Notice: I do not own Naruto, and make no claims of copyright on the
characters who are not my property. Original characters, however, are mine.
Author's Notes: This chapter is something of an interlude, but important things happen anyway. Still, this is basically the switch from the 'become a dragon ninja' part of the story to another story arc.
Reviewers: Many thanks to all, and some comments:
Synaptix: This is actually almost an all-original character fic, since Neji is currently stuck between life and death at the moment. Regardless, I wrote this in the way it is because I didn't want to change the plotline but add to it. I'm glad you appreciate it.
Ravens Quill: Battles are actually the hardest part to write, since its difficult to keep the tension high and the detail high at the same time, it nice to know I seem to be managing some sort of balance.
Orlha: The past of the mysterious Xi will eventually become clear, slowly and mostly far in the future. I do keep dropping little hints though.
Day of Expectation
The Hokage's office was an intimidating sight for most of those who visited for the first time. With its mountain of reports and the stern presence of Tsunade crowding the small room there were few ninja who could not help but feel that they were not interrupting something important that did not concern them by being there. It was an effective tool for the Hokage to have at busy times.
Neji was not intimidated. Tsunade was not someone who truly impressed him. He did not deny her power, certainly, but he thought she lacked focus. The Fifth simply failed to measure up to the grand expectations he had been given before actually meeting her. Of course, this was partly a side effect of her constant use of Henge, which Neji could see completely through with glances of his Byakugan. That two-faced nature lowered his perceptions of Tsunade further than for those who were simply aware of the illusion. Still, he was respectful, as he always was to those more powerful than himself.
The dragon ninja who stood next to Neji was certainly not respectful. Instead he was visibly tense, as was Tsunade. The two ninja stared at each other viscously whenever there was silence, as if locked in a match of wills. They were opposites, and though they nominally served the same side Xi and Tsunade's visions of the ninja were so utterly incompatible as to make their dislike perhaps far fiercer than if they had been enemies. However, they kept that behind their teeth and managed to at least appear civil to each other.
"I have the reports you two submitted." Tsunade began, gesturing to the sheets of paper she held. Neji looked at those papers angrily, for Xi had forced him to compose his own report, and the process was mind-numbing and ridiculous enough to make him understand why many upper level ninja always forced them on their subordinates. Tenten had always been given the duty of completing his team's. The situation was made more aggravating because Xi and Neji's relationship had no classification. The form they had submitted described a mission between "temporarily allied ninja from different shinobi countries," and broke most of the acceptable protocols for such things. It also made the reports almost completely useless. Making that out was a waste of my time. Neji glowered at the memory.
"We all know these things aren't very helpful." Tsunade continued, being frank. "Still, I gather that you accomplished the mission and drove the Waterfall ninja off. That is acceptable." Now she glowered at both of them, her kind face growing stormy and angry. "You also undertook an action outside your objectives, and killed a Waterfall ninja in the process." She fumed. "I will not accept that, Xi"
"That is not my responsibility." Xi answered calmly. "That dragon mission was undertaken entirely by Draci Neji, I was simply in the area with him because of our joint mission. You will have to address your complaints to him."
"Don't dodge responsibility Xi!" Tsunade barked at him. "You were the one who instigated this."
"Missions in the service of the dragons are undergone by all dragon ninja." Xi replied coldly. "This was Neji's mission, for a dragon I neither summoned nor spoke to. Say what you will, but you cannot hold me responsible for this."
"Fine." Tsunade hissed. "Very well. Neji." She turned her angry gaze towards him. "What excuse do you offer for this violation of orders?"
For the past few exchanges Neji had been thinking rapidly. Xi had not prepared him for these questions, and was forced to try and come up with something that would satisfy Tsunade without the older ninja's aid. Damn! He thought. What do I say? "I was given the mission by the dragon I summoned." He began.
"I don't care!" Tsunade bellowed. "I don't care about all your dragon ninja garbage. You are a ninja of Konoha! You follow my direction, not those of some spirit beast!"
Thinking fast, Neji managed a halfway thought out response. "But, but those directions did not conflict."
"What?" Tsunade looked incredulous. "You expect me to believe that?"
Having begun in this vein Neji thought fast, and tried to continue. "Well, we did not violate our orders. The mission I carried out for the dragons resulted from our pursuit of the fleeing Waterfall ninja, and we did not cross over into Waterfall country."
"So!" Tsunade's anger hadn't faded in the slightest. Her brow had gathered together stormclouds filled with fury. Neji knew only some of it was cause by this incident, and most by the mountain of reports that the Hokage reputedly despised dealing with constantly. "That doesn't excuse killing another ninja! You had no reason to do that!"
