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Kiba shouted while looking up, "Hey! Neji!"
Sasuke glanced at the three people below and said softly, "Tch, they came pretty quickly."
Shikamaru spoke up, "Neji, since the mission is done, come back with us."
Hearing this, Sasuke chuckled softly and turned to look at Neji.
Neji, however, kept his head down as if suppressing some intense emotions, remaining silent.
Sasuke didn't say anything more and simply sat cross-legged on the rock.
"Go up."
Shikamaru whispered, and the three below immediately started moving.
The three of them, along with Akamaru, jumped repeatedly on the cliff, quickly reaching the top and surrounding Sasuke and Neji.
Shikamaru asked, "Sasuke, what do you want with Neji?"
"I want him to become my companion," Sasuke answered directly.
'Tch, if we end up fighting, even though we have the numbers, we probably won't gain much of an advantage. We need to stall the two of them and wait for reinforcements.'
Shikamaru quickly calculated the situation and said politely, "Neji is a ninja of Konoha. If you need help, you can go to Konoha and issue a mission."
"What you're saying makes some sense, but I still prefer for him to be a permanent member of my team," Sasuke smiled at Shikamaru. "Of course, it's his choice. I won't force him."
"Sasuke, you're just as arrogant and annoying as ever!" Kiba, with his fiery temper, was getting angry. "Are you trying to become an enemy of Konoha?"
"That's not what I'm after." Sasuke raised his right hand to support his face. "Like I said, I'm not forcing him."
"Neji," Choji, growing anxious, looked at the still silent Neji, "say something!"
Shikamaru stepped forward and stared at Neji.
"Neji, I didn't report this to the Hokage. Come back with us, and we can pretend this never happened."
"There's no going back," Neji suddenly raised his head, speaking decisively, "I can't go back anymore!"
"Neji, have you made your decision?" Sasuke turned to him.
Neji touched the curse mark on his forehead and answered softly, "Yeah, though I still can't fully trust you, I desperately want to experience freedom, even if it costs me everything."
"Don't worry," Sasuke smiled, "you won't regret it."
"Are you really going to defect, Neji?" Shikamaru shouted sternly.
Neji looked up at Shikamaru and suddenly laughed.
"All along, I convinced myself with the concept of fate and accepted a life where I had no control. Even though my heart was burning with rage, I learned to resign myself to it."
He placed a hand over his heart, his expression becoming serious.
"This is my last struggle. I just want to see if a bird trapped in a cage can really break free and taste freedom."
"You, who have lived your life in happiness, can't understand how I feel."
As he spoke, it seemed like Neji had let go of a heavy burden, and his entire demeanor became relaxed.
"Shikamaru, you're really smart. You noticed a few clues and tracked me down."
Shikamaru sighed, "It's because you two were acting too suspicious, suddenly discussing sensitive topics in public."
"Oh? I thought I've always been that way," Neji said. "After all, back in the first Chunin exam, I talked a lot about those topics."
"It was Sasuke." Shikamaru looked at Sasuke, "You're not someone who cares about others' personal affairs, yet you suddenly started discussing them with Neji. That's what was off."
"…"
'Huh? So it's my fault?' Sasuke felt a bit embarrassed.
He glanced at Neji and then, acting nonchalant, said, "I see."
'So that's it! I thought I got caught last night by the Naka River.' Neji's lips twitched slightly before he casually said, "Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, are you three the only ones? No offense, but just the three of you can't stop Sasuke and me."
"Bastard! Are you looking down on us?" Kiba patted Akamaru's head, crouching down. "Ninja Art, Four Legs Technique!"
"Oh? Are you preparing to fight?" Sasuke stood up, placing his hand on his sword.
Damn!
Such intense pressure!
Shikamaru felt the overwhelming aura radiating from Sasuke, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
"Sasuke, don't attack." Neji suddenly reached out to stop Sasuke. "Leave them to me."
'Heh, worried I'll go too hard on them?' Sasuke glanced at him with a smile, then withdrew his aura and obediently sat back down.
Neji formed hand seals, and the veins around his eyes bulged.
"Byakugan!"
Shikamaru steadied himself and suddenly retreated, shouting, "Attack!"
"Ninja Art, Partial Multi-Size Technique!"
Choji's right hand suddenly enlarged, launching the first attack.
At the same time, Kiba immediately jumped onto Akamaru's back and formed seals.
"Ninja Art, Beast Human Clone!"
With a puff of smoke, two identical Kibas appeared, rushing at Neji with sharp claws.
Neji leaped, dodging Choji's large, heavy hand with agility. He advanced swiftly, preparing his Gentle Fist stance, meeting Kiba's attack head-on.
As Hinata's companion, Kiba was well aware of the power of the Gentle Fist's pressure point strikes and dared not let Neji's attacks land on either him or Akamaru. Instead, he relied on his teamwork with his dog, constantly engaging in a back-and-forth with Neji.
Standing behind, Shikamaru frowned.
As expected, members from different teams lack synergy. Kiba and Choji have no coordination at all.
Now that Kiba and Akamaru were in close combat with Neji, it made it difficult for Choji to intervene.
Shikamaru glanced at Sasuke, who was sitting there enjoying the show.
That guy won't interfere for now. We should focus on capturing Neji first.
Shikamaru crouched down silently, forming hand seals, and his shadow stretched out, moving toward Neji's shadow without making a sound.
Neji suddenly moved, dodging Kiba and Akamaru's strikes while swiftly evading Shikamaru's shadow.
"Trying to ambush me is pointless in front of the Byakugan."
"Tch, of course, I know that," Shikamaru replied, but his shadow continued to chase relentlessly.
Suddenly, Choji's two hands grew large simultaneously, closing in on Neji and compressing his space to dodge.
At the same time, Kiba and Akamaru took their stances.
"Fang over Fang!"
Kiba and Akamaru spun like two tornadoes, rushing toward Neji at high speed.
"Rotation!"
Neji's chakra surged from his body's pressure points as he spun rapidly, forming a large spinning chakra sphere around him.
Boom!
A loud crash echoed as the two tornadoes collided with Neji's Rotation, sending Kiba and Akamaru flying backward.
The moment Neji stopped spinning, he advanced again, dodging Shikamaru's shadow and closing in on Choji.
Choji hurriedly tried to pull his hands back, but Neji's palm was already aimed at his chest.
"Shadow Sewing Technique!"
Shikamaru's shadow chased after Neji, and the shadow on the ground suddenly shot up, turning into sharp black tendrils aimed at Neji's back.
"I told you, ambushes are useless!"
Neji abandoned his attack on Choji, leaping high into the air and stepping on Choji's enlarged arm. Then he leaped again, avoiding Kiba and Akamaru's strike, finally landing in front of Sasuke.