Challenge! The Wager with the Elders

What surprised Guy even more was Neji's technique.

This kid might turn out to be something special.

After turning in the day's mission, Guy had planned to use the opportunity to talk to Neji, but Neji left early, citing clan business.

Guy had actually heard rumors that Neji often trained alone at the clan's practice grounds. He'd assumed the boy was just a stubborn underachiever, trying hard...

But today's results had completely opened his eyes.

Neji's technique alone was enough to convince Guy that the kid hadn't yet shown the full extent of his true strength.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host. Achievement unlocked: First spar with a Jonin. Reward: injectable Lightning Release Chakra nature transformation!"

"Taijutsu compatible with injectable Lightning Release Chakra nature transformation detected: Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms! Would you like to inject it?"

"Inject!"

After receiving the reward, Neji infused the Lightning Release Chakra nature transformation into Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms and went to the clan's practice grounds to train.

He picked out a wooden post and began practicing the movements as usual.

But this time was different. Neji drew on the techniques and methods that had already been drilled into his mind and extracted his own Lightning Release Chakra...

The chakra surged through his body like lightning, quick and faintly numbing.

But its power didn't seem like much.

"Zzzzt!"

Each palm strike channeled through Neji's technique and into the wooden post, but the effect was minimal.

As the sky grew dark, Neji returned to his room to avoid any further trouble.

"Tch, strange. I can hardly see any effect."

In both difficulty of learning and usefulness in combat, Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms was superior to Rotation.

This technique shouldn't be this weak.

Neji frowned. He was extremely dissatisfied with today's training.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Neji slowly activated the Lightning Release Chakra inside him. The subtle sensation of lightning passing through his network of chakra pathways immediately spread throughout his body.

"Could it be... because the wooden post doesn't have chakra pathways?" He froze, as if he'd uncovered a secret.

"Hah!"

He let out a shout and extracted more lightning chakra. The sensation of a lightning-fast jolt spread through his body even more intensely.

"Looks like I'll have to find someone to test this move on. There's no point using it on a wooden post. And it'll have to be someone strong."

Only then did Neji realize that Sixty-Four Palms was a technique that attacked an opponent's chakra pathways. A wooden post had no chakra pathways, so training with it was naturally far less effective than real combat. That was what made it different from Rotation.

And his opponent would have to be strong enough for him to feel the difference...

"Young Master Neji!"

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

"Is that you, Aunt Haru? Come in!"

Hyuga Haru came in. She was a woman of around thirty, with a gentle gaze.

She was Hinata's servant, and the only one who still called Neji "Young Master." He recognized her right away.

"What trouble have you gotten into? The clan head has called an emergency clan meeting. He wants you to go there right away!"

"Me?"

Neji frowned slightly. Only the clan's strong could attend clan meetings. If he'd been summoned too, then the matter under discussion must concern him.

After thinking it over, he could only think of one possibility.

When he arrived at the meeting hall, he found a vast room with a few candles hanging around its walls.

Hiashi sat in the seat of honor. Two rows of elders sat on either side of him, including two or three faces from his generation. The rest were all older than Hiashi.

The other people in the hall were young ninja standing farther back. They were all members of the Hyuga Clan, representing its core strength. Every one of them was among the clan's best.

"Neji, I hear you've learned Rotation, and that you've been practicing Sixty-Four Palms on your own?"

Hiashi asked outright. Seeing Gintoki and Aota hiding in a corner, Neji immediately understood everything.

He couldn't keep it secret anymore, but it wouldn't be easy to explain.

"My little tricks are nothing compared with the Hyuga Clan's orthodox inheritance."

"Hmph! Nothing, you say? Then how did you manage to injure both my grandson and my grand-nephew?"

The elder closest to Hiashi was Hyuga Tenshu, the old man who was Gintoki's grandfather. Aota was also his grand-nephew.

Naturally, he was biased in their favor.

"Clan head, don't listen to this brat's excuses. With talent like his, how else could he have learned it but by stealing it?"

Hiashi frowned slightly. He couldn't afford to take any clan matter lightly.

Neji had nothing to reproach himself for, either.

"If I'd stolen it, why would I have waited until now?"

His firm tone made his resolve plain.

Tenshu was so angry that he raised the little tuft of hair on his chin and shouted again, "Don't give me that stubborn act. You're always hanging around the Main Branch!"

"Now, now, Brother Tenshu. There's no need to make things difficult for Neji. Hizashi never treated you poorly while he was alive."

The speaker was Hyuga Tenmoku, seated beside him. He had a round, kindly face.

That remark left Tenshu awkwardly speechless.

At the mention of Hizashi, Neji's fingers twitched slightly.

"Then how do you think we should handle this?"

"Are we supposed to let him off for stealing the technique? He injured my grandson and grand-nephew. Are we just going to let that go?"

Seeing how relentlessly Tenshu pressed the matter, Tenmoku glanced at Neji and smiled calmly.

"The Chunin Ninja Exams are coming up. Since Neji has this kind of talent, let him take first or second place and bring honor to the Hyuga in front of the villagers. That would prove his abilities and earn him the rank of Chunin. Then he can truly serve the Main Branch. What do you think? If he can do it, we'll drop the matter!"

Hiashi was delighted to hear that and nodded. "That's a good idea!"

Someone spoke up. "And what if he can't?"

"I'd say he probably can't!"

"Neji, do you accept this challenge?" Hiashi asked.

Seeing his chance, Neji spoke up at once. "I'm grateful for the elders' concern. I, Hyuga Neji, hereby promise that if I fail to take first place in this Chunin exam, I'll accept whatever punishment you decide!"

"Hmph, don't think you can—"

Tenshu was about to speak again, but Tenmoku's lips curled into a smile. "Brother Tenshu, we should leave some room for compromise. Your grandson causes plenty of trouble himself, as we all know. Don't push your luck."

That left Hyuga Tenshu with nothing to say.