Everyone is Friends

"No, no, no, it's not what you think."

Zeyu had already prepared himself to continue the fight, but upon hearing the newcomer address her as "Lady Hinata," he took a closer look and realized it was Neji Hyuga.

He subconsciously shook his head in denial.

"What?! Then what were you doing just now? How dare you try to make excuses!" Neji retorted angrily.

"Uh... this..." Zeyu stammered, thinking back to how he had indeed intended to sneak a kiss, which left him at a loss for words.

At this moment, Tenten and Lee arrived behind Neji. Hearing the exchange, they roughly grasped the situation.

Seeing Zeyu's reaction, Neji grew even more furious and snapped:

"I'll say it again! Put Lady Hinata down! Otherwise... I won't be so polite!"

With that, Neji assumed his Gentle Fist stance. Veins bulged around his eyes as his Byakugan slowly activated, locking onto Zeyu.

Tenten and Lee behind him instinctively stepped back.

Hmph, daring to provoke Neji—you're finished today, Tenten thought, the corners of her mouth curling up into a look of pure amusement.

That man's body... it's clearly been tempered through rigorous training. He's definitely a master of taijutsu, Lee thought as he sized Zeyu up.

Seeing Neji's posture, Zeyu couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.

Ah? Am I really going to fight my brother-in-law? That's not good... Why is it that whenever I run into Hinata's family, they want to beat me up? Zeyu thought, glancing at Hinata in his arms before offering a wry smile.

At this point, Megumi had also caught on and stepped forward to Zeyu's side.

"Hand Hinata over to me first," Megumi said to Zeyu.

Zeyu glanced at Megumi, then back at Hinata, realizing she probably wouldn't wake up for a while, so he handed her over.

"Thanks, I'm counting on you," Zeyu said.

Megumi took Hinata, shot Zeyu a look of disdain, and said with a slight smirk:

"You'd better take care of yourself, you pervert~"

She cast a glance at Neji, then turned and walked over to a nearby bench with Hinata.

Left alone and feeling thoroughly embarrassed, Zeyu could only offer a hollow laugh.

He then looked at Neji and said:

"Look... I've put Hinata down, so let's not fight, shall we? When she wakes up, I'll go apologize to her personally, okay?"

Seeing that Zeyu's attitude was sincere enough, Neji didn't press the issue and slowly lowered his hands.

"Hmph, you're smart enough to know when to quit. Don't let there be a next time!" Neji said, crossing his arms over his chest as his Byakugan returned to normal.

He added, "Don't try any tricks! I'll be watching you! Once Lady Hinata wakes up, I'll deal with you then!"

Neji then signaled for Tenten and Lee to find a place to rest.

Sitting on the bench, Megumi watched them and thought:

Sigh, these people... they never give anyone a moment of peace.

Seeing that Neji had backed down, Zeyu let out a long sigh of relief and picked up his clothes to put them on.

As they left, Tenten snorted and said:

"Consider yourself lucky. If Neji had gotten serious, you'd be done for~" As they walked further away, she whispered, "Small fry."

Zeyu heard it but felt too weary to respond, continuing to dress himself.

"Hey! Stop right there!" Shota shouted, stumbling to his feet.

Everyone present was shocked and turned to look.

Tenten and Lee turned back toward Shota with confused expressions.

"Is there something else?" Neji asked coldly.

"Hey! You! The one with the buns! Try calling my big brother that again!" Shota shouted, pointing at Tenten.

Realizing what this was about, Tenten said dismissively:

"What? Is there something wrong with what I said?" She then gave him a look as if he were an idiot.

Seeing that expression, along with the disdainful look in Neji's eyes behind her, Shota grew furious and clenched his fists.

Zeyu cast a grateful look toward Shota, feeling a touch of emotion in his heart.

Seeing Shota's anger, Tenten found it amusing and, not wanting to bother with him, turned to leave.

Seeing that she wanted to walk away after insulting him, Shota lost his temper, lunged forward, and reached out to grab her.

Kiba and Shino, who were still holding their noses in the back, felt their hearts tighten as they saw Shota move.

That idiot!

In the distance, Megumi had been silently calling him an idiot for rushing forward, but seeing the sharp look in Neji's eyes, she realized something was wrong.

She couldn't help but scream out: "Brother, watch out!"

Just as Shota reached out toward Tenten—

Neji turned instantly, reaching Tenten's side and thrusting his left palm straight toward Shota's neck. Lee, on the other side, moved rapidly to grab Shota's outstretched hand, attempting to pin his arm.