Neji heard those words and felt anger rise in him, but he held it back, forcing control. How dare she imply that I wanted to kill Ryukin! He raged. He could still see that body in his mind, the absolute destruction of the front of a man. "He attacked first." Neji answered, voice as cold as it had ever been, the dark viciousness in it. "I asked him to give back what he had stolen, and he attacked me. I had no way to win the battle without killing him. He would have killed me. He did not even offer a chance to surrender." Neji stared at Tsunade, making him stare at his body, to see the fading burn marks on his arms, legs, and face. He could have said nothing more, but he continued, saying one final thing. "Do not say that Xi should have stopped him, he cannot fight without killing another, the same as me. We are dragon ninja, those who fight us know death is the consequence." The instant after saying those words Neji felt he had betrayed himself. Did I really mean that? It seemed as if he had stolen the phrases from Xi's mouth. Still, they are true, that is my fate, to kill, and you cannot change that Tsunade.
For long moments Tsunade stared deep into Neji, and he could feel her trained medic's eyes probing him, body and soul. Still, as deep as her gaze penetrated, it was nothing compared to the Byakugan his uncle could inflict upon him. He had nothing to hide that such a glimpse could penetrate. "Be very careful with when you think like that, Neji." Tsunade said at last, voice low and defined. "Justification of death is a dangerous road."
Neji nodded, but did not say anything in response. He measured the words, but concluded that Tsunade wasn't saying anything he didn't already know.
Turning away from Neji, Tsunade looked at Xi. "Since this mission is complete I suppose you will be requesting another?"
The response was a short shake of the head and one of Xi's half- smiles. "Actually no." He replied somewhat glibly. "I intend to continue Neji's training and will therefore need to be absent from Konoha for some time."
Tsunade thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Ah, I see, so that's what you plan." The response confused Neji, who was unsure what they were talking about. "As you wish, but while I accept him, Konoha will not be supplying any other ninja for this endeavor of yours."
The dragon ninja bowed his head. "Of course, I will make arrangements. However, I will tell you now that this last mission has made me very suspicious of Hidden Waterfall. We will probably pass through there on the way. Would you like a report?"
"And incur more of your debts?" Tsunade said sarcastically. "I suppose I have little choice, but Neji-"
Neji raised his head and focused fully on the conversation at hand once again. "Yes?"
"You will give a full report on whatever you determine is going on in Waterfall. The mission is a joint one, so that Konoha will owe Draci Xi proportionally less. Besides, you ought to justify your salary anyways."
Neji indicated his acceptance with a nod of the head.
"Fine." Tsunade barked. "Then get out, I've got work to do, and no time to spend chatting."
The two dragon ninja shuffled out of the Hokage's office. As the walked down the hall Neji wanted to ask Xi about what he had said, but he held his words in instead, trying to force the other ninja to tell him. They were silent until they had almost left the building.
"Since you are still not fully healed, I suppose you can take the day off." Xi told Neji. "What's left of it anyway. Tomorrow I'll see you at the training ground. We need to begin work on your next jutsu."
The younger ninja nodded, and started to walk away.
"Enough Neji." Xi said almost immediately. "It's hardly productive for us to not talk to each other. You wish to know what I was saying to Tsunade, correct? Don't be so proud as to not ask."
"Very well." Neji bit back. "What are these plans of yours then?"
"Do you know how much time has passed since the last Chuunin Exam?" Xi asked simply.
From those words Neji immediately could grasp what Xi's plans were, but he answered anyway. It took some time to count the days up in his head, especially considering he had spent many of them in the hospital. "At least three and a half months." He said finally.
"Indeed, and there are only about four months and three weeks from the end of one exam to the start of the next. I fully intend that you become a chuunin in the next exam." Xi said firmly. "You've proven yourself a dragon ninja, fought multiple battles against skilled opponents and been victorious, and of course your skill level is hardly in question. So, you will go to the chuunin exam."
"By why does that matter now, Gai-sensei gave us only a few days warning about the exam really. What can possibly be done with five weeks to go?" Neji asked seriously, puzzled slightly. "Besides, I cannot take the exam, my team is gone."
"Those answers are linked." Xi said simply. "Yes your team is gone, so you need to get a new team. That is part of the reason we need five weeks, the other is that you will not be taking the exam here."
"What?" Neji snapped. "But I am a ninja of Konoha!"
"Yes, but Tsunade is not going to give you a team for the exam, and you do not have a jounin sponsor from Konoha anymore, unless you intend to ask your uncle." Xi smirked. "I'm your sponsor, which means you qualify as a lightning ninja as far as the exam is concerned. Lightning ninja rarely take the exam in Konoha; they take it in the Hidden Village of Stone, which holds their exam at the same time. You perhaps noticed the absence of Mist, Lightning, and Stone ninja at this exam? That is because they were in Stone. Well," Xi admitted. "Usually some come here, just as some from Konoha or Sand go elsewhere, but these circumstances were unusual. Of the five weeks we have, at least two will be taken going to Stone, especially since we will travel through Waterfall. The other weeks will be spent working on your training, which is far from complete, and waiting for your team to arrive."
