The Ultimate Ninja Tool of the Shinobi World

At this moment, Naruto, the clueless fool, suddenly blurted out,

"Hey, you both have white eyes—are you brother and sister?"

Everyone present couldn't help but roll their eyes internally.

Come on, they both have the iconic Byakugan of the Hyuga clan. Is it really that hard to guess they're related?

Seriously, how dense can you get to even ask that out loud?

Besides, it was obvious the two Hyuga siblings weren't exactly pleased with that identity being brought up in front of others.

Naruto, your timing is horrendous!

Do you even have any observational skills?

"Humph," Hyuga Neji snorted coldly, immediately brushing off the yellow-haired boy in the orange tracksuit as an idiot.

Hinata, on the other hand, had a far gentler personality. She and Naruto were classmates in the same year, so she could at least be considered an acquaintance.

And due to Tian Yu's presence in this timeline, Hinata's original feelings were altered.

At this point, Hinata no longer harbored the same shy crush on Naruto as in the original storyline. Now, he was just a regular classmate to her.

So when Naruto spoke, Hinata showed no sign of embarrassment.

Instead, she replied softly in her usual gentle tone,

"Yes, Naruto-kun, Brother Neji is my cousin. We're both from the Hyuga clan."

"Neji?"

Upon hearing that name, Naruto paused. It sounded oddly familiar.

He began rubbing his chin thoughtfully, rummaging through his memories.

Suddenly, a spark of realization lit up in his eyes.

He slapped his thigh and shouted:

"I remember now! He's that genius kid who got taken out by Brother Tian Yu in one move!"

The moment those words left his mouth, the entire atmosphere froze.

"Pfft—"

Hyuga Neji almost coughed up a mouthful of old blood.

His face darkened to the point that it looked like ink might drip from it.

It was as if an old wound that had just started healing had been mercilessly torn open again.

Everyone else around wore strange and mixed expressions.

Hinata Hyuga: Naruto-kun... you actually brought that up. Neji-san will be heartbroken...

Tian Yu: Naruto, you're basically dancing on Neji's emotional grave right now...

Tenten: Big brother, this new friend of yours seems like a total airhead.

Rock Lee: I didn't think there could be someone even more oblivious than me! Tian Yu, let him join us—now I'm not the dumbest anymore!

Finally, it was Tian Yu, now full of black lines across his forehead, who stood up to break the awkward silence.

He walked up beside Naruto and introduced him to the rest of the group.

"This is Naruto. He's Hinata's classmate. From today on, we're all friends."

The group nodded and began introducing themselves in turn:

"My name is Tenten. I'm Tian Yu's younger sister. Nice to meet you, Naruto~"

"My name is Rock Lee. I'm Tian Yu's classmate. We'll be good friends from now on~"

"I'm Hinata. We're classmates, though we haven't talked much before. I look forward to learning from you, Naruto-kun."

"Neji. Hmph."

...

"Alright, alright! Since we've all introduced ourselves, let's get the picnic started! We've got plenty to do. Let's move!" Tian Yu said with a smile.

Everyone nodded and sprang into action.

The fire was lit, the skewers were prepared, vegetables were chopped.

Just as Tian Yu was about to lend a hand, Hyuga Neji walked up and said coldly:

"Tian Yu, I want to challenge you again!"

"Let's fight. This time, I'll defeat you!"

"Right now?" Tian Yu frowned.

If he refused… this stubborn guy probably wouldn't let it go, and things might escalate.

So Tian Yu replied, "Fine, I'll accept your challenge—but only if we add a wager."

Neji raised an eyebrow. "What kind of wager?"

Tian Yu grinned, "If you win, I'll give you the title of chief student—and the recognition as the true genius. But if you lose, you'll take over all my work at the barbecue later!"

Neji hesitated briefly before nodding. "Alright. I accept!"

He couldn't allow his past failure to linger in his heart. If he didn't face it now, Tian Yu would become a psychological wall he might never surpass.

I won't fall again!

I will defeat him!

"Let's go, then." Tian Yu turned and walked away from the group.

They needed space to battle. Besides, Tian Yu didn't want to ruin the day's picnic setup.

Boom-boom—

Sounds of battle soon echoed from the distant forest.

"Place your bets!" Tenten grinned as she looked around. "Who do you think will win—my brother or Hyuga Neji?"

Naruto was the first to shout, "Big Brother Tian Yu! He's definitely gonna win!"

Hinata nodded gently, "Neji-nii-san has strong talent… but I still think Tian Yu-kun will win."

Rock Lee folded his arms confidently and crossed his index fingers, analyzing, "Ten minutes. Tian Yu will definitely wrap it up within ten minutes."

That fast?!

Naruto and Hinata both widened their eyes in disbelief.

But Tenten shook her head, raised three fingers, and smirked mysteriously, "Three minutes. That's all it'll take for my brother to end this."

Even Rock Lee was stunned this time.

After all, in recent days, Hyuga Neji's strength at the Ninja Academy had been exceptional.

Not only that, but he had spent time studying Tian Yu's techniques. This time, he definitely wouldn't be as reckless as before. There was no way he'd lose that quickly again, right?

Unless…

Tian Yu's strength had grown to an unimaginable level?

As the others continued speculating, Tian Yu and Neji emerged from the forest.

Tian Yu looked completely untouched—his clothes not even stained with dust.

Hyuga Neji, on the other hand, looked like he had taken a direct hit from a typhoon—his nose was bruised, his face swollen. The result was obvious to everyone.

Still, no one had expected it would be exactly as Tenten predicted.

From start to finish, the battle had lasted less than three minutes!

"How did you know?" Everyone turned to Tenten.

She gave a mysterious smile and explained, "Because... my brother's hungry. He wanted to eat as soon as possible!"

Boom—!

Everyone froze, their expressions filled with thunder and disbelief.

So it was because of hunger that he decided to wrap up the battle in three minutes?

If it weren't right before dinner, maybe Tian Yu would've entertained Neji with a longer fight—maybe even helped him regain a bit of his confidence.

But now? Since Tian Yu was eager to eat, he went all out right away.

It was a clear, overwhelming victory.

Thinking about it, wasn't Neji just a bit too pitiful?

As they glanced at him, their expressions softened with sympathy.