Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 250 Invitation to Battle

The commotion didn't last long, because soon a ninja in a green vest appeared in the classroom. He stood on the podium with a serious expression, scanning the entire class with his authoritative gaze. The energetic students were immediately startled; they quickly shut their mouths, obediently returned to their seats, and waited for the teacher to announce the group results.

The ninja on the platform began loudly announcing the group assignments. After listening to all the group assignments, Hiashi Hyuga narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sharpening. He secretly glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi not far away, pondering what the Hokage's intentions were.

Meanwhile, many people also noticed the list, and they all wore thoughtful expressions. Clearly, the list surprised and puzzled them, but they all chose to remain silent and accept the result. After all, this involved the Hokage's decision, and no one dared to easily question or refute it.

In the ensuing silence, everyone seemed to have tacitly accepted Hiruzen Sarutobi's group assignment. Hiashi Hyuga, however, fell into deep thought, considering what might happen next and how to respond.

Then, those who had received the mission to instruct Jonin began to head to the classroom to pick up their students.

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his gaze back to Neji Hyuga, believing this to be a rare opportunity for Neji to be included in the group.

"Neji, your age is perfect for this, why don't you join one of the teams? With the help of a Jonin instructor, you can learn a lot more experience."

The surrounding Konoha ninja all turned their gazes to Hiruzen Sarutobi, filled with doubt and confusion. They had already noticed the Hokage's unusually polite, even obsequious, treatment of this brat. Just who was this brat? From his appearance, he was merely an ordinary member of the Hyuga clan. Even if they needed to mend relations with the Hyuga clan, this wasn't the necessary level of courtesy. What was even more surprising was the brat's utter lack of respect for the Hokage, completely disregarding the great Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. This left everyone bewildered and dissatisfied.

Hiashi Hyuga also cast a hostile glance, staring intently at Hiruzen Sarutobi. At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's actions undoubtedly placed Neji Hyuga in a precarious situation. If Neji refused to join, the Konoha ninja present would perceive the Hyuga clan as unapproachable, too aloof and cold, unwilling to truly integrate into Konoha. This would place the Hyuga clan under considerable trouble and pressure.

Hyuga Neji glanced at his uncle's expression and immediately understood his attitude. Furthermore, the things Hiruzen Sarutobi had proposed were completely meaningless to him at this point. Their mission experience was irrelevant. What he needed now was to deepen his mental cultivation and hone his soul power; ninja missions were simply a waste of his precious training time. As for combat experience, it wasn't the most crucial thing for Hyuga Neji at this stage. The best time to increase combat experience would be after he broke through to the Innate Realm.

"No need. My focus right now is on training. I can talk about ninja experience later. Besides, ninja mission experience is meaningless to me. I won't waste my time on these unnecessary things," Hyuga Neji replied calmly.

Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could even say anything, the ninjas around him felt insulted. To them, Neji Hyuga's words meant that he disregarded their years of accumulated experience and even denied the very meaning of their existence as ninjas.

Some staunch supporters of Hiruzen Sarutobi had long harbored resentment towards Neji Hyuga. Their most revered Hokage treated him with such courtesy, yet Neji responded with this attitude, which they found unbearable. The Hokage's politeness towards Neji stemmed from his reputation for kindness and compassion, but Neji seemed ungrateful, mistaking the Hokage's benevolence for his own arrogance.

A young ninja carrying a ninja sword finally couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up angrily, "Hyuga brat, show some respect! Don't think that just because you're from the Hyuga clan, you can act so recklessly. The Hokage is kind and friendly to kids like you, but that's not a reason for you to be arrogant. Didn't you say that our ninja experience is useless to you? Then show us what you've got. Let's have a spar."

