Before anyone else could speak, Hinata said, "Brother Neji, there's no need. We can handle this ourselves!"
She said it with her usual warm, lovely smile, but Neji could clearly see the determination in her eyes.
Neji broke into a smile and tossed the Earth Scroll to Tenten for safekeeping. She immediately sealed it inside the scroll where she kept her weapons.
How could I forget? Hinata is the future head of her clan! Neji thought. He looked up at Sakura and Ino, whose young faces were just as resolute. "In that case, we'll part ways here. See you at the finish line in four days!"
Hinata beamed. "See you at the finish line!" After a brief farewell, Neji and the others chose a direction and left. Hinata's group decided to rest before setting out. It was almost dawn, but the three girls still wanted to talk things over.
Ino suddenly laughed at something. Sakura gave her a puzzled look. "What are you laughing at?"
"You've got monstrous strength just like Lady Tsunade, Sakura!" Ino said without hesitation. Her words brought Sakura's punch back to Hinata's mind, and a faint smile touched her lips.
Sakura merely pursed her lips, looking unimpressed. "I suppose that's one advantage." Then her expression turned serious. "I put everything I had into that punch, but that was all it did!"
She turned to Hinata and Ino. "If Neji and the others hadn't been there, could we really have beaten those three from Iwagakure so easily?"
Hinata's smile faded. "I saw how strong they were. Without Brother Neji, it wouldn't have been nearly so easy."
Chapter 858: A Chance Encounter
Sakura and Ino looked crestfallen. The confidence they had felt earlier had almost completely drained away.
For a while, all three sat with their heads bowed,