Naruto: The Abstract Strategist of the Akatsuki

Chapter 64: Once again, I'm terrified by Konoha's friendship.

After several rounds of competition, today is the last one.

Neji Hyuga vs. Naruto Uzumaki.

What should have been a match where Naruto unleashed his power to defeat Neji, and then finished him off with his talk-no-jutsu, took on a completely different turn.

"I will definitely win! Even as the worst student!"

After Naruto entered, he clenched his fist at Neji with a resolute expression.

"I trust you."

"……what?"

Naruto's resolute expression instantly crumbled.

"I told you I believed in you, and that as long as you gave it your all, you could definitely beat me, but..."

"Naruto Uzumaki, with your strength, you still call yourself a loser? Isn't that a bit much? What about the other ninjas? What about Kiba, whom you defeated?"

Neji calmly had a conversation with Naruto.

"You...you said I'm not a loser, so you acknowledge my abilities?"

Naruto pointed at himself, his face filled with disbelief.

"Yes, that's right."

Neji thought of what had happened in the audience before he went on stage.

Hanabi asked Bai Mo, "Who will win between Neji and Naruto?"

Bai Mo said that Naruto has a higher chance of winning unless Neji can seal Naruto's cheat ability.

The specific method is simply to keep praising him and agree with everything he says.

Bai Mo also gave several examples of fireworks.

Hanabi expressed her doubts and hoped that Neji would give it a try.

Hanabi is still a member of the main family, and Neji has just changed his mind, so he naturally agreed.

"I...I won't lose! I will definitely become Hokage!"

Naruto continued speaking, but this time the first half of his sentence was noticeably less forceful.

"I believe in you, Naruto."

"...You actually believe me?"

Naruto was completely dumbfounded.

No, what's going on?

The other party's attitude is strange.

Even Iruka-sensei only encouraged him and told him to work hard, while the rest of the people mostly mocked him.

How can there be people who believe it directly?

Naruto was puzzled, but he didn't think much of it.

On the contrary, Temari, who had warned Gaara to watch his backside and then circled back in the audience, saw this scene and felt terrified.

There's something wrong with the Hyuga clan!

He initially treated his younger sister from his own clan mercilessly, striking her repeatedly with every move aimed at a vital point. Although he later held back, he still defeated her in the shortest possible time.

Now, when facing Naruto Uzumaki, his words are gentle yet firm.

Holy crap, could it be that this guy sees his sister as a love rival?

"Naruto, do you know that the First Hokage and the Second Hokage were not yet genin when they were thirty years old?"

Naruto, don't be discouraged by this temporary setback. You can definitely become Hokage! I believe in you!

Neji continued to recall what Bai Mo had said to Hanabi, encouraging Naruto.

"Huh? Where did this unofficial history come from?"

Kankuro was completely bewildered.

Even if he doesn't know the history of the ninja world, he knows that the First Hokage and the Second Hokage were both geniuses. How could they not have become genin by the time they were over thirty? This is too far-fetched.

"Are you a pig?"

Temari glanced at her idiot brother. "Did you just copy without reading during the written exam? The First Hokage founded the ninja village at the age of thirty, and the Second Hokage improved upon it, establishing the promotion system for genin, chunin, and jonin, the ninja academy system, and the chunin exam system..."

In other words, before the founding of Konoha, there was no such thing as a genin, so of course they weren't genin even at thirty years old.

"..."

Is this even possible?

"Thank you, Neji! I never imagined that both the First and Second Hokage were like me. I'm full of confidence now!"

"What about the third-generation grandfather? Did he tolerate it when he was thirty?"

Naruto was very happy.

"The Third Hokage was already the Hokage at the age of thirty."

"Oh, the Third Hokage was a genius... what about the Fourth Hokage? Was he also Hokage at thirty?"

"..."

Neji did not answer.

Where did this fourth-generation person get thirty years old?

It's been so many years.

"What you just said to Hinata..."

"If you want to avenge Hinata, then come on, I won't resist. It was indeed my fault."

"..."

"What's with his thick eyebrows?"

"Li wanted to use his true strength to protect the village and the people who were important to him, and he didn't want to foolishly abandon everything for empty fame and vanity."

"..."

A single conversation completely neutralized Naruto's greatest advantage.

Once the two started fighting, Naruto quickly found himself at a disadvantage.

Just as he subconsciously clenched his fist, ready to explode, he suddenly remembered what Neji had just said, and how Lee was willing to lose the match to preserve his strength and protect the people he cared about. Instantly, he softened again.

"The victor is Hyuga Neji!"

"Naruto Uzumaki, I want to be your friend."

Neji stepped forward, reached out, and helped Naruto up from the ground.

"sure!"

This was the first time Naruto had ever met someone who wanted to be his friend, and he was overjoyed. He grabbed Neji's hand and ran towards his team: "Sakura-chan, Sasuke, look, this is my new friend Neji!"

"A friend I just made..."

Upon hearing those two words, Temari shuddered once again.

The friendships within Konoha are definitely problematic!

Today's competition is over, and tomorrow is the final.

In other words, Orochimaru's plan to destroy Konoha is finally about to begin.

On the way back, Bai Mo suddenly thought of a question.

Because of him, Rock Lee has temporarily escaped hemiplegia, but it's not certain that he can completely avoid it.

After all, if the Konoha Crush plan is implemented, Gaara will truly become an enemy, and Rock Lee will be able to open the Eight Gates to protect the important people in his life.

However, Bai Mo was just thinking about it; it was just something he casually mentioned to Kai.

Rock Lee is far inferior to Might Guy, or even Might Day.

It doesn't refer to talent, but to spirit.

Many veteran ninjas in the Boruto era have been "weakened" by the passage of time.

The most frequently mentioned characters are naturally Naruto and Sasuke.

But actually, the one who suffered the most severe nerfs was Rock Lee.

Two years after the peace, Shikamaru started to lose his accuracy in throwing kunai because of his job.

It's understandable that other ninjas are out of practice and unfamiliar with combat due to peace.

But Rock Lee is the only one who shouldn't be.

Doesn't he have self-discipline, constantly train every day, and endlessly improve himself?

During the Fourth World War, he was the supporting character that Kai protected.

By the time of Boruto, the Otsutsuki clan relied on taijutsu for combat, and everyone thought Rock Lee would at least show his skills. But there wasn't even a scene of him fighting his son. Even if he held back, he shouldn't have been kicked away so easily.

As it turned out, Rock Lee did not participate in any of the subsequent intrusions.

Don't say Rock Lee isn't qualified to fight.

The other four Kage, including Chojuro who should have left the group long ago, could all go up and fight.

-

"Dad, I want to ask, was this book, and the one before it, really written by Kakashi?"

"What?! Where did you get this?"

At the Nara residence, while Shikamaru was playing Go with his father Shikaku, he took out the unpublished book that Bai Mo had given him from behind his back. Shikaku's eyes widened when he saw it, and he snatched it away.

Although shocked, he spoke in a soft voice.

It seemed as if they were afraid someone would find out.

"...Of course it was written by Kakashi. In the previous book, 'The Amazing Paradise,' the Raikage... cough cough, didn't Raikage have something transplanted?"

That was Kakashi's own experience—living on with organs from his comrade, and I asked him about it, and he admitted it himself.

As Lu Jiu spoke, he quietly slipped the book he was holding behind his back and hid it.