Naruto: If I ask you to kill Sasuke, you will become a succubus?

Of course, I was joking when I said it was for the position of Hokage.

But I was half-serious, but Neji didn't take it seriously at all.

He frowned: "Are you bored?"

"If they weren't sure, who would come and play such a joke on you? Do they want to be beaten by your Bagua Sixty-Four Palms?"

However, it's normal for him not to believe me.

I am an orphan living in an orphanage with no family background. Currently, I am just a Genin, but I am said to be able to change his fate as a "bird in a cage".

If someone said something without any evidence, Neji would believe it. He might have lost his kidney by now.

There is no point in saying more, I opened my Sharingan and looked at where his forehead guard was, "Your caged bird, maybe I can help you get rid of it."

Ningci's eyes widened: "You...? Are you from the Uchiha clan? But didn't the Uchiha clan already..."

"The situation is complicated. Lord Hokage asked me not to reveal my Sharingan during the Chunin Exams, so you can help me keep it a secret, right?"

"Asaro, who exactly are you——?"

"I just want to help."

"...Even if you have the Sharingan..." Neji was obviously shaken: "Could it be that the Uchiha clan has a secret technique that can unlock the caged bird?"

"No, it's just that my ability happened to come in handy. After the Sharingan evolves, it will materialize different abilities according to the user's inner desires. My ability is to distort fate."

"...!"

"As long as I twist your fate of being branded as a caged bird, maybe I can make the caged bird in you disappear. But... if you think it's better to maintain the status quo, I respect your choice."

Neji was so excited that he subconsciously wanted to stand up from the bed, but because he was exhausted from the battle just now, he fell back down: "The current situation? If it is really possible to release the caged bird, who would want to maintain the current situation?!"

"Becoming the first branch of the Hyuga family without a caged bird, have you really considered the consequences?" I said, "How will the main family look at you, think of you, and treat you? Will they be afraid of you, doubt you, be wary of you, and deal with you? What about the people in other branches? You will become an alien in the Hyuga clan... Aliens will always be excluded."

For example, Naruto, for example, Gaara.

"Becoming an alien may be more terrifying than being bound by fate for some people... So, I will only help you if you are sure you want my help."

Neji only thought for a second, maybe even less than a second, and then said firmly: "Help me."

"Have you made up your mind?"

"That's right!" He looked at me firmly, "What price do I need to pay?"

I was stunned because I never thought about asking Neji to pay any price.

However, when I think of the time when Neci helped Sasuke and me when we were little, and how Sasuke and I have always taken the initiative to say hello to him every time we meet ever since, even though we don't get along well with him, I feel that according to common sense and etiquette in this world, my help to Neci would also be a kind of "favor."

…That’s really troublesome.

Especially for a big family like the Hyuga clan, the stricter the family education and the more etiquette there are, the more trouble it will probably cause.

It’s not that I don’t want others to thank me, but I don’t want it to become a heavy burden for them.

"Actually... although I know you're not a bad person, I felt from the beginning that I couldn't get along with you."

"..."

"Old-fashioned, cold, and arrogant... Today he said something about how fate cannot be changed. It really made me angry."

"..."

"But... when I realized that you didn't really think so, I thought, isn't my ability meant to help those who want to defy fate? So, I came to find you."

"...Thank you."

"You're welcome. In the final analysis, this is also my way of satisfying myself. I'm also very happy that you don't mind being a tool for my self-satisfaction. Actually, you've also discovered it, right? There's nothing much to say to you and me, but over the years, whenever I meet you, I have to say hello to you and make small talk. Don't you feel distressed sometimes and feel that I'm bothering you?"

I said without thinking, "So the price I pay for removing the curse is that I will never go out of my way to say hello to you again. I hope that when I don't want to talk to you, I can just not talk to you. Of course, you don't have to come and say hello to me when you have nothing to say to me."

Ningji was a little confused: "That's it?"

"Yes. That's it. We will become strangers with no special connection and start from scratch. If there is a chance, we will get to know each other again. If there is no chance, we will just be strangers - or just ordinary acquaintances."

"...Okay. I promise."

I smiled with satisfaction: "Then, take off the forehead protector."

Neji raised his hands to untie the straps. He was a master of physical techniques, and was skilled in acupressure, a precise physical technique where a slight error could lead to a huge mistake. He should have been able to perfectly control his hands, stable and precise. However, at this moment, his bandaged fingertips were trembling slightly.

He showed his forehead, which was branded with a swastika, and watched my movements closely.

I reached out to him, twisting his fate of "being branded with a curse after the age of four, and unable to be freed until death". When I closed my Sharingan, I remained calm on the surface, but I was very surprised in my heart -

With my current chakra, I can use the Mangekyō Sharingan more than once!

I didn't say anything, and Neji couldn't see the changes on his forehead. He suppressed his impatience and asked, "How is it?"

"finished."

