Faced with the yakiniku vendor's slightly trembling hands and his nervous, respectful demeanor.
Yuto quickly waved his hand to indicate he wasn't in a hurry.
However, if Yuto's eyes hadn't been staring so intently at the things on the grill, it might have been more convincing.
Regarding this.
Yuto could only express helplessness.
He had been staying in the barrier all this time, and his meals had been too monotonic.
Today, when Yuto came out intending to get something to eat, he happened to see Haruna just after the ninja academy had dismissed.
If Yuto remembered correctly, all members of the Seven Swordsmen had missions during this period.
At this hour, Ringo Ameyuri probably hadn't returned yet.
So Yuto directly brought Haruna here and ordered some food.
That way Haruna wouldn't have to go home hungry by herself.
It had to be said that although Yuto was extremely cold to enemies, he was quite good to people from his own village.
As waves of aroma drifted over.
Yuto and Haruna didn't have to wait long before the skewers on the grill were done.
The vendor quickly wrapped the skewers and respectfully handed them to Yuto.
"Thank you for your trouble."
Yuto spoke with a light smile while taking out money and placing it down.
The vendor wanted to refuse, but Yuto moved quickly.
He put down the money and turned to leave with Haruna, not giving the vendor any chance to refuse.
On the street, Haruna looked longingly at the skewers in Yuto's hand, her eyes filled with anticipation.
Especially after seeing Yuto eat one skewer, she couldn't help but swallow her saliva.
Seeing Haruna's foodie expression, Yuto found it somewhat amusing.
He stopped teasing her and directly gave her more than half.
Haruna immediately excitedly took the large handful of skewers and ate happily.
Yuto and Haruna, one big and one small, walked along the street toward Haruna's home.
"If only I could eat this every day, it would be so wonderful!"
"Really, I don't know what my sister is busy with every day. Such delicious meatballs, and she can't even have any."
Haruna puffed her cheeks, chewing on a meatball while mumbling her complaints.
"You little glutton, if you eat this every day, be careful or you'll ruin your stomach."
Yuto said helplessly, then his tone shifted as a serious look appeared on his face.
"The village is so prosperous precisely because there are ninjas like your sister working hard behind the scenes."
"That's why you can eat your meatballs in peace."
But this alone was not enough!
To keep Kirigakure prosperous, they had to solve the problem of war.
The stability between the Five Great Shinobi Villages was too fragile.
According to normal patterns, another great shinobi war would occur before long.
And all this so-called prosperity would be instantly destroyed.
In Yuto's view, the only way to solve this problem was to unify the shinobi world!
Better short-term pain than long-term suffering—eliminate the root cause of war at its source!
Of course, Yuto didn't say these words out loud, only thinking them silently in his heart.
Hearing Yuto's earlier words, Haruna nodded her little head with a somewhat understanding expression.
After all, most of Haruna's attention right now was on the skewers in her hands.
Most buildings in Kirigakure were cylindrical, tower-like multi-story structures.
They were designed this way to prevent moisture damage.
As a result, Kirigakure had many small alleys and branching paths.
Anyone unfamiliar with the environment who entered Kirigakure could easily get lost.
Haruna led Yuto through several small alleys, making Yuto a bit dizzy.
Yuto rubbed his temples.
If he had known Ringo Ameyuri's house was in such a maze of paths, he wouldn't have offered to walk Haruna home.
At that moment, Yuto noticed a somewhat dejected-looking Hyuga Neji approaching from a side path on the left.
As soon as Yuto saw Hyuga Neji, naturally Hyuga Neji noticed Yuto at the same time.
He hurriedly quickened his pace toward them.
"Lord Yuto!"
Hyuga Neji jogged up to Yuto, bowing respectfully with a puzzled glance at Haruna from the corner of his eye.
"You're back? This is Ringo Ameyuri's younger sister, Haruna."
"How did the mission go?"
Seeing Hyuga Neji, Yuto's eyes brightened slightly as he asked with curiosity.
"Hello, big brother."
Haruna looked at Hyuga Neji, especially at his white-pupiled eyes, with a hint of wonder on her face.
Ringo Ameyuri's younger sister?
Hyuga Neji glanced at Haruna, somewhat surprised.
He had heard that Ringo Ameyuri had a younger sister, but this was the first time he had seen her.
When he heard Yuto's second question, a look of dejection appeared on Hyuga Neji's face.
After that.
Haruna hopped ahead while Hyuga Neji followed behind Yuto, recounting the events of the mission.
"Defeated by Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan?"
Yuto looked at the somewhat dejected Hyuga Neji and spoke with a light smile.
"I'm sorry, Lord Yuto. I disappointed you."
Although Lord Yuto's tone held no blame, Hyuga Neji still lowered his head with a guilty expression.
Originally, Hyuga Neji had some confidence in his own strength.
But after witnessing the explosive increase in power when Sasuke awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan.
This left Hyuga Neji somewhat bewildered.
"If you lose confidence just from one failure, that's not the Hyuga Neji I know."
"To become strong, you need more than just power."
"If you fail, then just become stronger."
"If you don't even have the confidence to defeat the strong, then what's the meaning of working hard to become stronger?"
Yuto glanced at Hyuga Neji, then withdrew his gaze and spoke in a calm tone.
Yuto's words made Hyuga Neji's spirit tremble involuntarily.
The dejection and confusion that had filled his heart after being defeated by Uchiha Sasuke now dispersed like clouds in the sky.
That's right!
He trained hard to become stronger precisely to challenge and defeat true strong opponents!
If he stopped moving forward just because he lost to someone else, then all his desperate training would be a joke!
At the same time, Hyuga Neji suddenly realized that his confusion came from losing to Uchiha Sasuke.
He was just unwilling to accept it!
Next time, he would just defeat Uchiha Sasuke!
Besides, his goal wasn't limited to just Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto.
The current head of the Hyuga clan, Hyuga Hiashi, was the one he truly wanted to defeat!
Thinking of this, Hyuga Neji involuntarily clenched his fists, fighting spirit reigniting throughout his body.
Hyuga Neji's change was naturally sensed by Yuto immediately, and he gave an imperceptible nod.
In Yuto's view, being defeated by Uchiha Sasuke wasn't necessarily a bad thing for Hyuga Neji.
Although Yuto thought this in his heart, he still showed some dissatisfaction on his face.
Really, this time Uchiha Madara had won a round.
This incident appeared to be a battle between Hyuga Neji, Sasuke, and Naruto.
In reality, it was a covert contest between Yuto, Senju Hashirama, and Uchiha Madara.
Although the three hadn't discussed it beforehand, they all understood each other's intentions.
Since the three of them couldn't determine a winner among themselves for now, having their personally trained disciples fight was a bit of playful competition.
But when Yuto thought about how Senju Hashirama's student Naruto had also lost to Uchiha Sasuke, his dissatisfaction decreased considerably.
Additionally.
What surprised Yuto about this mission was that Nagato hadn't taken Uchiha Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan!
Perhaps the appearance of the Konoha group and Sasori had disrupted the original plan.
But with Nagato's strength, if he went all out, Sasuke would have had no chance of escape.
"Interesting. Did he guess something? Or did he feel the timing wasn't right?"
Yuto's expressionless face showed a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.
Sasuke was now the last remaining member of the Uchiha clan.
If Sasuke was killed or his Sharingan was taken, Uchiha Madara wouldn't let it go.
The shinobi world was so large, and Yuto had always wondered where Uchiha Madara was hiding.
Nagato was essentially a bait Yuto had thrown out.
But now it seemed Nagato had noticed something.
Yuto didn't mind this, because it was an open plot to begin with.
If Nagato wanted to advance further, he would have to take Uchiha Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan.
Unfortunately, they hadn't managed to test it this time.
So when Uchiha Madara appeared next, he would be thoroughly prepared.
Yuto raised his head to look ahead, a trace of concern flashing deep in his gaze.
[
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