Just at this critical moment, Zeyu suddenly appeared beside Shota.

With an expressionless face, he extended both hands, grabbing Neji's arm with one and Lee's with the other, while simultaneously using his elbow to shove Shota's chest, preventing him from moving any further forward.

Neji and Lee stared at Zeyu in disbelief.

Shota looked at the palm that had stopped just inches from his throat and couldn't help but swallow hard.

Tenten also snapped out of it, turning her head to glance at them from the corner of her eye, cold sweat beading on her face.

Neji and Lee tried to push their hands forward again, only to find they were completely immobilized, the vibrations of their struggle traveling up their arms.

This guy... he's strong... Neji thought.

So amazing, this power... Lee thought.

Kiba and Shino, standing behind them, were equally shocked. They hadn't even seen Zeyu move; he had just appeared out of nowhere to put a stop to everything.

Zeyu then used his elbow to shove Shota back and asked, "Are you alright, Shota?"

Shota, pushed back, took two steps, his eyes dazed as he replied, "Ah... y-yes, I'm fine."

Zeyu then looked at Neji, Lee, and Tenten with a beaming smile and said, "We're all ninjas of Konoha, so we're all friends. Anything can be discussed properly; there's no need to resort to physical force, right?"

Neji and Lee, still held fast and unable to move, couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.

Zeyu realized this, quickly released them, and took the initiative to bow in apology.

Neji and Lee looked at the bowing Zeyu, momentarily at a loss for words.

In the distance, Megumi breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that Shota was unharmed.

Just then, Hinata's brows furrowed, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Megumi, sitting beside her, noticed Hinata had woken up and hurriedly pulled her to her feet.

"Megumi, what's wrong?" Hinata asked, supporting herself with a look of confusion.

"My dear, you're still sleeping? Your Zeyu is about to fight with your clansmen!" Megumi said, pinching Hinata's soft, doughy cheeks.

"Eh?" Upon hearing this, Hinata grew anxious. Even with her cheeks still being pinched, she looked around.

She immediately saw Zeyu and the others gathered together not far away.

"Thank you, Megumi, I'm going over now." Hinata pulled Megumi's hands away and hurried over.

As she approached, Zeyu was chatting with Neji and the others. Hinata realized the person opposite him was her cousin, Neji Hyuga, and recalled what Megumi had said about Zeyu fighting her kin.

She immediately rushed between them, arms outstretched to block both sides, and cried out, "Everyone, stop fighting! There must be some misunderstanding here!"

Seeing Hinata arrive, Zeyu quickly stepped forward to check on her, then said, "We aren't fighting. I was just chatting with Brother Neji."

Hinata looked surprised, then turned to Neji and asked, "Brother Neji, is that true?"

Neji turned his face away and responded coldly, "Yes."

Brother Neji? Right, I'm a year older, Neji thought.

Hinata felt a bit dejected by Neji's attitude, but she was relieved that there hadn't actually been a fight.

Zeyu stepped up and took Hinata's hand to comfort her. Hinata looked at Zeyu with relief and said, "That's good, Zeyu-kun. I thought you were going to fight."

Neji, who had been turned away, suddenly widened his eyes, whipped around, and asked, "You are Zeyu Nichiro?"

Zeyu was left speechless; it seemed the guy didn't even know who he was. "That's me," he replied.

"You two..." Neji noticed them holding hands, pointed at their tightly clasped fingers, and asked.

Hinata felt shy at Neji's question; she used her other small hand to pull her collar up, hiding her flushed face.

Zeyu raised their joined hands into the air, fingers interlocked, and scratched the back of his head. "We're together. Um... Brother Neji." Hinata nodded as well, looking at Zeyu with eyes full of tenderness.

At that moment, Neji felt as if he had been struck by lightning. It turned out he had been the one interrupting their romantic moment, and he had made such a scene over it.

Before the exam started, Hiashi had found Neji and asked him to look after Hinata, and also to keep an eye on "Zeyu Nichiro." If he lacked talent and was just a loser trying to latch onto the Hyuga, Neji was to give him a hard time.

Seeing this now, Neji truly wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

Looking at the lovey-dovey pair before him, Neji just wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

He composed himself and said, "Do as you please. I'm leaving."

With that, Neji took Lee and Tenten to find a spot to rest elsewhere in the room.

Zeyu and Hinata watched their retreating figures, then exchanged a glance and burst into laughter together.

Afterward, the two began to chat. Zeyu recounted the entire sequence of events to Hinata and even apologized for the secret kiss.

(Though, of course, Hinata didn't mind it at all.)