It was essential to get Rock Lee out of the way, otherwise, the fight wouldn't work.
Both the Transformation Jutsu and Shadow Clone Jutsu had one thing in common: "Don't touch me."
As soon as they were attacked, they would instantly revert to their original forms.
With his identity hidden, Naruto couldn't use the Rasengan, couldn't pull things from his spatial dimension, couldn't use his old signature moves, and couldn't use anything that would reveal his identity.
In a situation where he was basically limited to taijutsu and regular ninja techniques, fighting just Neji was already difficult enough. Adding Rock Lee would truly make it doubly difficult.
"Neji..." Rock Lee asked through gritted teeth, simultaneously communicating in code words and hand gestures.
When Might Guy wasn't leading the team, Neji was the backbone of their squad. Rock Lee and Tenten would always ask for Neji's opinion first when encountering major issues.
Naruto saw it all but didn't stop them.
He trusted his brother-in-law would make a wise choice because Neji possessed an excellent sense of the bigger picture.
Among the Konoha 12 Rookies, Neji was the most suitable person to be a captain. Although Shikamaru was highly intelligent, his strength was insufficient.
Neji was different. He had strength, a meticulous mind, a strong sense of the overall situation, and considered his teammates. He was proficient in scouting, defense, and offense—making him the undisputed choice for captain.
Naruto agreed with this point, but it didn't prevent him from beating Neji up.
Well, what could he do? He was the brother-in-law, and Neji was the older brother-in-law.
Neji didn't answer Rock Lee. He was assessing the situation. From the slaughtered ants and the recent soccer moves, this enemy was very strong and had Tenten captured. With his and Rock Lee's strength, it would be impossible to stop him before he harmed Tenten.
"Still haven't decided? Do you really think I wouldn't dare to act?" Naruto picked up a blade and brought it closer to Tenten's hair buns. "Tsk tsk tsk, what a pretty little girl. Do you think she'd still be pretty if I shaved her bald?"
Poor thing, just because of her teammate's indecision, she's about to lose this beautiful head of hair. How do you feel about that?
"Wuwuwu..." Tenten couldn't speak because Naruto had gagged her, using her own clothes.
"By the way, my shaving technique isn't very good. If I accidentally scrape off some scalp, don't blame me, okay?"
Naruto's expression was like a demon's, the blade in his hand inching closer to her hair roots.
Seeing the blade's direction was wrong, Neji hastily said, "Lee, do as he says. Leave this side to me."
Rock Lee looked at Tenten, pressured by the blade, his internal hesitation lasting less than a second. He lowered his head, removed his leg weights, and fiercely flung them aside. Before the weights even hit the ground, he was already gone.
Naruto smirked. That bottle of water was indeed ordinary water. Rock Lee could add water to it to increase the "readings," but the desert environment was harsh. At Naruto's speed, a round trip would take at least half an hour, and Rock Lee wouldn't be much faster.
If Rock Lee used the Eight Gates to run, it would take even longer, as the Eight Gates consumed too much chakra and weren't suitable for long-distance sprints.
"Wuwuwu..." Watching her teammates being played by the enemy because of her, Tenten struggled violently.
Then, Naruto tied her to a stone pillar.
You better not move randomly. Just stay here and watch your beloved Neji struggle to take a beating to save you.
"What do you want with me?" Neji guessed.
This person kidnapped Tenten but didn't harm her, and also sent Rock Lee away. His remaining target could only be himself.
"Hahahaha..." Naruto laughed with anger, pacing back and forth. Finally, he pointed at Neji: "Ten years! Do you know how I've lived these ten years!"
"Every day, at four in the morning, I'd wake up to train, and at night, I'd train until I couldn't get up anymore, neglecting food and sleep for years."
As he spoke, Naruto placed his right hand on the sealing jutsu symbol on his left hand. Bang! He summoned a curved saber. The saber was over a meter long, a golden curved blade with a silvery-white edge: "All because of this damn saber!"
The sealing jutsu symbol was very similar to the ones Sasuke wore on both his hands in the original work, because it was Sasuke's, just an outdated version that Naruto had salvaged and modified. He planned to discard it after this use; it was a one-time item.
The saber was an in-game item. Its blade was curved and had a blood groove, crafted entirely from gold and silver. For some unknown reason, whatever the dwarves added made it lose any softness typical of gold and silver, instead giving it very high attack power.
The quality of this saber was below a Mithril Sword, and it wasn't particularly good-looking. Naruto didn't intend to use it again in the future, so he wasn't afraid of exposing it.
Holding the saber, Naruto continued to weave his tale: "Ten years ago, a member of your Hyuga Clan, somehow learning that my family possessed a precious saber, led people to slaughter my household. My parents said they knew nothing, yet they were forced to commit suicide right before their eyes!"
Naruto's anger was laced with sorrow: "My parents died so tragically right before my very eyes!!"
