After all the matches were over, Neji found Hinata, who had also advanced. The two hurried back to the Hyuga Clan.
Late that night, Neji personally escorted Hinata to the Main Branch residence.
After Hinata went inside, a maid of around thirty-five waited outside.
She had the Byakugan too, though it was far less pure, and her bloodline seemed weak.
"Master Neji, you passed the match too, right?"
"Aunt Haru, this is the Main Branch."
Neji quietly reminded her.
"It's all right."
She was Hyuga Haru, the maid who had served Hinata since she was little.
Haru and Hizashi Hyuga had been close. Hizashi treated her like his own younger sister, and from the time Neji was born until he was assigned to the Branch Family, she had always called him Neji.
Even when Neji reminded her, she would still call him that in private.
"Mm. I only just won. The official matches will be held a month from now."
"That's wonderful! Maybe the rumors going around the clan will die down a little now?"
"Mm. Well, I'll be going."
Leaving the Main Branch residence, Neji headed back to his own place under the cover of night.
It wasn't exactly a humiliating or impoverished life. The Main Branch was only one line of the Hyuga Clan, while the Branch Family was much larger, so they weren't exactly shoved into a corner.
But even within the Branch Family, Neji had terrible talent and no parents, so the others tended to exclude him.
He was used to wandering beneath the night sky. Only then could he escape the strange looks people gave him.
And the night was best suited to reflection.
From what Aunt Haru had said, quite a few people in the clan had been discussing his recent mastery of Rotation. If that was the case...
Then among the people who had inexplicably shown up to watch the exams, there must have been spies from the Hyuga Clan keeping an eye on him, right?
Fortunately, Neji had been prepared. In his fight with Gaara, he hadn't let anything slip.
What he needed to do now was keep getting stronger. He had encountered too many monsters in this Chunin Ninja Exam.
Kabuto, Gaara, Orochimaru—they were all threats to Konoha.
And Neji wasn't even strong enough to prove himself within his own clan. If he actually had to face those people, he would be completely outmatched.
When he got home, he climbed into bed and slept soundly.
The Branch Family was full of strife, but at least he could sleep there in peace. It was the first time in years he'd gotten a truly restful night.
Still, he got up at dawn the next morning out of habit.
The sky was just starting to lighten, but Neji was already at the training ground.
"Ha!"
"Hmph!"
He trained from morning to night without a break.
In the evening, Hyuga Haru brought him a boxed meal.
"Master Neji, do your best in the exams! Show everyone how talented you are. You're a hardworking, good boy, just like your father!"
Every time, Neji bowed to Haru in thanks, even though she was a servant of the Hyuga Clan, with a status lower even than that of the Branch Family.
Just as Haru called him "Master Neji" in private, they ignored the clan's absurd rules when they were alone together.
The next day was the same.
Whenever Neji ran into clan members in the streets and alleys, he heard them gossiping.
The gossipy women all loved to pick on the younger generation.
"That fellow's Hyuga Neji? The shinobi with no talent."
"If he's so untalented, he must need all that practice, right?"
"I heard he got lucky and made it to the finals of the Chunin Ninja Exams! Just wait till he makes a fool of himself..."
Neji turned around with a cold look. The fat woman immediately put on a leisurely, world-weary expression, without a hint of shame.
"Auntie, your cat's about to get away!"
Neji merely molded his chakra and used a Wind Style Rotation. The cutting wind sliced through the rope holding the cat.
"Meow!"
The fat cat was highly sensitive to strange gusts of wind. Startled, it darted around before bolting away.
"Oh, no, no, no! Mimi! Mimi! Don't run!"
"Come back!"
The fat woman hopped around barefoot on the wooden floor, looking ridiculous.
"Heh!"
"You brat, quit laughing! Help me find Mimi!"
Neji shrugged. "Sorry, Auntie, I have to go train. You can hire another Genin to help find your cat. Oh, and the Chunin Ninja Exams are coming up soon, so Genin wages are going up!"
Neji said this with a grin and walked off in a good mood.
Neji never stopped trading barbs with the villagers, but he enjoyed it all the same.
Compared to the real dangers out there, he never took these fools who didn't know the truth seriously.
At the training ground, Neji was always utterly focused.
"Gentle Fist... the thousandth time!"
His final palm struck the wooden post, exhaustion weighing on his arm.
Host: Hyuga Neji Age: 13 Basic Shinobi Skills (including throwing techniques and all other basic skills) Proficiency Progress: 85.9% (Reach 100% to complete the beginner stage and activate the Proficiency Consumption System!) Rank: Konoha Genin Ninjutsu: None Taijutsu: Gentle Fist: Tenketsu Strike (37994/100000), Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin (28729/30000), Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms (27634/30000), Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm (13993/30000), Eight Trigrams Body Strike (10494/30000) Genjutsu: None Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan (27638/30000) Basic Items: Military Ration Pill*2, Explosive Tag*10, Crow Fern Special Herb*5 Advanced Items: None Special Items: None
"Do I really need more than sixty thousand proficiency points to reach the next level? That's an inhuman amount!"
Neji collapsed onto the ground. In these past eight years, it had taken him five years just to learn how to use the Byakugan proficiently.
Then it had taken him another three years to learn all his Taijutsu techniques.
He still had a long road ahead before he could master those techniques even further.
Fortunately, his recent battles seemed to have helped him improve a lot. That might be a shortcut worth taking, even if it meant risking his life.
With Orochimaru even showing up in the village, he had no choice but to find a way to get stronger quickly.
If things took a turn for the worse someday and he couldn't even protect himself, what would he do? Become one of the Konoha 12 who died in the war?
Whoosh!
Neji sensed something hurtling toward him. He rolled away from where he lay just in time to dodge three stones that came flying in succession.
He sprang to his feet and turned around nimbly.
"Hey, that move was perfect!"
It was Hyuga Gintoki, with silver hair—a color Neji couldn't stand.
Beside him was the green-haired Hyuga Aota. The two were cousins, and they had been hostile toward Neji for years.
Gintoki said, "I heard you did pretty well in the Chunin Ninja Exams. You even made it to the finals!"
Aota said, "That's impressive!"
Neji took a deep breath. His bet with the elder was to be settled at the clan meeting.
There was little chance he'd been tricked, and there was no reason to keep avoiding a fight now.
"You two showed up at just the right time. Haven't you always wanted to fight me? Good. I haven't finished training today."
"Training? What's there to train for, you talentless loser?"
Gintoki sneered, his hands in his pockets. He didn't believe Neji would dare lay a hand on him.
"Ah!"
In the next instant, a tremendous force slammed into him, sending him flying several meters before he could react.
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm."
Aota stared at Neji in astonishment.
"What are you trying to do?" Aota instinctively raised his arms to defend himself.
"Why is there such a vast difference between members of the same clan?"
As he spoke, Neji merely passed Aota by. He had no interest in dealing with him and strode straight toward... Hyuga Gintoki!
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