"Hey! What are you trying to do?"
Seeing that Gintoki still hadn't gotten up, Aota rushed over.
Smack!
Neji caught Aota's wrist with one hand.
"Ah! You..."
Aota felt a sharp, piercing pain. He couldn't understand it. When had this weakling gotten so strong? His whole body seemed to radiate an unbelievable power!
"Don't get in the way. I just want to talk to him."
Without even looking at Aota, Neji finished speaking and flung him aside.
He continued walking toward Gintoki, one step at a time. Then he crouched beside the spot where Gintoki had fallen.
"You'd better not regret this! You're outnumbered two to one—you can't win!"
"Byakugan!"
Neji activated his Byakugan and struck Gintoki in the chest with his palm.
"That's... the Tanzhong point..."
Gintoki's eyes widened. He clenched his teeth, and a trace of blood appeared along his gums.
"With the Tanzhong point blocked, you can't gather chakra inside your body, can you?" Neji's gaze was indifferent and distant.
"You... You... Using force against a clan member will get you punished!"
Gintoki growled through clenched teeth. Behind him, Aota clutched the wrist Neji had just flung aside, enduring the pain without daring to make a sound.
For some reason, Neji seemed genuinely dangerous today!
"I don't mean anything by it. If you want to fight me, I'll gladly oblige. But if that's all, could you stop disturbing my training? My exam is coming up, and I don't have time to play house with you."
Neji spoke with cold detachment, like a machine negotiating terms.
"You're such a show-off! So you made it to the finals. Do you really have to brag about it?"
Gintoki said angrily, his face full of resentment.
Neji raised his hand. Chakra covered his palm, visible even to the naked eye.
"Hyuga Style Gentle Fist!"
"Hey! You..."
Aota, standing behind him, finally couldn't hold back.
"You're going to use the Gentle Fist on Gintoki too? Have you lost your mind?!"
Neji didn't turn around. He considered it for a moment, then lowered his hand.
"True, your lives don't matter to me. You're just two annoying flies. But if I swat you, I'll get blood all over myself..."
Neji took a few steps back and sighed.
In that moment, he had thought of Aunt Haru.
They belonged to the same clan. Why were these people so detestable?
But Neji also thought of Gaara, and of Naruto.
It seemed that becoming powerful didn't mean he had to become an extremist revolutionary.
With great love in his heart, he could naturally understand the reasons behind things.
"Brothers, if there's nothing else, please take care."
Neji cupped his hands in a salute, then turned and walked over to the wooden post.
He continued training.
"Hah!"
"Hmph!"
"That guy..."
Gintoki got to his feet and glared viciously at Neji as he trained.
But Neji's eyes had long since left them behind.
Whoosh!
A rock, larger than the one before, came flying toward him. This time, it was aimed straight at his forehead!
"Ha!"
His chakra surged. The Gentle Fist struck the rock with pinpoint accuracy.
Crash!
The rock shattered into pieces!
They scattered in every direction. In an instant, a murderous glint flashed in Neji's eyes.
"Run!"
Aota and Gintoki took off. Today, Neji seemed like a lone, ill-omened star, radiating an overwhelming menace.
Flies really were annoying. Neji sighed and continued training.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were no such annoying creatures as flies in the world?
Night gradually fell over the training ground.
Hyuga Haru came out and looked around. Not a soul was there.
"Did he finish so early today?" Haru murmured.
Neji usually trained until nightfall, leaving only when the moon was high in the sky.
Today, he seemed to have finished much earlier.
At Neji's home in the Branch Family compound.
In the main room stood a tall, antique table, simple in design yet steeped in old-world charm. A modest memorial portrait rested in the hollow center.
The man in the portrait had a gentle gaze, yet a hidden strength. The lines of age around his eyes spoke of an extraordinary destiny.
"Neji."
Behind him appeared a face exactly like the one in the portrait.
Neji turned around. The man behind him looked even more weathered and mature than the face in the portrait.
The only difference between them was the conspicuous blue-green Cursed Seal on the forehead of the man in the portrait. The man behind Neji had none.
Hyuga Hiashi sat down on the floor, making himself at home.
Neji placed incense in the holder and bowed.
Then he turned back and sat down on the floor as well.
"Forgive me. It wasn't appropriate to respond while I was with my father."
Hiashi narrowed his eyes slightly but said nothing.
They sat like that, Hiashi gazing down at Neji across from him, Neji lowering his head with an empty stare.
"You performed well in the Chunin Ninja Exams. The event a month from now is very important."
"Ah..."
Neji drew a deep breath, as if he wanted to say something, but let it go.
Once more, endless silence.
Hiashi clenched his teeth. A wave of emotion stirred faintly within him, but he had nowhere to release it.
Or perhaps he was already letting it out, only without a sound.
Neji raised his head. His gaze seemed to hold a trace of longing.
"Make sure you complete your mission in the Chunin Ninja Exams..."
Hiashi spoke earnestly.
"Whether I complete it or not, I'll make sure the Main Branch gets what it wants. But whatever the result, I'll have a clear conscience."
Neji lowered his head again. Orochimaru would likely launch his plan to destroy Konoha during the Chunin Ninja Exams.
He understood. Didn't the Main Branch simply want to use him to show off the Hyuga Clan's strength to the village and the daimyo, so the clan could regain its former prosperity?
But whether he took first place no longer mattered. He had never received the slightest preferential treatment in this village. Why should he compromise himself?
Neji only wanted to use their cover in return to grow stronger as quickly as possible!
"Neji, don't let those people in the Branch Family get their way."
"Oh?"
"I've already lost your father. I can't lose you too."
At that moment, Neji clenched his teeth and closed his eyes.
The memories came rushing back, vivid as ever.
Standing before the dead, what difference did the Main Branch and the Branch Family really make?
Moonlight lay still and quiet as water.
The moon was especially bright tonight. It was a rare, perfect full-moon night.
"When the moon is full, that guy will start acting up."
Gaara sat atop the tiled roof, his gaze desolate.
"So what will happen, then?"
A boy's voice came from nearby.
Gaara turned. The boy stood at the other end of the roof.
He wore an Anbu mask and uniform, dressed like an assassin prowling through the night.
"You are..."
The boy took a few steps forward and removed his mask. His handsome face appeared before Gaara.
"You really came."
Gaara was slightly surprised, then his eyes filled with a yearning for battle, excitement surging through him.
"I'm only here to do what I want to do."
Neji crouched slightly, tied the mask's straps around his waist, and looked firmly at Gaara.
A gentle breeze passed by, lifting the hair above his brow.
"Hmph! Then let's begin. Show me your true strength!"
Gaara's eyes widened. His gaze seemed to belong to another species, the murderous intent within it almost breaking through the sky!
Like... a monster!
Before you continue