Then, he got more into character: "Finally, they asked me, still a child, and naturally, I knew nothing. I thought they would stop there, but unexpectedly, that clan member of yours discovered my astonishing talent. Fearing my future revenge, he struck me three times, severing my meridians before throwing me off a cliff!"
"Fortunately, I was saved by a master... who maintained my life daily with medicine..."
Naruto spoke voluminously, using flashbacks and digressions to make his story increasingly elaborate.
Meanwhile, the culprit, the Nine-Tails, who had stabbed his parents to death in that lifetime, was listening with great relish. This plot was far more interesting than the TV dramas it watched.
It was a pity this kid wasn't a screenwriter.
Should I discuss it with him?
"Alas, those three strikes were too cruel. Even with the master's full assistance, my meridians could not be fully repaired! Open your eyes and see clearly! This chakra leaking from my entire body, it's all thanks to your Hyuga Clan!"
As Naruto continued to ramble, the story became increasingly bizarre. What began as a Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber plot eventually morphed into a Xuanhuan novel... even introducing an Innate Leaking Body. He had too much chakra, which would cause suspicion, so Naruto gave all his chakra to the Nine-Tails, leaving himself with less than fifty units.
Fearing he might overdo it and reveal his true form, the less than fifty units of chakra he kept were also mixed with Nine-Tails Chakra to enhance its quality.
The chakra that his body automatically recovered was then dispersed using the Second Hokage's Chakra Dissipation Technique.
Neji could indeed see the chakra leaking from Naruto. Not only that, he could also see tiny, blocked chakra pathways inside Naruto's body. It wasn't severe, but it would affect chakra flow.
The blockage was the Nine-Tails' doing; Naruto couldn't perform such an operation.
With a clang, Naruto plunged the curved saber into the ground. He then pulled out a blade he had "borrowed" from Orochimaru's hideout and began to repeatedly wipe it clean. "After my body recovered, I practiced swordsmanship while also investigating your Hyuga Clan's information and searching for my family's precious saber."
Naruto intended to leave this curved saber stuck here; it was a small return gift for kidnapping the "European Emperor" (Tenten).
A gilded, Dragon-Slaying Saber—click to get!
"Heaven does not disappoint the determined! Finally, I have encountered you, the Hyuga Clan's greatest genius, here!"
He wielded the blade and pointed it at Neji: "Today, I will kill you, to honor the spirits of my parents in heaven!"
The story finished, and Tenten was dumbfounded.
[He even liked me falsely?]
From the moment they met, Naruto said he liked her, then kidnapped her, and finally spun this tale. Each twist was sharper than the last, and she, once again, had been taken for a ride.
Naruto pulled out a music player, then took out an exquisite hand crossbow and set them up, aiming at Tenten. He pressed the player, and mournful music began to play, as if accompanying Naruto's demonic voice: "I've set this player to loop. In less than half an hour, it will spring up and trigger the hand crossbow. The crossbow has a mechanism: there's a fifty percent chance it will shoot an arrow, and the other fifty percent chance it will miss."
"Unless you defeat me, the player won't stop. In other words, her 'fate' is entirely in your hands!"
"Show me your full power and let's see how the Hyuga Clan's genius compares to my talent back then."
"You'd better be a genius, so... killing you can bring me pleasure."
His plan had reached its halfway point here.
In the original work, all the Konoha 12 Rookies who participated in this exam had outstanding performances, experiencing various power-ups. Only Neji's performance was too lackluster, apart from when he sealed the leaking chakra of the two tailed beasts while saving Gaara and Fū, which had some presence.
Not only that, even in the subsequent Fourth Great Ninja War, he didn't have any particularly brilliant moments.
This might be related to his protagonist's destiny not being strong enough.
What to do when the Fourth Great Ninja War can't progress? Sacrifice a Hyuga Neji!
If he's sacrificed, how can he still have a protagonist's destiny?
Kishimoto, you can't play like this. What's so bad about my brother-in-law that you just kill him off at the drop of a hat?
Anyway, Naruto couldn't stand Neji's bland performance anymore, so he had to act. If you don't power up, I'll beat you until you do.
If you don't have a protagonist's destiny, I'll arrange one for you.
Now, with Rock Lee gone, facing a strong enemy alone, and his teammate's life depending entirely on his decision, this situation screamed "protagonist's destiny."
Fearing that Neji's power-up might be too strong, Naruto also assigned himself a Xuanhuan version of the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber protagonist persona.
This could offset any destiny suppression.
Elegant piano music echoed through this ancient desert temple. Naruto stood on the wall, holding his saber, gazing down at Neji, who seemed to be making a choice.
Dear brother-in-law, whether you perform brilliantly in your BGM or get beaten as miserably as if run over by a truck, it's all up to you.
To shine or not to shine, it all lies in a single thought.
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