Purpose! The Thing I Want Most

That gaze! The gaze of this genin!

Ibiki gritted his teeth, steadying himself, though his heart remained far from calm.

Neji's eyes made Ibiki realize that this was a man with ambition; he was absolutely not here just to coast through the exams!

"Heh, hehe! Not bad... a member of the Hyuga Clan..."

"Haha! Congratulations on passing the first written round. Leave the next exam to me!"

With a carefree laugh, a vigorous figure vaulted in through the window.

Simultaneously, she pulled out a ridiculously large banner from behind her, emblazoned with the words: "The Second Stage of the Chunin Exams Begins."

"Greetings, everyone. I am your proctor for the second stage of the Chunin Exams, a special jonin of Konoha—Anko!"

Anko wore a smile, yet her gaze swept across the room with the sharpness of a hawk.

Neji took the opportunity to sit down. With this, Anko had completely overshadowed the sharpness he had just displayed; he had no desire to be so high-profile as to attract unwanted attention.

Now, while all the examinees in the room rejoiced at having passed, they were also deeply concerned about this eccentric second proctor.

"Oh my, oh my! Ibiki, your exam was too easy. There are still 20 teams left! Let's eliminate at least half of them in the next round!"

A chaotic murmur broke out below as everyone became immersed in the joy of advancing and the tension of the upcoming round.

Standing behind the banner, Ibiki could only sigh silently to himself, thinking, Can't this woman just let me finish my sentence?

Regardless, there was no doubt that Neji had left a deep impression on him.

"Alright, everyone, take a break. After dinner, come to the Forest of Death to draw lots!"

Before dinner, Neji took advantage of the opportunity to squeeze in a moment of training.

By the time he reached the assembly point outside the Forest of Death, the drawing of lots had already concluded.

"20 teams, 60 people in total, entering from 20 different gates... We drew Gate 18. Without knowing which gates the others are at, we can't formulate specific tactics. And our scroll... Heaven, I don't even know if we'll be able to get an Earth scroll."

Tenten murmured with a sigh. As the only long-range ninja on the team, she had always been the one to take the lead.

Rock Lee added, "I've also heard that the areas behind these gates vary. Different terrain means different survival conditions..."

Neji listened to their discussion, lost in thought.

"Sasuke!"

"Sasuke!"

"Stupid Sakura, why are you being so enthusiastic?"

"Stupid Ino, Sasuke isn't on your team, what are you doing here?"

The two female genin began bickering the moment they met, a sight everyone was already accustomed to.

"Sakura!"

Seeing Sakura, Rock Lee immediately became unable to move his feet.

"Hey, Bushy Brows, what do you think you're doing?"

Naruto jumped in immediately, and the genin of Konoha began to mingle.

Neji naturally had no time for their idle chatter. He scanned the crowd, but did not see Hinata.

"Shino, where is Hinata from your team?"

Neji walked over to the sullen Shino and asked.

Shino replied, "She was here just a moment ago. Kiba seems to have sent her to fetch some supplies."

Hinata's teammates seemed reliable enough, which put his mind at ease.

"Neji!? Shino? Come over here!"

"As it stands, Team 7 is the most likely to pass the exam, right?" Sakura said with a grin.

Ino scoffed, "Hmph, that's only because you have Sasuke on your team!"

Naruto chimed in, "What about me? I'm pretty strong too, right?"

Sakura glared at Naruto, "You, get lost!"

"Huh? Sakura..." Naruto hung his head dejectedly and drifted away from the conversation.

"If you ask me, the only one here weaker than Naruto is probably Neji, right?"

Tenten suddenly brought up the topic, looking toward Neji.

Rock Lee interjected, "But this is a team exam. Our team should be able to pass too; I have confidence!"

Tenten shrugged, "Lee! You can't keep coddling him like this. Everyone here has their own goals, but what about Neji? He doesn't even have the strength to be a chunin!"

Kiba, standing nearby, also laughed, "Neji really is weak, isn't he? It seems like he's still practicing basic combat techniques against wooden stakes even now."

At this, Shino spoke up, "Well then, why don't we hear what Neji himself thinks?"

Everyone looked over. Even the members of Ino-Shika-Cho, who were the weakest on paper, looked at Neji with a sense of disdain.

Neji felt a bit awkward and offered a faint smile.

"The goal? The goal of the exam is obviously to pass. It's just that..."

His expression grew slightly solemn. Seeing that things were getting awkward, Ino stepped in to smooth things over: "Oh, come on, Neji-kun must have something he wants most too, right?"

Sakura giggled as well: "That goes without saying. For example, the thing I want most is..."

She smiled shyly and glanced at Sasuke. Ino clenched her fist: "Sakura, what kind of nonsense are you thinking about?"

The group erupted into chaos again, no longer giving Neji a hard time.

But Neji did, in fact, have something he wanted most.

The wager with the elders was one thing, but what he truly craved right now was real combat!

Furthermore, he preferred combat against the strong; even if it meant taking a desperate risk, he wanted to test himself.

He pondered, looking toward Naruto, who sat alone in the corner.

"Naruto."

Naruto turned his head and discovered Neji standing behind him.

"Eyes just like Hinata's!"

Neji chuckled softly and began to strike up a conversation with Naruto...

"Oh? Oh? Is that so? The results of the draw are unfair?"

Neji wore a troubled expression and gave a bitter smile: "Yeah, numbers 1-5 are probably closer to water sources, 6-10 might be areas with more forest, making them easier to hide in and safer, 11-15 are crawling with wild beasts, and 16-20 are prone to encountering enemies since they are mostly plains, but they have plenty of wild mushrooms and food."

"So that's how it is!"

Naruto took a deep breath, then frowned and asked: "In the forest, wouldn't that favor ninjas who use Fire Style?"

He then smacked his lips as if jealous: "That guy Sasuke only knows how to use Fire Style!"

Neji chuckled, raised an eyebrow, and asked: "So, does that mean you're between 6 and 10?"

Naruto froze, as if realizing something.

Oh no, he thought. Sakura warned me that the draw results shouldn't be shared! But Kabuto said this guy is a real weakling, so it should be fine!

"Heh, hehe, Neji, I've got things to do, I'm heading out! Give my regards to Hinata!"

Watching Naruto's retreating back, Neji wore a smile.

"Hiss!"

The atmosphere was desolate and murderous.

At every entrance to the Forest of Death, all the teams had gathered.

The sounds of cicadas and snakes intertwined; no one knew what was hidden deep within the forest.

"Let's split up here! Be back before dark!"

Rock Lee threw down a kunai, and the three of them vanished like shadows.

"Byakugan!"

His footsteps tapped rapidly against the ground as he surged forward.

He suddenly paused, his brow furrowing slightly.

A few seconds later, the corners of Neji's mouth curled up.

"6-10? It should be in this direction..."

He headed in that direction without the slightest hesitation.

What he wanted most? The current Neji naturally craved a battle against the strongest opponent!