Mid-January, Konoha Year 61 – River Country Canyon
The trio moved swiftly through the forest canopy above the canyon. Haruno Sakura followed behind Karin and Neji. Veins bulged around Neji's eyes as he employed his Byakugan, while Karin, beside him, relayed the ferret's position based on its chakra fluctuations. Sakura, it seemed, served little purpose at the moment.
"We're getting close! The chakra signature is much nearer now. Do you see it?" Karin asked, pointing in a specific direction.
Neji followed her gesture, meticulously scanning the area with his Byakugan for the suspicious target.
"Found it!" Neji suddenly announced. Without waiting for the others' reaction, his speed abruptly increased, rapidly putting distance between them.
"Come on, keep up!" Sakura grabbed Karin's hand, accelerating to follow Neji.
Karin's stamina was flagging by this point. After the long journey and the immediate, non-stop tracking work, sweat beaded on her forehead. Yet, she didn't ask for rest, gritting her teeth and pushing onward.
When Sakura, pulling Karin along, finally reached Neji's location, he was holding a creature somewhat resembling a dog in his right hand.
"Is this the ferret?" Sakura asked, looking at the thin animal with gray fur all over.
"This should be it," Neji confirmed, observing the ferret with his Byakugan.
Sakura took out the photograph for comparison – it was identical. Seeing the creature struggle and bare its teeth in Neji's grasp, Sakura reached out and gently stroked its head.
The moment Sakura touched it, the ferret suddenly calmed down, its eyes losing their fierce glint. Sakura marveled at its remarkably human-like behavior. Beasts with chakra truly are more intelligent than ordinary animals.
"Alright, let's head to that village near Sunagakure to complete the mission handover," Sakura said, taking the ferret from Neji. She was about to put it in her backpack when the creature suddenly zipped up onto her shoulder, nuzzling her neck affectionately with its small head.
"It's so cute! Can I see it?" Karin asked, her feminine instincts awakened by the adorable animal.
"This is our mission target!" Sakura reminded her sternly.
"Oh!" Karin looked disappointed. With Neji nearby, she didn't press the issue.
"But the client isn't here right now, so I guess you can hold it," Sakura added with a soft chuckle, seeing Karin's crestfallen expression.
Karin's eyes instantly lit up. She carefully took the little creature from Sakura. However, the ferret didn't seem nearly as affectionate towards Karin; while it didn't bare its teeth, it tried several times to wriggle out of her arms.
"Can we depart now, Captain?" Neji interjected impatiently, observing the two girls' leisurely pace.
When one dislikes someone, everything that person does becomes irritating. Neji wasn't inherently narrow-minded, but his feeling of powerlessness against fate led him to vent his frustrations onto Sakura.
Coincidentally, Sakura, as a transmigrator, never believed in destiny. If fate truly existed, the Third Hokage would be dead by now, Sasuke would have defected, and her own appearance had shattered the predetermined narrative. If fate were real, the current Sakura would likely just be a sniveling little girl.
Neji had provoked Sakura repeatedly throughout this journey. As captain, Sakura had suppressed her dissatisfaction for the sake of the mission. But now, with their objective nearly complete, she was done tolerating.
"Rest here. Now," Sakura stated, her eyes fixed on Neji, enunciating each word deliberately.
Suddenly pinned by Sakura's icy gaze, the hairs on Neji's body stood on end. The pressure emanating from the small-statured girl made it difficult for him to breathe. His sharp intuition screamed that he was being targeted by a wild beast. His heart involuntarily beat faster.
Impossible! How can she exert such pressure? This feeling... Neji had only experienced something similar when facing Jonin – the tangible sense of a difference in rank. Has she truly become this strong?!
During the Chunin Exams, Neji had been threatened by Sakura. He had sensed her strength then but hadn't believed he would lose in a real fight. Had she intentionally hidden her true power back then? Or, in merely half a year, had she grown to a level he now had to look up to...?
Cold sweat trickled down Neji's temples. His body instinctively adopted the opening stance of the Gentle Fist. This girl... is not someone I can fight head-on!
