Naruto: I, Naruto, don't want to try anymore.

Chapter 116 Recruiting Neji

Naruto Uzumaki, you deserve to die!!

Neji's eyes were bloodshot, and his white eyes were almost turning red.

How can there be such despicable people in the world?!

Genma Shiranui also looked at Naruto in shock. Was this kid's mouth poisoned?

"Enough talk, let the match begin!"

Genma Shiranui waved his hand, feeling that Neji was about to explode if he didn't make the announcement soon.

whoosh-

As soon as he finished speaking, Neji rushed towards Naruto at lightning speed.

Naruto casually tossed a kunai at Neji's head.

Neji, who was running, suddenly turned his head and was then kicked in the face by Naruto, who suddenly appeared beside him.

It spun 900 degrees in the air, then flew out sideways.

"it's a pity…"

Naruto landed lightly on the ground, his index finger twirling inside the kunai ring.

"It's clear you've done your intelligence gathering, but you're still a bit too slow..."

"Tui!"

Neji got up, wiped his cheek where Naruto had kicked him, and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

However, it was precisely this kick that calmed his bloodshot mind a little, reminding him of Kai's warning before the game.

"Listen up, Neji!"

"The final match of the Chunin Exams doesn't necessarily determine who becomes a Chunin."

"The Chunin Exams test whether you truly possess certain specific qualities, such as experience, tactics, intelligence, and reaction time."

"So don't let your opponent affect you. Just show the qualities a Chunin should have and display your own style!"

Show your own style...

Neji took a deep breath.

That's true, but this guy in front of me has absolutely no weaknesses; he could even kill me in an instant…

Wait, a flash sale?

Recalling Naruto's repeated provocations, Neji suddenly calmed down.

"Speaking of which, the reason you've kept provoking me is to prevent me from surrendering, so you can trample Konoha's reputation under your feet in front of so many spectators, right? Is it because of the misfortunes you've suffered?"

After Neji finished speaking, Genma Shiranui suddenly tensed up, ready to rescue Neji from the field at any moment as he tried to provoke Naruto.

However, to his surprise, Naruto didn't seem angry at all. Instead, he laughed as if he had heard a funny joke.

Trying to talk back to me?

Then you've probably come to the wrong person...

Naruto looked at Neji with amusement. In fact, the reason he kept provoking Neji was to get the guy talking.

In the original work, Neji and Naruto had a long talk about his father's death and the fate of the Caged Bird.

But given the current disparity in strength between the two sides, if he doesn't provoke him, even if this guy manages to participate in the exam, he'll most likely just symbolically exchange a couple of moves and then simply admit defeat.

"Are you looking down on me... or are you overestimating Konoha?"

Naruto crossed his arms, looking amused.

"I said before that I don't care about Konoha. In fact, out of respect for my birth parents, I never really wanted to do anything to Konoha, provided that they didn't provoke me."

"Admittedly, I was indeed asked to come and save face for Konoha, but if all I'm doing is showing off in the Chunin Exams, then you are underestimating me too much."

"You think I'm targeting Konoha? Quite the opposite, Neji. It's always been Konoha that fears me."

As Naruto spoke, he casually tossed the kunai aside and spread his hands.

"For example, Kumogakure kidnapped the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan under the pretext of signing a peace treaty. However, after the envoy was killed by the Hyuga clan head, Hiashi Hyuga, Kumogakure turned around and forced Konoha to hand over the murderer, or else they would tear up the treaty and continue the war."

Upon hearing this, Neji's expression suddenly darkened.

In the stands, Hiashi Hyuga's expression changed, and he clenched his fists tightly inside his sleeves.

At the highest point of the stands, Jiraiya sighed deeply. Naruto had indeed chosen this moment to cause trouble…

"You should know this very well, right? After all, you were there firsthand. That's right... Konoha handed over your father's corpse, the body of Hyuga Hiashi's twin brother, the head of the Hyuga branch family... Hyuga Hizashi!"

As he spoke, Naruto raised his hand and pointed, a chakra bullet flashed past at lightning speed, and before Neji could react, it knocked off his headband, revealing the ghastly green curse mark etched on his forehead.

"Pick up your headband and look at the cursed mark on your head, Neji..."

"Looking at that cursed seal that controls your life and death, does it remind you of your father's death?"

Naruto paused slightly as he spoke, then gave an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I almost forgot, your father's body has been handed over."

"What exactly are you trying to say?!"

Neji gritted his teeth, his gaze towards Naruto filled with a desire that seemed to want to skin him alive.

"That's the difference between us, Neji."

Naruto chuckled lightly: "To be honest, my main purpose in coming to Konoha this time is to help my disciple, Uchiha Sasuke, avenge his father's death."

"The person who killed his father was Shimura Danzo, who was also the culprit who betrayed the Uchiha clan."

"Actually, it's not just the Uchiha clan. According to the investigation by Kumogakure, the spread of the claim that I am the Nine-Tails, Sakumo Hatake's suicide, Orochimaru's defection, the deaths of Tsunade's lover and brother, and the death of Jiraiya's disciple Yahiko are all closely related to him."

