After rescuing Sakura, Ino-Shika-Cho and the others worried that the situation might change, so they hurriedly left.
Only Tenten stayed. She took out the Time-Crow Fern Neji had given her earlier.
"This is a rare medicinal herb called Crow Fern. It should be very effective."
Tenten gave Sakura the little bit of herb that remained.
"Thank you."
"Ugh..."
Just then, Rock Lee woke up nearby.
Tenten looked at him, feeling a headache coming on.
"Ah, you don't need to thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank that bushy-browed guy. He—"
"Sakura!"
As soon as Rock Lee woke up, he struggled to his feet and hurried over.
"Sakura, are you all right?"
Part of Sakura's hair had been cut off. She was filthy, and her body was covered in wounds of all sizes.
"All right, I already gave Sakura some medicine. Maybe you should worry about yourself first!"
Tenten grumbled as she tugged Rock Lee along. She suddenly felt exhausted. How had such a weirdo ended up on their team? Neji would have been better!
Then she thought, At least Neji isn't here. If he'd seen that skilled fighter just now, it would probably have been a serious blow to his confidence. They both use palm techniques, so why is Neji so far behind him?
Meanwhile, after withdrawing, Neji hadn't gone far.
He found a place to take off the Anbu uniform and mask, tidied himself up, then planned to go back and look for the others.
"This outfit really comes in handy!"
Neji hesitated for a moment, then shoved the uniform into his pocket.
Never mind. I'm not giving it back.
After all, he'd saved their lives. Konoha's Anbu probably weren't so short on money that they'd track him down over one mask and one uniform, right?
After Neji reunited with Tenten, he listened as she told him how brave the masked boy had been.
Rock Lee chimed in from time to time. Neji just listened quietly from behind them, smiling to himself.
By dusk, the three had traveled for most of the day, stopping and starting along the way. At last, they reached their destination without incident.
"Thank you for your hard work. Congratulations on passing the exam!" Iruka had been waiting inside the room.
"I can't believe there's an intelligence station in the middle of the enormous Forest of Death!"
With a scroll on her back, Tenten looked around.
Rock Lee was eager to chat with Iruka, too. Now that the two of them had passed the exam, it seemed all their fatigue had vanished. They were filled with relief and satisfaction.
Neji followed behind them, silent.
His strength was gradually returning, and his chakra was beginning to settle.
"Now, please head to the lounge inside and get some proper rest!"
They made their way into the lounge one after another.
There were two groups inside, five people in all.
One group consisted of Hinata, Kiba, and Shino. The other was made up of two Sand Ninja.
The Sand Ninja didn't look particularly friendly. They seemed to disdain being in the company of Konoha's Genin.
Temari sat like a big sister, resting her hands on a chair and closing her eyes.
Kankuro, meanwhile, folded his arms and watched Neji and the others enter with an air of superiority.
"You're late!"
He yawned and turned away.
"Neji!" Hinata greeted him with a smile. Neji returned it with a smile of his own.
"We're actually the third group here?"
Tenten and Rock Lee went over to Kiba and Shino and started talking with them.
Neji noticed that the room connected to another enormous space, so he headed through the doorway.
Maybe it would be quieter there. The Sand Ninja's looks were unpleasant enough.
Once he entered, Neji realized that the space was actually a training ground!
It was enormous, nearly as large as ten classrooms.
"So this used to be a training ground?"
Neji couldn't help wondering about the history of the Forest of Death.
A field of nearly a hundred wooden posts stretched out in front of him. The ground elsewhere was pockmarked, bearing all sorts of traces of practice, though they were old.
"Looks like no one's been here in a long time..."
Neji walked over and struck one of the posts with his palm.
Dust scattered from the impact, but it wasn't very thick. That suggested the place had been used not too long ago.
"I heard this was a training ground for an Anbu organization. A few months ago, they moved to a much larger training facility. Apparently, the organization was pretty mysterious and didn't even answer to the Hokage... But I don't know much about it."
Tenten had come in behind him. As she spoke, she walked toward one corner.
"Oh, that looks like the weapons area. I'm so curious about how all those Anbu trained with their weapons!"
Tenten, who was passionate about ninja tools, finally showed her girlish side.
Now that they'd passed the exam, she wasn't going to give Neji a hard time anymore. Besides, to be fair, he'd helped them out several times during the exam.
Neji didn't answer. Once he confirmed that his strength was gradually returning, he began practicing on the wooden posts.
He naturally wasn't going to go all out here. Neji simply practiced the movements.
One palm, then another, each strike swift as lightning.
Between the moment the dust was knocked into the air and the moment it settled, Neji struck so many times that you couldn't count them on both hands.
The wooden posts were shaped like people. Anyone who knew what to look for would see that even when Neji practiced Air Palm, he was systematically targeting the vital points.
Seeing Neji training, Tenten said no more. She went off on her own to examine the various weapons.
An hour passed just like that.
"Hah!"
Neji was still training. When Tenten came over to check on him, her jaw nearly hit the floor.
"You've got to be kidding, Neji. You're still practicing?"
Neji turned around and stopped.
"Ding! Training session complete. Gentle Fist proficiency +779! Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms proficiency +128!"
Neji smiled lightly. "Oh, I was just practicing a little. It's no trouble."
Tenten tilted her head, remembering the mysterious Anbu expert they'd encountered in the forest.
"Listen, you heard me talk about that masked Anbu, right? His palm techniques were the real deal..."
As she said this, Tenten seemed reluctant to discourage Neji.
"Anyway, you should get some rest. Save your strength. If you manage to advance to Chunin with us, you can figure out how to work harder afterward. Just practicing won't be enough."
Tenten spoke as she started to leave.
Just then, a strange voice rang out.
"You're wrong. He's strong."
"Who's there?!"
Tenten broke out in a cold sweat. Even Neji was startled. He immediately looked up.
Gaara stood on the ceiling, his feet planted against it, his head tilted as he looked down at them.
"Ah! You—when did you get here?"
Tenten hurriedly backed away several steps. When she saw Gaara leap down, she was overcome with alarm.
Gaara's gaze never left Neji, who stood in front of the wooden posts.
"I've been watching you for a long time. You're the strongest Genin I've encountered in Konoha so far."
Neji was slightly taken aback.
"T-the strongest?"
Tenten furrowed her brow and stared at the short, red-haired boy carrying a Sand Gourd, utterly baffled.
"What are you talking about? Neji's a dead last in Konoha!"
The moment Tenten finished speaking, Gaara glared at her.
Sand shot out of the Sand Gourd at incredible speed, forming a giant claw that lunged straight for Tenten!
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