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

Neji snorted coldly, "When Kumogakure sneaked into the Hyuga residence and tried to kidnap Hinata, Konoha wanted to kill my father to quell the possible war. If Kakashi planned to kill you in Kirigakure, I'm afraid Tsunade didn't plan to let him go back."

I can't figure it out. "Well, maybe as long as we continue to hide well, he and Shan Zhongfeng won't be able to find us, and they will have to leave in the end."

I couldn't help but ask, "I wonder how long they'll stay... Will Shikamaru come again?"

"Asaro." Neji looked at me and frowned in disapproval, "I know you and Shikamaru have a good relationship, but this one meeting is enough... Do you understand me?"

Neji is one year older than us and is more mature than me. His personality matures precociously and sometimes he acts like an adult. When I am with him, I always feel like he is filling Sasuke's position.

Sasuke once said he was my brother, but Neji and Sasuke have different feelings of being “brothers”.

If there is any difference... maybe it's that Neji is the kind of person who is on the "right path"?

Although he is now a rebel ninja and may have "gone astray" in the eyes of outsiders, I think he is still a very law-abiding person at heart.

I also know that I sometimes lack common sense. For some conventions that others take for granted, I don’t understand how to behave in the so-called “correct way”.

I don't think there is anything wrong with this idea, but it may seem strange and difficult to understand to others.

However, strangers probably think that it is better to mind their own business and there is no need to point out my problems. They will just stay away from me quietly.

My friends are very considerate, tolerant and understanding of me. Except for the very excessive things they will correct me, everyone is very tolerant of me in general.

So I don’t know if I did something wrong.

And Neji would restrain me, discipline me, and tell me the various truths of this world. He would teach me "normal" thoughts and tell me the "correct" way of doing things.

Sasuke... It’s not that he will indulge me unconditionally, but compared to Neji, he is obviously the kind of person who takes an unconventional approach.

He doesn't care what others think, and he doesn't think I need to care what others think.

As long as I think there is nothing wrong with me and he thinks there is nothing wrong with me, he will accept everything about me, and then the two of us will go further and further astray.

Although it's strange to say this, but after being with Neji, I occasionally reacted belatedly and realized that Sasuke's attitude towards me at the beginning seemed to be very... indulgent, even doting to the extreme.

When I am with him, I don't seem to need to correct any shortcomings or pay attention to any wording. I just need to be myself, I just need to be alive, I just need to exist, then no matter what I do, Sasuke will be satisfied.

I can’t say who is better between the two of them, but I can feel that they both care about me, value me, and treat me very well.

After all, what is a person's true self like?

Is it okay to let her do whatever she wants without any supervision?

So does being taught and learning various rules count as erasing one’s nature?

Or is it best as it is now? With one brother accepting me for who I am and another who is watching me, watching to see if I make any mistakes, and preventing me from making any mistakes?

The books I've been reading recently are all parenting books. I hope to raise my child well, but parenting books seem to be divided into different schools. Some say that strict discipline is needed and rules must be set from a young age; some say that the child's nature must be respected, and patient guidance must be given and the child must be treated as equal people. I find it very confusing.

"I know."

Although it will be a bit lonely if I can't meet Shikamaru for the time being, but with Neji and Gaara accompanying me, I know that I am with like-minded companions, doing what I want to do and hope to make the world a better place, and my heart is connected with Shikamaru's, so one day -

We will see you again.

And it must be a happy goodbye.

"Thank you, Neji! I feel so good having you around!"

I discovered very early on that boys like Neji and Sasuke who were born into large families, especially those whose families had strict and numerous rules, were not used to hearing such direct praise.

So every time this happens, Ningji's usually calm and steady face would reveal an embarrassed and helpless expression, but he subconsciously tried to pretend to be calm, but he failed every time, which was very funny.

I laughed at his embarrassed look, and Neji said helplessly: "Don't tease me."

"I'm not kidding, I really think so! It's obviously Neji who is not used to being praised! Neji is so good, so good, so good--"

Neji blushed, "Alright, that's enough, that's enough!"

……

That night, when Zabuza came back, Neci and I prepared dinner together. I went to feed Gen first, and when I came out, Neci had already woken up Gaara.

