A Polite Refusal

Aside from the demon's preferential treatment, Sasuke and Neji got along fairly well. From that day onward, their relationship grew closer and closer.

After the Ninja Academy let out, Sasuke and Neji could often be seen walking together to the Uchiha Compound. Sometimes, Neji even stayed the night.

"Sasuke actually invited someone to his house? That's so strange." Sakura Haruno looked utterly bewildered, but she was also envious. She wanted to visit Sasuke's home too!

Ino Yamanaka glanced up at them. "It's not strange if it's Neji Hyuga. Senior Neji is the top student a year above us. Naturally, outstanding people gather with others who are equally outstanding."

Sasuke and Neji also came from somewhat similar backgrounds, but Ino did not say that aloud. She was afraid Sakura would feel upset.

Sakura Haruno hurried after Neji and Sasuke. Seeing this, Ino Yamanaka followed close behind. Clearly, they wanted to pester Sasuke again. Yet instead of ignoring them like before, Sasuke politely and earnestly refused them. "Thank you for your affection, but I'm sorry. I bear the Uchiha mission on my shoulders. Until I achieve my goal, I will not allow myself to be distracted by romance. Don't waste your time on me."

After saying that, Sasuke bent at the waist and bowed. Sakura and Ino were clearly startled by his serious attitude.

Ino quickly recovered. "I understand, Sasuke. You don't need to apologize."

"Yeah, Sasuke, I understand..." Sakura echoed Ino stiffly. No matter how unwilling she felt, she could only bury it deep inside. She could not exactly ask Sasuke to set aside the hatred of his clan's massacre and focus on dating her, could she?

The two girls left dejectedly, and Sasuke let out a breath of relief. He was not very good at handling complicated interpersonal relationships. Stringing someone along without accepting or rejecting them was extremely irresponsible. It was better to refuse cleanly and decisively; then, if they ended up on opposing sides in the future, he would not have to soften his heart.

"Sakura Haruno is your future wife. I thought you would treat her differently," Neji said.

Sasuke's expression was unreadable. "Neji, what exactly do I have that Sakura could like?"

Neji shook his head. "I don't know. But I do know that when feelings and interests become intertwined, the relationship becomes more stable."

If the Uchiha had not been massacred, Sasuke would never have ended up with Sakura. The Uchiha had always married within their own clan.

Most of the girls at school who had liked Sasuke before had simply been attracted to his looks. Sakura seemed to be the only one who had truly fallen for him. But now that the Uchiha had been wiped out, winning Sasuke over was practically the same as rising to the top for a civilian girl. Handsome, both parents dead, and sitting on a vast inheritance—such a perfect catch was impossible to find even with a lantern.

When Sasuke defected in the middle period, anyone who remained devoted to him would surely earn Hokage's favor. In the later period, Sasuke became one of the strongest people in the ninja world. Being with him was profitable no matter how one looked at it. Besides, Sakura was close to Hokage and Kakashi, so there was no need to fear things going wrong.

Neji was explaining Sasuke and Sakura's marriage entirely through the lens of interests. That had much to do with his life experiences. He knew very well that this village did not contain so much genuine goodness and beauty.

"Forget it. I've already clearly rejected Sakura Haruno, so there's no need to think about what she really feels. The important things come first. On the surface, we're only reserve Genin, so there are many things we can't conveniently do. Who knows when we'll finally be able to cut loose and accomplish something big?" Sasuke sighed.

Neji's gaze burned fiercely. "Who knows? But I'm certain of one thing: when the village conflicts with my goals, I will firmly stand on my own side."

Sasuke nodded. He felt the same way.

Sasuke was quite satisfied with Neji as an ally, because Neji could communicate calmly. He was unlike certain hot-blooded idiots who were simply impossible to reason with.

On the other hand, Neji's impression of Sasuke was rather ordinary. The main reason was that manga. He would not put himself in the protagonist's shoes and come to like or pity Sasuke. All he saw was Sasuke's wavering stance, his irresponsibility toward his wife, daughter, and clan, and most importantly, the fact that Sasuke, despite possessing the Rinnegan, had never once considered reviving his own parents!

Given Sasuke's relationship with Orochimaru at the time, would it really have been difficult to have Orochimaru exploit White Zetsu to revive a few people? Yet Sasuke did not even try. He never even had such a thought. He spent every day drowning in grief over his dead family while treating a divine tool capable of resurrection as mere decoration. Neji simply could not understand Sasuke's way of thinking.

Ever since learning that there was a technique called the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique that could reverse life and death, Neji had imagined more than once pulling his father back from the Pure Land. He would not hesitate even if it required a heavy price.

During wartime, the village sent members of the Hyuga Branch House to the front lines to shed their blood and give their lives, yet Hizashi Hyuga lost his life for the sake of "peace."

Wasn't that absurd? Kumogakure had struck first, Hyuga Hiashi had killed the man, and Konoha had sought reconciliation—yet in the end, it was Hizashi Hyuga who paid the price.

Since the village's peace could be bought at someone else's expense, Neji believed that reviving his father could naturally come at someone else's expense as well. Sacrificing insignificant people to bring his closest family back into the world—wasn't that perfectly reasonable?

That night, Neji stayed over at Sasuke's house again. At midnight, the two went out hunting together.

Neji said to Sasuke, "You've left behind too many loose ends. Every time someone disappears, their relatives will do everything they can to investigate. So the best way is to wipe out the whole family once you decide to kill. Choose targets with simpler family ties, and you can avoid a lot of trouble."

Sasuke said he had learned something. Senior Neji really was even more ruthless in his madness.

"Konoha fears causing panic, so it has kept the disappearances hidden from the public and only investigates in secret. But because external pressure is too great, it cannot devote much effort to this matter. Of course, the main reason is that the missing people are all nobodies. If clan ninja vanished without a trace, alive or dead, the matter would have exploded long ago." Neji coldly analyzed the situation. What he truly wanted most was to wipe out the Hyuga Main House directly, but his strength was insufficient. He needed to kill more people in exchange for power.

After disposing of the bodies as quickly as possible, Neji and Sasuke suddenly felt the ground beneath their feet shake. At the same time, their minds seemed to suffer some unknown impact, leaving them reeling.

The shadow and the Hyuga ancestor swiftly retreated into the deepest parts of their spiritual worlds at the very beginning of the tremor. Before long, quiet Konoha gradually erupted into commotion. Quite a few ninja gathered in the streets. "Was that an earthquake?" "Was it an enemy attack?"

Neji and Sasuke exchanged a glance. This earthquake was not ordinary; a normal earthquake would not affect people's minds. Konoha's higher-ups had clearly realized that as well, and quickly dispatched subordinates to investigate.