Aside from the way the demon treated them differently, the conversation between Sasuke and Neji went surprisingly smoothly. Since that day, the two had grown noticeably closer.
After classes ended at the Academy, it became a common sight to see Sasuke and Neji walking home together, heading toward the Uchiha compound. Sometimes, Neji would even stay over for the night.
"Sasuke-kun actually invited someone over to his house? That's so strange..." Haruno Sakura said, her face full of curiosity—and a hint of jealousy. She wanted to visit Sasuke's house too!
Yamanaka Ino glanced up and said, "Well, it's Hyūga Neji. It's not that strange. Neji-senpai is a year ahead of us and was the top of his class. It makes sense that excellent people would want to hang out with other excellent people."
Of course, there was another reason—Sasuke and Neji came from similar backgrounds. But Ino kept that to herself, not wanting to upset Sakura.
Sakura quickly sped up, chasing after Neji and Sasuke with a da-da-da of her footsteps. Ino followed closely behind, clearly not intending to give up either.
However, unlike before, Sasuke didn't simply ignore them. Instead, he turned around and politely, but firmly, refused:
"Thank you for your kindness. But I'm sorry—carrying the Uchiha name means I have a mission I must fulfill. Until I achieve my goal, I won't allow myself to be distracted by personal feelings. Please don't waste your time on me."
After speaking, Sasuke bowed deeply.
Startled by his seriousness, Sakura and Ino were left wide-eyed.
Ino quickly collected herself and said, "I understand, Sasuke-kun. You don't have to apologize."
"Yeah, Sasuke-kun... I get it too..." Sakura chimed in awkwardly.
No matter how unwilling she felt, she had no choice but to bury her feelings deep inside. How could she ask Sasuke to let go of his clan's vengeance just to be with her?
The two girls left, downcast. Sasuke let out a small sigh of relief. He wasn't good at dealing with complicated social relationships. Leaving feelings dangling, without rejecting or accepting them, was irresponsible. A clean, decisive rejection was better—it would make things easier when they inevitably stood on opposite sides someday.
"Haruno Sakura is supposed to be your future wife," Neji commented. "I thought you might treat her differently."
Sasuke's expression darkened slightly.
"Neji, tell me... what is it about me that Sakura could even like?"
Neji shook his head.
"I don't know. But I do know that when feelings and interests intertwine, those relationships tend to be much stronger."
If not for the Uchiha Clan's massacre, Sasuke would have never ended up with Sakura. After all, the Uchiha traditionally married within the clan.
Back in the Academy, most of the girls who liked Sasuke were just attracted to his looks. Sakura was one of the few who genuinely fell for him.
But now, with the Uchiha gone, Sasuke had become an ideal catch for a civilian girl: handsome, orphaned, and heir to a massive inheritance. Someone like him was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Even when Sasuke defected from the village in the future, anyone who stayed loyal to him would win Naruto's favor. Later, Sasuke would become one of the strongest shinobi in the world. Being with him was a guaranteed investment. And with Sakura's strong ties to Naruto and Kakashi, she had nothing to fear even if things got messy.
Neji's views were cold and practical—he analyzed Sasuke and Sakura's potential marriage purely in terms of benefits. It reflected his own experiences: in this village, there wasn't much room for pure and selfless "love."
"Whatever. I've already made my position clear to Haruno Sakura," Sasuke said. "I don't need to spend energy guessing how she feels anymore. What's important is moving forward. Right now, we're just reserve genin. There's a lot we can't do. I wonder when we'll finally be free to act without holding back."
Neji's eyes burned with quiet intensity. "Who knows? But one thing's certain—when the village's interests clash with my own, I'll choose myself."
Sasuke nodded. He felt the same.
He was extremely satisfied with Neji as an ally. Neji was calm and rational—not like some of the hot-blooded idiots who were impossible to reason with.
On the other hand, Neji's opinion of Sasuke was... complicated.
Mainly because of that manga.
Unlike the readers who sympathized with Sasuke as the tragic protagonist, Neji couldn't see him in a positive light. He only saw someone who wavered constantly, who failed his wife, daughter, and clan.
And, most unforgivably, someone who had the Rinnegan—the power to overturn life and death—but never even considered resurrecting his parents.
Given Sasuke's connection with Orochimaru at the time, it wouldn't have been difficult to exploit White Zetsu and bug the system to bring a few people back. Yet Sasuke didn't even try. He spent his days wallowing in grief, treating his "resurrection tool" like some meaningless ornament.
Neji couldn't understand him at all.
After learning about the "Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique," Neji had fantasized countless times about pulling his father back from the Pure Land—no matter the cost.
During the war, Konoha had thrown Hyūga branch members onto the frontlines like disposable pawns. Yet Hiashi Hyūga's twin, Hizashi, had died for "peace."
It was laughable, wasn't it?
Kumogakure had started the conflict, Hiashi had killed the attacker in defense, and Konoha chose to "seek reconciliation"—and sacrificed Hizashi to make it happen.
Since Konoha's "peace" could come at the cost of others' lives, Neji figured it was only natural for him to demand the same. Sacrificing someone unimportant to bring back his father? Perfectly reasonable.
...
That night, Neji stayed over at Sasuke's home again.
Around midnight, the two of them slipped out together to hunt.
"You're leaving too many loose ends," Neji said quietly as they walked through the woods. "When someone disappears, their family will stop at nothing to find the truth. The best solution is to wipe out the entire family in one go—target households with simple relationships. It'll save a lot of trouble."
Sasuke accepted the advice humbly. As expected, Neji was even more ruthless than he was.
"Konoha's trying to prevent panic," Neji continued coolly. "They've kept the missing persons cases secret and are investigating quietly. But external pressure is high, so they can't spare too many resources for it. Honestly, the main reason no one's making a big fuss is because the ones missing are all nobodies. If a clan ninja disappeared without a trace, it would've been chaos by now."
Neji's voice remained cold and detached.
In truth, what he wanted most was to destroy the Hyūga Main House. But he wasn't strong enough—yet. He needed to kill more, to gather more strength.
...
After swiftly cleaning up the bodies and destroying the evidence, Neji and Sasuke suddenly felt the ground tremble beneath their feet. At the same time, a strange shockwave assaulted their minds, nearly knocking them off balance.
The dark shadow and the Hyūga ancestor that lurked within them immediately sank deep into their spiritual realms, hiding themselves.
Before long, the previously quiet village of Konoha erupted into noise. Many shinobi gathered in the streets.
"Was that an earthquake?"
"Are we under attack?!"
Neji and Sasuke exchanged a sharp glance.
This was no ordinary earthquake—normal tremors didn't affect the mind like that. The Konoha higher-ups clearly realized it too and soon dispatched ninja teams to investigate.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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