"My team?" Neji asked with hard eyes.
"You expect ninja from Konoha to go to Stone with you? Konoha is too busy to send many ninja to the chuunin exam now, and certainly cannot spare anyone for such a lengthy journey. I will send to those contacts I still have in Lightning. You will have teammates."
That did not sound at all promising to Neji. Still, he understood that's Xi's words made sense. Beyond that, his genin status rankled him. I have killed chuunin in combat. He was not proud of that, but he knew he did not deserve the rank of Genin after that. Besides, I will have to kill more as a genin than a chuunin, since no one will take me seriously. That much, Neji was certain of, and he knew he would change it. "So what jutsu will you teach me?" He asked. "The one you used on the Waterfall ninja?"
"Back rake?" Xi appeared surprised. "No, not that. It is simple enough once you learn rend that you can learn it after an explanation. Until your teammates arrive I had something else in mind. A jutsu called Aerial Reversal. It is an unusual technique, and not often used, but it contains ranged elements, an area your are somewhat deficient in."
Neji agreed to that silently. I am indeed far better at close combat.
Xi continued. "I admit that most ranged attacks are not very useful against you, or any dragon ninja in fact, once your chakra control reaches this level of precision it becomes difficult to use them against you. Only a few of the dragon jutsus incorporate a ranged element. Still," And Xi looked at Neji knowingly. "I believe this is a good jutsu to teach you now, you should be able to make use of it. So, come see me tomorrow and we will begin as before."
Once more Draci Xi left him standing in Konoha, something Neji was beginning to sense was a pattern. Where does he go? He wondered, always uncertain what the dragon ninja was doing. Everyone in Konoha ignored the man, from the academy students who were unaware of his presence to the strongest of the jounin who seemed always to congregate in groups when Xi approached.
The fading scars of Neji's body itched, a constant reminder of his most recent battle. The medics had told him that the burns were not deep enough to leave permanent scars, but only barely. They would be painful and bothersome for several days at least. Surprisingly, it had not been that long and the pain had already dulled to mere itching, the scars healing faster than expected. Likewise the minor wound to his arm. It had surprised Neji, along with the medics, until he had examined the wounds using the Byakugan. The medics had been astounded when he told them he was channeling chakra across the wounds constantly, making his body focus his energy there. It was apparently unconscious.
When Xi had visited Neji, they had discussed the matter. It was commonplace, Xi told him, for dragon ninja to recover faster. It was simply an aspect of becoming stronger as a ninja. "Chakra control is the basis of all ninjutsu, and life. A jounin will have greater proficiency with chakra than a genin, and his body will know it. Jounin heal faster than genin, haven't you noticed? It is the same for dragon ninja, except the extent to which we force chakra control is far greater than most other ninja. Don't come to rely on this however, you only heal faster because you aren't using your chakra to move, if wounded in battle you will have nothing to spare, and will heal just the same as any other."
It was something Neji had taken to heart. Everything centered around chakra control. This caused him to alter his assessment of other ninja. Normally, we assign levels based on the amount of chakra a person has, and can wield, as well as jutsus known and special powers such as bloodline limits. Yet, how one can control chakra matters at least as much as those factors if not more, though few ninja take advantage of it. Looking at things this way, Neji found that the determinations of genius and dropout he had long held were far from the truth. Everything was more complicated than he had seen before.
Though Xi had given him the rest of the day off, there was little for Neji to do in Konoha. He found he did not want to see anyone much. There was a distance between him and the ninja he had known now. Almost as if I really had died. Neji decided. I am a different person from who I was, Draci Neji instead of Hyuuga Neji.
Nevertheless, Neji found himself at the Hyuuga estate, where he spoke with one of his cousins for a time. He learned the news of Konoha, most of which was hardly positive, and of the rest of the clan, which was even less so. While most of the Hyuuga family had been retained in the village for defense, several such as his father's brother, had been sent out. One of those had actually died on a mission, Neji learned numbly. He had missed the funeral while on his own mission. It was a sobering thing to learn, despite that Neji felt really nothing for the relatives he had spent most of his life either hating or looking down upon in contempt. Yet, even the mighty Hyuuga clan was not immortal, and Konoha's strength was reduced. All the more reason to become a chuunin, Neji determined. So that I can fight and others can remain here.
It was a long night at the Hyuuga estate, and a surprisingly cold one. Winter was coming, and it looked to be a bitter season. There would be two weeks more until the genin Xi had summoned arrived from Hidden Cloud.
