"What?!"
Tracing the kunai to its origin, they finally noticed Tenten, darting swiftly around the perimeter.
"Heh, just a girl hiding in the shadows tossing weapons. As long as we keep our eyes open, she's no threat."
Anyone with common sense knew a kunai to the forehead could be fatal but landing that hit, especially on a ninja, was no easy feat.
Neji sneered. "Underestimating us will cost you."
Tenten's skill with weapons? Unerring. Every throw, dead-on.
"Hmph! You'd better worry about yourselves first."
Suddenly, the two Sound ninjas flanked Neji and Lee, forming hand seals in a blur and slamming their palms to the ground.
"Water Style: Rain Formation!"
"Lightning Style: Ground Surge!"
Twin streams of water and lightning surged in from both sides. Neji and Lee leapt backward instantly.
With water amplifying conductivity, the lightning's power expanded dramatically Neji wasn't foolish enough to try and test it head-on.
At that very moment, dozens of kunai shot toward them. Neji shoved Lee out of the way and his chakra surged forth, erupting from his tenketsu points.
"Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation!"
A dome of chakra enveloped Neji, spinning at high speed.
The moment the kunai touched the barrier, they were instantly deflected in all directions.
In a blur, Neji vaulted to the treetops.
"Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!"
Neji sent out a barrage of vacuum strikes from a distance waves of invisible force rippled out, knocking several genin to the ground before they even realized what had hit them.
"Perfect timing."
"Weapon Barrage!"
Tenten unrolled a scroll, and dozens of weapons spilled forth in a glittering cascade, raining down upon the fallen genin and finishing them off.
The entire sequence played out in seconds executed with flawless coordination. Even the chunin among them didn't have time to react.
"So that's the Hyūga clan's taijutsu… impressive." The enemy chunin couldn't help but steel themselves.
And those two brats? That teamwork was shockingly tight. Compared to their own village's genin, the gap was stark. It was clear Konoha was on another level, even at the lower ranks.
Still… Konoha wouldn't have long to enjoy its peace.
"Leaf Hurricane!"
Lee appeared in front of them in a blink, his leg sweeping toward their heads in a vicious arc.
"Step back we'll handle it from here." One of the chunin raised an arm to block Lee's strike, calling to Takeshi Takeda behind him.
After witnessing Neji's flawless offense and defense, long and short range taijutsu, they weren't about to take more chances.
As for Takeda he was barely better than a cripple at this point. Keeping him around would only drag them down.
Takeda understood that too. He turned and dashed deeper into the forest, but not before casting a venomous glare at Neji.
"This grudge… I won't forget."
Neji and Lee made to give chase.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
A voice rang out, and both turned in time to see a stream of flame blasting straight toward them.
They dodged swiftly, their eyes narrowing at the final two enemy chunin who now stood in their way.
"If you want to pass, you'll have to get through us first."
"Tenten, you" Lee began.
Whoosh!
Before he could finish, a shadow streaked past them and smashed into an old tree.
They all froze when they saw who it was.
"Takeshi Takeda?"
Neji's gaze shot to the far side of the clearing.
"Gai-sensei! You're back!" Tenten shouted joyfully from the trees.
Might Guy stepped out from the woods, dragging a corpse behind him and laughing sheepishly.
"Haha! That guy put up a decent fight… took me a bit longer than I thought."
Neji wasn't buying it. As if by coincidence, he just happened to return the moment Takeda tried to escape?
Please.
Guy's strength far exceeded that of a typical jonin he'd probably finished the fight ages ago and had just been watching them in secret.
"Yosh! The Blue Beast of Konoha… has ARRIVED!"
In the next instant, Guy vanished.
Before anyone could blink, he was in front of one of the chunin and with a dull thud, the man flew backwards, embedding into a boulder.
Guy's silhouette flickered again and vanished.
"S-So fast!" Neji, eyes wide and Byakugan active, muttered in disbelief. "Even my Byakugan could barely keep up…"
So this was the power of a special jonin?
No… this was the power of Might Guy.
Neji had expected something like this, but witnessing it firsthand still left him shaken. Even so, this wasn't the kind of strength he yearned for.
He wouldn't feel safe until he was the strongest undisputed.
"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
The last Sound ninja panicked, rushing to form hand seals. A dragon-shaped mass of earth erupted from the ground, launching rocks from its gaping maw.
Boom!
Guy didn't even flinch. He smashed through the barrage with a single punch, his raw strength punching clean through the earth dragon and slamming into the ninja's chest.
The Sound ninja coughed up a fountain of blood and tried to flee but Guy was already there.
Slash!
With a clean cut, he slit the man's throat.
Two chunin, gone in the blink of an eye.
Even Neji felt a chill. It was brutal but he got used to it quickly.
"Mission accomplished." Guy gave a thumbs-up, his teeth gleaming.
"You all did great on this mission. In every aspect, you've grown not just in skill, but in spirit. That's the fire of youth!"
He burst out laughing.
"Since it's all done, let's head back. I, for one, can't wait to get out of this filthy place," Tenten said with a sigh, looking down at her muddy clothes.
"Alright! Toward Konoha we go run with the power of youth!"
After burning the enemy corpses, the team moved swiftly back toward the village.
Over a day later, they finally arrived at the village gates.
"We're back at last," Neji said quietly.
This mission had changed him. He'd seen blood.
More than that, he'd grown gained combat experience and sharpened his instincts.
And the most important lesson?
Be decisive. Always.
Hokage's Office
Outside the door, the team could hear a flurry of voices from within.
Just as they leaned in to eavesdrop, Guy shoved the door open without hesitation.
Truly a man of direct action.
"Haha! We're back!" he boomed.
"Oh? Guy? You're back already?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up, surprised.
He'd expected the mission to take five days yet here they were in three.
"If that's the case… maybe I can give them this next task," the Hokage thought to himself.
"A swift completion is the mark of youth! Haha… Oh? Kakashi, you're here too?" Guy laughed again.
Indeed, Kakashi was present and so was Team Seven.
Neji's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked over the so-called "cheat-class" of the Leaf Village.
The prodigies. The favorites.
Team Seven.