Still Have to Refine It?!

As flowers bloomed and faded, time flowed on. Half a year drifted by, and Hinata and the others were about to graduate. Neji had also reached level thirty-nine.

During this time, Orochimaru still had not contacted him, and Neji himself had mostly forgotten about it.

The Laboratory had gained quite a few newly awakened Byakugan, but the quantity was still insufficient, so Neji had not attempted fusion.

During this period, he had been studying Sealing Jutsu. Compared to Medical Ninjutsu, Sealing Jutsu truly yielded abundant fruits, its ravines deep enough to make him unable to pull himself away.

It felt like that was describing something rather subtle. Neji shook his head slightly, dispelled his Shadow Clones, and pinched the bridge of his nose as a faint headache set in.

Lying on his side on the Island Cloud sofa in the quiet room, Neji set the Sealing Jutsu book in his hand aside.

"There really is a lot of material related to Sealing Jutsu. Did they move back most of the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu?"

Though he was joking, after the Uzumaki Clan's destruction, Konoha had the most Sealing Jutsu, considering the deep ties between the two.

There were not many advanced Sealing Jutsu, but the basic and ordinary ones had mostly been recorded.

"Then there are barriers as well!"

When it came to barriers, the Byakugan could not see them, but the passive skills Nen Perception and Observation Haki could.

They could sense the subtle flow of a barrier. This had also been how he had previously investigated the depth of barriers. (Revised earlier.)

He had also mastered the methods for entering and leaving Konoha's barrier. As for how he had learned them, naturally, it was from Root, Pot Kage's subordinates!

That guy loved stirring up trouble all day long. Several times when Neji sensed the barrier in the middle of the night, he had detected Root members moving about.

There it was: activate the Byakugan, listen with Observation Haki, use Nen Flow to sense the barrier, and the method came delivered right to his doorstep.

Later on, even though the methods for entering and leaving the barrier changed several times, he had basically grasped the patterns, the barrier's structure, and even several safe entry and exit points.

After more than ten years of observation, coupled with some research of his own, he had finally cracked the tough nut that was Konoha's barrier.

Although the anime made it seem as though anyone could ignore Konoha's barrier, the barrier was not just for show.

It was normal for Obito and Black Zetsu to get in; they did not take ordinary routes. Orochimaru, as one of the former Sannin, could enter and leave as easily as going home, so it was naturally simple for him.

As for other minor ninja pests, they could only sneak in by blending among others. Breaking in or infiltrating directly was impossible.

Thus, Neji had naturally investigated everything that might be useful in the future, fully preparing himself.

He lightly tapped Island Cloud. Its bouncy feel was wonderful, but Neji was calculating the future in his heart.

There was nothing shameful about following the plot. In fact, it gave him a greater chance of gaining benefits.

However, he had no interest in the whole affair of Naruto's graduation. That Scroll of Seals had basically been deliberately put out by the Third Hokage.

The techniques recorded in it had probably been selected for Naruto beforehand. It merely depended on what Naruto chose.

As for the truly good things, that old fellow, the Third Hokage, had them hidden tightly. They could not possibly leak out. After all, he had not been Hokage for so many years for nothing.

Then, not long afterward in the plot, the Land of Waves incident would occur. That would be beneficial to him.

"Zabuza and Haku?"

Neji murmured softly. It was not just them, but also the Land of Waves itself, that small island nation.

In his mind, he looked over the Female Hormone in his inventory. No one should have any objections to using this on himself.

"Ah, it really is hard to develop some unofficial personnel. Too bad I have no choice!"

Neji stretched lazily. For now, that settled it. Going to bed early tonight was what mattered.

Sure enough, only two days later, Naruto successfully graduated. No one mentioned what had happened that night.

Naturally, Neji celebrated for his little sister. As for his cheap uncle, Hiashi, that rigid fellow would not come even if he was happy inside. Never mind him.

None of that was important. A month later, Naruto and the others received that escort mission.

On the same day, at Training Ground 7.

"Sorry! Teacher Might Guy, my research is nearly complete recently. It's at a critical point, so I'd like to stop taking missions for now!"

Taking advantage of this gathering, Neji spoke directly to Might Guy. His excuse was perfectly sufficient: his research had reached a crucial stage.

Might Guy nodded seriously. "In that case, we'll temporarily stop taking missions. Rock Lee, Tenten, you have no objections, right?"

The two of them both shook their heads without any objections, because they knew about it as well.

Might Guy's white teeth flashed as the merciless praise machine came online.

"Research without worry, Neji! Our burning youth will always support you. As your strongest backing, we are the people behind you!"

Neji's eyelid twitched beneath his eyepatch. Though he had grown accustomed to Teacher Might Guy and Rock Lee acting like living treasures, they still occasionally broke through his defenses.

"I don't need that," he refused expressionlessly.

"Tenten, don't learn from Teacher Might Guy and them!"

"Mm!"

Tenten nodded with great seriousness, while Might Guy's face immediately fell. He clung to Rock Lee for comfort.

"This is too much, truly too much! I'm actually being rejected by my own student!"

"Teacher Might Guy, you still have me. I will never leave you. We must turn youth into sweat and scatter it across this soil!"

Rock Lee spoke with ringing conviction, striking right at Might Guy's heart. The two gazed deeply into each other's eyes.

"Rock Lee~"

"Teacher Might Guy~"

The two immediately embraced and burst into tears, making Tenten cover her face beside them, feeling too embarrassed to be seen.

"Let's go. No need to mind them."

"Mm!"

Neji directly led Tenten away, leaving behind the master and student gazing at each other tearfully.

On the way back.

Tenten asked curiously, "Neji, can it really achieve the functions you mentioned back then?"

"You mean Eternal Youth? Of course it can!"

Neji spoke with great confidence, because he had already tried it on Izumi. The results had been excellent, and he had even helped Izumi optimize it a little.

"Really?" Tenten's eyes sparkled slightly.

"Really!" Neji answered just as seriously.

"But we'll have to wait a little longer. It should take about a week to finish processing it, perhaps even longer."

After making a rough estimate, Neji did not state a definite time, afraid that something unexpected might happen.

"So during this time, I need to focus on my research. I probably won't show up much these days. Please let everyone know."

"Is that so? No problem!"

Tenten's thoughts turned as she looked at Neji, a faint trace of hesitation appearing on her face.

But when her gaze fell upon Neji's eyepatch, she quietly thought, He can't see, so it should be fine, but...

Men and women should keep their distance!

However, with her straightforward nature, she quickly let it go and made up her mind.

Whatever. I already decided on this long ago!

Having made up her mind, Tenten said directly, "Once it's finished, I want one tattooed on me too. Is that okay?"

Neji's steps paused slightly, but his tone remained calm. "Of course."

Inside, however, he was practically dying. This bronze still has to be refined!

Transition chapters are killing me!

Also, thank you all for supporting me with recommendation votes!

The next chapter will be rather late, probably after eleven o'clock!