"Hayate, step back," Hiruzen Sarutobi commanded sternly. However, in reality, Hiruzen was quite pleased with Hayate's actions. He knew Hayate not only held him in high esteem but also understood the importance of upholding the Hokage's dignity and status. Furthermore, and most importantly, Hiruzen was currently filled with curiosity about Hyuga Neji—Hyuga Kanan's prized student. He wanted to see just how far the student, carefully trained by Kanan, could go. Hayate perfectly fulfilled this need. His strength was between Chunin and Jonin; if he used his full swordsmanship, he might barely reach Jonin level, making him the perfect candidate to test Neji's abilities.

The disciples trained by Hyuga Kanan are undoubtedly exceptionally capable. Even at their young age, they are far beyond the reach of ordinary genin, and might even be difficult for chunin to handle. However, the strength of Gekko Hayate, a special jonin, should be sufficient for this task. He can defeat Hyuga Neji, upholding the honor of Konoha ninjas, without giving the impression that Konoha is bullying the weak. This arrangement is just right, showcasing Konoha's strength while demonstrating respect for the opponent.

Seeing that Hayate Gekko had retreated after hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's order, his eyes still glaring angrily at him, Neji Hyuga smiled slightly. He now sensed some of Hiruzen Sarutobi's intentions. Although the latter had ordered Hayate Gekko to retreat, he hadn't denied it, clearly intending to facilitate the challenge. While he had no interest in such battles, as a disciple of Kanan Hyuga, he couldn't allow himself to be underestimated. Moreover, if he didn't demonstrate his strength, more trouble would likely arise in the future, disrupting his training progress.

Hyuga Neji felt he was being underestimated; a mere Special Jonin dared to test his strength. Thinking this, Neji bowed to Hiruzen Sarutobi and said, "Hokage-sama, although this senior wants to learn from me, isn't he underestimating me too much? Let that one over there handle it; as for the others, let's forget about them." He then pointed to Kakashi Hatake, who was watching with amusement.

Hyuga Neji had heard his uncle, Hyuga Hiashi, recount Kakashi Hatake's exploits and knew he was a genius ninja, exceptionally talented. More importantly, Kakashi's father, Hatake Sakumo, had been praised by their teacher and considered a powerful ninja. Even the proud Hyuga Kanan didn't think highly of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, considering him mediocre. Sakumo's high praise from his teacher speaks volumes about his strength, placing him among the top ninjas in the world. As Sakumo's son, Kakashi likely inherited his family's excellent genes. While he might not reach his father's level, he would certainly be a formidable fighter.

However, after scanning with his soul power, Hyuga Neji was very disappointed to find that the aura emanating from the other party posed no pressure on him at all. Although it was not bad, it was far from the oppressive feeling he had imagined.

Kakashi Hatake felt helpless, thinking he was incredibly unlucky. How could he be the one getting caught up in this drama? He had always been a lazy and easygoing person and really didn't want to fight with kids! After all, as an elite Jonin of Konoha, even if the other party was a ninja from the Hyuga clan, he was just a little brat and had no right to fight him.

Seeing Kakashi Hatake's refusal, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew the latter had no intention of attacking. Furthermore, Hiruzen felt Neji Hyuga was far too arrogant. Kakashi was one of the strongest ninjas in Konoha, among the elite Jonin. For him to attack a child who was only 12 or 3 years old seemed like bullying a child of much greater strength.

Hayate Gekko, standing behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, felt his anger reach its peak. He felt completely ignored. As a Special Jonin of Konoha, while his strength might not be the absolute best in the village, it was certainly not something a mere child could compare to. Even the Uchiha clan's orphan, the best student at the Ninja Academy, was only considered decent. He could easily defeat him, without even expending much effort. But this brat from the Hyuga clan was blatantly disregarding him; he was incredibly arrogant. It seemed he needed to teach him a lesson and show him reality.

"Lord Hokage, it seems the other party is truly arrogant. I must make him truly understand the strength of Konoha ninjas." Hayate Gekko glared angrily at Neji Hyuga not far away, then respectfully pleaded with Hiruzen Sarutobi in front of him. He desperately wanted to rush forward and show the other party why the flowers were so red, but he dared not act rashly in front of the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and his first action was to make a request.