"Are you sure...?" He looked at me blankly, a little bit unbelieving, "You just raised your hand, I didn't feel anything special...!"

"Actually, I don't need to raise my hands, I just need to look at you, but I think raising my hands is more ceremonial, and you might feel better."

Seeing that Neji didn't believe it would end so quickly, I had to use water jutsu to create a water mirror for him.

The water surface is not like a real mirror that can reflect every detail, but it is enough to roughly see whether the marks on the forehead are still there.

Ningji stared at himself in the water mirror, touched his smooth and white forehead, and couldn't come back to his senses for a long time.

Seeing that he didn’t know when he would be able to digest this change, I still remembered that I had the next exam.

I glanced at the clock on the wall and said, "I'm sorry. Although it may be a bit cruel to leave you alone right now, I have to go back to the examination room. Otherwise, if I miss the start time and am judged as a forfeit, I will be very unwilling."

Ningci finally looked up at me as if awakened from a dream: "Ah..."

He looked confused and had no idea what to say to me.

"Remember," I reminded him, "I won't have to go to you to say hello in the future!"

However, as I hurriedly left the medical room, I met Hinata Hiashi face to face in the corridor.

He has long black hair and wears traditional clothes. Although he has handsome features, he always has a stern face and a serious expression, so it is difficult for people to get close to him.

Neji's father, Hyuga Hizashi, is his twin brother and looks exactly the same, so did Hyuga Hizashi look the same as Neji when he was a teenager?

When Neji reaches the age of the Hyuga clan leader, will he look like Hyuga Hiashi?

…That’s too bad.

Although I was in a hurry to get back, I had to stop and greet him politely: "Master Rizu."

He didn't expect to meet me here. After a slight pause, he nodded at me, but he looked quite arrogant, with the indifference unique to a big family.

We passed each other and I caught a glimpse of him standing at the door of the medical room from the corner of my eye.

Is he here to visit Neji?

...He hoped that when he went in, Neji would have put on his forehead protector.

I wonder if the owner of the house can sense that the bird in the cage has disappeared?

But I don't have time to think about Neji now.

However, when I reappeared in the examination room, the situation was far beyond my expectations.

Shiranui Genma said to me: "You win."

I:"?"

"Your opponent, Gaara from the Sand Village has given up."

"??"

"The next match was moved up. It was supposed to be between Kankuro and Aburame Shino, but Kankuro from the Sand Village also gave up."

"???"

"The only one left is Temari from the Sand Village. She didn't give up. As you can see, she defeated Yamanaka Ino."

...That is to say, in such a short period of time when I went to the medical room, the first round of exams was already completed?

Gaara...! Why!

I looked in his direction in disbelief. Didn’t I tell him that he didn’t need to give up?

He met my gaze and said to me in spoken language: "It's meaningless."

What doesn't make sense?

Is our fight meaningless?

But... I brought White Fang and my newly learned special skills with me, looking forward to competing with a powerful master!

I subconsciously walked towards the viewing platform, wanting to have a good talk with Gaara, but Shiranui Genma stopped me: "You don't have to go, it's your turn anyway."

I thought about the matchup table. If it was the second round, my opponent would be...

"what……"

Shiranui Genma nodded at me, confirming my thoughts: "Get ready for your battle with Uzumaki Naruto."

"..."

Because I cared too much about Gaara's strength, all my energy was focused on how to beat him and break through the first round of exams, so that I was not mentally prepared for the second round of exams after advancing.

The battle with Naruto...

And Naruto...

If the opponent was Ino, we wouldn't be able to help but laugh when we looked at each other - but if the opponent was Naruto, the situation wouldn't be much better.

In some ways, Naruto seems to be a more difficult opponent than Gaara.

Just as I was walking towards the competition venue hesitantly, I saw Naruto with a very embarrassed expression preparing to come down from the viewing stand.

But suddenly countless feathers fell from the sky, and all the audience fell to the ground in the blink of an eye.

Illusion?

at this time?

what's the situation?

I looked at Shiranui Genma in surprise: "Teacher, is this also part of the exam?"

Shiranui Genma: "...No. Looks like something serious has happened."

Many figures belonging to the Anbu rushed out from all directions. They were hiding in the dark just to deal with emergencies like this one.

There was a commotion at the VIP stage where the Hokage and the Kazekage were, and a huge, disturbing noise erupted from somewhere outside the room.

I saw the Kazekage holding a kunai and rushing out holding the Hokage hostage.

"Teacher--! The Hokage--"

Shiranui Genma said calmly: "Although your strength has reached the level of a Chunin, you should not interfere in the battle between the Kages."

Maki, the leader of the Sand Village, had already appeared in front of him. It was obvious that they were the opponents chosen by each other.

Behind Maki, Gaara, Temari and Lord Kankuro also came down from the viewing platform.

Gaara said to me, "Come here, Asaro."

When he said this, Shiranui Genma and I were surprised, and Temari and Kankuro-sama were also surprised.