Shadow Clone Jutsu—No Wonder It Was Considered a Forbidden Technique!

The two of them went down without hesitation, and Neji had enjoyed the fight. But now, all the water in this Training Room...

Just as Neji was feeling troubled, inspiration suddenly struck him, and he gave an order.

"Izumi, seal off this Training Room. From now on, it'll be the Water Training Room!"

"Yes!"

Izumi's eyes lit up as well. So it could be done like this!

Neji acted as soon as he decided. He immediately opened another door in the wall above the water and made a few alterations. He could not be bothered to drain the water—what a waste that would be!

Leaving the repairs to the Training Room to Izumi, Neji carried the two men over and tossed them onto hospital beds. He healed them one by one, then wrapped their entire bodies in bandages.

The bandages left them feeling uncomfortable all over, and they could only groan and whine. Even though their bodies hurt, they did not dare say anything.

"Your injuries are mostly healed. Izumi and I will be leaving tomorrow. Once you recover, you'll begin your missions. The term will be half a year!"

"Got it!"

After that battle, Zabuza had been completely convinced, body and soul. He did not bring up anything else.

A few days later, deep into the night.

In the quiet night of Konoha, only scattered lights remained lit while most people had already fallen asleep.

Wearing animal masks and Root uniforms, Neji and Izumi surveyed their surroundings before entering Konoha through a hidden passage.

They evaded a squad of Root members and the patrolling Konoha Anbu, then quietly returned home.

Neji dispelled the Shadow Clone, and two whole weeks of memories flooded into his mind at once. His body swayed slightly, and Izumi immediately caught him.

"Neji, are you okay? Hey..."

Hearing Izumi's hazy calls by his ear, Neji frowned slightly and fell straight into a deep sleep.

Who knew how much time had passed before Neji slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying on Izumi's lap.

His head still hurt a little. He gently shook it, and soon a pair of soft, jade-like hands pressed against his temples, lightly kneading them to ease his discomfort.

Neji's expression gradually relaxed. He enjoyed it too much to move, and only after a while did he feel much better.

"I'm fine now, Izumi!"

Just as he wanted to sit up, Izumi pressed him back down, making him lie in her arms again.

"Don't move around. What happened to you just now? I was so worried!"

Listening to Izumi's deeply worried voice, Neji opened his eyes. Though he could not see her expression, he could feel her concern.

He closed his eyes again. "It was because of the Shadow Clone Jutsu. It hadn't been dispelled for a full two weeks, so all the accumulated memories and fatigue came flooding back at once. It really is a forbidden technique."

Neji's explanation made Izumi breathe a sigh of relief. As long as rest was enough for him to recover, it was not a serious problem.

He had truly frightened her just now. She could only stay anxiously by Neji's side and did not dare leave him for even a moment.

"How long has it been, Izumi?"

"About three hours."

Neji's heart stirred. Ignoring Izumi's attempts to stop him, he sat up and looked at her.

Her eyes were slightly red and seemed a little damp. Had she just been crying? Neji frowned.

"You stayed like that for three hours?"

Izumi lowered her head slightly, not daring to meet Neji's eyes, and softly hummed in affirmation.

Neji let out a sigh. This silly girl!

"You studied medicine. You should know I'm fine, yet you still did this. Don't you know your legs will go numb from poor circulation?"

Izumi kept her head lowered and said nothing. She understood, but she had been worried. Whenever she gently massaged Neji and saw his expression ease even a little, she felt reassured.

So what if her legs went numb? Compared to him, it was nothing at all!

Besides, he seemed to have forgotten that the tattoo he had given her could subtly regulate Chakra. She was perfectly fine.

So he was worried about her. A little happiness rose in Izumi's heart.

Neji sighed inwardly. He understood that she was worried about him, so he no longer used such a reproachful tone.

"Alright, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired. A bit of rest will do!"

"You've worked hard too. Go get some proper rest!"

Izumi remained unmoved. She raised her head and looked at him earnestly for a long moment before speaking.

"I'm fine, but you... I'm still worried. Your head must still hurt a lot. Let me help you!"

"Help me?"

With his head still throbbing faintly, Neji looked at Izumi, unsure what she wanted to help with. But the waves of pain really were unpleasant.

"Don't worry. Just leave it to me!"

Izumi raised her hands and pulled Neji over, making him lie in her arms again as she gently helped ease his headache.

The kneading of her soft hands did indeed relieve it somewhat.

Fine then!

He would let her do it!

Neji gradually fell asleep. The Shadow Clone Jutsu truly could not be maintained for too long—it was far too unbearable.

This was not physical pain, but mental discomfort. There was no way to alleviate it; he could only slowly process it.

The next day.

After waking from a good night's sleep, Neji felt completely refreshed. The pain from last night had vanished.

He stretched lazily and let out a small yawn.

"Neji, you're awake?"

Dressed in casual clothes, Izumi entered the bedroom carrying breakfast. She set it down nearby.

"Do you want something to eat? I made all of it."

The lazy Neji looked at the rather exquisite breakfast, and his stomach soon voiced its objections. It was hungry.

"Mm! Thanks for the trouble."

As Neji reached out, he paused when he noticed his sleeves. Looking down, he found that at some point, he had been changed into loose pajamas.

There was a certain sense of release below, a feeling of freedom. The corner of his mouth twitched as he looked at the faintly blushing Izumi.

I'm no longer clean!

Taking the breakfast, Neji bit into the bread and drank some milk, falling silent for a moment.

"Yesterday, you and I..."

"Yesterday, I changed your clothes for you, then helped you bathe. Don't mind it. After all, I used to do those things often."

Izumi lowered her head slightly and said everything outright, causing Neji's eating movements to stiffen.

That's not what I wanted to ask! I already knew. You didn't have to say it out loud!

He covered his face inwardly.

When he died in his first life, he had already been a Great Sage. His second life had ended before he could fulfill his ambitions, yet in this life, things were blooming everywhere. (According to legend, anyone still a virgin at thirty would become a Great Sage!)

"Mm."

Neji could only keep a calm face on the surface, but his faintly trembling hand told a different story.

Fine then!

He would let nature take its course.

Neji cleaned his plate, then handed everything to Izumi to clear away before slowly getting up.

"What time is it now?"

"About ten o'clock!"

Neji nodded slightly. It was time to go out. As for the research results, he would put them off until a few days before the Chunin Exams began!

After Izumi made the bed and carried the dishes out, Neji finally began changing clothes.

After getting dressed, he prepared to go out and look up some medical materials. It was both studying and a cover.

Thanks to the big shots for the donations, and to everyone for the recommendation votes. All I want to say is, don't stop!

Ahem, ahem!

The Chunin Exams are coming up soon, marking the official start of the first major phase, so thank you all for your support!