Bringing him on board

As Sasuke Uchiha looked at his reflection in the kunai, the corners of his mouth inevitably rose, sweeping away his earlier gloom.

"So this is the Sharingan? What beautiful eyes!" Sasuke Uchiha murmured as he studied the reflection of his eyes in the kunai.

"Enough. Stop admiring yourself," Neji said irritably. "Don't get carried away. You've barely even started!"

"Hmph. Someone outside the Uchiha Clan like you could never understand how powerful these eyes are. I can feel power pouring through my body!" Sasuke Uchiha felt he could finally hold his head high. He declared proudly, "Neji, now that I have these eyes, I'll be beating you into the ground any day now."

Hearing that, Neji folded his arms and laughed. Sasuke Uchiha, the king of taking a beating, really was a honey badger.

Neji merely nodded. "Sure, sure. You'll beat me into the ground any minute now."

Something about Neji's expression suddenly irritated Sasuke Uchiha immensely. To him, Neji looked like he was practically begging to be punched.

Sasuke Uchiha's face darkened as he said through gritted teeth, "I'll beat you into the ground sooner or later!"

Neji turned and left, leaving only a mocking chuckle behind.

"Neji Hyuga!" Sasuke Uchiha truly felt that Neji was asking for a beating.

Three days later, after school, Sasuke Uchiha stopped Neji again. "Same place! This time, I'm definitely beating you into the ground!"

Neji's expression remained unchanged as he calmly followed him.

Once they entered the training ground, the two quickly launched into battle.

Before long, Sasuke was flat on the ground again.

Awakening the Sharingan had inflated Sasuke's confidence so much that he had actually tried fighting Neji in close combat right from the start.

So Neji got a little more serious, and Sasuke went down.

"You've still got a long way to go!" Neji brushed the dust off his clothes, then calmly turned and left.

Lying on the ground, Sasuke clenched his teeth so hard they nearly cracked. He had awakened the Sharingan, yet the gap between him and this guy was still so enormous.

"Next time, I'll definitely beat you into the ground!" Sasuke rose to his feet, his face dark and his teeth clenched.

A week later, Sasuke appeared before Neji. "Same place! This time, you'll get a taste of defeat!"

Neji gave him an indifferent glance. "Next time for sure!"

His fists clenched! They clenched tight! Sasuke swore this was the most annoying person he had ever met. He desperately wanted to plant two solid punches in that calm face.

Dreams were beautiful, but reality was cruel. A string of Air-Palm Strikes from Neji left Sasuke reeling, unable to tell which way was up.

"You really do have a long way to go! Last time, you got flattened in close combat, and now you're trying ninjutsu? Don't you know these eyes give me a full 360-degree field of vision?" Neji's tone held a trace of mockery.

Sasuke's face darkened, but he said nothing. As the loser, he really had no grounds to talk back.

"Next time, I'll definitely..." Before Sasuke could finish, Neji's voice cut in. "Next time, I'll definitely beat you into the ground!"

"Neji Hyuga!" Sasuke's face went from dark to red. He was practically steaming with anger.

Watching Neji walk away, Sasuke was so angry his teeth ached.

Week after week, the boy named Sasuke Uchiha never won against Neji even once. Every battle ended in defeat.

After one battle two months later, Neji did not immediately leave the training ground. Instead, he looked at Sasuke Uchiha and said, "All right, I've helped you awaken the Sharingan. Now it's your turn to help me with my business."

Sasuke Uchiha shakily stood up and looked at Neji. "What is it? Since you really did help me awaken the Sharingan, I'll do whatever I can."

"I need a favor. Get me some medical ninjutsu and techniques related to biology." Neji did not beat around the bush and stated his request directly.

The original Neji Hyuga had not possessed the Yang Release chakra nature, but the current Neji did.

"Medical ninjutsu? Biological techniques?" Sasuke Uchiha looked somewhat surprised. "What do you need those for? And why do you have to get them through me? Doesn't your Hyuga Clan have any in its collection?"

"Heh." Neji gave a cold laugh. "If I could get medical ninjutsu from the Hyuga, why would I need to go through all this trouble to get it from you?"

Sasuke Uchiha glanced at Neji's bandaged forehead and recalled the information he had gathered about the Hyuga Clan over the past few days. He slowly nodded. "I think I understand why."

He already knew that the Hyuga Clan was unlike the Uchiha Clan. It was divided into the Main Family and the Branch Family. The Branch Family was responsible for protecting the Main Family, and its members were branded with the Caged Bird Seal. Once that seal was placed on them, their lives were in the Main Family's hands.

Sasuke Uchiha easily reached the conclusion that the Hyuga Clan's Main Family would not allow Neji to learn medical ninjutsu.

As for these biological techniques, Sasuke's limited knowledge left him genuinely clueless about what they were.

"What do you need those things for?" Sasuke Uchiha did not understand.

Rather than answer, Neji looked gravely at Sasuke Uchiha. "Can I trust you?"

Seeing the doubt mixed into Neji's solemn expression, Sasuke Uchiha grew agitated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said," Neji replied evenly.

"You're insulting the honor of the Uchiha Clan!" Sasuke said in a low voice.

"Then I'll tell you," Neji said calmly.

Over this time, they had essentially become good friends. But what Neji intended to do was a serious matter. One careless mistake could cost him his life, so he had no choice but to be cautious.

"Hmph!" Sasuke Uchiha snorted coldly at his reply.

"The truth is, I know a special way to become stronger," Neji said. "It requires medical ninjutsu and techniques related to biology."

Sasuke Uchiha gave him a doubtful look.

"Don't worry about all that. Just get those two things for me through the Ninja Cat Clan's channels." Neji did not want to explain too much.

Even if he explained, Sasuke might not understand at this point. And even if he understood, he might not support it.

Sasuke Uchiha asked with complete seriousness, "Will it really make me stronger?"

Neji looked at him and thought for a moment. "Yes."

"All right, count me in, then. I'll summon a ninja cat tomorrow." Sasuke Uchiha no longer hesitated.

"You want in too? Do you even know my actual plan?" Neji was speechless.

The corners of Sasuke Uchiha's mouth rose. "I don't, but I know you wouldn't hurt yourself. I can tell you're just like me. In your eyes, I saw the same darkness that's in mine!"

Neji gave a strange smile. "Just don't get scared when the time comes."

After school the next day, Neji followed Sasuke Uchiha into the deserted Uchiha Clan Compound and went to Sasuke Uchiha's home.

"Byakugan!" Veins bulged faintly around Neji's eyes as he used his Byakugan to check whether anyone was watching them.

"We're clear. No one's watching." Neji did not deactivate his Byakugan, keeping it active the entire time.

Sasuke knew this was important. The fact that Neji had secretly approached him to do this meant it was something that could not be brought into the open, so caution was only natural.