* * *
Neji hit the ground hard, hands first, but despite his fall of over forty feet he channeled chakra and fielded it easily, rolling upright instantly. So close! He had almost completed the Aerial Reversal perfectly. Probably it was good enough now to kill a person almost every time, but Neji wanted to be absolutely certain. Besides, he had nothing else to do this morning. Where is Xi? He wondered. The other ninja was unusually absent, even though he had worked with Neji for most of the week, practicing the new move. It's a lot harder to try and do this without him here. Neji quenched the urge to curse the other ninja, knowing it was pointless to rail against the man's actions. I'll just do this again.
He stood at one end of the field, and launched into a run, reaching top speed as quickly as possible. Then he leaped, forcing chakra into his legs to carry him high into the air. He held a kunai in each hand.
The jump carried Neji high and fast, as he extended all out in the upward direction, like a fish leaping out of the water, or a bird climbing into the sky. Then he twisted.
It was difficult, to twist in midair with nothing to press off of. He was not trying to simply alter his direction or speed, but do a complete one hundred and eighty degree reversal, all the while maintaining his blistering speed. Chakra shifted throughout his body, altering the tension in his muscles, shifting water internally, and changing the weight within him. It was hard, given his current posture; Neji couldn't see the flow of chakra through his body, he had no guide other than his mind. That had initially made the jutsu impossible to even attempt, until Xi had forced him to practice doing it blindfolded and let him hit the ground hard when he failed.
The chakra shifted his form, and Neji's hands dropped down from their extension, at the same moment his whole body rolled and contorted. The move was snap-quick, a single chorded motion that shifted every bit of energy from one direction to the other. From going up toward the sun, Neji was now headed down toward the ground. The move extracted a shuddering force on his body, and his tissues screamed from the abuse of the turn, but his momentum remained, and his arms, moving with the spin had an even greater momentum, and they came around with all the strength his muscles and chakra could compel into them, to hurl the kunai down the path he had been traveling.
The weapons went off at blistering speed, faster than normal eyes could see, and with enough strength to penetrate into the ground up to the hilts. After them came Neji, his arms snapped down to grasp his nekode after the release of the kunai, and then back up to strike any potential enemy. Both legs and arms extended down now, for a second they had tremendous force behind them.
Then the air caught up with him, and Neji began to slow, until he hit the ground hard once more.
He then felt great pain in his knees, and slid to the ground. Enough. That was enough. Neji could tell. Still not perfect, but that will serve. The reversal is quick enough to override and power past any defense. It will serve. His muscles ached and burned from the strain, the move did put a strain on them, from the incredible turn it required they sustain. Still, it was a temporary thing, the result of fluids and other materials being forced through the tissue, and the sudden turn provided the killing force needed, by projecting the momentum forward and by freeing the ninja from the grip of air for a bare moment. A move modeled after a dragon's ability to reverse in midair, the Aerial Reversal, a technique to deliver death to anyone behind a leaping dragon ninja. Now I know this as well, Neji realized. Four dragon jutsus, summoning, rend, back rake, and now aerial reversal. Four out of twenty one. It took two months to learn rend, but only a few days for back rake, and only a week and a half for this. How long will the others take? There were both positives and negatives. These taijutsu type moves I am beginning to master easily, he realized. My ability to control my chakra has increased greatly even in such a short time. Yet, there are surely moves that require very different skills, like the Dragon's Eye. Those will take longer.
Yet Neji was confident he would learn all the jutsu. He was certain now that he could achieve that. Fate had granted him the skill to control his chakra well, and he would learn the dragon jutsus, and forge the uncontrolled destiny of the man called Draci Neji. He was as certain of it as he had ever been of anything. Sitting on a log for a moment, resting, Neji allowed himself to ponder the future. Xi was difficult to read, but he had hinted something big was coming. We are going back to Waterfall. The concept made him edgy. He had killed ninja from Waterfall, he did not want to visit their village, did not want to have to think of those bloody bodies as anything more than enemies. Is it Waterfall, or the Chuunin Exam, or something else? Neji wondered. What will I do after the Chuunin exam, go on more missions? He decided he would just have to wait. Xi will tell me, I hope, I don't really know what he's capable of. I will find out eventually. Beyond that there were the words of Wusashu, the dragon he had summoned. He remembered those eyes, and remembered the dark portents there. Though the sun was warm above, Neji shivered.
Suddenly he sensed something. Xi? Neji wondered. He did not call forth the Byakugan, but sat upright, searching out the sounds and signals. Footsteps, three pairs. One is Xi's, definitely; there is not another ninja I have ever met to walk like that with such directness. A directness Neji did not realize he himself had to a lesser extent. Two others, one heavy, one lighter, perhaps a man and woman?
Knowing that the three were walking together, and that one was Xi Neji relaxed. It must be the team. That is the only thing it could be. Neji stood resting against the log, waiting.
Xi crested the hill along with two other ninja, who both wore lightning forehead protectors. He tossed Neji a half-smile. "See, your team has arrived, dragon ninja."
