Two Years

Neji was immersed in his busy training routine, and two months passed in the blink of an eye.

The construction crew was also quite good, completing the basement renovation right on schedule. After the inspection, Neji was fairly satisfied with the results. Without any major hitches, he paid the final balance and moved back into his own home.

The custom laboratory equipment arrived one after another, and Neji installed them in the basement one by one. With that, his scientific research began to get on the right track.

Every day, Neji would arrange for two Shadow Clones to stay in the basement to test the functions and properties of various materials and record them. He focused particularly on the characteristics of different plants. In Neji's understanding, the world of Naruto had a highly developed variety of flora, but very few could be utilized by people, and even fewer were made into medicinal herbs.

Neji was quite interested in this situation. He wanted to see if the plants in the Naruto world were like those in his previous world, possessing many properties that could cure illnesses and save lives, or containing potent toxins that could harm others.

The main point was to find substances that could dissolve and repair gene chains to help him advance his "Gene Completion Plan."

Experiments, Chakra extraction, school, taijutsu training, research into the Eight Trigrams Formation, the accumulation of knowledge, and ninjutsu research—these were Neji's priorities for the coming period. Externally, Neji continued to maintain a low-profile, talented persona; before he had fully grown, he was determined not to go looking for trouble.

Just like that, more than two years flew by. Neji was now over nine years old and in his third year at the Ninja Academy.

Having solidified his position as the top student in his grade, he remained relatively low-key during this time. Occasionally, he would pass by the lower grades to see the two children of destiny—Naruto and Sasuke. Neji hadn't yet made up his mind on how to treat them, but if his major "Tailed Beast Collection Plan" was to be realized, conflict with Naruto would be inevitable. That was a matter to consider later.

The Chakra within Neji's body had reached 890 units, exceeding the 700-unit standard for a Special Jonin and not far from the 1,000-unit standard for a true Jonin. He could be considered to have a bit of combat power now.

His mastery of the Gentle Fist had reached the point of complete integration, and his research into the Eight Trigrams Formation had also seen some success. Because he had never had the opportunity for real combat, Neji couldn't determine exactly what level his strength had reached. It seemed that practical combat training needed to be put on the agenda; he didn't want to become a ninja who was a master of theory but a disaster in a real fight.

During these two years, Neji took the time to test his affinities, which were Wind and Lightning—two quite good attributes.

Because of his increased Chakra levels, Neji could now skillfully use the Rasengan. He could conjure small ones easily, though he still had to be careful with the large ones. As for the more advanced Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, he couldn't practice it yet because he hadn't mastered Sage Mode.

He hadn't touched Kakashi's Chidori yet either, but he had managed to figure out the Lightning Style Body Stimulation Method. With the assistance of Neji's terrifying Chakra control, trying to stimulate his body with lightning bit by bit and eventually finding the optimal plan wasn't too difficult, though he couldn't avoid suffering a bit in the process.

Currently, Neji had adjusted the weights in his training suit to 1,000 kg. It was fine during the day, as Neji was always careful to use Chakra to control the weight, but his bed suffered at night; he had already accidentally crushed five of them.

Neji had tested it: without using the Lightning Style to stimulate his body, a single punch could output 2,000 kg of force. After stimulation, it could reach 4,000 kg. Neji could easily snap a large tree, but he was still far from the terrifying monstrous strength of Tsunade, who could smash a giant crater with a single punch or kick out a trench with one foot, and he couldn't compare to Guy once he opened more than five gates.

Speaking of Guy, Neji had initially thought about finding an opportunity to learn the Eight Gates from him. Later, recalling the original story, he realized that the so-called Eight Gates were nothing more than using Chakra to forcibly break through the eight internal gates: the Gate of Opening, the Gate of Healing, the Gate of Life, the Gate of Pain, the Gate of Limit, the Gate of View, the Gate of Wonder, and the Gate of Death. When he was learning the Gentle Fist, in order to make it easier to project his internal Chakra outside his body, he had already opened most of the acupoints in his body, including the first gate, the Gate of Opening.

As for the methods to open the remaining seven gates, it was simply a matter of how much Chakra was used and whether the body could withstand it. Neji evaluated his current physical condition and estimated that he could barely withstand the opening of the first four gates. Forcibly opening the fifth would result in serious injury, and opening the sixth would certainly lead to death.

He estimated that Guy, who could open all eight gates, probably had a punch in his normal state that weighed tens of thousands of pounds, and in the Eight Gates state, he possessed the power to alter the terrain and landscape.

Therefore, he didn't go to learn from Guy, and since he was still young, he didn't deliberately push to open the gates.

As for which ninjutsu Neji coveted, they were, of course, the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique and Obito's Kamui. Both space-time techniques could be called bugs, but for now, Neji could only dream.

All in all, he had achieved a qualitative improvement over the past two years. With the Ninja Academy Shadow Clones providing cover, he hadn't attracted the attention of anyone with ulterior motives.

In the laboratory, he had made progress on the gene-dissolving substance and was just waiting for clinical trials, while the gene-binding substance remained a mystery. Such things couldn't be rushed; he would continue to explore.

Dispelling all his Shadow Clones, Neji adjusted his state and created a brand-new Shadow Clone. This new clone, possessing over 400 units of Chakra, could in principle exist for more than a month. Accounting for some accidents, it would have no problem lasting a dozen days or so. Neji planned to let the Shadow Clone act as a cover while he left the village to prepare for some of his plans.

Early the next morning, Neji quietly left the village using a merchant's travel permit he had purchased at a high price from the Black Market. It was his first time seeing the scenery outside the village, and he felt a slight sense of excitement!