Stirring After Stillness

Clap, clap, clap!

"Good lad. Other ninja spent their entire lives creating ninjutsu, yet for you, it was as simple as eating and drinking. If I wasn't mistaken, the sword aura based on the Gentle Fist Technique already had the power of an A-rank ninjutsu. Do you have even stronger moves to follow?"

At some point, Tsunade had appeared beside them. After watching the two spar, she applauded in praise and voiced the question in her heart.

"You flatter me, Teacher. It took me nearly a year to come up with it," Neji said with a grin.

"Give you an inch, and you take a mile!" Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"Teacher truly has a keen eye. This ninjutsu is called the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Sword. At full power, it has twenty-four streams of sword aura, each with different strength.

When all of them are unleashed, they form the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Sword Formation. The sword aura flowed according to the solar terms—sometimes striking like spring thunder, sometimes dense as rain, sometimes sweeping through like an autumn wind scattering fallen leaves. Its ultimate technique could reach S-rank."

Neji answered frankly.

"Just as I thought. I noticed earlier that every stream of sword aura felt different. If they were combined, they would be even harder to defend against!" Tsunade nodded.

"Young Master, I'm too useless. I can't bring out the power of the Solar Terms Sword," the girl said self-reproachfully as she silently stepped to Neji's side.

"It's fine, Xiao Xi. You've only trained for two years. Reaching this level already makes you a genius. You now have the combat strength of an ordinary Chunin, which has already surpassed my expectations," Neji reassured her.

"Yes, Young Master. I'll keep working hard!" The dim light in Xiao Xi's eyes brightened again. It seemed the boy's acknowledgment was her hope in life.

"Enough, enough. You're making my teeth ache. Anyway, what are you planning to do next?" Tsunade asked casually.

Neji's heart stirred. He carefully studied Tsunade's expression and found her gaze restrained, yet her entire body radiated vigorous vitality. After considering her tone, he finally realized that after two years of cultivating her body and mind, she was beginning to find it hard to hold herself back.

Only now did Tsunade show a little of the former grace of one of the Legendary Three Ninja.

"Teacher, Xiao Xi and I have the strength now, but we lack real combat experience. Next, we plan to take on some missions at the Bounty Exchange and polish our practical fighting skills!"

Neji had planned this long ago, and now he used the opportunity to say it aloud.

Although his several sparring sessions with his shadow in the Inner Landscape meant he did not truly lack combat experience, he had ultimately not been tempered by blood and fire. He still lacked a trace of killing intent.

As for why he was not returning to Konoha, Neji had tested the waters about it before, but Tsunade had refused.

Neji knew that as long as the Third Hokage remained alive, Tsunade would not return to Konoha. The grudge rooted deep in her heart could not be erased so easily.

Apart from Konoha, if they wanted to take missions now, only the Bounty Exchanges spread throughout the major nations of the Ninja World could provide them.

"Good! I happen to be a little short on cash. Let's pick up a few missions for fun. I'll leave it to you!" Tsunade clapped her hands, then strode away with abandon.

Neji spread his hands and said to Xiao Xi, "Xiao Xi, get some rest. We'll be busy soon!"

The Bounty Exchanges in every major nation looked more or less the same. They were located in remote towns or simply out in the wilderness, low-key and inconspicuous. Neji had spent quite some effort finding this one.

Looking at the short building before him, Neji considered it for a moment, then entered directly without disguising himself.

With a Shadow Rank expert backing him, he could afford to be this brazen.

Neji felt no shame whatsoever. What was the point of carrying a gun if he still did not dare fight?

The Bounty Exchange was rather cramped. There was only a counter, an attendant behind it, several shady figures gathered in twos and threes, and mission notices hanging on the wall.

The instant Neji entered, all sorts of undisguised gazes swept over him—confused, cruel, mocking—but none of them retreated. These people lived by the blade. To them, surviving another day was enough.

Ignoring those assessing looks, Neji turned to the mission notices on the wall.

Sure enough, the notices at the very top were bounties for assassinating the Kage of various nations. Every one of them offered astronomical rewards. Neji skipped them all, though he was somewhat disappointed not to see one for himself.

At last, one mission caught Neji's attention. It said that a village on the border of the Land of Hot Water had been massacred, with its women and children missing. There were signs of ninja involvement at the scene, and the reward was one hundred thousand ryo.

Neji guessed that the mission had been issued by the Land of Hot Water. Since Hot Water Shadow Village had long existed in name only, they did not want to spend the money to post the mission in a major nation, so they tried their luck at the Bounty Exchange. In any case, they had nothing to lose.

Neji lightly tapped the counter twice and said, "The Land of Hot Water mission. Give me the information!"

"Certainly, please wait a moment!" The man behind the counter said with a smile. He bent down to rummage beneath the counter, then soon rose with a scroll in hand.

"That'll be five thousand ryo," the man said with a smile, holding out the scroll.

Smack!

Expressionless, Neji pulled out a stack of cash and slapped it onto the counter.

The gazes fixed on Neji immediately grew several degrees more fervent. Neji sneered inwardly. Wasn't this an experience pack delivered right to him?

"Please take care, customer. Have a safe trip!" The man said with a smile as he handed the scroll to Neji.

After leaving the Bounty Exchange, Neji walked at an unhurried pace. The tails behind him seemed to know he could detect them, so they followed without bothering to hide themselves.

After walking for a while, Neji stopped and turned around.

"The young master of the Hyuga Clan is working the Bounty Exchange too? Hahaha, hahahahaha!" The bandaged man in the lead mocked him wantonly.

This was the usual attire of wandering ninja. Bandages had plenty of uses, after all.

"Quit talking nonsense. Kill him!" One of the remaining two drew a battered blade and flashed toward Neji, slashing at him. His swordsmanship was fierce. Though it lacked formal technique, it was the most practical kind of cutting.

The other flashed behind Neji. "Lightning Release: Earth Walk!" A bright blue bolt of lightning shot straight toward Neji from the ground.

The bandaged man stopped laughing as well and flicked out several shuriken. The Explosive Tags tied to their tails had already begun to glow with fire.

For a moment, Neji found himself surrounded by the three of them. Yet he was not surprised in the slightest, because this was the true Ninja World.

Boom!

Neji stomped once, and a burst of monstrous strength instantly surged into the ground. The flat earth heaved like waves before exploding apart, and the glow of the Lightning Release immediately went out.

Using the rebound force, Neji flashed away from the shuriken.

Boom, boom, boom!

The Explosive Tags erupted, blasting out wave after wave of air. Yet Neji's figure had long vanished from the center of the explosions.

The three said nothing. Back to back, they watched their surroundings warily.

Those who dared commit robbery were naturally no weaklings. Especially ninja who dared lay hands on the Hyuga Clan—either they were desperadoes or they had real skills.

From that brief exchange, Neji sensed that all three possessed Chunin-level strength. Their abilities leaned in different directions, but their combat awareness was no weaker than that of ninja from the villages.

"Missing-nin? Why does this feel like I hit the jackpot?"

Neji muttered, and the chakra flowing through his palms accelerated another degree.