Anyway, given Danzo's principles of conduct, even if he did it, he wouldn't be able to produce any evidence.

However, he also couldn't prove his innocence.

So, adhering to the principle of "piling on whatever's there," Naruto didn't hesitate to dump several piles of excrement on the pile.

Truth and falsehood...

No, the real thing is guaranteed authentic, but the fake thing might not actually be fake...

"I have a good relationship with Orochimaru, so I've learned a lot of interesting things from him."

"That old guy has gone mad for the Hokage position. He keeps saying he's doing it for the village, but he's recklessly persecuting every competitor for the Hokage title."

"Many of Konoha's geniuses were taken to Root and brainwashed, turning them into emotionless killing machines. In order to research Wood Release bloodline limit, he even killed many Senju descendants."

"Such a person has occupied the position of Hokage's assistant for decades, and every time he makes a mistake, he is given a lenient punishment by the Third Hokage, and is dismissed for a period of time before being reinstated... Of course, there is nothing that can be done, after all, they are childhood friends."

"And look at your father, tsk tsk..."

Naruto clicked his tongue and shook his head; the hall fell into dead silence.

Everyone was dumbfounded; no one expected to hear such a shocking piece of gossip at this moment!

"Shimura Danzo? Wasn't that back then..."

"Shh, be quiet, this is not something we should be discussing!"

"Hmph, haven't those higher-ups done their fair share of dirty work? What's so strange about that..."

The Konoha ninjas whispered amongst themselves.

People from other villages were thoroughly enjoying the gossip, their eyes shining as they tried to hear every single word.

In the audience, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was ashen.

He knew some of the things Naruto mentioned, and although he hadn't heard of others, based on his understanding of Danzo... it was very likely that Danzo was involved!

"I don't deny that the initial motivation for kidnapping Hyuga-sama stemmed from the greed of Kumogakure, but who is your true enemy?"

"Is it the main family that treats the branch family members like servants? Or the spineless, indifferent higher-ups who stand by and watch?"

"I might as well tell you that your father, Hyuga Hizashi's, death was indeed his own choice, but it was also the only free choice he could make in his life: to die!"

"What...did you say?"

Neji looked at Naruto in disbelief: "You're saying it was my father's own choice?"

That's right.

Naruto nodded and casually made up a reason: "Because I was curious about the Byakugan, I resurrected him using Edo Tensei and also searched his memories."

"you…"

Neji's face darkened again.

Aren't you being a little too presumptuous...?

"The Third Hokage was also present at the time. Originally, the head of the Hyuga clan had already chosen to commit suicide, and the Third Hokage had acquiesced. However, the main branch of the clan persuaded your father." (In the manga version, Hyuga Hiashi said, "I want to die," and the Third Hokage just grunted in response.)

"Your father said he chose to die to protect his brother, to protect Konoha, and to escape the fate of the branch family, but I think it was actually more to protect you."

"After all, if he doesn't die, the position of the branch family will be in a very delicate situation..."

Neji fell silent upon hearing this.

Naruto, however, changed his previous mocking attitude and looked at Neji sincerely.

"After that, I investigated your background and found that you seem to have a habit of attributing everything to fate ever since?"

"But what I want to tell you is that what determines everything is never fate, but rather power."

"To be honest, I have come to invite you with the utmost sincerity."

Naruto said, spreading his hands slightly.

Within his eyes, the azure pupils gradually turned blood red, and the three tomoe spun rapidly, transforming into the pattern of a sword in his hand.

Then a white dot suddenly appeared in the center of the shuriken pattern, which transformed into concentric circles of reincarnation and spread outwards.

"Rinnegan... I'm sure you've heard of it. These eyes possess the power of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, and one of their abilities is the ability to absorb all techniques. I think you understand what that means."

Neji was shocked to notice the change in Naruto's eyes.

"And in the process of tracing this power, I also discovered some very interesting things, such as the connections between bloodlines."

"Just as the Sharingan is a product of the Rinnegan's bloodline degenerating, the Byakugan also possesses the potential to go even further; it's a power no less than the Rinnegan..."

Naruto reached out his hand to Neji.

"Right now, whether it's the power I speak of, the destiny you believe in, or the freedom you've never had since birth, all have chosen you..."

"I don't need you to worry about Kumogakure. I, Naruto Uzumaki, chose you. You only need to listen to me. As for the reason... I need some people who can keep up with me and walk alongside me."

"How is it, Neji..."

"I…"

Neji swallowed hard, looked up somewhat blankly, and unconsciously glanced towards the audience.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Li rushed to the guardrail.

Just as he was about to shout, a hand suddenly pressed down on his shoulder.

Might Guy shook his head slightly, then looked at Neji in the arena with a complicated expression.

"Are you telling the truth?"

Not far away, Genma Shiranui, who was chewing on a senbon needle, suddenly spoke up: "Are you still lying to him?"

"I'm not sure either..."

Naruto chuckled and casually pulled a scroll from his pocket.

"But even if I fail, it's okay, I've prepared for the worst..."

Today's update is a bit short; this part of the plot was difficult to write, and I struggled with it for a long time...