For a period of time after this, Shinji almost only allowed his disciples to practice in the training ground. At other times, he mostly tutored them on more theoretical knowledge.
Even for classroom rewards, Shinji intentionally guided them towards methods of acquiring Chakra. The results were not bad. At least, by accumulating little by little recently, he had gained another two thousand points of Chakra.
"Make the Confrontation Seal."
On the Training Ground, Shinji said to Naruto and Neji.
Naruto and Neji both raised their hands, waiting for their teacher to give the command to start.
"Battle, begin!"
As Shinji's words fell, Naruto immediately took a deep breath.
Gentle Fist!
Neji was the first to attack, as this was his first challenge against Naruto.
Eternal Fist: Open Hand!
Naruto, with his Chakra rapidly circulating, parried Neji's attack.
Next was his right hand!
The contact of Chakra allowed Naruto to perceive Neji's next move, and he immediately changed his blocking stance.
Bang!
Neji's Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm was caught by Naruto, and the ground behind him was broken by the misdirected Vacuum Palm.
Neji frowned slightly. Eternal Fist somewhat countered Gentle Fist.
Naruto then quickly attacked Neji with a straight punch. Athough he didn't want to admit it, Neji in front of him was even stronger than Hinata.
As Naruto attacked, the two gradually became entangled, exchanging blows.
Bang! Bang!
Naruto and Neji seized the opportunity to exchange palm strikes, and instantly, both were sent flying by each other's palm force.
"This guy, such a fast reaction!"
Naruto, who had stopped his steps, looked at Neji with a bit of disbelief. In his last move, Neji was originally being suppressed by him, but he didn't expect to be seized by an opportunity.
Neji wiped away the trace of blood from the corner of his lips. That palm strike was him forcefully breaking through his Chakra pathways to counterattack. He was temporarily unable to use Chakra now.
"The victor has been decided, Naruto wins!" Shinji raised his right hand and announced the result.
"You are very strong. At least in taijutsu, you are even stronger than Sasuke." Naruto walked over and said to Neji.
Neji raised an eyebrow, not answering.
Instead, Sasuke, who was off the field, couldn't take it anymore, did Naruto really have to keep mentioning his name?
"All right, Neji, come here first, and I'll help you recover." Shinji said.
Are the little ones nowadays all so reckless?
Neji nodded and followed Shinji's steps. Naruto, on the other hand, blinked, a little unsure of what was happening.
Hinata, who had walked over to help Naruto treat his arm, saw Naruto's confusion and spoke, "Naruto, Neji-nii-san's last strike just now was actually forced, causing damage to his Chakra pathways."
Naruto was stunned when he heard this, saying with a look of disbelief, "Huh? It's just a spar, is it really necessary?"
Hinata frowned, but she didn't know what to say either.
Neji, following behind Shinji, was bowing his head, reflecting on his actions just now.
Was he too hasty, or for some other reason?
Arriving at a spot, Shinji stopped, turned around, and placed his hand on Neji's back. Yang Chakra quickly soothed Neji's injured Chakra pathways.
After a long while, Neji said with an apologetic expression, "I'm sorry, Shinji-sensei."
Shinji asked with a smile, "Why are you sorry?"
Neji was stunned, then spoke without hiding anything, "I don't know why, but I really wanted to win—"
Shinji slowly withdrew his Chakra and said, "Everyone wants to win. Even Naruto and Sasuke, who always dislike each other, it's actually because they really want to win against each other."
"I am different from them." Neji shook his head.
He wanted to win because he didn't want to disappoint Shinji, after all, he had even given him that thing. If he didn't show the potential he should have, Neji was very worried that Shinji would be disappointed.
Shinji reached out and patted Neji's head, speaking slowly, "You are just a child now, you don't need to have too many thoughts."
"I actually hope even more that you can be like Naruto and Sasuke, having a mindset of mutual acceptance."
"Build bonds with them."
"Although this cannot enhance strength, it can allow you to learn some things from them."
"Your thoughts are actually similar to Naruto's at the very beginning."
Neji was stunned when he heard this, and couldn't help but look at Shinji.
"Naruto had no parents from birth, I was the first person to accept him. Neji, you should be able to understand Naruto's feelings."
Shinji didn't say too much, just explained some reasons.
Having no parents from birth.
Hearing this, Neji was lost in thought for a long time. Compared to him, Naruto was even more—
"You don't need to feel pity towards Naruto, the current Naruto is stronger than many people."
Shinji looked at Neji's changing eyes, naturally knowing what he was thinking. However, in Shinji's opinion, Naruto indeed didn't need anyone's pity. He now had companions by his side, to whom he could entrust his back. Moreover, his strength was already much greater than many people's.
Neji was silent for a long time after hearing this.
"Naruto has found his direction, but Neji, although you have a goal to pursue, besides that matter, what other things do you want to do?"
"Other things I want to do?"
Shinji's words made Neji fall into thought, which had not happened since his father's death. It seemed to have happened once, when he was branded with the Caged Bird Cursed Seal.
At that time, he had once said to his father: "I want to change my destiny!"
It's just that, with his father's death, Neji seemed to be more guided by the hatred for the main family.
Shinji pointed at Neji's chest with his hand, speaking slowly, "I should have told you that the cursed seal is only on your forehead, not in your heart."
"Find back the things you once wanted to do. By the time they are completed, you might have other directions."
"I understand, sensei." Neji raised his head and said seriously.
Shinji said to Neji with a beaming smile, "See, aren't you already changing? If it were the old you, you would have bowed by now."
Neji's face stiffened, he had always done that before. Shinji had mentioned him to stop it several times. He didn't expect that the first time he changed, he would actually be teased by Shinji. However, it felt very different. Without the Hyuga clan's rules and restraints, he felt much more relaxed.
His teacher didn't need him to be overly respectful at all. In this period of time, Neji had already seen many instances of Naruto, Sasuke, and others getting along well with Shinji.
(End of Chapter)
New Book
Marvel: Infinite Stat Points
Transmigrating to Marvel, Lucas awakens two talents.
[Energy Absorption: Can absorb any energy and convert it into lifespan.]
[Stat Transfer: Lifespan can be converted into Physique, Perception, and Spirit.]
Additionally, every time all stats are maxed out, he can choose to upgrade to the next rank.
From an ordinary person to an extraordinary person, then a God and...
So, the quest for energy begins and he negotiates (blackmails) energy from Dimensional Lords.