Chapter 597: Neji: I Want to Climb to the Very Top, Step by Step
"You all have to help me prove it to the Hokage-sama. I'm not a Bond-Type Ninja. I just like small animals!"
With a relieved expression, Neji set the dog down on the ground and looked at everyone.
"Then how are you going to explain what happened with Naruto just now, Neji?"
Seeing that Neji still refused to repent and remained obsessed with power, Tenten let out a sigh.
"You're too naïve, Tenten. Didn't you see Naruto's appearance before he left? I can simply say that the reason I threatened him was because I wanted that form of Naruto. Naruto was the one who misunderstood."
Neji looked incredibly pleased with himself.
He was referring to Naruto's Nine-Tails Mode, where he turned into a furry.
As a fellow Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, the Hokage-sama would surely understand that. She would definitely understand him.
Tenten fell into despair.
Neji was right.
If that was his explanation, then he really could pull off the ultimate comeback.
But just as Tenten was losing hope...
The heroes arrived.
"Neji, you're feeling pretty proud of yourself, aren't you?"
Guy walked up to Neji with a grave expression.
Standing beside him were Kakashi and Rock Lee.
The two flanked Guy, staring silently at Neji.
For some reason, Neji felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine.
"It's true. With the excuse you just gave, you really can prove your innocence."
"But you've overlooked one thing."
Kakashi finally spoke.
"W-What thing?"
A terrible feeling washed over Neji.
He swallowed hard but didn't dare run.
The Hokage's order had been for him to stay here. If he left now, no matter the reason, he'd never get another chance to turn things around.
"The Hokage-sama has gone to deal with the Hyuga Clan. It'll be quite a while before she returns."
"The biggest mistake you made... was proudly telling us your plan ahead of time."
Guy continued from where Kakashi left off as he slowly walked toward Neji.
"I was wrong! I'm sorry! Guy-sensei, I was wrong! I shouldn't have used you or threatened you into helping me deal with Naruto!"
Neji had no idea what the three of them intended to do.
To make sure he survived until the Hokage returned, and to ensure they would testify on his behalf, all he could do was apologize and beg for mercy.
Unfortunately...
He had apologized for the wrong thing.
The three of them weren't angry because he had used or threatened them.
In fact...
Being caught in the middle of their "teacher-student free-for-all" had been a strangely exciting experience for them.
The thing Neji absolutely should not have done...
Was lay a hand on the dog.
Thanks to Naruto, the three of them had just transformed from Bond-Type Ninjas into furries.
They had only just started setting their sights on that dog.
It could be said...
That dog was the moonlight of their first love—the one that opened the door to the furry world for them.
And what happened?
While Kakashi and Guy were arguing over who deserved the dog...
Neji swooped in first and took it away.
It was no different from stealing someone else's lover right in front of them.
Even worse...
Neji didn't genuinely like the dog at all.
He was merely using it as a tool to climb back to the peak of power.
To them, this was trampling on and insulting their feelings.
It was absolutely unforgivable!
"Neji, the more desperately someone wants something, the more likely they are to lose it."
"You trampled on your feelings for the dog in pursuit of power."
"So today, we'll completely destroy your path back to the top... and wake you up!"
Like a certain character from those philosophical videos, Guy casually tore off his green jumpsuit.
"Neji, turn back now! It's not too late! Guy-sensei will forgive you!"
Tenten pleaded earnestly from the side.
"No!!! Guy-sensei! Tenten! You don't understand me at all!"
"You have no idea how I was bullied in the Hyuga Clan when I was a child!"
"Those people from the Main Family weren't human!"
"They removed my testicles!"
"They even forced me to dress like a girl and called me 'Nejiko'!"
"They secretly dug up my father's ashes, disguised them as protein powder, and made me eat them!"
"Konoha... What kind of broken place is this?! This damned place! This damned place! This damned place!"
"I'll never let anyone bully me again!"
"I want to climb higher! Step by step! Step by step! Step by step!"
"I want to stand above everyone else!"
"I want to be second only to one person and above ten thousand!"
Neji screamed hysterically.
At this moment, the damage caused by the Will of Bullying was displayed in full.
Although Naruto's real body had already left...
One of the Shadow Clones he had left behind in the house quietly stood in the corner, silently watching everything.
Even though the earlier developments had been utterly bizarre...
At this point, the audience outside, along with Kushina, Kakashi, and the others, all breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally...
Things had returned to the right track.
Naruto had finally witnessed the true dangers of the Will of Bullying.
The only thing that left the audience puzzled...
Was whether the Neji of the real ninja world had also suffered bullying.
Had his testicles also been removed?
...It didn't seem impossible.
After all, no one had ever checked.
Members of the Hyuga Clan normally wouldn't activate their Byakugan just to see whether Neji still had testicles.
"Neji, who says we don't understand?"
"My father, Might Duy, the Eternal Genin, and I could only accept the dirtiest and worst missions ever since I was little."
"Time after time, we'd be sent to repair clogged drains for rich women, replace light bulbs, or clean kitchens."
"Every mission lasted for hours."
"And we had to endure all kinds of... ninja tool tests."
"Do you think I forbid Tenten from controlling shuriken with steel wires for no reason?"
"It's because seeing them gives me psychological trauma!"
"Do you think I became an acorn for no reason?"
"It's because I was hurt when I was young!"
"Do you think I stopped wanting to train taijutsu?"
"Back then, building my body was only to satisfy those rich women. I never wanted to train again!"
"And in the end... my father died during one of those missions."
"That time, he had to entertain seven wealthy women from Kirigakure who were visiting Konoha."
"They were known as the Seven Women of the Ninja Way."
"Each one possessed extraordinary skills."
"Their fighting spirit and endurance amazed everyone."
"Even though Father used every trick he had... even unleashing the Five-Day Breathing Technique that he had trained for years..."
"He only managed to defeat four of them before falling on the spot."
Guy spoke through tears.
Neji stood there in shock.
He had never imagined that the seemingly cheerful Guy-sensei had such a tragic past.
He had always thought...
If only he hadn't been born into the prestigious Hyuga Clan...
If he had been an ordinary civilian...
Maybe his life would have been better.
Now he realized he had been wrong.
Even civilians couldn't escape.
"And do you really think Kakashi had it any better?"
Guy turned toward Kakashi.
"You all probably think that because Kakashi became a famous ninja, and because his father was the mighty White Fang of Konoha, he must have had a wonderful childhood, right?"
"You couldn't be more wrong!"
"They deliberately manipulated the young Kakashi, who couldn't yet tell right from wrong, into performing under the alias 'Little Puppet Brother' for rich women."
"The first time Kakashi and I met... was during one of those free-for-alls."
"Do you know why Kakashi wears a mask?"
"Because his face was already memorized by the upper ranks of the ninja world."
"To sever himself from that past, he had no choice but to wear a mask."
"That way... no one would recognize that Kakashi was once the famous 'Little Puppet Brother.'"
Without mercy, Guy exposed Kakashi's past.
(End of this chapter)