"My body…" Bai's heart sank in alarm.
In that very instant, as the anesthetic began to wear off, Neji lunged forward, closing the distance with a swift punch aimed straight at Bai.
But Bai's reaction was equally swift he dispelled the lingering effects of the anesthetic and called out, "Ice Release: Ice Rock Dome of Magnificent Nothingness!"
A shimmering wall of ice erupted between them, halting Neji's advance.
Neji sneered, his palms glowing with a surge of Gentle Fist chakra. "Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists."
Crack
The ice wall shattered under the weight of his strike, fragments scattering like glass under pressure.
"Eight Trigrams…"
In Bai's widened eyes, disbelief was written plain as day Neji had already slipped to his flank.
"Two Palms… Four Palms… Eight Palms…"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Neji's hands struck with blinding speed, each hit sealing another of Bai's chakra points.
Meanwhile, the battle between Might Guy and Zabuza was reaching its climax. Zabuza crashed onto the bridge deck with bone-snapping force, both arms clearly broken.
"Behold my ultimate attack, The Little Finger Strike!" Guy bellowed.
"What? Little Finger Strike?!" Neji, still dealing with Bai, shuddered at the thought.
That technique was infamous it could damage the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. If Guy unleashed it here, the whole bridge might collapse.
Realizing the danger, Neji didn't waste another second. Slinging Lee over one shoulder and scooping up Tenten in his arms, he sprinted toward the shore.
"Mr. Zabuza…"
Bai, somehow summoning a final burst of strength, appeared before Zabuza in the blink of an eye.
Boom… BOOM
The next moment, the bridge split in half, crumbling in a deafening explosion.
Neji stared in stunned silence, unsure what to say.
That... might have been overkill.
Cough… Cough…
"Tch. I thought you lot were something special. Turns out you're not much at all."
A voice rang out from the other end of the shattered bridge.
Everyone turned toward the sound
A group of ragtag thugs approached, led by a squat man with a smug grin. None of them bore the air of trained shinobi. They clutched assorted weapons, but looked more like bandits than any kind of military force.
"It's him, Kado!" Tazuna, now back at Neji's side, pointed a trembling finger. "That short one… That's Kado."
"Kado?" Neji glanced at the man, then looked away again.
A dead man walking.
"So, this is your great power? You can't even handle a bunch of genin." Kado sneered at the crumpled form of Bai lying at Guy's feet.
"And you Demon of the Hidden Mist? Pathetic."
"What did you say?" Zabuza, face twisted with fury, roared. "Apologize to Bai!"
"Are you joking?" Kado laughed mockingly. "That piece of trash? You think he's worth an apology from me?"
"Hey! You've gone too far!" Guy interjected. "Those two are skilled shinobi who fought with all they had!"
"Shinobi? Those two? They're nothing but hunted dogs." Kado's tone dripped with contempt.
Guy snorted, half in disbelief. "Zabuza, you're really going to die for someone like this?"
Even in death, a shinobi deserved respect. For this despicable little man to spout off like that what gave him the audacity? These thugs? This mob of fools?
Even in his wounded state, Zabuza could have wiped them out without much effort.
Zabuza struggled to his feet. "Hey, Guy. Give me a kunai."
"Oh." Guy understood without explanation and handed it over.
"Thanks." Zabuza clamped the kunai between his teeth and charged.
"You think you can touch Lord Kado in front of us?" the thugs scoffed.
But their laughter died swiftly. They hadn't expected what came next.
Zabuza became a blur. The kunai flashed. Kado dropped dead where he stood. Then Zabuza tore through the others with terrifying speed and merciless efficiency. They never stood a chance.
"S-Spare us! We were wrong!"
"Run! RUN"
Screams filled the air, but not a single one of them survived.
And then Zabuza, his body drained of blood, collapsed.
Guy looked across the bloody bridge, whispering, "The mission's over."
"…Yeah."
"Over? Over?! The bridge is destroyed! You think you can just leave it at that?!" Tazuna exploded, furious.
Guy laughed heartily. "So we've been found out! Haha! That's the fire of youth!"
"Honestly… Now we've got to build the whole thing again," Tazuna muttered in exasperation.
"Neji…"
Neji suddenly heard a soft, strange voice by his ear.
He looked down to see Tenten, her face flushed crimson, lying in his arms with a mix of embarrassment and awkward delight.
Neji's heart skipped he'd been too busy watching the fight, completely forgetting to set her down.
Though… she was quite comfortable to hold.
Tenten whispered shyly, "Um… Neji, you can put me down now…"
"Ahem…" Neji coughed awkwardly and quickly let her go.
"Host has executed a Princess Carry on Tenten. Reward acquired: [Summoning Technique: Equipment]."
Summoning Technique (Equipment): An alternative summoning method that allows pre-stored objects or tools to be summoned instantly to the user's location, without requiring a blood contract.
As the system's voice faded, Neji glanced at Tenten. Seems like she wouldn't be let off the hook that easily either.
This was practically a portable storage system.
Several days later, the group held a quiet burial for Zabuza and Bai before returning to the Hidden Leaf.
Upon their return, Guy vanished almost immediately. Neji didn't need to ask. It was obvious Guy had gone to report their mission.
To think they'd gone up against the Demon of the Hidden Mist… this should've been classified as an S-rank mission.
For genin to complete something of that magnitude… it would open doors for all of them.
Still, Neji wasn't too interested in that.
The Chunin Exams were approaching. That was what he was truly concerned about.
Gaara. Orochimaru. This exam was going to be anything but peaceful.
"Finally! We're back in the village! I'm going to run 500 laps around Konoha!" Lee shouted, brimming with energy.
His words soured the mood immediately. Both Neji and Tenten grimaced.
"Hmph! It's all Guy-sensei's fault for going overboard. We had to help rebuild the damn bridge for days," Tenten grumbled.
"It's all part of training," Lee replied cheerfully.
Neji and Tenten exchanged a look.
Hopeless.
They walked on, chatting as they went, and before long, they found themselves at a training ground.
"Hey, Neji… That person over there…" Lee blinked and pointed. "She has the same eyes as you."
"What?" Neji followed his gaze and saw Hinata, down on one knee and breathing heavily.
Standing nearby were three others and a dog.
Neji immediately understood. That would be Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, and his pup, Akamaru.
And their instructor… Yūhi Kurenai.
Come to think of it, he'd been in this world for quite a while now, but had yet to meet most of the major characters.
He took a step forward.
"Let's go have a look."