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A few days later, the fire hotpot restaurant finally received its verdict. After intense debate within the Hyūga clan, a decision had been reached.
Neji had invested his late father Hizashi's entire inheritance and, in return, secured 10% of the shop's total profits.
As for the property intended for his private lab, there were no objections. It was purchased with his own funds, and with Hiashi's approval as guardian, no one could say otherwise.
Clearly, the clan hadn't taken the hotpot business very seriously.
That said, Neji knew Hiashi had likely pushed behind the scenes otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten that generous cut.
Although the restaurant property was technically Neji's, the business itself would be managed by the clan. That was fine. Neji wasn't about to run it himself he was still a seven-year-old Academy student, after all.
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The shop was under renovation. Neji visited the site a few times, but since the blueprints had been detailed, nothing went wrong.
Now, though, he was inside his private lab, setting it up.
There wasn't much just a few chakra and nerve research tools he'd collected over the year. Compared to the empty space, it all felt laughably minimal.
"The lab is just a label," he muttered. "What matters is privacy. Finally… my own place."
He placed down a few daily essentials. In the future, he planned to split his time between this lab and the clan compound.
Knock, knock, knock.
Neji blinked. Someone was at the door.
When he opened it, he found Hiashi and Hinata waiting outside.
The little girl peeked curiously past her father into the room, wondering if Neji-nii was… moving out.
Her eyes dimmed a little.
"Clan Head."
Neji bowed. Hiashi nodded in return and looked past him into the lab.
"I came to see if you needed help… but it seems you've got it under control."
"You're too kind. There's not much here just personal items. I also don't like others touching my things."
Hiashi nodded. "Understood. I checked the restaurant earlier and it'll be ready in two days. Any last-minute requests?"
Neji thought a moment, then shook his head.
"Good," Hiashi said with a faint smile. "Invite some of your classmates to the grand opening. Strong connections are important, Neji."
"Yes, sir."
That reminded him of Rock Lee and Tenten. Those two had treated him kindly. He'd invite them for sure.
As for the others? Neji inwardly shook his head.
Hiashi seemed satisfied.
"Very well. If there's anything else you need, don't hesitate to ask."
He gave Neji's shoulder a reassuring pat, his gaze lingering briefly on the blindfold.
Then—
"Father, I want to stay with Neji-nii," Hinata said softly.
Hiashi didn't object. He just gave a quiet "mm."
He'd already noticed Hinata was far more relaxed with Neji than with himself. Neji's guidance clearly worked more than his own ever had.
"Take care of her, Neji."
"Of course, Clan Head."
Hiashi left, and Neji turned his attention to the girl now lingering in his lab.
He activated his Mind Net and scanned her chakra flow. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
"…Why did you suddenly want to stay?" he asked.
Hinata hesitated, twisting her fingers behind her back. Then she looked up at him.
"Neji-nii… are you moving out?"
'Ah,' Neji thought. 'So that's what this is about.'
She was too precious.
He shook his head slightly. "I thought about it. But I won't be moving out until after graduation."
"Really?"
Her eyes lit up, that cloud of worry vanishing instantly.
Neji couldn't help himself he reached out and patted her head. "So don't worry, okay?"
Hinata's face flushed pink, and she fiddled with her hands again.
'She's really too easy to read' Neji smiled inwardly.
"Wanna come in and take a look?"
"Can I?"
Her eyes lit up again but her voice was hesitant. He'd said earlier he didn't like people touching his stuff.
She remembered that.
Neji smiled. "Of course. You're Hinata. There's no problem."
"Come on in, though. Honestly, there's not much to see."
"There definitely is!"
Hinata quickly followed him inside, curiosity sparkling in her eyes. Bottles, tubes, odd contraptions she'd never seen before it all looked like it came out of a science fiction novel.
"These are for experiments," Neji explained. "Mostly for researching chakra and nerve pathways. There's not much yet, but after I start getting profits from the restaurant, that'll change."
Experiments cost money. A lot of money.
But what else could he do? Rely on Orochimaru?
As skilled as the Snake Sannin was… trusting him would be suicidal.
The day he dared approach that snake would be the day he ended up dissected on an operating table by morning.
These tools, humble as they were, were all part of the plan the plan to prepare for a massacre.
Because Sasuke Uchiha would awaken his Sharingan at age seven. That meant the Uchiha Clan would be wiped out by that age.
Neji was six.
'Time to level up faster' he thought, glancing at his system status.
Hinata nodded along, half-understanding.
Neji brought her to the next room.
"This'll be my bedroom. You can rest here too if you like."
PSSHH!
Steam practically burst from Hinata's head.
Neji chuckled but wisely held back. He didn't want her fainting on the floor.
Besides, he'd already hijacked the infamous "Naruto saves Hinata" scene. With that butterfly effect in place, Naruto was now chasing after Sakura… or maybe even Sasuke.
Let him deal with the drama.
As for Neji?
Well, during his first life, he'd traded away everything everything for a single resurrection token. But a few low-level items had remained, including one from a certain Revolutionary commander.
Emporio Ivankov's gender-bending hormone.
Yeah. He still had a little of that.
But It's useless to him
Maybe it will be useful against gender-bending a enemy.
He glanced back at the still-blushing Hinata.
"Still the same shy little Hinata," he teased.
"Neji-nii!" she protested, red-faced.
She playfully raised her little fists and half-heartedly swung at his chest which he easily dodged.
"Okay, okay. I'll stop teasing," he laughed. "Now that I've got my own place, how about we celebrate?"
Hinata blinked. "Celebrate?"
"Let's go get some Ichiraku Ramen. My treat."
She lowered her head. "It's not because I eat a lot, right…?"
"…Maybe just a little," Neji said with a smirk.
Hinata puffed her cheeks. "Neji-nii eats way more than I do!"
"…Touché."
He couldn't argue that. With all his chakra control training, Haki conditioning, and remnants of his pirate-world appetite… yeah. He probably ate more than she did.
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[Support with 100 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter]