Chapter 94: Saori's Request
"To the front lines?" Kyosuke asked, looking at her with a surprised expression.
"That's right," Hyuga Saori said, nodding in confirmation.
"What's wrong? Why the rush?" Kyosuke asked with concern, then couldn't help but add, "Besides, why are you coming to me for this?"
"I can only ask you for help," Saori said. For someone with her usually lawless personality, her face now held a hint of... sadness.
Then, she explained to Kyosuke why she was in such a hurry to go to the front lines.
The reason was simple. The man from the Hyuga main family, the one Kyosuke had seen before, had been pressuring her more and more lately.
Saori had a feeling that if she didn't make a decision soon, what awaited her would be a point of no return.
Hearing this, Kyosuke couldn't help but ask with a strange expression, "A point of no return? It can't be that bad, can it? Is he going to lay a hand on you?"
"Uh, well, not that..." Hyuga Saori said with a slightly embarrassed expression. "It's just... marriage and things like that."
Pfft. Kyosuke couldn't hold back a laugh. "So you're just trying to use going to the battlefield as a legitimate excuse to escape marriage?"
"Nonsense! I'm going to shed my blood for Konoha! A little brat like you wouldn't understand," Saori said, her expression finally returning to normal after his teasing. She gave him a disdainful look.
Kyosuke ignored her words and lowered his head in thought.
After a while, he said slowly, "If Teacher Orochimaru can help, it shouldn't be too difficult. I'm also planning to go to the front lines, so we can go together."
"Haha, I knew that if you asked Lord Orochimaru, he would definitely..." Saori was saying, but then she felt that something was not right. She looked at Kyosuke cautiously and said, "You just said... you're also going to the front lines?"
"Yeah," Kyosuke nodded.
"Are you crazy?!" Saori's voice suddenly rose several octaves.
"What's wrong?" Kyosuke looked at her, puzzled.
"What's wrong? Do you know what it means to go to the battlefield?" Saori asked, her expression serious.
"I know."
"And you're still going?"
Kyosuke looked at her with a smile and said slowly, "You have a reason you have to go. Do I not?"
Hearing this, Saori's lips moved slightly, but in the end, she couldn't say anything.
As mentioned before, Kyosuke understood her, and she also understood Kyosuke.
Saori knew in her heart that although Kyosuke seemed very relaxed on a daily basis, spending his time with her doing nothing but chatting and fooling around, his heart was not as calm as it appeared on the surface.
It was as if... there was some kind of pressure on his shoulders, a pressure that was forcing him to constantly move forward.
When she heard that Kyosuke was preparing to go to the battlefield, she was indeed a little surprised at first. But after calming down, she thought that it was not strange for something like this to happen.
She knew that if Kyosuke didn't want to go to the battlefield, with his status in the Uchiha clan, no one could force him, not even the Third Hokage.
This was not just the case for the Uchiha, but also for her Hyuga clan and the other major clans.
Unless it was a matter of life and death, what family would be willing to send their direct descendants to the battlefield?
If something were to happen, who could bear the responsibility?
So, Saori knew in her heart that Kyosuke's decision was entirely of his own will.
As for the reason, it was probably related to the pressure in his heart.
Of course, Saori had also asked him out of curiosity what was making him so anxious.
As she had expected, Kyosuke had just brushed her off with some random reasons.
To this, Hyuga Saori could only temporarily suppress her curiosity.
She knew that if Kyosuke didn't say, it meant that she was currently unable to help him bear this pressure. So, it was better not to know.
But she believed that one day, Kyosuke would tell her everything.
On the day she was able to help him.
As the two of them were chatting, an Anbu with a mask on his face approached them.
Seeing this, the two of them stopped their conversation and looked at the newcomer.
"Uchiha Kyosuke, the Hokage-sama requests your presence," the Anbu said.
Kyosuke raised his eyebrows slightly, smiled at Saori, and then followed the Anbu away.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in."
"...Hokage-sama," Kyosuke said after entering the office and a moment of silence.
For some reason, the title "Grand-Master" was no longer something he could bring himself to say.
The Third was holding a piece of intelligence and was looking at it carefully. He only looked up after hearing his voice.
"Kyosuke, you've arrived. How has your training been lately?" the Third said, putting down the intelligence report and looking at him with a smile.
"It's been alright," Kyosuke replied briefly.
Seeing his demeanor, the Third's eyes flickered, and he smiled to himself. This child... is probably still angry at me for not letting him go on patrol.
Thinking of this, the Third remembered his question. By the way, what's so great about patrol missions? Is it just because they're relaxing...
Unable to figure it out, he could only push the question to the back of his mind.
"Kyosuke, take a look at this intelligence," the Third said, taking out his pipe. As he was lighting it, he tossed the report to Kyosuke.
Kyosuke took it and saw that it was the intelligence report written by Orochimaru about the Sand's movements.
After a brief glance, Kyosuke said in an "angry" and loud voice, "After being quiet for only a few months, are the Sand trying to start a war again?"
"Yes, they want to fight again..." the Third sighed, echoing his sentiment.
"Then... was everything we did before for nothing?" Kyosuke continued his performance.
The Third knew what he was talking about: the Chunin Exam that had just passed a few months ago.
The purpose of that exam was to show off their strength and intimidate the other nations.
Unfortunately, it seemed that its effect was not that great now.
However, the Third could not erase the contributions of Kyosuke, Torune, and the others because of this.
Thinking of this, the Third's gaze softened considerably. "Kyosuke, your efforts were not in vain. At least, you bought us some precious time."
"In that case, at least the sacrifices of Torune and Yōmyō were not in vain..." Kyosuke said, his head bowed, his face "pained."
Seeing his dejected mood, the Third comforted him. At the same time, he had completely made up his mind.
"Kyosuke, would you like to go to the battlefield for some training?" the Third asked, looking at him slowly.
Here it comes, Kyosuke thought to himself. At the same time, he pretended to hesitate for a moment before saying firmly, "I am willing."
(End of Chapter)