A year later.
Over the past year, because of Hiruzen Sarutobi's wariness, Team 3 had not received a single mission that took them beyond the borders of the Land of Fire. Neji Hyuga had taught the members of Team 3 many ideas and taijutsu techniques, and even their Jonin instructor, Might Guy, had become one of his students.
Over the past year, Tenten and Rock Lee had encountered many nobles and commoners during their missions. Even in a prosperous nation like the Land of Fire, there were corners where commoners suffered as miserably as those in war-torn countries, with no guarantee of survival.
The more she saw of the common people of the Land of Fire, the more Tenten's mindset and strength grew at a visible pace, gradually maturing.
Neji Hyuga's teachings had not been in vain. When his guidance overlapped with the reality she had personally touched, it was as though Tenten had torn through a hazy membrane and seen the disparities of reality—status, wealth and poverty, life and death, extravagance and frugality. A seed of wanting to change this world began to sprout within her.
Neji Hyuga watched over Tenten, guiding her thoughts in the direction he had arranged, and the results were highly effective.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi repeatedly tested the waters by suggesting that Neji Hyuga and Tenten be promoted to Chunin.
Once they became Chunin, he would have a reason to split up the team and have each of them lead one, separating Neji Hyuga from Tenten.
Tenten's Flying Thunder God amazed Konoha's ninja. There was another Flash of Konoha—but it made Hiruzen Sarutobi even more uneasy.
The main reason was that although Tenten appeared to obey Hiruzen Sarutobi, whenever something truly happened, she displayed a great deal of individuality and independent thought. She had already