The Four-Year Deadline Has Arrived!

Ever since rescuing Uchiha Izumi, Neji had formed a few ideas.

He wanted to cultivate his own people.

As someone who had lived through it before,

he understood very well that no matter how strong a lone wolf was, they were still only one person. The idea that being invincible alone was enough to handle everything was complete nonsense.

The convenience of having helpers went without saying. At the very least, he would not need to handle countless matters personally, freeing up a great deal of time.

And all he needed to provide were a few scraps, which would be more than enough to support their needs.

Thus, the first step of his next plan was to excavate a usable underground space beneath this place.

He carefully used Observation Haki and Nen Perception to investigate, calculating how deep he could dig without touching the barrier.

His daily life was always so ordinary: school during the day, digging holes at night, building Gundams—ptui! Building equipment.

Whenever he had time, he beat up the rookie characters to harvest experience packs, then refined Hinata...

Ahem! Trained Hinata, taught Izumi medical arts and some other convenient ninjutsu he had modified himself.

And just like that, four years passed.

Now twelve years old, Neji was as handsome as ever. He wore slightly grayish white clothes, with long black hair flowing loose over his shoulders.

He was ridiculously handsome—easy to project onto!

As for the eyepatch, it reminded him of an anime he had watched in the past. There seemed to be some ceiling-level Kakashi called Gojo Satoru.

He even wore the same kind of eyepatch, except Neji's was white.

Now, he too was facing graduation. He watched as his classmates were taken away one after another by their assigned instructors.

He sat there quietly. Beside him, Tenten was a little nervous, as was...

Rock Lee, who looked so tense that even a light touch might make him collapse stiffly to the floor.

Neji had nothing to be nervous about. The three of them being placed on the same team was practically guaranteed.

He was the genius of their class, Rock Lee was the dead last, and Tenten was a moderately ranked little rich girl who threw ninja tools.

They fit Konoha's usual team-assignment standards perfectly, so he would not tempt fate.

Getting jinxed would be a huge loss!

Neji glanced at Tenten. After all, he had raised this rich girl for so many years.

And Rock Lee had already caught Might Guy's eye. During breaks between missions, he would occasionally teach him as well.

The only thing Neji found somewhat regrettable was that he was currently only level thirty-two.

After four years of steady accumulation, he had only gone from level sixteen to level thirty-two, gaining seventeen levels.

The experience required kept rising. The stronger he became, the less experience the rookie characters gave him. There was nothing he could do about that.

The new skills he had currently mastered were: Nen Aura, Phantom Explosion, Charged Nen Cannon, Gale Combo, and Nen Flow.

These were level-twenty skills. Nen Aura generated Nen spheres that revolved around his body, capable of both attacking and defending—a downgraded version of the Truth-Seeking Orbs.

Phantom Explosion was a passive upgrade for clones. It could take damage, had a physical form, and could even self-destruct in the end. It was incredibly versatile.

Neji explained it as a special Lightning Clone.

Charged Nen Cannon was an upgraded version of Energy Blast and could be considered a hand-cast Kamehameha.

There was not much to say about Gale Combo. It added two more attacks after the Taijutsu skill Gale Chase.

Nen Flow, on the other hand, directly gave him another tattoo: one dragon and one tiger. They looked quite imposing.

Its effect was simple: it enhanced his Nen control, allowing him to enter the tattooed era before even reaching the colored-contact era.

The level-twenty-five skills were Nen Aura: Assault, Nen Barrier, and Thunderclap Palm.

Thunderclap Palm should have been a skill from level seventy or so, yet in the system, it was merely a level-twenty-five skill.

Only Nen Barrier truly satisfied Neji. He had the invincible Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven for himself, and now he had an enhanced barrier for groups. It was tough enough.

The level-thirty skills were Nen Aura: Control, Nen Beast: Dragon Tiger Roar, and Cyclone Kick.

With Assault and Control, he had essentially mastered Nen Aura perfectly. As for Dragon Tiger Roar, its appearance resembled Hinata's Twin Lion Fists.

It granted Neji a transformed attack form. Every strike became extremely powerful and carried Lightning Release damage.

As for the abilities of this world, Neji had mastered what he was originally meant to master, and he had learned even more of what he was not meant to possess.