Author's Notes: This chapter is something of an interlude, but important things happen anyway. Still, this is basically the switch from the 'become a dragon ninja' part of the story to another story arc.
Reviewers: Many thanks to all, and some comments:
Synaptix: This is actually almost an all-original character fic, since Neji is currently stuck between life and death at the moment. Regardless, I wrote this in the way it is because I didn't want to change the plotline but add to it. I'm glad you appreciate it.
Ravens Quill: Battles are actually the hardest part to write, since its difficult to keep the tension high and the detail high at the same time, it nice to know I seem to be managing some sort of balance.
Orlha: The past of the mysterious Xi will eventually become clear, slowly and mostly far in the future. I do keep dropping little hints though.
Day of Expectation
The Hokage's office was an intimidating sight for most of those who visited for the first time. With its mountain of reports and the stern presence of Tsunade crowding the small room there were few ninja who could not help but feel that they were not interrupting something important that did not concern them by being there. It was an effective tool for the Hokage to have at busy times.
Neji was not intimidated. Tsunade was not someone who truly impressed him. He did not deny her power, certainly, but he thought she lacked focus. The Fifth simply failed to measure up to the grand expectations he had been given before actually meeting her. Of course, this was partly a side effect of her constant use of Henge, which Neji could see completely through with glances of his Byakugan. That two-faced nature lowered his perceptions of Tsunade further than for those who were simply aware of the illusion. Still, he was respectful, as he always was to those more powerful than himself.
The dragon ninja who stood next to Neji was certainly not respectful. Instead he was visibly tense, as was Tsunade. The two ninja stared at each other viscously whenever there was silence, as if locked in a match of wills. They were opposites, and though they nominally served the same side Xi and Tsunade's visions of the ninja were so utterly incompatible as to make their dislike perhaps far fiercer than if they had been enemies. However, they kept that behind their teeth and managed to at least appear civil to each other.
"I have the reports you two submitted." Tsunade began, gesturing to the sheets of paper she held. Neji looked at those papers angrily, for Xi had forced him to compose his own report, and the process was mind-numbing and ridiculous enough to make him understand why many upper level ninja always forced them on their subordinates. Tenten had always been given the duty of completing his team's. The situation was made more aggravating because Xi and Neji's relationship had no classification. The form they had submitted described a mission between "temporarily allied ninja from different shinobi countries," and broke most of the acceptable protocols for such things. It also made the reports almost completely useless. Making that out was a waste of my time. Neji glowered at the memory.
"We all know these things aren't very helpful." Tsunade continued, being frank. "Still, I gather that you accomplished the mission and drove the Waterfall ninja off. That is acceptable." Now she glowered at both of them, her kind face growing stormy and angry. "You also undertook an action outside your objectives, and killed a Waterfall ninja in the process." She fumed. "I will not accept that, Xi"
"That is not my responsibility." Xi answered calmly. "That dragon mission was undertaken entirely by Draci Neji, I was simply in the area with him because of our joint mission. You will have to address your complaints to him."
"Don't dodge responsibility Xi!" Tsunade barked at him. "You were the one who instigated this."
"Missions in the service of the dragons are undergone by all dragon ninja." Xi replied coldly. "This was Neji's mission, for a dragon I neither summoned nor spoke to. Say what you will, but you cannot hold me responsible for this."
"Fine." Tsunade hissed. "Very well. Neji." She turned her angry gaze towards him. "What excuse do you offer for this violation of orders?"
For the past few exchanges Neji had been thinking rapidly. Xi had not prepared him for these questions, and was forced to try and come up with something that would satisfy Tsunade without the older ninja's aid. Damn! He thought. What do I say? "I was given the mission by the dragon I summoned." He began.
"I don't care!" Tsunade bellowed. "I don't care about all your dragon ninja garbage. You are a ninja of Konoha! You follow my direction, not those of some spirit beast!"
Thinking fast, Neji managed a halfway thought out response. "But, but those directions did not conflict."
"What?" Tsunade looked incredulous. "You expect me to believe that?"
Having begun in this vein Neji thought fast, and tried to continue. "Well, we did not violate our orders. The mission I carried out for the dragons resulted from our pursuit of the fleeing Waterfall ninja, and we did not cross over into Waterfall country."
"So!" Tsunade's anger hadn't faded in the slightest. Her brow had gathered together stormclouds filled with fury. Neji knew only some of it was cause by this incident, and most by the mountain of reports that the Hokage reputedly despised dealing with constantly. "That doesn't excuse killing another ninja! You had no reason to do that!"
Neji heard those words and felt anger rise in him, but he held it back, forcing control. How dare she imply that I wanted to kill Ryukin! He raged. He could still see that body in his mind, the absolute destruction of the front of a man. "He attacked first." Neji answered, voice as cold as it had ever been, the dark viciousness in it. "I asked him to give back what he had stolen, and he attacked me. I had no way to win the battle without killing him. He would have killed me. He did not even offer a chance to surrender." Neji stared at Tsunade, making him stare at his body, to see the fading burn marks on his arms, legs, and face. He could have said nothing more, but he continued, saying one final thing. "Do not say that Xi should have stopped him, he cannot fight without killing another, the same as me. We are dragon ninja, those who fight us know death is the consequence." The instant after saying those words Neji felt he had betrayed himself. Did I really mean that? It seemed as if he had stolen the phrases from Xi's mouth. Still, they are true, that is my fate, to kill, and you cannot change that Tsunade.
For long moments Tsunade stared deep into Neji, and he could feel her trained medic's eyes probing him, body and soul. Still, as deep as her gaze penetrated, it was nothing compared to the Byakugan his uncle could inflict upon him. He had nothing to hide that such a glimpse could penetrate. "Be very careful with when you think like that, Neji." Tsunade said at last, voice low and defined. "Justification of death is a dangerous road."
Neji nodded, but did not say anything in response. He measured the words, but concluded that Tsunade wasn't saying anything he didn't already know.
Turning away from Neji, Tsunade looked at Xi. "Since this mission is complete I suppose you will be requesting another?"
The response was a short shake of the head and one of Xi's half- smiles. "Actually no." He replied somewhat glibly. "I intend to continue Neji's training and will therefore need to be absent from Konoha for some time."
Tsunade thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Ah, I see, so that's what you plan." The response confused Neji, who was unsure what they were talking about. "As you wish, but while I accept him, Konoha will not be supplying any other ninja for this endeavor of yours."
The dragon ninja bowed his head. "Of course, I will make arrangements. However, I will tell you now that this last mission has made me very suspicious of Hidden Waterfall. We will probably pass through there on the way. Would you like a report?"
"And incur more of your debts?" Tsunade said sarcastically. "I suppose I have little choice, but Neji-"
Neji raised his head and focused fully on the conversation at hand once again. "Yes?"
"You will give a full report on whatever you determine is going on in Waterfall. The mission is a joint one, so that Konoha will owe Draci Xi proportionally less. Besides, you ought to justify your salary anyways."
Neji indicated his acceptance with a nod of the head.
"Fine." Tsunade barked. "Then get out, I've got work to do, and no time to spend chatting."
The two dragon ninja shuffled out of the Hokage's office. As the walked down the hall Neji wanted to ask Xi about what he had said, but he held his words in instead, trying to force the other ninja to tell him. They were silent until they had almost left the building.
"Since you are still not fully healed, I suppose you can take the day off." Xi told Neji. "What's left of it anyway. Tomorrow I'll see you at the training ground. We need to begin work on your next jutsu."
The younger ninja nodded, and started to walk away.
"Enough Neji." Xi said almost immediately. "It's hardly productive for us to not talk to each other. You wish to know what I was saying to Tsunade, correct? Don't be so proud as to not ask."
"Very well." Neji bit back. "What are these plans of yours then?"
"Do you know how much time has passed since the last Chuunin Exam?" Xi asked simply.
From those words Neji immediately could grasp what Xi's plans were, but he answered anyway. It took some time to count the days up in his head, especially considering he had spent many of them in the hospital. "At least three and a half months." He said finally.
"Indeed, and there are only about four months and three weeks from the end of one exam to the start of the next. I fully intend that you become a chuunin in the next exam." Xi said firmly. "You've proven yourself a dragon ninja, fought multiple battles against skilled opponents and been victorious, and of course your skill level is hardly in question. So, you will go to the chuunin exam."
"By why does that matter now, Gai-sensei gave us only a few days warning about the exam really. What can possibly be done with five weeks to go?" Neji asked seriously, puzzled slightly. "Besides, I cannot take the exam, my team is gone."
"Those answers are linked." Xi said simply. "Yes your team is gone, so you need to get a new team. That is part of the reason we need five weeks, the other is that you will not be taking the exam here."
"What?" Neji snapped. "But I am a ninja of Konoha!"
"Yes, but Tsunade is not going to give you a team for the exam, and you do not have a jounin sponsor from Konoha anymore, unless you intend to ask your uncle." Xi smirked. "I'm your sponsor, which means you qualify as a lightning ninja as far as the exam is concerned. Lightning ninja rarely take the exam in Konoha; they take it in the Hidden Village of Stone, which holds their exam at the same time. You perhaps noticed the absence of Mist, Lightning, and Stone ninja at this exam? That is because they were in Stone. Well," Xi admitted. "Usually some come here, just as some from Konoha or Sand go elsewhere, but these circumstances were unusual. Of the five weeks we have, at least two will be taken going to Stone, especially since we will travel through Waterfall. The other weeks will be spent working on your training, which is far from complete, and waiting for your team to arrive."
