"An-Anbu?"
Tenten stared in astonishment. She never would have imagined that the one who'd saved them was a member of Konoha's Anbu!
Akado Yoroi was just as shocked beside her. He had no idea whether he'd done something wrong.
Kabuto, however, asked suspiciously, "You! Don't think that just because you're impersonating Anbu, I won't dare attack you!"
But Neji, wearing a mask, had no time to answer him.
He'd seen Tenten get poisoned. The most important thing now was to get them out of the fight—and, preferably, have Rock Lee go with them.
Otherwise, if there were any more enemies, the two of them would only get in his way.
"You're no longer needed here. Leave at once."
Neji leaped down and spoke in a low voice, keeping his distance from Rock Lee and Tenten so they wouldn't discover who he was.
But his skill was so far beyond the Neji they knew that even without the mask, they might not have believed the Anbu before them was their teammate, Hyuga Neji!
"Why did Anbu step in?"
Rock Lee asked.
"Leave now, or you won't get the chance," Neji replied.
He then pulled the Kunai from the ground and assumed a fighting stance.
It was an awkward stance for him, but he had to do everything he could to avoid arousing suspicion!
"You..."
Kabuto gritted his teeth. This man was completely ignoring him and looked as if he could easily take on both of them.
"Let's go, Tenten!"
"Okay!"
"Thank you!" Tenten and Rock Lee called as they left, thanking the masked boy who had saved them.
They had no idea that Neji had only stepped in because he didn't want his teammates to fail the exams.
He'd originally planned to show himself and help his teammates defeat their enemies. But Tenten had been poisoned, and there were traps all around them...
In this situation, he could only hide his identity and end the fight quickly, just in case.
"There's still one more..."
Behind his mask, Neji took the opportunity to scan the area with his Byakugan. He spotted several more traps. It seemed their opponents had made extensive preparations for the ambush.
"How many teams are you hoping to steal scrolls from with a trap covering this wide an area?"
At Neji's question, Kabuto's eyes widened.
This completely upended his understanding of the world. Based on the information he had, there were no Anbu this young!
This wasn't a time of war, and Konoha's rank system was extremely strict. Even a genius ninja like Sasuke couldn't rise to Anbu rank so quickly.
Besides, with just one glance, this boy had sensed another teammate, Tsurugi Misumi, hiding in a tree—and had even figured out the range of their traps...
"Why would Anbu get involved in the Chunin Ninja Exams?"
Kabuto drew another scalpel and concentrated his chakra, coating the blade in a sharp layer of it.
"That's none of your concern."
As soon as Neji finished speaking, he leaped into the air.
The next moment, someone burst through the soil where Neji had been standing. It was Tsurugi Misumi!
"Yoroi!"
Neji narrowed his eyes midair. If he remembered correctly, this man could absorb chakra, so he couldn't be allowed to get close in hand-to-hand combat.
Meanwhile, Akado Yoroi rushed toward him at high speed. His arm stretched out and wrapped around Neji's entire body.
This man's limbs could extend and retract. He was nothing more than a leftover failure from Orochimaru's experiments. Neji scoffed inwardly.
"Rotation!"
Neji channeled the chakra within him and incorporated a change in its nature. He controlled Rotation, releasing it at less than twenty percent strength, just enough to form a spinning layer of chakra around his body.
"Argh!"
Wind Style chakra tore through Akado Yoroi's body. More than a dozen wounds appeared across his limbs, and blood sprayed everywhere!
Akado Yoroi was flung away. Tsurugi Misumi, who had come close to Neji, was struck squarely on the head by Neji's descending palm and fell unconscious.
Seeing this, Kabuto was certain: the man before him really was Anbu, not an impostor!
"Why would Anbu attack Genin like us? Did those two pay you off?"
Kabuto clenched his fists. His strength was far beyond that of a Genin, but there was no reason to pick a fight with an Anbu now.
"Why?"
Neji landed safely. Tsurugi Misumi and Akado Yoroi were already unconscious beside him.
"Why don't you tell me why you came to Konoha as a spy first?" Neji asked with a faint smile. A double agent like Kabuto was dangerous, even if he wasn't much of a threat yet.
"You..."
Those words struck Kabuto to the core.
He'd thought his acting was flawless, but now he'd been exposed. Instinctively, he assumed this man was an assassin sent by Konoha High Command to kill him, a spy!
"Tsk!"
Kabuto lowered his head and held out his hand, preparing for a fierce battle.
But Neji wasn't particularly interested in fighting him.
"Hey, give me the antidote," Neji said.
"T-The antidote?"
Kabuto blinked in surprise.
"The antidote for the poison those two took. Give it to me, and I'll leave."
Neji was getting impatient. He knew Kabuto was no weak fighter, and he'd only kept his strength up with a Military Ration Pill. It was best to avoid a direct confrontation.
Kabuto, meanwhile, was on the verge of a breakdown.
The psychological pressure of everything that had just happened had already led him to imagine his own death in the Forest of Death. But all the other man wanted was the antidote?
And that poison... wasn't even lethal.
Neji took a deep breath. When Kabuto remained frozen in place, he raised his right hand...
"Wait! I'll give it to you! I'll give it to you!"
Kabuto remembered how the masked boy had just taken down Tsurugi Misumi and Akado Yoroi in an instant. His movements had been so smooth and precise that he had to be Anbu-level.
Maybe even stronger. Though Kabuto now suspected the man might be a fake Anbu.
Otherwise, why would he know Kabuto was a spy working with people inside Konoha, yet show no intention of killing him?
"Here!"
Kabuto took a packet of herbs from his ninja pouch and tossed it quickly toward Neji, who caught it.
Until he knew where he stood, Kabuto didn't dare approach the boy.
He wasn't just powerful; he was also mysterious. Even Kabuto, an expert in gathering information, couldn't figure out a thing about him...
Neji examined the herbs. They seemed to be a detoxifying herb called Time-Crow Fern.
"Can I leave now?"
Kabuto asked cautiously. Neji raised a hand.
The next moment, Kabuto leaped upward and quickly disappeared from view.
His movements were fluid, without the slightest hesitation.
Then he slumped to the ground.
His entire plan had been thrown into disarray. He'd run into a master like that in the Forest of Death. One careless mistake, and he could have lost his life!
If Neji had known what Kabuto was thinking, he probably would have laughed himself silly. In truth, he hadn't been confident about fighting Kabuto either. With no conflicting interests, he couldn't be bothered to get into a drawn-out fight.
Neji immediately removed his Anbu uniform and mask, then hurried toward where Tenten and Rock Lee had gone.
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