Moonlight, like a silken ribbon, poured down from the Hyuga Clan secret room's exit, spreading a cold silver blanket over the bluestone path.
Neji walked upon it, each step feeling weightless.
On his forehead, the 'Caged Bird' that had bound his entire childhood and adolescence had vanished. An unprecedented sense of lightness emanated from his limbs, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted. His body was free.
However, he wasn't that happy.
Hyuga Hiashi's final hoarse 'I'm sorry' replayed in his mind again and again.
He knew that this sentence wasn't devoid of warmth.
But not much.
Perhaps from spending too much time with Naruto, Neji could keenly perceive that it was a compromise made under immense pressure, an investment to protect his own daughters' future. Hyuga Hiashi wasn't apologizing to him, but bowing to the power represented by Naruto, clearing future obstacles for Hyuga Hinata and Hyuga Hanabi.
He, Hyuga Neji, was merely a bargaining chip in this cold transaction.
"That's fine."
Neji said to himself in his heart, he looked up and let out a bitter laugh, feeling the vastness of the world.
This was good. No false warmth, no cheap forgiveness, only naked exchange of interests. This was the true face of the world.
Political Commissar Naruto had never said a single word of concern to him. He had only given him a gun, a target.
This was more sincere than any apology.
Neji's steps did not falter in the slightest, nor was there any confusion. He did not walk towards the branch family's courtyard, but at a fork in the road, he unhesitatingly turned into the deepest shadows of the Village.
The moonlight illuminated his path forward.
"At least one round of shooting practice, then I can sleep soundly."
...The next morning.
Zero, as always, reported to Naruto.
"Political Commissar, 'Utsusemi' completed the curse mark removal last night," Zero's tone was positive, "According to the latest psychological assessment, his loyalty and mission focus have reached their peak. The removal of external constraints has triggered a positive reinforcement effect."
"As expected," Naruto didn't turn around, "Give him access to all training materials and set more difficult training missions. He should be in great need of higher intensity stimulation now."
"Yes," Zero responded.
Just then, a faint knock sounded.
"Come in," Naruto said.
The door was pushed open, and Sai walked in.
He looked completely different from before. His uniform was still crisp, but his face no longer held that programmed, empty fake smile. Instead, there was a genuine smile, originating from within, with a hint of shyness and nervousness.
"Political Commissar... my... mission report," Sai's voice was a little low. He walked up to Naruto and handed him something with both hands.
It was the green frog wallet Naruto had given him earlier.
Naruto glanced at the wallet, then at Sai.
"The money in the wallet not only didn't decrease, but it increased instead."
Sai explained a bit sheepishly, "Ino... the Yamanaka Clan instructor said my drawings could be exchanged for dango. She said this is called 'earned income.' She said that things bought with money earned by your own hands taste better."
He seemed to recall something, and quickly and carefully pulled out a scroll from the drawing tube on his back, slowly unrolling it in front of Naruto.
On the painting was a young girl.
With long golden hair and purple eyes, she was smiling brilliantly at a blooming iris.
That smile was no longer just a stacking of lines; the brush captured the glint in the girl's eyes, the curve of her lips, and even the surrounding air seemed to brighten because of it.
The painting style had become vivid and lively.
Naruto took the bulging wallet, weighed it, and his gaze lingered on the painting for a long time.
He looked at the genuine emotional glow in Sai's eyes, at his no longer empty gaze, and smiled with satisfaction.
He pushed the wallet back into Sai's hand.
"Well done, Soldier Sai," Naruto said, his voice betraying little emotion, but Sai felt an unprecedented sense of recognition. "Take this money back; consider it your activity fund with that 'instructor' from the Yamanaka Clan."
Sai was stunned. He clutched the frog wallet tightly, feeling it had never been so heavy. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but Naruto's serious gaze stopped him. In the end, he just nodded heavily, his eyes shining even brighter.
"Yes, Political Commissar!"
Just then, the atmosphere in the command center suddenly changed.
A Root Ninja responsible for intelligence transmission, without any warning, flashed into the room, kneeling on one knee with agile movements.
"Political Commissar, urgent secret report!"
The Ninja presented a scroll with both hands.
Zero stepped forward, took it, quickly unrolled it, and after just one glance, reported in a deep voice, "Two unidentified targets have entered the Land of Fire. Their clothing features black robes with red clouds, and they wear conical hats with wind chimes. They are currently moving at high speed towards Konoha."
Naruto's azure eyes instantly narrowed.
"Pull up the long-range surveillance footage."
The screen switched, and an extremely blurry image, magnified several times, appeared.
In the image, the faces of two individuals were obscured by their hats. One was tall and burly, carrying a large, oddly shaped weapon wrapped in bandages on his shoulder.
Naruto frowned.
"Samehada."
Due to the needs of subsequent plans, he had studied Hidden Mist for a long time, and even if it was just an outline, he would never mistake that living greatsword.
"It's Kisame Hoshigaki."
As for the other one, his build was much more standard. The image was too blurry to identify him.
Naruto's voice became cold and decisive, and a series of clear commands issued from his mouth, "Order all perimeter surveillance nodes to dedicate primary monitoring resources to them. But do not alert them, and do not make any form of contact."
"Yes!" Zero acknowledged the order, his hands rapidly operating the control panel.
An invisible net, centered on Konoha, instantly spread across the entire border of the Land of Fire... Meanwhile, on a dirt road at the Land of Fire's border.
Kisame Hoshigaki carried the greatsword Samehada, his face full of boredom. He bared his sharp-toothed grin and looked at his silent companion walking beside him.
"I say, Itachi-sensei, aren't you even a little curious?" His voice was rough and hoarse, with a hint of playfulness, "That Hidden Mist rogue Ninja, Zabuza Momochi, was cold-blooded and ruthless, even killing his own comrades. And that Ice Release kid named Haku, how did he suddenly become Political Commissar Uzumaki Naruto's loyal dog? It's really baffling."
"I heard that kid now controls Konoha's 'Root,' becoming the second Danzo Shimura. Don't you find it interesting, Itachi-sensei, that such a thing would happen in your hometown?"
Uchiha Itachi looked straight ahead, his steps unchanged, as if he hadn't heard Kisame's incessant chatter.
But in his eyes, hidden beneath the shadow of his hat, three tomoe slowly rotated.
From the moment he entered the Land of Fire, he had sensed a faint, almost imperceptible feeling of being watched.
But this feeling was completely different from the Anbu surveillance methods he remembered in Konoha.
Traditional hidden outposts, no matter how well concealed, would always have a distinct 'point,' a source where Chakra converged.
But now, this sense of being watched was diffuse, formless.
It was as if a stone by the roadside, a leaf overhead, or even the dust floating in the air, had all become eyes.
They were scattered, weak, almost undetectable.
But dozens, even hundreds, of such 'eyes' combined to form an omnipresent, inescapable net.
This was not Konoha's style.
Nor was it the style of Danzo's 'Root.'
"After entering Konoha, our target is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki," Uchiha Itachi finally spoke, his voice calm and unruffled, "Don't cause any unnecessary trouble, Kisame."
"Yes, yes, I know," Kisame shrugged indifferently.
Uchiha Itachi said no more, but within him, a ripple had begun.
Konoha's system, after his departure, seemed to have undergone a qualitative change that he could not have predicted.
This return, he feared, would not be as simple as he had anticipated.
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