In the middle of the training ground, the Chidori in Sasuke's hand let out a sharp cry.
The blue Chakra shifted violently for a moment in his palm, then completely dissipated.
His attempt to change its form had failed once again.
But the result was expected. The Chidori was an A-rank Ninjutsu, after all, and changing it would be difficult.
Sasuke slowly lowered his hand, breathing slightly hard as sweat ran from his temple down his cheek.
He didn't immediately try again. Instead, he focused on recalling every subtle change in the flow of Chakra just now.
Sasuke seemed completely unaware of the three people approaching nearby—or perhaps he simply didn't care that they were there.
When Rock Lee suddenly stopped walking, Tenten and Neji Hyuga, following behind him, had no choice but to stop too.
Tenten glanced at the two beside her, confused.
Then she followed their gazes toward the distance, where Uchiha Sasuke was training and a blond boy was lying on the grass.
A fire seemed to burn in Rock Lee's eyes as he stared intently at Sasuke, looking as if he'd just found his "prey."
Tenten looked at Neji and saw that he was gazing at the blond boy.
She suddenly remembered that Neji had asked about someone named "Naruto Uzumaki" earlier.
Since Sasuke of Team 7 was here, the boy lounging over there must be Naruto.
Tenten just couldn't understand how Neji had gotten involved with Naruto.
Before they knew it, the atmosphere on the training ground had grown tense.
Just then, Naruto seemed to finally notice the three of them watching and slowly opened his bright blue eyes.
He turned his head, looking past Sasuke, who was still pondering how to change the Chidori's form, and fixed his gaze on Neji Hyuga.
Naruto's expression was calm. He showed no surprise or any other emotion, yet somehow gave the impression that he'd expected this all along.
That gaze made Neji feel inexplicably irritated.
He carried the blood of the Hyuga Clan and possessed the Byakugan, which could see through anything. Yet now, it felt as if Naruto could see right through him, while he knew nothing about the Naruto Uzumaki before him.
Neji hated feeling so helpless.
"Hey, Naruto Uzumaki."
After thinking it over, Neji stepped forward. His voice was cool as he broke the silence. "We meet again."
Naruto sat up at an unhurried pace and brushed the grass off his clothes. A smile appeared on his face. "Neji. We really do meet again. Looks like I was right last time."
Based on his experience from previous cycles, it wasn't all that unlikely for the two of them to meet at this point in time.
"We do meet again." Neji walked a few steps closer, narrowing the distance between them. His tone held a hint of confusion. "I'm just curious. Now that we've met again, like you said we would, what do you plan to do next?"
Tenten watched Naruto and Neji nervously.
The commotion had also caught Sasuke's attention, drawing him out of his thoughts about training for the moment.
He glanced at Naruto and Neji, who seemed to be facing off.
Sasuke vaguely remembered running into Naruto on the street with Hinata, the Hyuga Clan's young lady.
Could that Hyuga have come here because of that...?
Just as Sasuke was about to go over and find out what was going on, a figure in green suddenly stepped in front of him.
"Who are you?"
"You're Uchiha Sasuke, right? I challenge you!" Rock Lee stood straight, his expression unusually serious.
Sasuke frowned instinctively. "Who are you? And why should I accept your challenge? Besides..."
"If you're going to challenge someone, you should at least give them your name first!"
Lee froze for a moment, then realized how rude he'd been. He hurriedly answered with all due seriousness, "Sorry! My name is Rock Lee!"
"I want to challenge you to see whether my techniques can work against a ninja from a clan of geniuses like yours!"
Sasuke was secretly pleased. He'd finally found someone worthy of a fight.
"Hmph. So you came here because of the Uchiha name..." Sasuke's voice grew cold. "Then let me show you how naïve you are!"
Almost the instant he finished speaking, the tension between Sasuke and Lee suddenly spiked.
For some reason, they immediately took fighting stances.
Tenten stared at them, dumbfounded.
She'd been about to ask Neji to step in and stop this sudden clash.
But when she turned her head, she saw that the tension simmering between Neji and Naruto seemed no weaker than the tension between the other two.
"Forget it... I can't do anything about this."
Tenten covered her face helplessly and muttered under her breath.
Back with Naruto.
Meeting Neji's unyielding gaze, Naruto simply said, "There is something I need to do, but not right now."
Naruto's thoughts drifted back to his first life.
Back then, he'd sincerely made a promise to change the fate of the Hyuga Clan after becoming Hokage.
Unfortunately, he never took the Hokage Position in his first life.
And in the countless cycles that followed, whether or not he became Hokage, he'd only ever managed to ease the conflict between Neji and the Hyuga Clan's head. He'd never truly changed the clan's system.
So this time, Naruto was determined to keep that promise and truly change the Hyuga Clan.
"Oh?" Naruto's words sparked some interest in Neji. "What is it?"
"Changing the Hyuga Clan," Naruto replied without hesitation.
Neji's brow immediately rose, and his voice turned colder. "Changing the Hyuga Clan? What do you want to change? And what could you possibly change?"
"The unfair system of the Hyuga Clan, and to fulfill a promise I made a long time ago," Naruto answered.
Neji's voice lowered unconsciously, his words laced with anger and deep suspicion. "You... what exactly do you know? And what promise are you talking about?"
Then Neji suddenly recalled how close Naruto seemed to be with Hinata and demanded, "Lady Hinata told you something, didn't she?"
"It has nothing to do with Hinata." Naruto shook his head gently. "Not long after the Chunin Ninja Exams end, I'll start changing the Hyuga Clan. Until then, please be patient."
"Also, I hope you understand that I'm not your enemy."
After the Chunin Ninja Exams came the "Konoha Crush Plan" that Orochimaru was plotting.
Naruto had other plans for it.
Those plans were also closely tied to changing the Hyuga Clan afterward.
As mentioned before, there were often many ways to achieve a goal.
If all he wanted was to use force to change the Hyuga Clan, Naruto could enter Nine-Tails Chakra Mode right now and crush everything with overwhelming power.
But the consequences would undoubtedly be dire.
So Naruto planned to use the Chunin Ninja Exams as a stage, laying the groundwork step by step.
More importantly, Naruto was being very careful with every move he made in this cycle.
He was acting as if this would be his final cycle.
Even if he still ended up trapped in another cycle, he would have gained plenty of experience to learn from.
"You... what the hell are you talking about?"
Neji's mind was thrown into shock and confusion.
The other boy had suddenly claimed he was going to change the Hyuga Clan. It sounded utterly absurd.
Though Naruto spoke with remarkable calm and certainty, the whole thing was suspicious in itself.
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