After Neji left, no new member ever joined Might Guy's team. Tsunade had suggested replacements, but everyone politely declined. They insisted that spot belonged to Neji.
And so, the vacancy remained.
Now, Team Guy found themselves intercepted by a clone of Kisame created through the Impersonation Jutsu. The battle was fierce and difficult.
(T/N: Pain allocates a portion of an individual's chakra to a living human sacrifice. This causes the sacrifice to become the individual's identical copy, complete with perfect imitations of the original's kekkei genkai (such as the Sharingan) and unique weapons (such as Samehada).)
Kisame's Water Style had altered the terrain, transforming it into a lake and giving him the upper hand. His jutsu were even more powerful in this environment, easily neutralizing all their attacks.
Rock Lee was the first to charge in, launching a Leaf Whirlwind at Kisame. The latter dodged with ease and instantly created a wall of water to block Lee's follow-up.
Seeing this, Tenten responded quickly, hurling a barrage of ninja tools like a storm of blades, all aimed at Kisame's clone. But Kisame dove into the water, and her attacks missed entirely.
He formed hand seals, and two water clones emerged from the lake's surface. They used Water Prison Technique to trap Lee and Tenten with ease.
Might Guy tried to rush to their aid, but the real Kisame blocked his path.
In an instant, both Tenten and Rock Lee were in serious danger.
Just then, two blasts of compressed air struck the water clones, shattering them and dispelling the Water Prison Technique.
The two gasped for breath, barely escaping disaster.
Tenten's eyes widened. "That was… Neji's Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm?!"
She turned toward the direction of the attack. In the distance, a silhouette appeared, growing clearer as it approached.
"Is that Neji?" she whispered, her heart pounding. It had been three years—could they finally be reunited?
As the figure stepped into view, Tenten could finally see his face. Neji had grown—taller, more mature, even more handsome. Yet that familiar, gentle smile was just as she remembered.
"Neji!" Tenten couldn't hold back anymore. Like a bird returning to its forest, she threw herself into his arms.
Neji missed them too. He gently wrapped his arms around her. After a long while, Tenten finally pulled back, her cheeks flushed.
"Neji, what are you doing here? Weren't you training with your brother? Are you coming back to Konoha with us?"
This was the illusion Gakuya had planted in her mind—she only remembered Neji going off to train with his "brother."
Lee rushed over and gave Neji a warm hug as well.
"Neji! It's been three years! I can't wait to see how strong you've become. We have to spar later!"
Neji didn't answer right away.
"It's good to see you both again, Tenten, Lee. But let's catch up later. First, I need to finish this fight. You two rest—I'll help Guy-sensei."
In a flash, Neji appeared behind the Kisame clone locked in combat with Guy. The student-teacher duo attacked simultaneously—fist and palm landing as one. The clone was destroyed instantly, the Impersonation Jutsu unraveling with its death. The corpse hit the ground, revealing its original appearance, and the surrounding water vanished as the jutsu ended.
Guy, overwhelmed at seeing his long-lost student, pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.
"Ahahaha! Neji! Welcome back to the team!"
"Guy-sensei," Neji greeted with a smile.
Tenten and Rock Lee joined them. Guy, unable to contain his emotion, threw his arms around all three of them and let tears stream down his face.
"Konoha's Team Three… is together again!"
It took a while before Guy, fully caught in the moment, finally let go.
Tenten turned to Neji again. "Wait, weren't you training with your brother?"
She still had fond memories of Hyuga Gakuya—she remembered how he once had her and Neji living together in the same apartment for a long time. And he even called her "little sister." What a mess of a love story...
Neji nodded. "I trained with him for three years. He said I was strong enough now… and kicked me out."
Tenten's eyes lit up. "Well, since you have nowhere to go, why don't you come back to Konoha with us?"
"I do plan to return for a while," Neji said without hesitation. "Then I'll travel the Shinobi World for some real-world experience." He wanted to visit Hinata and Hanabi, even though Gakuya forbade him from revealing the truth. Still, he hoped to persuade them to let go of their hatred.
Tenten's eyes sparkled even more. "That's great! Your old house was reclaimed by Konoha… want to stay at my place?"
"Wouldn't that be… inconvenient?"
"Not at all! My house is big, and we've got empty rooms."
"We should get back to the mission," Guy interrupted gently. Time was slipping away, and he couldn't let their reunion delay the task at hand.
"Alright then, you head back to Konoha first. We'll be back as soon as we're done," Tenten said.
Since Neji had been taken away by Gakuya three years ago, he was technically no longer a Konoha ninja. There was no need for him to carry out missions.
"It's fine. I'll come with you," Neji replied with a calm smile.
...
Elsewhere, Uchiha Itachi appeared before the rescue squad. Jūgo and Kimimaro remembered Gakuya's orders and immediately stepped forward.
"We'll hold him off. You guys continue the mission," Kimimaro said.
"This guy's an S-rank rogue. We should take him down together before moving on," Kakashi said, drawing his short blade, ready for battle.
But Jūgo had already activated his Sage Cursed Seal Mode. Thanks to his enhanced perception, he sensed that the person in front of them was just a clone.
"This is only a shadow clone. At most, it has thirty percent of the real Itachi's power. We can handle him. Once we're done, we'll catch up."
With help from Federation technology, Jūgo had long since mastered his power. Going berserk was no longer a problem.
"Understood. Kimimaro, Jūgo… I'm counting on you. I'll bring Gaara back," Naruto said before moving on with the rest of the group, circling around Itachi.
"Thank you," Chiyo added, bowing in gratitude.
"As long as it's the Supreme Leader's orders, we will carry them out without question," Kimimaro said as he drew a bone blade from his palm.
He closed his eyes and entered the second stage of the Sage Cursed Seal. Against a Sharingan user, sensing with Sage Mode was far more effective.
That was something he'd learned from his many fights with Sasuke.
Itachi watched them go. With only thirty percent of his full power, he had no chance of stopping that many people—and these two opponents weren't easy to shake off, either.
"I'm going in!" Jūgo roared, chakra blasting from his back like rocket thrusters as he charged toward Itachi.
Itachi sidestepped with the help of his Sharingan's dynamic vision, narrowly avoiding the strike.
Kimimaro didn't let the opening go to waste. In a flash, he was beside Itachi, bone blade slicing through the air.
Itachi countered instantly. His arm ignited in flame as he unleashed a Fire-Style Taijutsu technique—a move passed down to him during his time in the ANBU under Gakuya.
Before Kimimaro's blade could land, Itachi's punch sent him flying back.
Kimimaro dared not open his eyes. He relied solely on his Sage Mode senses, but even so, he was still a step too slow.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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