He came downstairs with sleepy eyes, and his whole state looked like he was sleepwalking.

He sat next to me, leaned on me, closed his eyes and seemed to fall asleep again.

I saw that he was really sleepy and was worried that he would be uncomfortable leaning on my shoulder, so I let him rest his head on my legs temporarily.

I touched his red hair and twisted up a strand of hair, "Has Gaara's hair grown longer?"

Neji placed the bowls and chopsticks in front of everyone. When he passed by Gaara, he looked down at him and said, "After all, he hasn't had his hair cut in a few months. During the Chunin Exam, his hair was so short that it only touched his forehead. Now it's almost covering his eyes."

"The Chunin Exams... now that I think about it, it feels like it happened so long ago."

When we first met in the Forest of Death, how could I have imagined that the red-haired boy who wanted to kill me the first time we met would be lying on my lap and sleeping soundly like this a few months later?

I looked at Neji: "Ningji's hair length hasn't changed much..."

After putting down the dishes, Ningci sat down on the other side of me: "I have long hair to begin with, and I can trim the ends of my hair myself."

"What?" I widened my eyes. "You cut your hair secretly and didn't even tell us!?"

Gaara closed his eyes, perhaps half asleep, and said, "That's too much."

"That's it."

"You didn't notice, can I say that you guys didn't pay enough attention to me?" Ningci calmly counterattacked me: "Why, do you want to cut your hair?"

"I want to stay a little longer."

I always had short hair when I was in Konoha, and I always felt that since I had left Konoha, I wanted to change my previous image.

I played with Gaara's hair with my fingers, running my fingertips through his hair and gently touching his head, "Can you fix it for me later, Gaara?"

Neji nodded: "I've never cut anyone else's hair before, let me try."

Zabuza sat across from us, holding his chin as he watched our conversation, and suddenly said, "I never thought that one day I would be able to live a life like this."

Neji and I looked at him in confusion, and Neji said, "You mean, you never thought that one day you could really become the Mizukage?"

"Of course I have thought about that! Otherwise, why did I assassinate the Mizukage before? To commit suicide?" Zabuza glared at him unhappily, "I was talking about something else! Don't you think it's incredible that we can sit together and talk like this?"

Zabuza pointed at himself and Haku beside him: "Haku and I are from Kirigakure, and you are from Konoha, and that Gaara brat is from Sunagakure."

I wondered, "Why are you suddenly feeling this way?"

"I used to think that the ninjas of the major countries coexist peacefully, but Bai reminded me today that the only thing we lack is a ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Earth Village."

"You mean," I said, "you want us to capture a ninja from Kumogakure or Tsuchigakure to join us?"

"No, you idiot!"

Bai seemed to be amused by me: "Mr. Zabuza wanted to say... Today, Hatake Kakashi conveyed the intention of the Hokage on behalf of Konoha. The Hokage hopes to form an alliance with our Kirigakure."

Neji and I were both surprised: "Alliance?"

"Yeah," Bai nodded, "Konoha was just attacked by Orochimaru and was severely injured. They don't want to start another dispute. The Sand Village, their ally, betrayed them not long ago. It's understandable that they want to find a new ally. The Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning have always been very stable. Konoha will not benefit from an alliance with them. Instead, it may be suppressed. That's why they need to form an alliance to fight against them."

Zabuza said: "The Hidden Mist Village is far enough away that it cannot threaten Konoha. Once an alliance is formed, it can provide support from the sea at any time... The Land of Lightning has been expanding outward, which is also a dangerous signal for our Hidden Mist Village."

Neji said, "So you think this is acceptable?"

Zabuza said, "Tsunade probably doesn't know how bad the Kirigakure is in right now. She may think that I came to power through rebellion, and my foundation is unstable. With the alternation of old and new forces, Kirigakure will definitely be in chaos for a while, so she and I must both need allies. But on the other hand, we don't know the true situation of Konoha right now, and maybe it's not much better than ours. In short, an alliance with Konoha is also very beneficial to Kirigakure."

