Chapter 21 - Appreciate! The strongest Genin

After saving little Sakura, Zhuludie and the others were worried the situation might change, so they quickly left the area. Only Tenten remained behind, pulling out the Shiwujue herb that Neji had given her earlier.

"This is a special Ujue herb, it's quite rare. Its effects should be very beneficial," Tenten explained, handing the remaining portion to Sakura.

"Thank you," Sakura said softly.

At that moment, Xiao Li, who had been unconscious, began to stir. "Ouch..."

Seeing him awake, Tenten sighed in exasperation. "Don't worry about thanking me," she said, directing her words at Sakura. "If anyone deserves thanks, it's those thick eyebrows over there." She gestured toward Xiao Li. "He's the one who's really concerned about you."

"Little Sakura!" Xiao Li exclaimed, struggling to his feet. He stumbled toward her, concern etched across his face. "Are you alright?"

Sakura was in bad shape—her hair had been cut, her body was dirty, and she was covered in various scars. "I already gave her the herb," Tenten murmured, grabbing Xiao Li's arm. "Now, take care of yourself first."

Dragging Xiao Li aside, Tenten sighed again. "Why is there always some strange person on this team? It's exhausting," she muttered to herself, secretly missing Neji. "At least Neji's not here. If he had seen that masked expert, it would've crushed his spirit. Why is the gap between them so wide...?"

Meanwhile, Neji hadn't gone far after retreating. He found a quiet spot, removed the Anbu uniform and mask, and cleaned up before planning to return to the others.

"These clothes are really convenient!" Neji mused, hesitating before stuffing them into his pocket. "Eh, I won't return them. I saved their lives after all. It's just a mask and a set of clothes, Anbu won't miss them, right?"

---

Later, Neji rejoined the group and listened as Tenten praised the bravery of the masked boy from earlier. Xiao Li agreed wholeheartedly. Neji, smiling silently, stayed at the back of the group. As dusk fell, they finally reached their destination.

"Congratulations on passing the exam!" Iruka greeted them as they arrived at the intelligence station in the Forest of Death.

"I didn't expect this place to be an intelligence post," Tenten remarked, examining the scrolls. Xiao Li, eager to speak with Iruka, seemed to forget all his previous exhaustion, brimming with satisfaction.

Neji, standing quietly behind them, felt his strength and chakra slowly returning.

"Please head to the lounge and get some rest," Iruka advised.

The group entered the lounge, where they found two other teams—Hinata's team and a group from the Sand Village. Temari, from the Sand group, sat with her arms folded, while Kankuro sneered at the Konoha genin.

Hinata smiled and greeted Neji warmly. "Brother Neji!" Neji smiled back but remained silent.

"Third place, huh?" Tenten said as she and Xiao Li struck up a conversation with Shino and Kiba.

Neji, feeling uncomfortable under the unfriendly gazes of the Sand shinobi, wandered into a connected room. To his surprise, it was a training ground, large enough to fit nearly ten classrooms. The area was filled with old wooden training posts, worn from years of use.

"This must have been an Anbu training ground," Neji thought, intrigued.

Just then, Tenten entered behind him, commenting, "I heard Anbu used this area before they moved to a larger space. I wonder how they practiced their weapon skills."

Neji, now feeling fully recovered, began practicing on one of the wooden posts. His movements were swift, precise, targeting key acupuncture points with each strike. Tenten, busy examining hidden weapons, didn't notice how long he had been training.

An hour passed, and Tenten was shocked when she turned back to see Neji still practicing. "Neji, aren't you tired yet?" she asked, astonished.

Neji stopped for a moment, smiled, and replied, "Just practicing casually. It's no big deal."

Tenten tilted her head, thinking of the masked Anbu boy they encountered earlier. "You know, you should've seen that Anbu expert I told you about. Now *that* is real skill..."

She hesitated, not wanting to discourage Neji further. "Anyway, you should rest up. It's important to be ready for the Chūnin exams. Training alone won't be enough," she added, preparing to leave.

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the room. "You're wrong. This guy is really strong."

Startled, Tenten whipped around, while Neji immediately looked up, alert.

It was Gaara, standing on the ceiling, his eyes locked onto Neji.

"I've been watching you for a while. You're the strongest genin I've ever seen in Konoha," Gaara said, leaping down effortlessly.

"The strongest?" Tenten repeated, frowning in confusion. "What are you talking about? Neji's barely passing the exams!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Gaara glared at her. The sand in his gourd surged forward, forming a claw that raced toward Tenten!

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