Neji's current behavior perfectly illustrated his internal conflict. Verbally, he submitted to fate, yet his body reacted in defiance. Facing an opponent he knew he couldn't defeat, Neji still didn't give up resistance...
"What? Want to fight?" Sakura scoffed dismissively. Even a clay figure has some fire. Towards friends, Sakura could be very amiable. Towards someone constantly provoking her like this, only the mission had kept her restrained until now.
Karin watched, bewildered, as the atmosphere instantly grew incredibly tense. She had never seen Sakura like this before. Staring blankly at Sakura, Karin seemed somewhat frightened. Even the ferret in her arms growled uneasily at Neji, looking ready to leap forward and attack at any moment.
"Hmph! I'd be glad to!" Neji forced a smile onto his lips. "Let me see the true strength of the Hokage's disciple."
Veins bulged around his eyes again as he reactivated his Byakugan, staring intently at the unmoving girl before him.
"You know what?" Sakura casually flexed her hands, taking slow steps towards Neji. "Fate is something you create yourself. It's not predetermined from heaven!"
The thump thump of her footsteps reached Neji's ears. Though she was a slender girl, her steps sounded unnervingly heavy. Neji tensed further...
"You don't understand anything! Life is predetermined from the moment you're born!" Neji yelled, almost hysterically. "You're just a commoner! Becoming the Hokage's disciple was nothing but fate's arrangement!"
Hearing this, Sakura stopped, now merely a few dozen steps away from Neji. "I became the Hokage's disciple through my own hard work!"
As she spoke, immense power erupted from beneath her feet. The ground instantly cracked and shattered. In the blink of an eye, Sakura vanished from her spot.
Pow!
Neji saw Sakura disappear, and cold sweat poured down his face. Before he could react, he felt a heavy blow to his stomach. It felt as if his internal organs had been violently rearranged. His face flushed red, hands clutching the point of impact, body doubling over. Neji collapsed to his knees, coughing uncontrollably.
Sakura reappeared to Neji's right, shaking her fist, her expression impassive. "Can we rest now?"
After her confrontation with Hanzo, Sakura's physical capabilities had jumped an entire level. The reason was simple: the combination of Lightning Release Chakra Mode and Creation Rebirth had forcibly catalyzed her physical development, though the price was a reduction in her lifespan. Due to this enhancement, even without activating chakra to bolster her body, dealing with Neji was effortless. In truth, the battle with Hanzo hadn't just boosted her strength; it had also transformed her presence. If before she concealed her edge, now it was fully exposed.
"Cough... cough... I haven't lost yet..."
Sakura paused, turning her head in surprise to look at Neji. He with difficulty stood up from the ground, adopting the Gentle Fist stance once more. Looking at Sakura, he gasped for breath and spoke.
Shaking her head, Sakura stated simply, "You can't beat me."
"Hmph, as long as... as long as I... can still stand... I haven't lost..." Neji declared haltingly, his eyes fixed firmly on Sakura.
"Ai~~" Sakura sighed. After landing that punch, her anger had dissipated, and her head had cleared somewhat. Why did I randomly start a fight with him in the middle of a mission? Once the mission's over, I could beat him until he can't take care of himself; see how he provokes me then. Now, if Tsunade-sensei finds out, she'll definitely be furious. Ai, my bad, my bad. Impulse is the devil.
"If you believe so strongly in fate," Sakura said lightly, "why challenge me when you know you can't win? You're actually constantly resisting fate too."
With that parting shot, she walked back towards Karin, who still looked shaken by the earlier events.
Neji's determined expression instantly froze on his face. It was as if the deepest layer of his being had been suddenly exposed. His body swayed, and he seemed to deflate, sinking dejectedly onto the ground.
"You're actually constantly resisting fate too!" The words echoed relentlessly in Neji's mind. As a Branch member, all his years of relentless training, pushing himself to improve his strength – what was it all for?!
The answer was already in Neji's heart, but he had never been willing to admit it. For years, Neji had believed fate was unchangeable, so he had deceived himself into thinking he had accepted it. Yet, all along, his actions had been those of someone fighting against destiny.
