Naruto: Reborn as Neji Hyuga After Dying in One Piece

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Inside the lab, Neji examined his inventory and pulled out two syringes.

"It's been a long time. I don't know why you never chose this option yourselves… but I'll give you the choice now. Do you want to return to being men?"

The room fell silent. Zabuza and Haku's eyes both shifted to the syringes. Karin blinked, confused.

"B-Boss, what do you mean return to being men?"

Neji gave her a flat look. "Exactly what it sounds like. Zabuza and Haku were originally men."

"Wha—?!"

Karin froze, her mind spinning. She thought back on the years they'd lived together, the odd silences, the way they always kept their distance on certain matters. Private baths. Doors are always locked. She never questioned it too deeply.

But now… it all made sense.

"They… they were men?!"

She gasped, the pieces clicking together.

Haku gave a small apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Karin. Zabuza-sama doesn't like to speak of it. That's why we never told you."

Zabuza huffed and turned his head aside. "…My apologies."

Karin nearly toppled over. Did she just apologize? Though it sounded completely unconvincing, she didn't dare push it further. Zabuza's quiet presence still intimidated her.

Neji raised the syringes. "So… what's your decision?"

Haku placed a hand gently over her chest, smiling softly. "I'm content as I am, Boss. I don't need it."

Neji nodded, unsurprised. Then his gaze shifted to Zabuza.

"And you?"

Arms folded, Zabuza stared at the vial labeled [Male Hormone], breathing deeply. At last, his voice rumbled:

"I've been waiting for you to ask that."

"…What do you mean?" Neji frowned.

Haku's eyes lowered. "Zabuza-sama has his pride. After you defeated him, he made a vow that unless you personally allowed it, he would never restore himself. It was his way of reminding himself of that defeat."

Neji blinked, 'So that's why…'

Zabuza's pride ran deeper than he thought.

"…I see." Neji lowered one syringe, pocketing it.

"But before that, there's something else," he continued. "I've completed a new seal a [Tailed Beast Tattoo]. With it on your body, you'll be able to wield the Sanbi's chakra through me. You'll have the power of a jinchūriki without the danger of losing yourself. But know this I can cut the link at any time. I will always have control."

"The Sanbi…"

Zabuza's gaze hardened. Memories stirred of Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, once the perfect host of the Sanbi. A tyrant Zabuza himself had tried to kill. His ambition to change the Bloody Mist had failed. His village drowned in blood, his rebellion crushed.

"I understand."

He removed Kubikiribōchō from his back and handed it to Haku, then faced Neji with steady eyes.

"My strength has already reached its limit. Age will only weaken me. Haku's power is already beyond mine, and Karin's catching up. If I want to protect them… I must become stronger."

A shadow of a smile crossed his lips, rare and fleeting, as he glanced toward Haku.

"I have someone who relies on me. I refuse to remain the weak one."

"Good." Neji's Tenseigan glowed. "You've made your decision."

Silver strands of chakra-infused hair pierced into Zabuza's body, etching the Sanbi's seal across his skin. A great shell-like tattoo spread along his torso, resonating with the beast within Neji. At once, raw chakra surged into Zabuza's body.

A deep rumble echoed the cry of the Sanbi itself.

Zabuza's muscles swelled, his form expanding. A syringe of hormones slid into his arm under Neji's control. His body shifted, chest flattening, voice dropping lower, features hardening once again. The years of forced womanhood, the blood, the pain, all washed away in an instant.

At last, he opened his eyes. His face was sharp, scarred, and unmistakably male again. Power thrummed in his veins, the Sanbi's chakra rolling through him like the tide.

For the first time in years, Zabuza touched his chest hard, unyielding. A weight lifted. Three years of humiliation, of reminders… gone.

He dropped to one knee before Neji. "Thank you."

Not just for himself. For Haku. For a second chance.

Neji's hand rested briefly on his shoulder. "Go. Master that power. I'll make full use of you when the time comes."

Zabuza rose, reclaiming Kubikiribōchō from Haku. His grip was firm, his aura renewed. "I'll be ready."

The two turned and left together.

At the doorway, a pale figure leaned against the frame. Kimimaro. He had been watching quietly all along.

"Kimimaro." Neji raised another vial. "What about you?"

Kimimaro's expression didn't flicker. "No. Gender means nothing to me. I've already accepted this body as my own."

"…Understood." Neji tucked it away. Kimimaro's eyes held that same calm, unshakable conviction that reminded him of someone else.

But before the solemn mood could settle, a voice piped up—

"B-Boss! Is there… another way for me to get stronger? Like… the way you and Izumi-sensei have been training these past few days—mmph!"

Karin's words were cut off as Izumi's hand clamped firmly over her mouth, her gentle smile betraying a dangerous aura.

"Enough, Karin."

"Mmff! Ow ow ow—!"

Neji's face darkened. She was eavesdropping again…?

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