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

In the darkness, he heard her voice, gentle and calm: "If this is the dark side that even Neji himself finds ugly... then I think it is far from a sin that needs to be forgiven."

He opened his eyes, wanting to know the expression on her face when she said this, to confirm what her tone meant.

"The book says that at our age, we are just beginning to be interested in the opposite sex. I have imagined doing something like this to Neji... but it doesn't matter when I think about it!"

"What?" Neji suspected that he had heard it wrongly. He widened his eyes slightly: "...What have you thought about?"

"It's about the atlas... Don't you remember? I bought the wrong one and left it in the house, and Zabuza found it. You were all there at the time, and Shiro took me to see Mei Terumi-senpai the next day."

Neji spoke incoherently, "Not...you, have you ever thought about...me...?"

"Because you are the closest to Gaara and I. You are always by my side, so of course you will be the first one I think of."

"H-Have you ever thought about, w-what?"

"Ningji has never looked through that atlas?"

"…I flipped through a few pages and closed it immediately."

"it's a pity!"

"Morning dew!"

"What? This is human nature. Why are you so disgusted, as if you will be defiled after watching it! Neji, Gaara, Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru... Aren't you all born because your parents did such things?"

"Wrong sense!"

"Shh..." Seeing Neji's voice getting louder, Chaolu quickly put a finger to her lips, "Don't wake Gaara up."

"..."

Seeing Neji pursed his lips, as if he had a lot to say but didn't know how to start, Chaolu laughed as if she found it very interesting: "Ningji obviously wants to do that kind of thing with me, but when I bring it up you act as if you absolutely won't touch it, how weird!"

"I……!"

"Okay, okay, I get it. That's something that only people with mutual understanding can do. That's something that only people who like each other can do." Chaolu sighed, "But, did Neji's feelings for me change recently? Why could he keep it to himself before, but now he can't seem to bear the pain? Kakashi said... people's feelings will keep changing. People who used to have a good relationship may slowly become cold as time goes by. Sometimes I'm afraid that I will change, or that my friends around me will change... But fortunately, we have walked side by side until now. Neji... people are most likely to change after they gain powerful strength... Are you going to change after you get the Samsara Eye? Don't change, okay?"

"Then tell me one thing."

"what?"

"If you...had thought about being with me...why didn't you do it...?"

"Because lovers will have the seven-year itch!"

"……what?"

"That's right. Lovers will eventually become like family members! And the relationship may break down! They may become enemies! They may get tired of each other! The risk is too great. I don't want that. I want to be with Neji forever. It's safer to be friends! As friends, we just need to maintain the status quo, but as for lovers... Even though I've practiced with Shino for a long time, I still don't have the confidence that we can keep it up forever."

"Forever..." Neji silently repeated these two words, with a helpless bitter smile on his face, "Alas, I really lost to you."

He sat up and watched Chaolu sit up as well.

"Will you stay with me forever?"

"I will always be with you and Gaara." Chaolu thought for a moment and added, "If possible."

The smile on Neji's face was very complicated. He looked at him for a moment and lowered his eyes in frustration: "After exchanging eye techniques with Kakashi, I can no longer clearly know what the other person is thinking like before. Neji, don't give me a difficult question at this time... Now that I can't clearly know your thoughts, I can't give you the answer that will make you happy... If I make the wrong choice, will you leave me?"

"Your eye technique is to spy on memories. When will you be able to read minds?" Neji pinched her face. "You feel that your perception ability has changed. Maybe it's just a psychological effect. You think that the change in your eye technique will have an impact, so you are shaken and no longer confident in yourself."

"is that so?"

"I don't think anything about Asaro has changed," Neji said, "especially your grasp of... other people's emotions. You're still the same as before."

"Did I offer the best solution? The one that would make you happiest and not get you hurt?"

"...So be it."

Zhaolu quickly asked for confirmation: "What does 'sort of' mean?"

"Alas." Neji looked away, looking a little embarrassed: "In fact, the moment I said it, I regretted it. Of course, I'm not saying... I regret liking you. It's just that I know you don't mean that... The pain I expressed was not caused by you, it was my own problem. But I said that... It was like I was coercing you. I hate myself like that... But I don't know what to do... If you reject me, I probably won't know how to face you. But if you agree to me... I also know that you don't feel the same way as I do, and that's not what I want, and in the end there's no way to go back to the way it is now."

Chaolu nervously grasped his sleeve: "What now?"

"Now?" Neji's smile was much more relieved this time. "Now, Chaolu has once again skillfully resolved my emotional crisis. That's amazing."

Chaolu didn't relax immediately. She moved closer to Neji and observed his expression carefully. "Ningji... will it be painful if you can't be my lover?"

"...Normally, it would be like this. But Chaolu is different from ordinary people. Your feelings and thoughts are also different from ordinary people. When you said that you wanted to be with me forever...I thought, well, ordinary people's standards are no longer applicable. I will no longer use the usual rules to ask you." Neji looked into her eyes gently, "Because, I also want to be with Chaolu forever."

"Ningji——!"

Chaolu was moved and hugged him.

“Shh—shh—” Neji smiled and held her in his arms: “You just said it yourself… Gaara is sleeping, don’t wake him up.”

"Wow, wow, but, Neji is fine!" Chaolu hugged his neck tightly and buried her face in his shoulder, "It suddenly makes me want to wag my tail at Neji!"

"…What did you mean?"

"I don't know? I'm just very happy! Very happy! I like you very much! I really want to express my love for you!"

"Don't say such... weird... things. Although I have adjusted my mood, you can't always tease me..."

"Can't you say wag your tail?"

"...Let's just leave it at that." Neji helplessly used his fingers to help her comb her messy long hair: "It's really a puppy-like love."

“Is puppy love bad?”

"I hope Chaolu can love me like a human being."

"It's obviously love! Ningji actually despises me!" Chaolu complained, but didn't take it to heart and was still very happy.

She stretched out her voice and called him softly: "Ningji——"

"what happened?"

She hugged him tightly, and said happily, "Nothing, I just wanted to call you."

"..."

"We got to know each other better, didn't we? We opened up, talked deeply, and expressed our feelings to each other!"

"..."

"And we've both confirmed our feelings for each other! We both want to be with each other forever - that's great! We haven't changed!"

She chattered happily, lost in the afterglow of a deep heart-to-heart with someone close to her, and didn't even react when Neji pinched her chin.

He lifted her face, closed her eyes and kissed her, interrupting her words.

The tent suddenly became quiet.

Neji's expression looked calm and composed, but his fingertips hanging on his knees were trembling slightly due to extreme nervousness: "I think sometimes, Chaolu, you should be taught a lesson."

Chaolu was silent for a moment, revealing a confused expression as if she had learned something new: "...So a kiss can also be a lesson?"

Just as Ningji was about to speak, he suddenly saw a strand of severed hair, abruptly hidden in her long hair.

He frowned and whispered, "What's going on?"