Neji: Shut Up!

"How is it that there's no one here? Could it be that we're the first?" Rock Lee walked in front, taking the lead as he stepped into the inner gate of the Central Tower.

"That goes without saying, right, Neji?" Tenten said, tilting her head to look at Hyuga Neji beside her.

"Yeah. It's just a shame we didn't run into that gourd-carrying guy. Second Pillar wasn't in good condition, so we couldn't spar; it's a pity the match ended like this," Neji said, following Lee inside.

"Well, there will be other chances. Isn't there still a final round?" Tenten said, following along as well.

As the three walked down the corridor, they gradually heard a commotion ahead. Drawing closer, they arrived at a spacious hall and saw, from a distance, several figures moving about in a room to the side.

"Four hundred and twenty, four hundred and twenty-one, four hundred and twenty-two..." Hinata sat on Zeyu's back, helping him count his push-ups.

At this moment, Zeyu, Shota, and Kiba were shirtless on the floor, doing push-ups.

"Big brother, hurry up and give it your all! Surpass Zeyu!" Megumi sat cross-legged on Shota's back, patting his shoulders anxiously.

Shota was currently carrying Megumi while doing push-ups, his eyes closed and teeth gritted as he forced himself to continue. He was already drenched in sweat, and from his initial fiery enthusiasm, he had reached a point where he didn't even want to speak.

Zeyu turned his head and saw Shota's exhausted state, unable to help but laugh and taunt him.

"What's wrong?--Can't hold on anymore?--Then take a break--Shota-kun has already been--very impressive--don't push yourself," Zeyu said while continuing his reps.

Hearing this, Shota could only offer a helpless, bitter laugh. He braced his body, but his arms no longer had the strength to bend, and beads of sweat the size of peas rolled down his face.

"Ah, I can't do it anymore," Shota let out a wail and collapsed flat onto the floor, gasping for air.

"Eh? Big brother, why are you so pathetic? Get up quickly," Megumi patted Shota's shoulder again, looking displeased.

On the other side, Kiba, who was also doing push-ups, chuckled and braced himself up to tease them.

"It must be because Megumi is too heavy, that's why Shota couldn't hold on, right? Hahaha!"

Upon hearing this, Megumi immediately grew annoyed and shouted indignantly:

"What? You say I'm heavy? Impossible! Besides, even if I were heavy, would I be heavier than Shino? I'm a girl, after all!" She then pointed at Shino, who was on Kiba's back.

Shino adjusted his glasses and said calmly:

"That's not necessarily true."

This remark made Megumi even more furious, and she immediately raised her foot to kick at Shino.

Shino instinctively raised his hand to block, successfully parrying the kick.

However, Kiba, who was underneath, suffered for it and fell straight to the ground—face-first.

Megumi retracted her foot and pouted, saying:

"Hmph, who told you to say I'm fat?"

Kiba stood up, clutching his nose, and began to argue with Megumi, while Shino tried to mediate from the side. Shota turned his face away and just watched; his physical exhaustion wouldn't allow him to get up and help.

Hinata was used to their bickering. She had intended to go over and intervene, but suddenly remembered she was still on Zeyu's back.

So, she leaned down, placed her hands on Zeyu's shoulders, and brought her face close to his, whispering:

"Um, Zeyu-kun, why don't we take a break? Let's go and stop them."

Zeyu continued his push-ups unhurriedly.

"It's fine--friends bickering is inevitable--they'll still be friends after they're done arguing--it's alright, Hinata--don't worry too much," Zeyu said while working out.

I couldn't care less, Zeyu thought to himself. Let them make a scene; it's perfect that no one is bothering me and Hinata's intimate moment. Hehehe, Hinata-chan's hands are a little cool, it feels so good~

Just as he was thinking this, Hinata asked in a small, blushing voice: "Um, Zeyu-kun, am I too fat? Does Zeyu-kun think I'm too heavy?"

Zeyu understood immediately; it was because Kiba had called Megumi fat, making Hinata anxious. After all, Hinata was so reserved and a bit insecure, and since she usually ate quite a bit, she must have taken it to heart.

Zeyu immediately said: "That's not the case at all. Hinata isn't heavy at all. I could do another five hundred—no, a thousand—push-ups while carrying you!"

As he spoke, Zeyu began doing his push-ups with even more vigor.

