"Neji, is that right?" Jiraiya asked.
With Hiashi having left, only Jiraiya and Neji remained in the Hokage Office.
"Yes, Jiraiya-sama." Neji bowed in response, looking a bit flustered.
"The specific details are explained in the letter from my junior disciple who is also your master." Jiraiya took out an unopened letter and handed it to Neji.
"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama." Neji bowed in gratitude, his hand tightly clutching the letter.
"Go read it."
Jiraiya opened his mouth, but for a while, he didn't know how to speak, so he just motioned for Neji to read the letter.
Hearing this, Neji bowed and turned to leave the office.
Jiraiya in the office shook his head and paid no more attention.
—
Leaving the Hokage Building, Neji immediately headed towards the training ground. That place was already his heart's home.
Even if Shinji wasn't waiting for him there at the moment, still—
Neji patted his chest, the letter was in his embrace.
Entering the training ground, he nodded to the others and then went to sit alone under a tree.
Naruto, who was about to go ask why he had been called, was stopped by someone behind him.
"Eh? Shikamaru, what's wrong?" Naruto looked back and, seeing Shikamaru blocking him, couldn't help but be curious.
"Don't go over there. Something must be up, and Neji's mood doesn't seem quite right." Shikamaru looked at Neji, who was alone under the big tree, and explained to Naruto.
"I know, that's why I wanted to go check on him." Naruto nodded.
If he hadn't noticed Neji's strangeness, why would he specifically go over?
"Loser, Shikamaru means, don't go over for now." Sasuke, standing nearby with his arms crossed, said indifferently.
Everyone present could see that Neji wasn't himself right now, but Neji hadn't said anything. They couldn't press him too much, and only Naruto, with his thick skin, thought of going over.
"Alright." Unexpectedly, Naruto didn't retort to Sasuke this time.
Even Sasuke was a bit surprised, but then he saw Naruto turn and head towards Hinata.
Well, there was another one who wasn't quite right. No wonder Naruto was so receptive to advice.
Sitting under the big tree, Neji took a deep breath. It took a while for his emotions to calm before he pulled the letter from his embrace.
"Neji, by the time you read this letter—"
As he slowly read on, Neji, who had shown no emotion in the Hokage Office, now had tears silently streaming down his face.
His father could finally return, and as a hero at that.
In the letter, Shinji told him that he would be back soon, and that his father's body was intact, so he shouldn't worry. Also, he was told not to overthink it. His father would be buried at the memorial stone. In the future, he wouldn't need to heed the Hyuga clan and could visit to pay respects anytime.
He was also told to train hard, and if he hadn't made progress when he returned, he would be properly punished.
This is too good.
The usually mature Neji now truly looked like a child under ten.
He just continued to cry silently.
As the breeze blew, several shouts called out to him.
"Neji! Come quickly, it's time to eat!"
"Okay!"
— — —
"Yo, as expected of Konoha, this gate is not much worse than Kumogakure's."
In front of the Konoha gate, Bee, standing with Shinji, gestured with both hands, muttering to Shinji.
"Thanks for the compliment." Shinji rubbed his temples, responding perfunctorily.
Then, he looked at the Kumogakure team led by Samui behind him and said, "After entering the village, someone will arrange for you to go to the reception area."
Samui nodded coldly, reaching out to pull Bee back into the team.
Since they were in someone else's village, they naturally had to mind their image. Fortunately, Bee knew his place and stayed obediently within the team.
"Tell the people at the reception what you need, and one more thing—"
"Don't cause trouble." Shinji said unceremoniously.
Although Samui's squad only had a few people, Kumogakure would send more people later. Still, a warning was necessary to some extent.
"We're not idiots." Samui glanced at Shinji and retorted.
"I hope so."
Shinji, however, completely disregarded Samui's attitude. As long as they stayed put, it was fine.
"Then where do I find you?" Bee raised his hand and asked.
Shinji was the only one he was familiar with, and he couldn't stand staying put all the time. He completely missed Samui's exasperated expression beside him.
Shinji was speechless.
"I'll come find you after I'm done." Seeing that an alliance with Kumogakure was imminent, he still responded.
Just bear with it a little longer. It'll be fine once the agreement is signed.
Boom—
The heavy gate slowly opened, interrupting Bee, who was about to speak again.
Whoosh—
Inside the gate, countless Konoha villagers gathered, cheering excitedly at the sight of the team outside.
This scene—it felt familiar.
Shinji looked at the scene before him and couldn't help but think.
"How come it feels like every time I go out with you, we run into this?" Kakashi beside him spoke up.
Something that hadn't happened in nearly ten years, yet it had happened twice when he went out with Shinji.
"Don't talk nonsense." Shinji twitched his lips.
"Well, I wonder if Jiraiya-sama has any new books. I finished all of them on this trip." Kakashi rubbed his hair, yawning as he spoke.
This trip felt like just strolling around. Only when facing the other three Kage did his nerves tighten.
"Read less. Don't end up getting weaker and weaker." Shinji's lips twitched, looking at Kakashi.
Kakashi was increasingly resembling his state at the beginning of the series. His deadpan eyes were getting worse, and he looked listless all day long.
Jiraiya, you've really done a lot of harm!
"Don't compare me to you. You're worse than a beast." Kakashi glanced at Shinji. He still remembered the scene from that day.
"That's my strength." Shinji responded indifferently.
As his words fell, the team had already started moving.
As he stepped inside, Shinji realized he had been naive. The last scene was just a small one, today's was even more exaggerated.
Countless villagers held up banners, and some villagers even stood on distant rooftops, cheering.
Moreover...
Shinji's gaze swept to the side, where he saw the Hyuga clansmen, dressed in uniform white kimonos, with solemn expressions. At the very front was Hiashi, with Hinata and Neji standing beside him, along with a little girl.
That must be Hanabi, right?
Seeing Shinji look at them, Hiashi nodded in greeting. Hinata and Neji beside him bowed to Shinji, and even the little girl beside them did too.
Shinji merely nodded gently in response, following the team and accepting the cheers of the villagers as they headed towards the central area.