Sakura's words may have been unintentional, but they forced Neji, for the first time, to truly confront his inner thoughts. Even if fate was unchangeable, Neji was still resisting it.
I have never truly accepted my fate... Neji sat on the ground, staring blankly at Sakura and Karin playing with the ferret nearby.
That Night...
Sakura hadn't planned on spending the night here, but decided they should at least eat dinner before moving on. The mission was mostly complete, and after that bizarre fight with the blockhead Neji, Sakura desperately needed to readjust her mindset.
The three sat around a campfire, its flames crackling merrily. Karin was feeding pieces of fish, caught by Sakura from a nearby river, to the ferret.
Neji stared into the fire, lost in thought, looking somewhat desolate.
"Um..." Neji suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse. "About today... I apologize."
"Huh?" Sakura looked at Neji in surprise. He had been silent ever since the afternoon confrontation. "It's okay. As long as you've thought things through." I'm not Naruto, and I can't perform 'Talk-no-Jutsu', Sakura thought. Neji and I don't have much connection anyway. I just need to mind my own business.
Neji fell silent for a moment, then reached up with both hands and removed the forehead protector tied around his head. He looked up at Sakura. "This is the Caged Bird Seal of the Hyuga Branch Family."
Sakura knew of the Caged Bird Seal, but this was the first time she had seen it up close. A manji-shaped symbol was etched onto Neji's forehead, its pitch-black lines stark and menacing, like scars.
"Wh-What is that?" Karin's attention was drawn, and she asked, looking at the symbol on Neji's forehead.
"It is the method the Hyuga Main Branch uses to control the Branch Family," Neji explained, his voice devoid of emotion, as if recounting something unrelated to himself. "It allows the Main Branch to destroy the brain tissue of anyone bearing this seal, according to their will."
"Doesn't that mean your life is entirely in someone else's control?!" Karin gasped, horrified. Having been enslaved by the Hidden Grass Village in the past, she was acutely sensitive to such matters.
"Yes. That's correct," Neji nodded, continuing, "To protect the Byakugan, all members of the Branch Family are marked with this seal. Once marked, your life no longer belongs to you. Until death, only then does the seal disappear."
"That's... that's too much... Doesn't that mean you have no freedom at all...?" Karin looked distressed, seemingly recalling the helplessness of being controlled, her body trembling slightly.
Sakura took Karin's hand, offering some comfort. Karin's trembling subsided.
"Yes... No freedom at all. This is the fate of the Hyuga Branch Family. From the day you are born, your destiny is already arranged," Neji said, tying his forehead protector back on, covering the ugly seal. "Born into the Branch Family, no matter how talented you are, your life is held in the Main Branch's hands. If the Main Branch orders your death, you cannot even resist. Even if you are a Jonin, the Main Branch can easily end your life." Neji clenched his fists, his voice thick with resentment.
Sakura watched Neji's pained expression without speaking, listening quietly. You don't feel the pain unless the knife is stuck in you. Now that Neji was willingly talking about it, Sakura could feel the depth of his emotions up close.
Perhaps, Sakura thought, my previous view of Neji was somewhat biased.
"Do you know?!" Neji suddenly turned his head, looking intensely at Sakura. "Every time I have to spar with Lady Hinata, it wastes my training time! Lady Hinata has no talent for being a ninja, but because she's from the Main Branch, I, a member of the Branch Family, must accommodate her training! If I make even the slightest move that could harm Lady Hinata, the Caged Bird Seal activates! Do you understand that feeling?!" Neji roared at Sakura. "The Chunin Exam was my only chance to openly defeat the Main Branch with my true strength! Do you understand?!"
Seeing Neji in this hysterical state, Sakura suddenly understood his obsession. That feeling... if it happened to her, she would be furious too. Even if one's thinking transcended the shackles of family, it was merely selective ignorance, temporarily suppressing the resentment within. If that resentment wasn't truly cleared, it would fester like a time bomb, slowly growing roots until it could no longer be ignored...