Hinata couldn't help but be amused by Zeyu's behavior and said softly:

"Thank you, Zeyu-kun."

Zeyu braced himself up and turned his head to smile. His face was covered in sweat, but he was still beaming, his eyes crinkling into slits.

Hinata looked at Zeyu's smile, and her face turned even redder. Since their faces were already close, a thought of kissing him sprouted in her heart, but she didn't dare—everyone was around—so she just stared blankly at Zeyu.

When Zeyu saw Hinata staring, he immediately acted mischievously and pecked her on the cheek, then stared at her with a grin.

Hinata was startled by the gesture. The others were still arguing nearby and could be discovered at any moment; for all she knew, Gaara and his team might still be watching.

Her face turned completely red, steam rising from her head, and she lost all her strength, looking as if she were about to faint.

Zeyu realized he had gone too far. Seeing Hinata about to fall to the ground, he didn't even care about himself and used both hands to catch her.

He ended up falling to the floor himself.

"Whew~ That was close," Zeyu sighed in relief. He sat cross-legged on the floor, holding Hinata in his arms, and used his hand as a fan to cool her down.

Just as the group was in this chaotic state:

Neji, Tenten, and Lee walked in.

"Huh? Why are there two doorways in this room?" Tenten asked, puzzled.

"So, people have already arrived. Yosh! I need to work even harder!" Lee clenched his fists, his blood boiling with excitement.

Neji walked between the two, sensing the gaze cast from the side the moment they entered.

He immediately looked toward the source of the gaze, locking eyes with Gaara, who was looking right at him.

In such a sorry state, was he beaten? He looks strong, yet he was actually beaten like this. Who did it? Neji wondered.

At that moment, Gaara was chewing on some dry rations. He had only looked up because he sensed someone entering, but upon noticing Neji still staring at him, he asked in confusion, "What are you looking at?"

As soon as Gaara spoke, Temari and Kankuro looked over as well. Tenten and Lee also noticed the three of them, and the six stared at one another.

After a brief silence, Neji let out a cold snort and said, "Nothing. It's just a pity that I didn't run into you in the Forest of Death; I wanted to spar with you."

Gaara couldn't help but chuckle after hearing this, saying, "No worries. There will be plenty of chances later, provided you aren't too fragile."

At the same time, Gaara thought, The genius youth of Konoha, Neji Hyuga? How does he compare to Zeyu?

Neji replied with disdain, "I think you should worry about healing your wounds first. Hmph." With that, he crossed his arms and stared coldly at Gaara.

Tenten added, "Exactly. You're in such a sorry state, yet you dare speak to Neji like that? Neji was the top rookie last year."

Lee curiously sized up Gaara and then said, "Who gave you those injuries? It looks like that person has quite a bit of strength; they must be a taijutsu expert."

Gaara was taken aback upon hearing this. He paused and said, "What business is it of yours? Get lost." Having said that, he turned his head away and ignored them.

"Tch, what's with the attitude? Hmph," Tenten muttered dismissively. The three of them continued walking inward, with Lee trailing behind, looking disappointed.

"I wanted to ask for that person's name so we could exchange taijutsu pointers later," Lee whispered to himself.

Tenten and Neji were walking in front, chatting about the surrounding environment.

Hinata is so cute. Should I... kiss her again? Zeyu thought, slowly lowering his head, preparing to kiss the Hinata in his arms once more.

Neji, who had been chatting with Tenten while walking, happened to glance over in this direction.

His eyes widened the moment he recognized the girl below.

Neji immediately rushed over, raised his hand, and struck directly at Zeyu.

Zeyu suddenly sensed danger.

"Stop! You shameless scoundrel!" Neji shouted.

Looking up, he saw the palm already before him, about to strike his face.

Zeyu leaned backward to dodge, simultaneously gripping Hinata tightly and kicking his right leg upward.

Seeing the kick aimed at his chin, Neji hurriedly raised his other arm to block.

The kick connected, and Neji was sent flying.

Zeyu seized the opportunity to rise quickly, scooped up Hinata, and leaped backward, landing right beside Megumi and Kiba, who were still in a standoff. All three of them noticed the commotion and ceased their argument.

After flipping twice and a half in the air, Neji landed steadily on the ground. He clenched his fists and pointed at Zeyu, shouting in anger, "Put Lady Hinata down! You despicable villain! To think you would take advantage of the situation to do something like this! Unforgivable!"