Naruto: Reborn as Neji Hyuga After Dying in One Piece-Chapter 43. Would You Abandon Me?[Bonus]

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After wrapping up several matters in Konoha, Neji stood beneath the fading sun, his shadow stretching long across the ground.

He didn't move until he descended into his underground chamber where Izumi, clad in a fitted training suit, stood waiting. Only then did a smile reach his lips.

"It's been years, Izumi," he said softly. "Now that you've got a chance to step outside... what are you feeling?"

That's right.

For this upcoming mission in the Land of Waves, Neji had decided to bring Izumi along. There were things only she could handle.

Izumi's heart was a storm of mixed emotions. She had been hidden away for years, a bird in a gilded cage, deprived of sunlight.

Yet through all that time, she had never once truly resented it. Her heart had traveled through two phases.

At first, there had been anger, vengeance, doubt, relentless training, an ache to look him in the eye and ask: Why?

But over time... she'd stopped asking.

Because deep down, she already knew the answer.

She just hadn't wanted to face it.

And now, after everything... all she cared about was staying by his side.

Time changes people.

And for Izumi, it brought with it an unfamiliar fear. Her voice was quite uncertain.

"...Will you abandon me?"

Such a small sentence.

Yet so heartbreakingly fragile.

Neji's smile faded. He reached up, removed his blindfold, and let his milky-white eyes meet hers.

"Would I?"

His simple counter-question hit like thunder.

And in that moment, all the shadows faded from Izumi's expression. Her weary gaze lit up with new strength, new certainty.

"I understand now," she whispered.

He won't.

That was the truth she read in his eyes. That was all she needed.

Once abandoned by fate, Izumi couldn't bear being discarded again not by him.

Neji scoffed playfully, folding his arms.

"I've hidden you away like a treasure for years. You think I'm just going to let you go? What do you take me for some charity worker?"

"Of course not," she replied with a smile. "I've always known who you are."

She brought over a pack of clothes prepared for the mission. As always, she was thoughtful and precise.

Neji changed into standard ANBU-style gear discreetly and efficiently. It was best to be cautious while leaving the village.

"Good. Pack up the rest. We'll leave at nightfall."

"Understood."

Neji wasn't in a rush. He was fine letting Team 7 stumble around a little longer.

He stored important gear in his inventory, and sealed secondary supplies into scrolls, handing them to Izumi for safekeeping.

Once preparations were done, Neji formed a hand sign.

Puff!

A [Shadow Clone] appeared beside him. It gave a nod. Neji nodded back this one would maintain appearances while he was away.

Then, with Izumi at his side, the two slipped out through a hidden exit and vanished into the night.

---

Later that night, under a silver moon...

Neji and Izumi dashed through the forest, wearing mist-nin tracker uniforms and porcelain animal masks.

They crossed the Konoha barrier and slowed down only once they were fully outside its detection range.

"We're clear," Neji said. "No more patrols to worry about."

"Change into standard shinobi gear. These uniforms are for the return trip."

The two quickly switched out of their disguises, changing into more natural attire and new masks.

Izumi fidgeted slightly in her new clothes, unfamiliar with how they fit.

Neji chuckled. "We can take the scenic route now if you want."

She smirked. "I'm not that soft. I may have been locked up, but I did graduate from the Academy."

Neji smiled faintly. He was slipping back into old habits again.

Izumi had Jonin-level ability now. She didn't need babysitting.

"Alright then. Let's move."

"On the way, I'll brief you. First, don't use [Eight Gates]. Second about the Sharingan..."

He listed out the operational conditions and contingencies while they traveled under the moonlight.

---

A few days later – The Land of Waves

Team 7 was recovering at the client's house after their first encounter with Zabuza.

But the peace didn't last long.

Zabuza had returned and this time, he brought someone with him.

Deep in the forest, two mist-nin in hunter-nin gear, Neji and Izumi, watched the battle unfold through a remote-viewing seal.

"Those two are our targets?" Izumi asked.

Zabuza wielded the massive Decapitating Blade. Beside him stood a masked figure.

"That's them," Neji confirmed. "Momochi Zabuza, once a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. The other is 'Haku,' a wielder of [Ice Release], passed down from the Yuki clan."

"Haku" may not have even been his real name. People called him "Haku of the Snow," but it was mostly speculation.

Izumi studied the battlefield.

"[Decapitating Blade] and [Ice Release], huh..."

Even locked in the lab for years, she'd learned much. Neji had always shared stories missions, battles, strategy. He wanted more than just a lab rat. He wanted a partner.

She didn't question how he knew so much. Her eyes stayed on the viewing projection, her mind turning.

"Lord Nian... do you think Team 7 can really win this?"

"No," Neji said calmly. "But they will."

"Just watch, Izumi. You'll understand soon enough."

"Lord Nian" was the alias Izumi used for him. As a ghost with no official identity, she didn't need an alias of her own.

But she was skeptical.

Team 7 looked like they were being annihilated. It was hard to see how they'd turn things around.

"...What the hell!?"

Suddenly, Sasuke, a freshly awakened Sharingan, took the brunt of Haku's thousand senbon needles.

He collapsed, looking like a human pincushion.

Naruto's rage exploded.

Scarlet chakra surged from his body, monstrous and untamed.

Red, beast-like eyes. Elongated canines. Clawed fingers.

The [Tailed Beast Cloak] activated.

Izumi's breath caught. She stared, stunned.

"That... that's the [Nine-Tails Cloak], isn't it?"

"Correct," Neji said. "Naruto is Konoha's jinchuriki he carries the Nine-Tails sealed within him."

She fell silent. Even locked away, the memory of the Nine-Tails' attack years ago haunted her.

Neji rose slowly, watching the battle shift rapidly toward its climax.

The sky above began to snow.

In his hand, he formed a seal one he had stolen and copied long ago.

[Hidden Mist Technique].

Thick fog spilled out, enveloping the region in white.

On the battlefield, Kakashi tensed.

He was out of strength. If anything more happened... they'd be in real danger.

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