Rescuing Haku

The next morning, Hayashi Ki, who had been out for three days, returned to the stronghold and reported to Neji: "Reporting to you, leader, I found a hidden place around Quancheng. It's surrounded by mountains, with only a small river flowing out from a cave. The area inside is quite large, making it suitable for establishing a stronghold."

Neji found the description quite good; it sounded like a paradise!

Without hesitation, he summoned the Black-Winged Thunder Roc and flew with Hayashi Ki towards the paradise he had discovered.

Because of the fast flying speed, they soon arrived directly above the paradise. It was indeed surrounded by mountains, with a small basin in the middle. Due to the dense trees, it was hard to find without a careful look.

Controlling the Black-Winged Thunder Roc, he landed in the basin. Under Hayashi Ki's guidance, they quickly found the small river connecting to the outside. It was indeed very hidden; the river had to pass through a tunnel of about 100 meters before flowing to the outside. It would be very difficult for ordinary people to find it, and it was fortunate that Hayashi Ki was able to locate this place.

Returning to the original stronghold, he instructed Qi Feng to continue managing the potion production, Tian Wu to adopt orphans (requiring them to be between 3 and 12 years old), and Hayashi Ki to take all idle Genin to the new stronghold to build infrastructure and living quarters, ensuring the smooth accommodation of the first batch of orphans.

Thus, the group of over a dozen people started their busy work again. After clarifying all matters, Neji himself rode the Black-Winged Thunder Roc to the outskirts of Konoha.

Neji had two purposes for returning to Konoha this time: first, to take Bai away, and second, to make an appearance before the Konoha higher-ups to let them know he was near the village and stop them from searching for him everywhere, which would hinder his development!

Using the radio he had studied for gambling money, Neji contacted Bai and asked him to leave Konoha immediately, saying he would be waiting in the southeast corner of Konoha. Bai didn't resist much and, upon receiving the message, returned to the village, promising to rendezvous with him as soon as possible.

Neji was almost certain that Bai would be monitored and used as bait to lure him out.

However, this was even better for Neji. This way, Bai could smoothly leave the village after receiving his message and come to their agreed-upon location.

As for how many ninja would follow Bai, Neji couldn't be sure! It wasn't like the entire village's ninja would be mobilized to welcome him, he probably didn't have that much influence.

As long as Might Guy didn't act crazy and open the Eight Gates upon meeting him, Neji wasn't afraid of anyone in Konoha!

Even if he faced the Third Hokage directly, if he couldn't win, he could still run, right?

The Third Hokage couldn't fly!

As Neji had guessed, Bai didn't make him wait long before smoothly leaving the village and heading towards the location Neji had set. Bai even disguised himself, fearing recognition, which was truly endearingly naive.

Little did he know that Bai was being followed by an army. Yes, an army!!

Neji, using his Byakugan amplified by Sage Mode, could clearly see the situation behind Bai. After seeing it clearly, Neji himself found it hard to believe, thinking he had misread.

He hadn't expected to attract so much hatred. Nearly a thousand troops were following Bai, concealing their presence through various means. Leading them was the Third Hokage himself, with Danzo and Hyuga Hiashi also in the ranks!

And if he wasn't mistaken, the one with the "oil" forehead protector should be Jiraiya!

They were really overestimating him!

As for Bai, he must have been deceived by some secret technique that obscured his senses. Otherwise, with over a thousand people following, even a fool would notice, let alone Bai.

Initially, Neji was full of confidence and courage to face the Third Hokage, but upon seeing this formation!

Neji had only one thought: run quickly!

Without any hesitation, Neji, not even having time to greet Bai, decisively jumped onto the Black-Winged Thunder Roc's back, turned, and soared upwards. He only felt slightly at ease after reaching an altitude of nearly two thousand meters!

Thinking of the Nara Clan's Shadow Binding Jutsu, Neji felt it was still not safe enough, so he sped back in the direction he came from.

Neji's decisiveness instantly petrified the large group behind him! The distance between them was nearly 7 kilometers, and their sensory ninja hadn't even accurately locked onto Neji yet, but the opponent had already ridden his Roc and disappeared!

He didn't even glance back at Bai!

He ran with absolute decisiveness!

How could they possibly chase him!

Neji possessed: extremely high mobility, extremely strong individual combat ability, extremely long-range reconnaissance capabilities, extremely powerful destructive capabilities, and a heart that didn't care about face and was always ready to act shamelessly!

Dealing with such an enemy was simply unsolvable!

The Third Hokage, Danzo, and Hyuga Hiashi fell silent. Only Jiraiya stood by, blinking and making sarcastic remarks.

Jiraiya had come because Neji could use Sage Mode. He was very curious how Neji learned Sage Mode without the inheritance of the Three Great Sage Lands, and without any obvious signs of transformation.

This was quite baffling. Even the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, who was known to have mastered Sage Mode perfectly, had relatively obvious signs of transformation, while Neji did not. This forced Jiraiya to put aside all his affairs and rush back to the village to investigate the situation.

However, after learning about the cause and effect of Neji's defection from the village, Jiraiya lamented the village's decline. Such a promising young genius was forced to defect simply because he broke the Caged Bird curse mark!

First, the Uchiha clan, a prominent Konoha clan, was annihilated. Then, the prodigy Hyuga Neji, with infinite potential, was forced to defect. Recalling his good friend Hatake Sakumo, his confidant Orochimaru, and his most cherished disciples Minato Namikaze and his wife Kushina Uzumaki!

Jiraiya felt a sense of powerlessness. They had a good hand, a pair of Aces and four Twos, yet they had played it so poorly!

He complained wildly in his heart, which turned into mumbling as it reached his lips.

"Forget it! I won't think about it anymore. Since I'm back in Konoha, I'll go enjoy a hot spring. The girls in Konoha are quite nice," Jiraiya consoled himself and, ignoring the strange looks from others, was the first to leave the team and return to the village!

Hyuga Hiashi's heart was also filled with mixed emotions. Originally, he did not want to be enemies with Neji. In fact, he wanted to cultivate Neji greatly and even give him his position as Clan Head!

But he ultimately couldn't resist the elders' insistence and chose a desperate measure! This led to the current situation, which could be considered a complete failure!

He feared he wouldn't be able to face Hizashi in the afterlife.

Hyuga Hiashi couldn't leave as freely as Jiraiya, but even though he was still with the team, his mind had long since wandered elsewhere.

As for Danzo, his heart only grew more furious. He ordered Root members to take Bai away and keep him under strict guard.

The Third Hokage saw Danzo's actions and wanted to stop him, but ultimately couldn't speak! A sigh conveyed the Third Hokage's complex emotions at that moment.

Meanwhile, Neji, who had flown far away, was extremely annoyed!

He hadn't expected to attract so much hatred, to the point that he couldn't save Bai and was driven away from the outskirts of Konoha like a stray dog!

It was his fault for not making proper arrangements before leaving, and for leaving Bai in Konoha with a false sense of security. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many problems.

He needed to think of a way!

Neji himself didn't know the extent of the damage his "Sage Art: Rasenshuriken" had caused Konoha. Nearly 50 people working in the Hokage's office were killed, along with countless secret techniques, hidden knowledge, and research results that were reduced to ashes, and they were unrecoverable. Otherwise, he wouldn't have thought Konoha's formation was so grand.

New book writing, seeking collections, seeking recommendations!