Suspicion! A Genius Who Didn't Exist

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

Then she recalled the enormous force that had torn through the air beside her when she hit the ground. Had Neji, whom she had always looked down on, really performed that move so effortlessly?

Tenten swallowed and turned to look at Neji, whose breathing was as steady as ever.

"Sorry for the trouble."

Neji bowed, his expression gentle and calm.

Tenten felt a little resentment.

But she suddenly realized that it wasn't directed at Neji.

The resentment came from the enormous gap between the world outside and what she had expected. She hated herself for making such a misjudgment.

Neji was obviously so strong, and even so modest. She had been by his side all this time, yet she was the last to notice.

"I lost."

Tenten lowered her head and let her hands fall to her sides.

The match wasn't over, but Tenten already knew the outcome in her heart.

She had been dissatisfied with the results of the Chunin Ninja Exams and had struggled to accept reality.

Now, Neji's palm had finally knocked some sense into her.

She had seen reality with her own eyes.

"Then, starting tomorrow, Tenten will train with Neji. Rock Lee and I have to go on an urgent mission for the village." Seeing that Tenten had overcome her doubts, Guy looked relieved.

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

Neji had a bad feeling. With his own strength, he couldn't stop the crisis he knew was coming.

But the village's jonin could—and yet they had to go on a mission at a time like this?

"That's right. This mission is important. It requires a powerful taijutsu ninja, so I'll take Rock Lee along to give him some training."

Neji nodded.

He was unmoved and wasn't jealous.

Guy's taijutsu training wouldn't do much to improve him anyway. The Byakugan's taijutsu was special; rather than speed and strength, it emphasized one thing: precision.

"But you don't need to worry. I've convinced Tenten, and she'll make sure you keep up with your training."

"Sure, leave it to me."

Tenten nodded. She was good at managing her emotions and wouldn't dwell on such a small thing.

"Right, but..."

Neji smacked his lips. To be honest, Tenten wasn't even strong enough to make him take a fight seriously.

Even if Tenten didn't realize it, Guy would certainly see it.

"Haha! I forgot to tell you. Don't worry, I've already spoken to a new teacher. He'll be in charge of your special training from now on. It'll last two weeks, so you'd better work hard!"

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

"A new teacher?"

Seeing how excited Guy was, Neji suddenly had a bad feeling.

"He's an excellent teacher! He's even better than I am as a teacher! You're sure to be pleased..."

Guy let go of Neji's shoulders and took a few steps back as he spoke.

"Anyway, just go to Training Ground 21 with Tenten tomorrow at our usual training time, and you'll meet him."

Neji tilted his head, curious about who this new teacher was.

In his current state, improving through practice and combat alone was too rigid a method. It was fast, but wouldn't bring about any decisive breakthrough.

Even if he mastered the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, it couldn't compare to the effect of the system's injection of Lightning Release Chakra nature transformation. Rigid effort had a limited ceiling.

He could only hope this new teacher would really help him make a significant breakthrough...

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office.

The document on the desk was an application, filled with closely packed writing.

"The Military Police Force is a policy that hasn't been implemented for a long time. Since the daimyo are using the Chunin Exams as an opportunity to inspect the village, these plans naturally need to be put into motion as well. You're right: the Hyuga Clan is the strongest candidate."

After finishing his cigarette, Hiruzen sighed.

"But you should also understand what happened with the Uchiha Clan."

Hiashi took a deep breath and lowered his head slightly.

The pressure on the Branch Family, the Main Branch's predicament.

Hiashi seemed to have no other choice. Neji was a new hope on the rise.

He had decided to see it through and stake everything on Neji.

"The Hyuga Clan isn't the Uchiha Clan. It's not just that we lack their ambition; our strength isn't as weak as everyone thinks, either!"

After hesitating for a long time, Hiashi finally managed to speak with conviction.

Hiruzen was taken aback by those words.

"Strength...?"

He remained seated at his desk and looked up at Hyuga Hiashi, who wore a stern expression.

"Hyuga Neji, the ninja everyone calls a dead last."

Hiruzen spoke calmly.

Hiashi frowned. "Neji works hard. He'll definitely stand out in these Chunin Ninja Exams."

The corner of Hiruzen's mouth curled up.

"Third, I believe someone as respected and wise as you will give a young child a chance, won't you?" Hiashi asked.

"Heh!"

Hiruzen chuckled and shook his head.

"The village will give the Hyuga Clan a chance. I'll give the children a chance, too. But as for this Hyuga Neji... Why don't you bring the true genius of your clan to prove himself to me?"

Hiashi was stunned. "The true genius?"

Hiruzen's gaze turned stern and grim.

"Gekko Hayate is dead, and we still don't know who the killer was. That night, someone saw a young Anbu fighting six people at once. Anko also saw that same young man in the Forest of Death."

Hiruzen paused. Hiashi asked, puzzled, "This should have a lot to do with the Anbu, shouldn't it? In recent years, the Anbu..."

"No." Hiruzen cut him off.

"That young man isn't Anbu. We've already investigated. More importantly..."

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

"The young man's techniques and habit of attacking with palm strikes are exactly like the Hyuga Style Taijutsu."

Hiashi was stunned.

"Are you saying, Third, that you suspect the Hyuga Clan?"

"Of course not."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and smiled kindly. "From the information we have, this young man is very likely on Konoha's side. But he's undoubtedly powerful—at least jonin-level—and very young. I'm simply wondering: if the Hyuga Clan has a child with such exceptional talent, why have I never heard his name until now?"

"Uh..."

Hiashi was at a loss for words.

"Please forgive me, Hokage. I truly haven't heard of any boy in the clan whose talent is that exceptional! There are many children of the Hyuga Clan's younger generation who are more talented than Neji, but... a genius like that simply doesn't exist!"

"Hiashi."

Hiruzen fell silent for a long while, as if he had finally made up his mind.

"You're younger than I am. I even lived through Hyuga Tenin's era. I know your clan even better than you do!"

Hiashi nodded cautiously. He couldn't argue with what Hiruzen said.

"You must have suffered a great deal over the conflict between the Branch Family and the Main Branch, haven't you?"

"As clan head, that's only to be expected." Hiashi lowered his head.

"I don't want the Hyuga Clan to follow in the Uchiha Clan's footsteps, but I trust you, Hiashi." With that, Hiruzen pressed his seal onto one of the documents on the desk.

"This is... What do you mean?" Hiashi asked in surprise.

"Perhaps it'll be useful in the future, but not now."