"Whether you are involved in this or not... we don't know yet." Bai said: "However, Mr. Zabuza has made a request to Konoha. He asked Konoha to hand over and destroy all the information about you two. In other words... you are no longer Konoha's ninjas, and they can no longer arrest you as traitors."

Neji glanced at me and said nothing.

I said, "If you think it is appropriate to form an alliance, then let's form an alliance. There is no need to go to war if peace can be achieved."

Zabuza seemed to be slightly relieved, and Bai smiled and said, "Mr. Zabuza has always been worried that you would be unhappy if you knew it."

Zabuza stopped him and said, "Bai!"

His face flushed with anger and shame, "Why would I care about this! I am the Mizukage. Do I have to consider other people's opinions when I make the decision to form an alliance?"

I clapped my hands vigorously. "Lord Mizukage is so wise and brave! He will definitely lead the Hidden Mist Village to a bright future!"

Neji asked, "What about the Sand Village?"

Zabuza glanced in Gaara's direction and shook his head: "The Sand Village didn't ask for a meeting, but they didn't leave either. The Anbu who was monitoring them said they seemed to be looking for someone these days."

I looked down at Gaara. He had his eyes closed, and was quiet and silent. I wondered if he had fallen asleep again.

Zabuza said: "Besides, I also considered that Konoha might not really want to form an alliance. Maybe they just stay in the Hidden Mist Village under the guise of an alliance and negotiate to find your traces. So I think it's not a good idea for you to be trapped in the village forever."

Neji asked, "Do you want us to go out on a mission?"

Zabuza nodded and said, "Asaka, if you really want to become the next Mizukage, you need to show more and more convincing achievements. You said before that you are interested in the organization 'Akatsuki'. Hoshigaki Kisame is in this organization. If you can kill him and bring his ninja sword Samehada back to Kirigakure, it will make your reputation even higher. If you can collect all the ninja swords scattered outside the Kirigakure Village... then no one can say that you are not from Kirigakure."

dawn……

Hoshigaki Kisame?

He is Uchiha Itachi's partner!

Hey! Uchiha Itachi!

Do I still need to go find him now?

But - if he is someone recognized by Lord Shikamaru and Orochimaru, then he is a like-minded companion to us!

I used to worry that if I went to him, all the pressure would be put on him, but now, if he encounters difficulties, can I help him?

Can we help each other and work together?

"Of course, this is a long-term mission, and there is no rush to complete it. During this period, you can return to Kirigakure at any time, otherwise your followers will probably think that I assassinated you." Zabuza curled his lips at me, "So I decided to set up a new secret team to investigate Uchiha Madara and recover the ninja sword. Asaro, you will be the leader of this team."

"Where does it belong to?" Neji asked, "Does it belong to the Anbu? Or is it like the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, who only belong to the Mizukage?"

Zabuza said, "I have considered whether to directly include Asaka in the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and form a new Seven Ninja Swordsmen. After all, White Fang is also a sword... But White Fang is too closely connected to Konoha, and it might be bad to provoke Konoha at this time. Besides, Neji and Gaara don't have swords. If only Asaka becomes one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen... You probably don't want to be separated. I also think it's best for you to be together, so - Asaka, give this new team a name."

I thought about it, and a name naturally jumped into my mind, and I couldn't think of any other name: "Insect Nest."

Bai was a little surprised: "Why did you choose this name?"

Compared to a name like "Xiao" which means Dawn, which has a beautiful meaning, "Insect Nest" may indeed sound a little strange.

“Because… because…” I don’t know if I can explain it clearly: “A single bug may be very weak, but as long as they gather together, they can become very powerful… powerful enough to change the world! That’s what I think.”

"Then what do you have any opinions?" Zabuza looked at Neji, "Insect Nest?"

"I have no objection," said Neji.

Gaara closed his eyes, but he seemed to have never fallen asleep: "Yeah."

"Well, this name... sounds like," Zabuza's expression was a little strange, "it should be a bit intimidating."

Neji said: "Don't worry, this won't be the kind of name that our enemies will laugh at, because we will let them know how terrifying we are."

Hearing him say this, Zabuza finally revealed a relaxed smile: "Very confident! Good! I want to create such a powerful presence that will scare them to death when they hear it!"