Early Preparations for Faction Building

As an observer, Neji watched a "good show." Since the battlefield was in the backyard and the scale of the fight wasn't large, the inn suffered no damage and Neji could continue his stay without issue.

He stood up, tidied his clothes, which had become wrinkled from squatting, and was about to return to his room to continue his training. However, his movement caught the attention of the three people below.

Asama Sandayu bowed slightly to Neji and spoke, "I am Asama Sandayu. May I ask why you are here, friend?"

Seeing that the other party had initiated the conversation and had a good attitude, and since Neji wasn't an arrogant person, he returned the bow. "I am Neji. I came here to stay for the night. I heard fighting outside and came out to investigate."

Neji continued, "Seeing that you are all unharmed, I was just planning to go back to my room and sleep!"

Sandayu judged from Neji's demeanor and expression that he was likely a ninja, and probably a strong one at that. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so calm upon seeing the fight between two parties; he must have had his own means of protection.

Since the other party had no intention of conflict, Sandayu didn't want to cause trouble himself. He politely replied, "Since you are planning to return to your room to sleep, I won't disturb you further. Farewell."

Hearing the conversation between Sandayu and Neji, Kazahana Koyuki, who was still immersed in sadness, also looked up and glanced at Neji a few times. She noticed he was around her age and didn't pay much mind, quietly adjusting her emotions.

Neji had no other thoughts. He returned to his room, completed his chakra extraction for the day, and then went to sleep!

Seeing that things had been cleared up, Chunin Rokuda didn't linger and left the inn that night.

After watching Rokuda leave, Kazahana Koyuki and Sandayu felt a sense of sadness. Rokuda was a decent person with considerable strength. More importantly, they had spent half a year together and had developed some feelings for him. This parting likely meant they would never meet again.

The night passed without incident. The next morning, Neji woke up, ate breakfast, and left the inn. Kazahana Koyuki and her group had already departed. It was a chance encounter, and Neji didn't dwell on it.

After packing his belongings, he headed towards his intended destination: the capital of the Land of Hot Water.

The journey was uneventful, and Neji smoothly arrived at the first stronghold he had established.

After years of development and subsequent funding from Neji, the stronghold had been developed quite well.

Initially, he had only intended to use this stronghold for researching "Natural Energy Purification." Therefore, besides asking Sakumo-Tatsuryu to procure equipment, he hadn't asked him to develop any influence.

As a result, the stronghold still had its original staff. Fortunately, under Sakumo-Tatsuryu's training and ample financial support, Sakumo-Qi Feng, a fellow clansman of Tatsuryu, had recently been promoted to Jonin, which was good news.

Now that Neji had left Konoha and was no longer protected by a great ninja village, he had to solve many problems himself and needed a group of subordinates to work for him. This gave Neji the idea of cultivating his own influence.

Neji happened to have highly concentrated Natural Energy Compression Fluid on hand, which could be used to enhance the strength of his subordinates. Although the fluid might not enable all of them to master Sage Mode, prolonged immersion could still enhance their physical abilities.

In the past year, while compiling the "Shennong Encyclopedia," Neji discovered that the Natural Energy within a certain plant was slightly higher than in other plants. Through extensive research and comparison, he realized that Natural Energy could be dissolved into the sap secreted by this plant.

This plant was called Jingtianlian. Its leaves resembled succulents, but its branches were as hard as sandalwood, and it grew in temperate regions. Currently, its market supply was limited, but because the market demand was also low, the supply and demand had remained balanced.

This sap could also promote human enhancement to a certain extent. Neji had purchased medicinal baths from the Nara Clan that contained this plant's secreted sap.

Driven by his research into its properties, Neji mixed a certain amount of highly concentrated Natural Energy Compression Fluid with this sap and applied pressure. After some time, Neji found that the Natural Energy fluid had disappeared, or rather, it had merged with the plant's sap.

The originally volatile Natural Energy fluid was insoluble in water and some common solvents, making it difficult to use directly. However, after merging with the Jingtianlian sap, the Natural Energy became much milder.

When Neji replaced the ordinary Jingtianlian sap with the sap fused with highly concentrated Natural Energy Compression Fluid for his medicinal baths, he found that the effect of the baths had increased by at least fivefold.

Such a drastic increase was a qualitative change, surpassing all market drugs for long-term physical enhancement, and even stronger than some forbidden drugs.

If an ordinary child were to soak in this medicinal bath year-round, even without practicing any ninjutsu, they could defeat a typical Chunin with their physique alone upon reaching adulthood.

This would also be the foundation for him to build his influence and acquire wealth.

With these thoughts clear in his mind, Neji summoned Sakumo-Tatsuryu and the others to the conference room.

The Sakumo family members present were Tatsuryu, Qi Feng, and Tian Wu. There were also two non-clan Chunin: Tanaka Iko and Hayashi Ki. Tanaka Iko was a female Chunin who had been promoted from Genin last year.

Neji glanced at Tanaka Iko. She appeared a bit shy and was of average appearance, so he didn't pay much attention to her.

He then directly began the day's meeting.

Neji didn't intend to beat around the bush. He stated in a deep voice, "I was originally a member of Konoha's Hyuga Clan. Yesterday, I defected from Konoha and destroyed the Hokage Building, essentially making an irreconcilable enemy!"

After everyone present had a moment to process this news, Neji continued, "I now intend to establish my own influence in the Land of Hot Water and require your assistance."

The group felt helpless. They had been captured by Neji and had his forbidden seals placed within them. Although they had gotten along well with Neji over the years and were satisfied with their lives in the Land of Hot Water, this did not mean they were willing to live a life on the run from a major nation. However, they were even less willing to oppose Neji. Confronting a great nation might offer a slim chance of survival if done discreetly, but opposing Neji meant immediate death!

They understood this simple choice and therefore no one dared to speak out against him at this moment!

Seeing that there were no objections, Neji directly instructed Sakumo-Tatsuryu to be in charge of establishing an intelligence department, thoroughly investigating the distribution of influence in the capital of the Land of Hot Water to lay the foundation for further expansion of the intelligence department.

He instructed Qi Feng and Tian Wu to procure as many medicinal herbs from the provided list as possible and store them.

He instructed Tanaka Iko to purchase a large plot of land in the warmer regions of the Land of Hot Water and be responsible for cultivating medicinal herbs, including Jingtianlian.

He instructed Hayashi Ki to find a relatively secluded location around the capital of the Land of Hot Water to build a brand-new stronghold capable of housing and training at least 2,000 people.

Neji then handed over 200 million Ryo in funds to Tatsuryu, making him responsible for the allocation of the money.

He emphasized that he should not appear too often and expressed his hope that the task would be done well!

Neji promised everyone that once the new force was established, he would enhance the strength of everyone present by at least one level.