Doubt! The Nonexistent Genius

Tenten stared at the hole blasted out by the Air Palm for a long time, unable to believe what she was seeing.

Recalling the immense palm force that had sliced through the air beside her as she landed, she wondered: was that truly a technique easily unleashed by Neji, the person she had always underestimated?

Tenten swallowed hard, turning her head to look at Neji, whose breathing remained as steady as ever.

"My apologies."

Neji bowed, his entire demeanor gentle and calm.

A sense of resentment stirred in Tenten's heart.

But she suddenly realized that this resentment was not directed at Neji.

This resentment stemmed from the massive gap between the external world and her own internal expectations; she hated herself for making such a misjudgment.

Neji was clearly this strong, and his personality was so humble, yet she, who had always been by his side, was the very last person to notice.

"I lost."

Tenten lowered her head, her hands dropping to her sides.

The spar was not officially over, but she already had the answer in her heart.

She had been dissatisfied with the results of the Chunin Exams, unable to accept reality.

Now, this single palm strike from Neji had thoroughly jolted her awake.

She had finally seen the reality of the situation with her own eyes.

"In that case, starting tomorrow, Tenten will accompany Neji in his training. Rock Lee and I have to carry out an urgent mission for the village." Seeing that Tenten had resolved her inner conflict, Guy wore a look of relief.

"A mission? At a time like this..."

Neji felt a bad premonition in his heart; with his current strength, he could not stop the crisis he knew was coming.

Yet, the jonin of the village were being sent away on missions at such a critical moment?

"Yes, this mission is very important. It requires a ninja with powerful taijutsu, and it just so happens that I'm taking Rock Lee along to get some training in."

Neji nodded.

He felt no ripples in his heart, nor was he jealous.

Because Guy's style of taijutsu did not offer much room for his own improvement; the Byakugan's taijutsu was unique, and rather than speed and power, the Byakugan prioritized "precision."

"But you don't need to worry. I've already convinced Tenten, and she will be responsible for keeping an eye on you to ensure you practice properly."

"Mm, leave it to me."

Tenten nodded. She was a girl with excellent self-regulation skills and would not dwell on such a small matter.

"Yes, but..."

Neji clicked his tongue. To be honest, the current Tenten did not even possess the strength to make him take things seriously.

Even if Tenten didn't realize this, Guy must have been able to see a thing or two.

"Haha! I almost forgot to tell you! Don't worry, I've already spoken with a new teacher, and he will be in charge of your special training from here on out. It will last for two weeks, so you'd better work hard!"

As Guy spoke, he walked over and excitedly gripped Neji's shoulders.

"A new teacher?"

Neji looked at Guy's excited expression and suddenly had a bad feeling.

"He is a very excellent teacher! As an instructor, he is even better than I am! You will definitely be satisfied..."

Guy withdrew his hands and took a few steps back as he spoke.

"In any case, just head to Training Ground 21 tomorrow at our usual training time, and you will be able to meet him."

Neji tilted his head, feeling quite curious about who this new teacher might be.

In his current state, relying on proficiency and actual combat were too rigid as methods for improving his strength; while fast, they could not provide a decisive, rapid breakthrough.

It was just like how no matter how proficient he became at the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, it could never achieve the same effect as the injected Lightning Style chakra nature transformation granted by the system. With rigid effort alone, the ceiling would not be very high.

He only hoped that this new teacher could truly bring him a significant breakthrough...

On the other side, inside the Hokage's office.

The document on the desk was an application, filled with dense content.

"The Konoha Military Police Force is a policy that hasn't been implemented for a long time. Because the daimyo intend to use the opportunity of watching the Chunin Exams to inspect the village, these plans naturally have to be put into motion. It is indeed as you said; the Hyuga Clan is the most advantageous candidate."

Hiruzen finished his pipe and sighed.

"However, you should also be well aware of the precedent set by the Uchiha Clan."

Hiashi took a deep breath and bowed his head slightly.

The pressure from the branch family, the situation of the main house.

Hiashi seemed to have no other choice; Neji was a rising new hope.

He had decided to go all the way, to stake everything on a single throw and place all his bets on Neji.

"The Hyuga Clan is not the Uchiha Clan. Not only do we lack the ambition of the Uchiha, but the strength of the Hyuga is also not as weak as everyone perceives it to be!"

Hiashi stammered for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a firm statement.

Hearing this, Hiruzen was stunned for a moment.

"Strength... is it?"

He remained seated at his desk, looking up at the solemn-faced Hyuga Hiashi.

"Hyuga Neji is known by everyone as a dead-last ninja."

Hiruzen said indifferently.

Hiashi frowned: "Neji, he works very hard. In this Chunin Exams, he will surely stand out."

The corners of Hiruzen's mouth curled up.

"Lord Third, I believe that a man of your high prestige will surely give a young child a chance, right?" Hiashi asked.

"Heh!"

Hiruzen chuckled twice and shook his head.

"The village will give the Hyuga Clan a chance, and I will certainly give the child a chance. But this Hyuga Neji of yours... why don't you bring the true genius of your Hyuga Clan before me to prove it?"

Hiashi was taken aback: "A true genius?"

Hiruzen's gaze suddenly turned serious and gloomy!

"Hayate Gekko is dead, and the killer remains unknown. That night, someone saw an Anbu youth fighting six people at once. This Anbu youth was also seen by Anko in the Forest of Death."

As Hiruzen said this, Hiashi asked with confusion: "This kind of matter should have a great connection to the Anbu, right? In recent years, the Anbu..."

"No." Hiruzen cut him off.

"That youth is not a member of the Anbu; it has already been investigated. More importantly..."

Hiruzen picked up the pipe beside him, relit it, and took a puff.

"That youth uses techniques and has a habit of attacking with palms that are identical to Hyuga Style Taijutsu."

Upon hearing this, Hiashi froze.

"Are you saying that the Third Hokage is suspecting our Hyuga Clan?"

"Of course not."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and smiled kindly: "Based on the intelligence currently at hand, this youth is very likely standing on the side of our Konoha. It is just that his strength is indeed very formidable, at least at the level of a Jonin, and he is so young. I was just wondering, if the Hyuga Clan has a child with such high talent, why have I never heard his name until today?"

"This..."

This question left Hiashi stumped.

"Please forgive me, Hokage-sama. This Humble One has truly never heard of any young child within the clan whose talent has reached such a level! The younger generation of the Hyuga Clan does indeed have many children with talent exceeding Neji's, but... such a genius simply does not exist!"

"Hiashi."

Hiruzen pondered for a long time, as if he had thought things through clearly.

"You are younger than me. I even lived through the era of Hyuga Tenin. I know your Hyuga family even better than you do!"

Hiashi nodded cautiously; he could not refute what Hiruzen said.

"Regarding the grievances between the Branch House and the Main House, you must have suffered quite a few injustices yourself, right?"

"As the clan head, those are things I should bear." Hiashi lowered his head.

"I do not wish for the Hyuga Clan to repeat the mistakes of the Uchiha Clan, but I trust you, Hiashi." After saying this, Hiruzen pressed his seal onto a document on the desk.

"This is... what do you mean by this?" Hiashi was somewhat surprised.

He then said: "It will be useful in the future, but not now."