Two flowers bloomed, each telling its own tale.
Seeing that Shinichi had successfully made contact with Akatsuki, Neji stopped paying attention to him. He only needed to spare a sliver of his mind to keep Shinichi's incarnation operating step by step. Along the way, he traveled at a leisurely pace, occasionally exchanging blows with Root ninja sent by Danzo and taking the opportunity to practice Fire Release ninjutsu.
After leaving Konoha, Neji headed straight for the Land of Grass.
He intended to find Guren, one of Orochimaru's subordinates, and obtain the method for cultivating Crystal Release from her.
As for Tsunade's side, he had Katsuyu's clone relay a message telling the women not to worry.
As Neji and Tsunade grew stronger, Shizune and Xiao Xi's training was also incorporated into Neji's plans. He did not want to fight alone in the future. When facing the Ōtsutsuki Clan, he would naturally need powerful allies.
Konoha's new generation of rookies were people he planned to nurture and bring under his command in the future, but they were outsiders after all. If Shizune and Xiao Xi could also stand on their own, they would be of great help to Neji.
As a member of the Hyuga Clan, Xiao Xi's Gentle Fist training largely remained in step with Neji's. Her development of the Solar Term Sword had also shown results, while her ninjutsu focused mainly on Water Release. With Neji cheating to help broaden her meridians, her chakra reserves were quite formidable as well.
Shizune's training was entirely under Tsunade's guidance, so Neji had no need to elaborate.
As for cultivating Qi, it was not that Neji was withholding it. Without the Primordial Bagua Diagram to govern it, they could not even grasp the various concepts involved. In truth, Neji himself was still muddling