Gentle Fist, Medical Ninjutsu, and every ninjutsu he could learn. Though he did not use ninjutsu in combat, he used it for research and daily life.

What respectable person used hand seals?

Did you use them?

No!

Then there you go!

Just as Neji was considering which abilities and skills he could reveal, a distinctive Konoha sight appeared.

A watermelon haircut, gleaming white teeth—the proud Azure Beast of Konoha, Might Guy, had arrived.

"Ah! This place is overflowing with the aura of youth! How invigorating!"

Hey, hey, hey!

Was it really okay to say something that would get him arrested the moment he walked in?

Veterans immediately got the joke!

"Neji Hyuga, Tenten, Rock Lee, the three of you, stand up! From now on, I will be your instructor!"

Whoosh!

His dazzling white teeth instantly blinded Tenten. Neji, wearing his eyepatch, narrowly escaped disaster.

Rock Lee, however, looked incredibly excited. As he stared at the smiling Might Guy, his body was trembling slightly.

Neji patted his shoulder, gave him a gentle smile, and nodded.

Then he said to Tenten, "Looks like we'll be able to stay together from now on."

Although Tenten had a bit of a headache over this instructor, who did not seem entirely normal, she was still happy to be with Neji.

Beside them, Rock Lee wore a serious expression. He absolutely could not disappoint Teacher Might Guy.

Might Guy was quite satisfied with the three assigned to him. He placed both hands on the desk.

"Excellent! Next, everyone will introduce themselves. Hmm... Rock Lee, you'll go first!"

Guy swept his gaze around the room, locked onto Rock Lee, and pointed at him with one large hand.

With a snap, Rock Lee shot to his feet and loudly declared,

"My name is Rock Lee! My goal is to become a man like Teacher Might Guy, to carve out a future with Taijutsu! I am good at Taijutsu, I like training and extra-spicy curry rice, I have no foods I dislike, and I want to beat Neji once! That is all!"

His straightforward speech was powerful and full of vigor, causing passionate flames to blaze in Might Guy's eyes. As expected of someone he had taken a liking to.

"Excellent! A wonderful answer! As long as you work hard, the future will certainly give you the answer you seek!"

The merciless praise machine known as Might Guy activated, showering him with praise without restraint.

Rock Lee became extremely excited and loudly replied, "Yes, Teacher Might Guy! I will work tirelessly. First, I'll set a small goal: I'll strive to defeat Neji just once!"

That sentence nearly broke Neji's composure. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, while Tenten beside him covered her mouth and could not help snickering.

After all, ever since enrolling, Rock Lee had never stopped challenging Neji. So far, his win rate was zero.

"Now then, Tenten, it's your turn!"

At Might Guy's call, Tenten reined in her smile and calmed herself.

"My goal is to become an independent female ninja like Lady Tsunade. I am good at ninja tools, I like meat buns and sesame dumplings, I dislike sour plums, and I enjoy researching ninja tools. That is all!"

Might Guy nodded. "That is a very good goal. But becoming a female ninja like Lady Tsunade means enduring a great deal of hardship."

"If I'm going to do it, I'll be the best. Giving up halfway isn't Tenten's style!"

Tenten spoke those words with great seriousness. It suited her personality well—gentle on the outside, strong on the inside.

"Mm, very good. Then what about you, Neji?"

Everyone's eyes turned toward Neji, who was seated there. He smiled faintly.

"My name is Neji Hyuga. My goal is to protect what I value and change some things that should not exist. My interests are meditation and research. I am skilled at Gentle Fist, I like many foods, and there are no foods I dislike. That is all."

His goals were neither especially remarkable nor unusual, and they suited his identity well.

However, at the mention of changing things that should not exist, Might Guy glanced at Neji's eyes and understood.

"Very good. Then Team 3 is officially established. However, there is still one more step before you can become true ninja."

Looking at the expectant gazes of Tenten and Rock Lee, Might Guy spoke slowly.

"That is earning my approval. Only those I approve of may become true ninja. So, gather at Training Ground 7."

"Yes!"

I briefly explained the skills, since some people do not play DNF. I also modified some skills, since it would be impossible to copy everything exactly.