"My team?" Neji asked with hard eyes.
"You expect ninja from Konoha to go to Stone with you? Konoha is too busy to send many ninja to the chuunin exam now, and certainly cannot spare anyone for such a lengthy journey. I will send to those contacts I still have in Lightning. You will have teammates."
That did not sound at all promising to Neji. Still, he understood that's Xi's words made sense. Beyond that, his genin status rankled him. I have killed chuunin in combat. He was not proud of that, but he knew he did not deserve the rank of Genin after that. Besides, I will have to kill more as a genin than a chuunin, since no one will take me seriously. That much, Neji was certain of, and he knew he would change it. "So what jutsu will you teach me?" He asked. "The one you used on the Waterfall ninja?"
"Back rake?" Xi appeared surprised. "No, not that. It is simple enough once you learn rend that you can learn it after an explanation. Until your teammates arrive I had something else in mind. A jutsu called Aerial Reversal. It is an unusual technique, and not often used, but it contains ranged elements, an area your are somewhat deficient in."
Neji agreed to that silently. I am indeed far better at close combat.
Xi continued. "I admit that most ranged attacks are not very useful against you, or any dragon ninja in fact, once your chakra control reaches this level of precision it becomes difficult to use them against you. Only a few of the dragon jutsus incorporate a ranged element. Still," And Xi looked at Neji knowingly. "I believe this is a good jutsu to teach you now, you should be able to make use of it. So, come see me tomorrow and we will begin as before."
Once more Draci Xi left him standing in Konoha, something Neji was beginning to sense was a pattern. Where does he go? He wondered, always uncertain what the dragon ninja was doing. Everyone in Konoha ignored the man, from the academy students who were unaware of his presence to the strongest of the jounin who seemed always to congregate in groups when Xi approached.
The fading scars of Neji's body itched, a constant reminder of his most recent battle. The medics had told him that the burns were not deep enough to leave permanent scars, but only barely. They would be painful and bothersome for several days at least. Surprisingly, it had not been that long and the pain had already dulled to mere itching, the scars healing faster than expected. Likewise the minor wound to his arm. It had surprised Neji, along with the medics, until he had examined the wounds using the Byakugan. The medics had been astounded when he told them he was channeling chakra across the wounds constantly, making his body focus his energy there. It was apparently unconscious.
When Xi had visited Neji, they had discussed the matter. It was commonplace, Xi told him, for dragon ninja to recover faster. It was simply an aspect of becoming stronger as a ninja. "Chakra control is the basis of all ninjutsu, and life. A jounin will have greater proficiency with chakra than a genin, and his body will know it. Jounin heal faster than genin, haven't you noticed? It is the same for dragon ninja, except the extent to which we force chakra control is far greater than most other ninja. Don't come to rely on this however, you only heal faster because you aren't using your chakra to move, if wounded in battle you will have nothing to spare, and will heal just the same as any other."
It was something Neji had taken to heart. Everything centered around chakra control. This caused him to alter his assessment of other ninja. Normally, we assign levels based on the amount of chakra a person has, and can wield, as well as jutsus known and special powers such as bloodline limits. Yet, how one can control chakra matters at least as much as those factors if not more, though few ninja take advantage of it. Looking at things this way, Neji found that the determinations of genius and dropout he had long held were far from the truth. Everything was more complicated than he had seen before.
Though Xi had given him the rest of the day off, there was little for Neji to do in Konoha. He found he did not want to see anyone much. There was a distance between him and the ninja he had known now. Almost as if I really had died. Neji decided. I am a different person from who I was, Draci Neji instead of Hyuuga Neji.
Nevertheless, Neji found himself at the Hyuuga estate, where he spoke with one of his cousins for a time. He learned the news of Konoha, most of which was hardly positive, and of the rest of the clan, which was even less so. While most of the Hyuuga family had been retained in the village for defense, several such as his father's brother, had been sent out. One of those had actually died on a mission, Neji learned numbly. He had missed the funeral while on his own mission. It was a sobering thing to learn, despite that Neji felt really nothing for the relatives he had spent most of his life either hating or looking down upon in contempt. Yet, even the mighty Hyuuga clan was not immortal, and Konoha's strength was reduced. All the more reason to become a chuunin, Neji determined. So that I can fight and others can remain here.
It was a long night at the Hyuuga estate, and a surprisingly cold one. Winter was coming, and it looked to be a bitter season. There would be two weeks more until the genin Xi had summoned arrived from Hidden Cloud.
