Neji wasted no more words.
He activated the scroll directly.
Might Guy, Tenten, and Rock Lee all fixed their eyes on Neji's forehead.
Neji himself watched their reactions nervously.
Even though he already knew how powerful the rewards from the viewing system were—
At this moment, he still couldn't help but feel anxious.
"…How is it?" Neji asked.
"There's light… a pure white light on your forehead. The curse mark is fading… bit by bit…"
Tenten's eyes had filled with tears at some point.
"It's gone! Neji—it's gone! Hahaha, it's really gone!" Rock Lee burst into laughter.
Finally, Neji turned to his teacher—
Might Guy.
For confirmation.
Guy nodded with satisfaction.
"Neji, from now on, you need to smile more. Don't keep that cold expression all day. Youth needs passion!"
"I really want to strike a pose right now… but the situation doesn't allow it."
"You understand, right, Neji?!"
Rock Lee: "Gai-sensei, me too! Neji, you understand me too, right?! Waaaah!"
Looking at the three of them—
Neji felt an overwhelming urge to embrace them.
If not for their warmth and optimism—
Perhaps he would have long since shut himself away.
"Thank you… Gai-sensei, Tenten, Lee…"
Before he realized it, tears blurred his vision.
At this moment—
Neji could no longer hold them back.
It wasn't just Neji.
Every member of the Hyūga branch family—
Felt the curse mark disappear.
For a moment—
Joyful cries echoed everywhere.
"It's gone! It's finally gone!"
"Waaah… I don't have to carry this humiliating curse anymore!"
"Neji, well done! Why should the branch family be forced to die for the main family?! This system should've ended long ago!"
"..."
Hyūga Hiashi stood there, watching the scene unfold.
His face darkened.
He looked up at the massive screen in the sky, his expression filled with resentment.
"When will this damned viewing session finally end?!"
At that very moment—
The red-framed screen lit up once more.
[Jiraiya looked at the map in Kagerō's hands and asked,]
["So where do we begin this… investigation to solve the problem of peace?"]
[Kagerō replied calmly, "First, we need to determine whether this world is already rotten—where the problems lie, and whether correcting them can become a force for revolution."]
["Peace is merely a result that emerges naturally after solving these problems. So the focus is on investigation and correction. Understand?"]
[Jiraiya scratched his head awkwardly. "I… kind of get it, maybe? Haha…"]
[Kagerō continued seriously, "To put it simply—identify problems, solve them, and multiple outcomes will follow. Equality, stability, prosperity—they're all included. Peace is just one of them."]
["So this is a massive undertaking."]
[Jiraiya asked, "If it's such a large-scale task, how do we even begin investigating?"]
["Start from the smallest details," Kagerō said. "Find problems in the details, and understand what they represent beneath the surface. For example—the border town closest to us."]
["That town likely has civilians, shinobi, and merchants. What do they represent?"]
["They represent… different kinds of people?" Jiraiya answered, like a student being called on.]
["More precisely, three distinct groups—the three types of people that exist in this world. We need to see whether problems arise when they coexist."]
Civilians.
Shinobi.
Merchants.
Three fundamental groups of this world—
Living together.
Whether conflict existed among them—
Was a critical direction of investigation.
Because each group had its own lifestyle and values.
[Jiraiya's eyes showed confusion. These were things he had never truly paid attention to before.]
[Though he had traveled widely, he spent his time drinking or gathering intelligence. Beyond that—he had never really observed such things.]
["The people in this town seem fine to me. Every time I go to the tavern, everyone looks happy," Jiraiya said with a laugh.]
[He seemed to be recalling scenes of drinking and laughing with women.]
[Kagerō said seriously, "What you see is surface-level happiness—the joy they feel when receiving payment. But that's only one part of their lives."]
["The more happiness they show at that moment… the more it proves their lives are not as good as they appear."]
["And the shinobi in this town—how do they live? Do they have grievances? How much harvest do the farmers produce?"]
["Can crops sustain daily expenses? Are there complaints? These are the key points of investigation."]
[Jiraiya frowned. "How do you even investigate that? I'm good at gathering intelligence, but this…"]
["You're disconnected, Jiraiya. Or to put it another way—you're out of touch with reality," Kagerō sighed.
["That's why someone must conduct real, on-the-ground investigation—not rely on hearsay."]
["This is what we call: without field investigation, there is no right to speak. Nothing can be decided on a whim."]
[Jiraiya was deeply shaken.]
For the first time—
He was truly stunned by a child.
Compared to earlier talk of "breaking corruption,"
This—
Investigation, data gathering, identifying problems, solving them, strengthening oneself—
Was far more concrete.
Far more real.
Perhaps—
This eight-year-old boy—
Was truly searching for the fundamental problems of the world.
At this moment—
Everyone in the shinobi world fell silent.
A profound shock settled deep in their hearts.
If before, some had dismissed Kagerō's words as empty talk—
Now—
He was dissecting the world itself through reality.
He didn't shout.
He didn't roar.
But the power behind his words—
Was enough to shake the world.
Stronger than any ninjutsu.