All of this began because of a single girl a red-haired girl among them.
"Big bro, bringing this girl along for the Chūnin Exams was the best decision we've made."
"With this walking med-kit, we actually stand a chance."
"Still, the people in this exam are all monsters. Just keeping our scroll safe is already a struggle. It's all down to luck now."
The two men walking in front laughed loudly, never once considering the girl behind them as a comrade.
If you looked closely, you'd see that the back of the girl's hands was covered in bite marks, a dense collection that told a silent tale.
"Mom…" the girl murmured between quiet sobs.
"Shut up, brat. Cry again, and I'll kill you," one of the men barked in warning.
But the moment they turned their heads, two palms appeared in their vision, growing rapidly larger at an impossible speed.
Bang!
That was the sound of bones shattering.
The boy dusted off his hands, walked to the riverbank nearby, and rinsed them clean. Then he returned to the red-haired girl.
The girl stared at the refined-looking boy in front of her, and oddly, didn't feel much fear. Perhaps it was because she couldn't sense any killing intent or malice from him.
Still, she couldn't help but ask, "Are you here to capture me too?"
Years of torment had eroded her ability to trust. Even though the boy before her didn't seem hostile, she found it hard to believe in anyone anymore.
"No, I'm here to save you."
"Save me?"
"Yes. Will you come with me?"
"Go with you… where?"
"Home."
That one word home seemed to pluck a chord deep within the girl's heart. She stared at the boy in a daze. After a moment's thought, she finally reached out and placed her hand in his.
"Host has made contact with Karin Uzumaki. Reward acquired: [Kagura Shingan]."
Kagura Shingan (Kagura Mind's Eye): A sensory ability of extraordinary range and precision. It allows the user to perceive distant chakra signatures in intricate detail. By closing their eyes and opening the Mind's Eye, the user can sense all abnormal movements within several dozen kilometers. It's one of the most powerful detection techniques in existence. If the chakra is previously known, the user can pinpoint its exact location, direction of movement, number of individuals, characteristics, and even their speed.
To think that just holding hands could trigger a reward of this level.
Neji gave Karin a long, thoughtful look. Could it be that the entire reward pool for the Uzumaki clan was bundled into this one girl?
Now that he thought about it, that seemed likely.
Among the remaining female members of the Uzumaki clan, Karin was the only one left.
The sealing techniques of the Uzumaki a force that once inspired dread throughout the shinobi world could suppress even the Nine-Tails. The more Neji considered it, the more excited he became.
No. This kind of treasure couldn't be allowed to return to the Hidden Grass Village. She had to be tied to his side.
Besides, Karin herself didn't seem to have any attachment to Grass. All it would take was a few words.
Satisfied, Neji eagerly activated the Kagura Mind's Eye. As expected, the power was incredible he could sense practically the entire Forest of Death within his chakra perception range.
And that was how he quickly located Tenten and Lee.
"Wait… is that… Orochimaru?"
To his surprise, he'd picked up on something unexpected. The very Orochimaru he'd been trying to locate all night had just casually entered his sensory field.
The Kagura Mind's Eye was indeed powerful. Which begged the question…
"Should I go after Orochimaru?" Neji mused.
There were still plenty of valuable things on Orochimaru that hadn't dropped yet: the White Phosphorus Serpent, the Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes, and, of course, Edo Tensei (Reanimation Jutsu).
After defeating the Sound Trio, Neji had naturally acquired their Earth Scroll, meaning Team 9 had now completed the second exam.
He had two options: pursue Orochimaru and squeeze every last drop from him, or head for the tower and calmly wait for the next round.
"This is a golden opportunity."
In the end, Neji chose to take Karin and go straight to the tower.
Orochimaru was already wary of him. Neji was still too weak at best, he could catch him off guard for a moment. If he tried to fight head-on, he might just end up dead.
There was still time. No need to rush. Enjoying the process was important too.
Once reunited with Tenten and Lee, Neji took out the Heaven and Earth Scrolls.
"No need to wait anymore. Let's head inside."
"These are the Heaven and Earth Scrolls!" Tenten gasped. She hadn't expected Neji to return having already cleared the exam.
"Ran into three overconfident Sound ninja. Took them down on the way," Neji replied casually.
Of course, this meant that Naruto and Sasuke's team now had zero scrolls, but Neji didn't spare them a thought. Kabuto would take care of them anyway.
Only two days had passed, and many teams still hadn't arrived. Having cleared the second round, Neji and his team took time to rest.
Karin hadn't officially passed the exam, but as a participant, she was still given a room.
In his room, Neji opened his status panel and sighed. It all came down to hardware limitations.
[Host: Hyūga Neji]
[Age: 13]
[Chakra Nature: Fire, Earth, Water, Wind, Lightning]
[Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan (Pure)]
[Taijutsu: Gentle Fist, Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation, Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, Twin Lion Fists, Eight Trigrams Protective Sixty-Four Palms, Cherry Blossom Clash]
[Ninjutsu: Clone Techniques (Transformation, Substitution, Shadow Clone), Fire Style: Great Fireball, Mystic Palm, Summoning (Tools), Intimidation, All-Killing Ash Bones, Mind Sphere, Fire Style: Dragon Fire, Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet, Earth Style: Earth Wall, Flame Bullet, Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, Serpent, Eight-Headed Serpent Technique, Orochimaru-Style Body Replacement, Chakra Scalpel, Kagura Mind's Eye]
[Overall Strength: Elite Jōnin]
Even with All-Killing Ash Bones and Intimidation techniques both of which could threaten Kage-level opponents his chakra reserves were still lacking. If not for that, he'd already be Kage level.
"My current situation…"
Neji suddenly thought of Kakashi. Their problems were similar chakra deficiency.
"These techniques… each one is more chakra-intensive than the last."
Looks like he'd need to find more kunoichi like Tsunade or at least those who could help boost his chakra.
"For now, let's just focus on training my chakra reserves."
Time passed slowly, and before long, the day of the individual battles arrived.
Inside the tower, many high-ranking officials had already assembled.
From the hundreds of original participants in the Chūnin Exams, only twenty-one remained.
Though the first written test had cut down a large portion, it was the brutal battles of the Forest of Death that had disqualified most.
Down below, the crowd scanned their surroundings, eyes wide with disbelief. The Chūnin Exams were far more intense than expected.
"So this is the Chūnin Exams," Hinata murmured. "The competition is fierce."
Neji stood silently among the twenty-one, observing everyone around him.
After the death of the Sound Trio, three unfamiliar ninja had taken their place. Neji didn't care about them. What he really wanted to know was whether the matchups had changed.
"Neji-nii-san…"