Chapter 547: Neji’s Perspective

In a corner of the Hidden Leaf Village commercial district, the shops had long since closed for the night.

The moonlight was like water, quietly spilling over the tiled roofs, coating the area in a layer of silvery radiance.

Tenten stretched her body, lying somewhat lazily on the roof of her own weapon shop, hands cradling the back of her head as she gazed at the bright, clear moon overhead.

The night breeze was slightly cool, brushing against her hair and cheeks, bringing a rare moment of tranquility.

Beside her, two familiar figures kept her company.

Hyuga Neji sat cross-legged with his back straight. His white eyes appeared exceptionally cold under the moonlight; he seemed to be regulating his breath, or perhaps, lost in thought.

Rock Lee, meanwhile, was on a nearby roof ridge, performing push-ups with extreme speed and astonishingly standard form. Sweat had already soaked his green training suit, shimmering in the moonlight as he growled, "One thousand nine hundred seventy-eight! One thousand nine hundred seventy-nine!"

"Ah... it’s good," Tenten gazed at the starry sky, sighing softly. "You’re both back. It’s really good."

She was referring to Neji and Rock Lee, as well as all the comrades who had returned safely from the recent series of upheavals and missions.

Under the great tide of unification in the Ninja World, Hidden Leaf Village’s Ninjas had also experienced much rushing about and fighting.

It was just... She tilted her head to look at the two beside her, unable to help but complain internally: these two guys were just too unromantic.

Such beautiful moonlight, such a rare, leisurely night, and they were all on the roof enjoying it, yet one was meditating and the other was exercising like crazy!

Couldn’t they just stop, properly look at the moon, and chat?

Perhaps having heard Tenten’s internal monologue, or perhaps just having finished regulating his breath, Neji turned his pure Byakugan toward Tenten. His gaze was calm and ripple-free, as if it could see through the human heart.

"Following in the footsteps of the Sixth Hokage, victory is inevitable." Neji spoke suddenly, his voice as calm as his gaze, yet carrying an unquestionable certainty.

"The strategies he formulates, the power he displays, and the path he chooses all keep us moving in the right direction. Although the previous missions had their twists and turns, the results were exactly as expected."

"Eh?" Upon hearing this, Tenten was surprised and propped up half her body, looking at Neji with clear astonishment on her face.

"This doesn’t sound like something you would say, Neji!"

In her impression, especially a while ago, whenever Neji mentioned Naruto, although he wouldn’t use malicious words, he always felt like he was gritting his teeth. At the very least, it was with a kind of complex annoyance.

After all, the two young ladies of the Hyuga Clan, Hinata and Hanabi, were both deeply infatuated with Naruto; this was no secret in Hidden Leaf Village.

And Neji, ever since he completely broke free from the shackles of the Main and Branch families and his mindset shifted, that latent "sister-complex" trait seemed to have awakened.

Toward Naruto, who was highly likely to become the future partner of his two younger sisters—his "quasi-brother-in-law"—he found him disagreeable no matter how he looked at him, always feeling that this blond kid had snatched away his family’s precious sisters.

Neji seemed to see through Tenten’s thoughts. He averted his gaze, looking back at the distant moon, his tone remaining calm: "Regardless of my personal likes or dislikes, the strength of the Sixth Hokage is beyond doubt."

"He has not only reached a height in personal power that is difficult for ordinary people to attain, but what is even more rare is..." He paused. "In the previous expansion campaigns, I noticed that every time before taking action against a target village, he would leave them enough time to prioritize evacuating civilians and non-combatants, minimizing unnecessary casualties as much as possible."

"This is completely different from many past wartime actions that used any means necessary to achieve their goals."

Neji did not like Naruto; this was largely out of selfishness and an older brother’s protective desire for his sisters.

But setting aside that layer of emotion, as a Ninja, as a Hyuga Genius who had experienced the cruelty of war and pondered the path of the Ninja, he genuinely admired the strength, vision, and consideration for "people" that Naruto displayed.

Strength and benevolence coexisting—this is the true demeanor of a powerhouse.

"That’s right! Naruto is the very model of hot-blooded youth, constantly improving and surpassing his limits!"

Rock Lee, who was doing his two-thousandth push-up nearby, suddenly sprang to his feet. His whole body was steaming, his eyes burning with raging flames as he loudly chimed in: "So we cannot fall too far behind!"

"We must put in more effort and sweat to keep close to the footsteps of our youth leader! Alright! Next is one thousand squats!"

Saying this, Rock Lee really began doing squats again with astonishing speed and standard form, while counting aloud.

Tenten and Neji looked sideways at the same time, gazing at the green figure who was sweating under the moonlight, acting like a perpetual motion machine. Both of them revealed somewhat helpless smiles.

Although Rock Lee was extremely, extremely, extremely hardworking, and his hot-blooded spirit of never giving up was admirable, but... if one could catch up to the Naruto who could destroy three great nations single-handedly just by relying on such pure taijutsu training... then the Ninja World would have long been in chaos, and the taijutsu school would have long unified the world.

Naruto’s progress had long since exceeded the scope of what ordinary Ninjas could comprehend; it was simply the power of a god. Rock Lee’s path was equally worthy of respect, but these were two completely different, yet equally difficult, roads to the Peak.

"Well, forget it." Tenten lay back down, a smile on her lips. "Having a goal and being willing to work hard is a good thing after all. At least looking at you guys, I feel like I can’t be too lazy myself."

Neji also nodded slightly, not saying anything more, closing his eyes again to continue his breathing exercises.

On the roof, only the moonlight, the breeze, Tenten’s sighs, Neji’s quietude, and Rock Lee’s never-ending, youth-filled exercise counting remained.

The peaceful moon-viewing time did not last long. Just as Tenten was sighing, Neji was regulating his breath, and Rock Lee was sweating profusely.

Boom! A powerful, violent, purple Chakra filled with cold anger and hatred suddenly erupted like a long-suppressed volcano, shooting into the sky from the location of the Uchiha clan grounds without any warning!

Even from a great distance, the three members of Guys team could clearly feel the intense emotional fluctuations contained within that Chakra, as if it were about to tear the surrounding air apart!

"!" "Something’s wrong!" "Enemy attack?!" The three on the roof instantly entered a state of maximum alert.

Tenten did a kip-up to her feet, her hand already reaching for the ninja tool pouch behind her waist.

Rock Lee’s squatting motion came to an abrupt halt, maintaining a half-squat position, his entire body’s muscles tensed, vigilantly looking toward the source of the Chakra eruption.

Neji reacted the fastest. Almost at the same moment the Chakra erupted, the veins around his eyes bulged, and his pure Byakugan instantly activated. His vision pierced through layers of buildings and the night, precisely locking onto Uchiha Sasuke’s home.

"This Chakra signature... is it Sasuke?!"

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