* * *
Neji hit the ground hard, hands first, but despite his fall of over forty feet he channeled chakra and fielded it easily, rolling upright instantly. So close! He had almost completed the Aerial Reversal perfectly. Probably it was good enough now to kill a person almost every time, but Neji wanted to be absolutely certain. Besides, he had nothing else to do this morning. Where is Xi? He wondered. The other ninja was unusually absent, even though he had worked with Neji for most of the week, practicing the new move. It's a lot harder to try and do this without him here. Neji quenched the urge to curse the other ninja, knowing it was pointless to rail against the man's actions. I'll just do this again.
He stood at one end of the field, and launched into a run, reaching top speed as quickly as possible. Then he leaped, forcing chakra into his legs to carry him high into the air. He held a kunai in each hand.
The jump carried Neji high and fast, as he extended all out in the upward direction, like a fish leaping out of the water, or a bird climbing into the sky. Then he twisted.
It was difficult, to twist in midair with nothing to press off of. He was not trying to simply alter his direction or speed, but do a complete one hundred and eighty degree reversal, all the while maintaining his blistering speed. Chakra shifted throughout his body, altering the tension in his muscles, shifting water internally, and changing the weight within him. It was hard, given his current posture; Neji couldn't see the flow of chakra through his body, he had no guide other than his mind. That had initially made the jutsu impossible to even attempt, until Xi had forced him to practice doing it blindfolded and let him hit the ground hard when he failed.
The chakra shifted his form, and Neji's hands dropped down from their extension, at the same moment his whole body rolled and contorted. The move was snap-quick, a single chorded motion that shifted every bit of energy from one direction to the other. From going up toward the sun, Neji was now headed down toward the ground. The move extracted a shuddering force on his body, and his tissues screamed from the abuse of the turn, but his momentum remained, and his arms, moving with the spin had an even greater momentum, and they came around with all the strength his muscles and chakra could compel into them, to hurl the kunai down the path he had been traveling.
The weapons went off at blistering speed, faster than normal eyes could see, and with enough strength to penetrate into the ground up to the hilts. After them came Neji, his arms snapped down to grasp his nekode after the release of the kunai, and then back up to strike any potential enemy. Both legs and arms extended down now, for a second they had tremendous force behind them.
Then the air caught up with him, and Neji began to slow, until he hit the ground hard once more.
He then felt great pain in his knees, and slid to the ground. Enough. That was enough. Neji could tell. Still not perfect, but that will serve. The reversal is quick enough to override and power past any defense. It will serve. His muscles ached and burned from the strain, the move did put a strain on them, from the incredible turn it required they sustain. Still, it was a temporary thing, the result of fluids and other materials being forced through the tissue, and the sudden turn provided the killing force needed, by projecting the momentum forward and by freeing the ninja from the grip of air for a bare moment. A move modeled after a dragon's ability to reverse in midair, the Aerial Reversal, a technique to deliver death to anyone behind a leaping dragon ninja. Now I know this as well, Neji realized. Four dragon jutsus, summoning, rend, back rake, and now aerial reversal. Four out of twenty one. It took two months to learn rend, but only a few days for back rake, and only a week and a half for this. How long will the others take? There were both positives and negatives. These taijutsu type moves I am beginning to master easily, he realized. My ability to control my chakra has increased greatly even in such a short time. Yet, there are surely moves that require very different skills, like the Dragon's Eye. Those will take longer.
Yet Neji was confident he would learn all the jutsu. He was certain now that he could achieve that. Fate had granted him the skill to control his chakra well, and he would learn the dragon jutsus, and forge the uncontrolled destiny of the man called Draci Neji. He was as certain of it as he had ever been of anything. Sitting on a log for a moment, resting, Neji allowed himself to ponder the future. Xi was difficult to read, but he had hinted something big was coming. We are going back to Waterfall. The concept made him edgy. He had killed ninja from Waterfall, he did not want to visit their village, did not want to have to think of those bloody bodies as anything more than enemies. Is it Waterfall, or the Chuunin Exam, or something else? Neji wondered. What will I do after the Chuunin exam, go on more missions? He decided he would just have to wait. Xi will tell me, I hope, I don't really know what he's capable of. I will find out eventually. Beyond that there were the words of Wusashu, the dragon he had summoned. He remembered those eyes, and remembered the dark portents there. Though the sun was warm above, Neji shivered.
Suddenly he sensed something. Xi? Neji wondered. He did not call forth the Byakugan, but sat upright, searching out the sounds and signals. Footsteps, three pairs. One is Xi's, definitely; there is not another ninja I have ever met to walk like that with such directness. A directness Neji did not realize he himself had to a lesser extent. Two others, one heavy, one lighter, perhaps a man and woman?
Knowing that the three were walking together, and that one was Xi Neji relaxed. It must be the team. That is the only thing it could be. Neji stood resting against the log, waiting.
Xi crested the hill along with two other ninja, who both wore lightning forehead protectors. He tossed Neji a half-smile. "See, your team has arrived, dragon ninja."