Two days later, at the faintest hint of dawn, Neji's eyes opened. The forest was still cloaked in mist, silent save for the distant chirping of early birds. While the rest of the convoy slumbered, he slipped quietly into a nearby grove to continue his training.
"[You have practiced chakra healing; your understanding has improved.]"
"[You have trained Lightning Release nature transformation; your understanding has improved.]"
"[You attempted to integrate Yang Release chakra into Lightning Release chakra; your understanding has improved.]"
"[Congratulations. You have grasped Lightning Release Secret Technique: Black Lightning Lv.1 (1/500).]"
Lines of glowing text appeared before Neji's inner eye, signaling success. At last, after countless failures, he had done it—mastered the secret of the Third Raikage.
Dark electricity surged around his palm, fierce and hungry. Unlike ordinary lightning, Black Lightning felt heavier, sharper, carrying a sense of compressed destruction. He could immediately tell: using the same amount of chakra, this technique more than doubled his offensive power.
"So this… is the pinnacle of lightning chakra transformation," he murmured, watching the black arcs dance across his skin.
A voice startled him. "Neji?"
He turned to see Yugito, just risen, staring at him curiously. Her golden eyes narrowed. She had become accustomed to his routine of rising at four every morning, training for three hours before eating, and then resuming the march. Yet this time he was returning to camp early, long before the others awoke.
Her gaze lingered on him, sharp as a kunai. Neji touched his face in mild confusion. "Captain, is something wrong? Do I have dirt on my face?"
"Not dirt," Yugito replied, folding her arms. "Have you made progress in your cultivation?"
Neji hesitated only briefly before nodding. "Hard work bears fruit. I gained… a little insight."
"Congratulations," she said simply, but inwardly her suspicion deepened. She knew his "little insight" was anything but small. Yugito could read the air around him—his aura had sharpened, as though a blade had been unsheathed. Whatever technique he had acquired, it was powerful.
---
The Convoy Leaves the Land of Lightning
The days rolled on. Neji alternated between maintaining Shadow Clones to guard the convoy and dedicating his real body to Byakugan scanning or chakra refinement. The journey, though long, was never monotonous.
Five days later, the wagons crossed the border, leaving the Land of Lightning behind.
"Small countries are always unstable," Yugito warned from atop a wagon roof. Her voice carried across the camp. "From here onward, vigilance must be doubled."
At her command, the guards shifted formation. Extra patrols were organized; every pair of eyes grew sharper.
Neji dissolved his Shadow Clone, preferring to focus fully on the new territory. With Byakugan activated, he swept the surrounding hills and forests, every twitch of movement captured within his vision.
---
The First Attacks
Trouble came quickly.
Barely an hour into the Land of Iron, a ragged mob rushed from the slopes. Dozens of men and women, faces gaunt from hunger, clutched rusty farm tools and charged at the rear wagons with desperate cries.
Neji observed them from afar. His vision showed no chakra signatures. Just malnourished bodies, their swings clumsy, their formation chaotic. They looked more like farmers than warriors.
The guards moved swiftly, subduing the mob without difficulty. Yugito herself didn't even lift a hand.
Only after Tokugawa Takahara explained did Neji understand. These were indeed farmers. Farmers who, when starved, became bandits. Farmers who, when trade wagons appeared, attacked for food. Farmers who, when wagons did not appear, returned to their fields as though nothing had happened.
It was a cruel cycle, one born of poverty more than malice.
The convoy pressed on. Yet in the following days, six more groups of bandits appeared. They too were repelled without casualties, but each skirmish added a layer of tension to the camp. Everyone knew that while these ragtag farmers were weak, true danger lurked deeper ahead.
---
Into the Land of Frost
Crossing into the Land of Frost, the air grew sharper, colder. Here, Neji noticed the difference immediately. Unlike the Land of Iron—where only farmers turned bandit—the Land of Frost was home to something else. Mercenaries. Shinobi.
In a secluded valley, a hidden group observed the convoy.
"The convoy has entered the Land of Frost," reported a middle-aged ninja with a scar across his forehead protector, which had been crudely scratched through. His voice was respectful.
"They're escorted by a two-man Kumogakure squad. Their strength is unknown."
The leader, an Iwagakure rogue ninja, raised his brows. "A two-man squad?"
In the Five Great Nations, standard genin teams consisted of three genin under a chunin. Chunin-level missions were assigned to teams of three under a jonin. For Kumogakure to assign only two meant those two were no ordinary guards. At minimum, they were both chunin.
His mercenary force numbered ten—two special jonin, three chunin, and five genin. A formidable team by rogue standards.
"If they're just two chunin, our payment stands," he said after brief thought. "But if one of them is a jonin… we'll require more money."
The employer, a man bearing an uncanny resemblance to Tokugawa Takahara, adjusted his round glasses calmly. "Payment is no issue if the mission succeeds. But if it fails, don't expect a single coin."
"Understood."
The rogue ninja's tone was grim, but his thoughts were coldly practical. Success meant profit for both parties. Failure meant killing the employer and salvaging money another way. It was against mercenary code to slay one's employer, but those rules were written for men of reputation. He had none. If he could seize a fortune, discard his identity, and start anew, who would stop him?
---
Calm Before the Storm
For two days, the convoy traveled through Frost Country without incident. After the constant harassment in the Land of Iron, the peace felt strange, almost unnatural. Guards loosened, shoulders untensed.
Then came the evening.
The sun bled red as it dipped behind the mountains, its glow staining the valley like spilled blood. Neji's instincts prickled. He approached Tokugawa Takahara. "We should camp here."
It was early, but Takahara obeyed without hesitation. "Camp!" he ordered, and the wagons began to form their defensive circle.
Neji leapt atop the lead cart, kunai spinning between his fingers. His eyes scanned the tree line, Byakugan piercing through the shadows.
And then—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions thundered across the valley.
"Explosive tags!" Tokugawa shouted, face paling.
The blasts didn't strike the convoy directly, but their shockwaves were enough to terrify the horses. The animals screamed, bolting wildly, dragging wagons in chaos.
Before the guards could restore order, the enemy revealed themselves. From the forest burst hundreds of attackers—bandits, mercenaries, shinobi. Their charge was disciplined, deadly, nothing like the farmers of Iron Country.
Steel clashed, shouts rang out. The battlefield descended into chaos.
---
Neji Moves
Neji's gaze sharpened. Among the swarming bandits, six chakra signatures stood out like flames in the dark. Disguised in ragged clothes, they rushed toward a specific wagon.
Inside that wagon… were a young woman and a child.
Byakugan analysis confirmed their strength: one jonin, two chunin, three genin.
Without hesitation, Neji created a Shadow Clone to guard Tokugawa, then propelled himself forward with blinding speed. Black electricity surged into his palm.
"Lightning Release: Black Lightning!"
A piercing roar split the air, like the heavens tearing apart.
In a blur, Neji appeared behind one of the chunin. The rogue only had time to register a sharp pain in his chest—then looked down in horror to see a black, crackling hand protruding through him.
His life was snuffed out in an instant.
"What—this child?" the Iwagakure rogue leader muttered, eyes widening. His comrade had been a true chunin, not the half-trained kind often found in small villages. Yet he had been erased in a single heartbeat.
This was no ordinary guard.
This was Hyuga Neji, and he had just unleashed Black Lightning upon the battlefield.
---