” Sakura shouted, backed up by Temari. Tenten was silent, then she joined in too!

“Sorry, Neji! Come on, Ekyt! Kick his @$$!” Tenten shouted. Then Lee. Then Naruto. Asuma, Kakashi, Sarutobi, all of them watching. Even Lady Tsunade.


Ekyt thought back to studying by himself on a rooftop, while the others were sitting on Lone Pine Hill, looking at the stars one night. That night, studying wasn’t coming easy. Ekyt remembered feeling more alone than he ever had before. IT was as if he could SEE others, but couldn’t interact with them. They lived in different, parallel worlds. And Ekyt, being Ekyt, didn’t get his hopes up of ever being in that other world. But that night had left a mark on him. It wasn’t just a female he longed for; Ekyt was a loner. Though he wouldn’t have traded that, it would have been nice to feel as though he belonged. It had been a hard night for him. Under the star-light sky, Ekyt gazed by himself. He saw stars, and wondered what the big allure was; it’s not like the stars were special. No comets or moons or anything. But the others talked and laughed and smiled. Ekyt took a wistful glance, then got back to his studying, becoming the dark silhouette against the black backdrop of the midnight sky.




“Do you give up?”

Hayate Gekko’s voice brought Ekyt back to reality. Ekyt got up to one knee, shook his head, and gave his reply.

“Not now or ever.” With that, Ekyt opened the first Gate of Chakra.


“Hah! Lee is a master of taijutsu using that very move, and you hope to beat me with it?!”

Ekyt opened the Second Gate, then the Third, for the first time in his life. Soon, he all but disappeared from Neji’s now-normal vision.

“Blue Flame Chakra: Activate!” NOW the barely-visible lines that were Ekyt were outlined with blue, and growing even fainter as the chakra made Ekyt even quicker.

“Rotation!” Neji countered.

“IT’S OVER!” Ekyt shouted through the pain. Right in front of Neji, Ekyt cocked his fist back.

“This is for my clan!” Punch!
“This is for my students!” Uppercut!
“THIS is for ME!”

On the last strike, Ekyt’s hand caught Neji hard in the stomach, sending him into the air. Ekyt leapt up after him.

“Snapdragon Impact Flight!” (Formerly “Backward Konoha Snapdragon”)

Neji was dropped back-first onto the ground, his chakra exhausted. Ekyt landed on his feet, closing the gates and ending the Blue Flame Chakra’s activation. Hayate walked over and looked down into the deep crater Neji’s body had created. Neji wasn’t moving, aside from his eyelids flickering.

Ekyt was tense as all get-out until he heard it:

“This match is over. Ekyt Kaguya is the winner.” Hayate raised Ekyt’s arm. The crowd that was on Ekyt’s side cheered wildly, while the others rained garbage down on him. But Ekyt didn’t care. All the people he had seen stargazing that night were in his corner. Ekyt thanked Hayate, then walked over to the barricade. He leapt up into the seats where his friends were, and finally let a smile cross his face. The day was his. Ekyt had heard a lot, but Naoto’s comment meant the most:

“Ekyt-sempai, that’s the best fight I’ve ever seen.” It was a simple comment, but in this case, it was what Ekyt needed to hear. All the kids in his class readily agreed.

Sakura’s actions meant a lot to Ekyt, easy. A kiss on the forehead that turned his face a bright crimson hue might as well have been his nineteen birthdays rolled into one. It was a hell of a present.

Lady Tsunade’s gift was also precious. “If you return it this time, I’m going to neuter you, kid.” Tsunade handed Ekyt his (custom-made) black chunin vest.




That night, Ekyt was asked, several times, to explain his strategy, and how it had worked. The jonin who heard it excused themselves. Kakashi was among them, and he still had to tell Ekyt about his plan. But, for now, he decided to let the young man enjoy his luck, not knowing how long it would last.

“He won’t be a chunin long, that’s for sure,” Asuma said around a puff of smoke.

“No? Think he’ll give the vest back again?” Kurenai questioned.

Asuma exhaled a ring of gray smoke. “No. I think he’ll be promoted to jonin.”

“Indeed. That was jonin-level combat.” Sarutobi intoned, exhaling smoke himself from his pipe. Maybe even…legendary combat?

“Kakashi, are you going to tell him your plan?” Gai asked. He had been furious at first, but then he heard what Neji did to deserve the beating, and had forgiven Ekyt.

Kakashi looked at Ekyt, who was currently blushing heavily, as Temari, Tenten, and Sakura all clustered around him. They knew what they were doing; it was fun- Color-changing Ekyt!

“Not tonight, Gai. Tomorrow. Tonight, he’s finally getting what he deserves. I’m not going to be the one to end it. He’ll jump right into the mission. He needs rest, and he needs the attention he’s getting now.”

“Couldn’t agree more. I’m surprised Ino hasn’t been after him yet,” Asuma muttered.

“Girls are fickle,” Kurenai said as Tsunade and Shizune joined the Jonin group.

“No kidding,” Asuma murmured with a wink.

“WHAT was that, Asuma? Am I boring you?” Kurenai asked, glaring at him. Shizune snickered, while Tsunade took a more violent approach.

“You’re a pig, Asuma! You’re lucky I’m in a good mood!”

“What? I was only agreeing,” Asuma shot back. This time, everyone laughed.


It was a good day in Konoha. In Mudville, it might have been Mighty Casey who struck out, but in the Leaf Village, it was “Mighty Neji” who struck out.



NEXT ISSUE: LIFE AS A CHUNIN! KAKASHI’S PLAN INTO ACTION! AND AN UPDATE FROM PUPPVILLE: HOLLY AND PAKKUN’S PUPPIES START TO LEARN THE TRICKS OF THE NINJA TRADE!

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