Mitsuki studied Heiji in front of him — he looked exhausted. Remembering how Heiji had hesitated outside the ramen shop earlier, Mitsuki finally spoke.
"Heiji, are you dealing with something lately? You look terrible."
Back during the Land of Rivers campaign, Mitsuki had fought hard and earned countless merits. His goal wasn't glory — it was influence. Influence to protect his comrades when the time came. So if Heiji was struggling here on the Mist front, Mitsuki was fully prepared to pull a few strings with Hiashi and get him some leave to rest back in the village.
Seeing Heiji's hesitant expression, Mitsuki pressed on.
"If something's bothering you, just say it. The three of us can figure it out together — that's better than you dealing with it alone. Right, Ruri? By the way, how many bowls is that now?"
While the two men were talking, several empty ramen bowls had already stacked up beside Ruri. She'd been taking missions one after another lately, and that workload had turned her into quite the heavy eater.
Halfway through devouring another bowl, she froze when she heard Mitsuki call her out. Lifting her head, she shot both of them an annoyed look.
"Such shallow men. Don't you know it's rude to disturb a lady while she's eating? Go on, Heiji — let's hear it."
Heiji pursed his lips, hesitating for a moment before making up his mind.
"Sorry… but this isn't something I can tell you—"
"If you don't tell me" Mitsuki interrupted, his tone deceptively light, "I'll just go ask Hiashi myself. Oh, did I forget to mention? I'm the senior advisor for the Mist front now."
From Heiji's pained expression alone, Mitsuki could tell this introverted guy wasn't going to open up easily. Normally, Mitsuki wouldn't pry twice — but Heiji was different.
Because Heiji was a good guy.
As a branch member of the Hyuga clan — branded with the Caged Bird Seal — Heiji had never once complained about his fate. He'd never shown bitterness, never envied others' happiness. That gentle optimism had once even changed how Mitsuki viewed the Hyuga branch entirely.
After spending more time on the Mist front, Mitsuki realized something: most branch members, even Hiashi himself, carried a faint resentment in their eyes. Resentment toward the main family… or perhaps toward destiny itself.
But none of that mattered to Mitsuki. To put it bluntly, he just couldn't stand seeing a good man being pushed around — especially when that man was his friend.
Seeing Mitsuki's stubborn look, Heiji found the words of refusal dying in his throat. After a few seconds of silence, he finally began to speak.
"Actually… I volunteered to come to the Mist front." His eyes went distant, lost in memory.
Mitsuki and Ruri exchanged a glance but stayed quiet, letting him continue.
"You've probably heard… some time ago, Kirigakure stole a Byakugan from the Hyuga clan. That Byakugan belonged to my older brother — Yuji."
Mitsuki frowned slightly. "So he came here to reclaim his brother's eye?"
But the next words shattered that assumption.
"Yuji was three years older than me. As the eldest son of our branch line, he was chosen to be groomed as a member of the main family. We barely ever spoke. After he died, there was a vacancy among the main family heirs. By regulation, my younger sister, Hyuga Yui, should've been allowed to take his place."
He paused, voice trembling.
"Yuji's still young — she hasn't been branded with the Caged Bird Seal yet. But when my family made the formal request, some of the main family elders rejected it. They said our line had failed to protect the Byakugan and no longer deserved to be part of the main house."
"So I came here… I wanted to take back my brother's stolen eye. If I could do that, Yuji might be accepted as main family — she could live free. But I'm useless. I've been here for months… and I haven't even come close to getting it back."
Heiji's voice cracked. His head lowered, and his fists clenched so tight that his nails pierced his palms.
"…That's all?"
Mitsuki's calm, almost playful tone startled him.Heiji lifted his head in confusion — only to meet Mitsuki's confident grin.
"Leave it to me. I've got a score to settle with the Mist anyway. Anything that makes their lives miserable, I'm happy to do."
Heiji's eyes shimmered. Ever since he'd come here, thoughts of his sister Yuji had haunted him — her gentle smile, her innocent forehead. The thought of that cursed seal being burned into it filled him with despair.
But faced with Mitsuki, that despair wavered. This man didn't mock his hopeless dream. He didn't pity him either. He simply believed — and offered to help.
"I remember the Mist shinobi who stole that Byakugan was named Ao, right, Ruri?" Mitsuki asked after a moment of thought.
Ruri nodded slightly. Her intelligence gathering was far sharper than Mitsuki's. After recalling for a few seconds, she recited the details clearly:
"Jonin — Ao. During the last large-scale Mist offensive, he ambushed the Konoha sensory division. When Yuji — a main family member — self-destructed his Byakugan to prevent theft, Ao succeeded in stealing one. He's known as the 'Byakugan Killer'"