Me, for Hinata Yuu?
The more he thought this, the more Hyūga Tetsu's heart trembled.
He suddenly realized that he had always been secretly paying attention to Hinata Yuu, watching the foolish things he did, watching him presumptuously and self-righteously violate one after another of the Hyūga clan's established rules:
Hyūga clan members must practice Gentle Fist from a young age.
Hyūga clan members must prioritize the family's reputation and must not bring shame upon the clan.
Hyūga clan members must become shinobi in the reconnaissance squad or the barrier squad.
The Branch Family of the Hyūga clan is inherently meant to bow to the Main Family, kneel before them, and die serving them!
...But that guy, Hyuga Yuu of the Branch Family, always recklessly defied these rules that seemed as immutable as iron laws!
And yet, he lived to this day.
Hyūga Tetsu had to admit that he wanted to watch Hinata Yuu continue on his path, wanted to see how far he could ultimately go.
But, if Hyuga Yuu refused the appointment from the Main Family Elder, he would once again return to the life-or-death battlefield of the Third Great Shinobi War!
Having experienced two years of war, Hyūga Tetsu knew exactly what kind of scene that was.
Especially since the intensity of the fighting was only escalating.
Yet, Hyuga Yuu was still stagnant, still a weakling, a cannon fodder Genin.
The one thing he didn't want was to see Hyuga Yuu completely vanish from his sight.
The one thing he didn't want was to never again hear the harsh discussions and criticisms directed at Hyuga Yuu.
The one thing he didn't want... was to stand before the Memorial Stone, dressed in black mourning clothes, and mock a guy who risked his life trying to survive, quietly resisting, and doing things Tetsu himself could never do.
Wait, how many 'one things' was that... Forget it!
Hyūga Tetsu suddenly stood up, crushed the milk carton, and threw it to the ground.
He started walking, heading toward that apartment building once again.
He wanted to try persuading Hinata Yuu one more time.
If Yuu still insisted on his foolish idea, then even if Tetsu had to break his legs, he would keep him in the village!
However, just two steps in, a pretty, ethereal figure that often appeared in his dreams suddenly materialized before Hyūga Tetsu.
"Where are you going?"
The voice that came wasn't the sweet, gentle, amiable sound he remembered—the voice of a Yamato Nadeshiko.
Instead, it was a calm and indifferent inquiry, as elegant as a night-blooming cereus.
The tones of the two voices were vastly different, yet both came from the same person, feeling both jarring and strangely harmonious, as if this was exactly how it should be.
It was Hyūga Natsu.
"I... You..." Hyūga Tetsu froze on the spot, his eyes slightly wide, feeling like his brain wasn't processing fast enough.
Hyūga Natsu, who should currently be having a tender moment with Hinata Yuu, was standing in front of him?
This wasn't right. Why?
Hyūga Natsu simply stood calmly before Hyūga Tetsu and shook her head at him.
"Don't go. You'll die."
Hyūga Tetsu couldn't understand: "W-Why?"
Hyūga Natsu spoke calmly: "He is currently undergoing an important interview."
Realizing this concerned Hinata Yuu, Hyūga Tetsu's expression immediately hardened, and he couldn't help but ask:
"An interview? Where is he going? Did that guy reject the Main Family Elder's appointment just for this interview?"
Hyūga Natsu curved her lips into an elegant smile. The neon lights from a nearby shop sign reflected on her face, outlining a curve that seemed more real only under the cloak of night.
"Well... who knows?"
Saying this, Hyūga Natsu suddenly changed the subject, looking at Hyūga Tetsu with a smile.
"However, Hyūga Tetsu, I can tell you one thing about this. Can you... keep a secret for him?"
"Hinata Yuu's secret..." Hyūga Tetsu's expression trembled, slightly lost in thought. He immediately looked up, but only asked, without promising to keep the secret.
"What is it?"
He had his principles. If keeping the secret required sacrificing Hinata Yuu or the Hyūga clan, he would naturally make a choice.
Hyūga Natsu smiled faintly, and with a proud, slightly mocking tone—the tone of someone whose child has achieved great things—she chuckled:
"Shishi-kun, he is currently undergoing... an interview with Root."
Hearing this, Hyūga Tetsu's eyes widened sharply, and he couldn't help but swallow hard.
"What did you say?"
"Root... *that* Root!?"
#
Meanwhile, inside the apartment, Hyuga Yuu slowly opened his eyes.
The sharpness in his pure white eyes completely dissipated, leaving behind only stubborn, obstinate defiance.
The person who had spoken, hidden in the darkness, saw those eyes and couldn't help but praise:
"Your gaze is excellent."
"Humble origins, yet harboring darkness in your heart. Eyes like these will surely provide that esteemed person with quite a surprise."
At this moment, Hyuga Yuu took a deep breath and proactively questioned:
"Then why didn't you look for me before?"
"Because you were too weak."
"Then why are you willing to see me now?"
"Because you have proven your worth."
"And at the same time, you have touched upon a domain you should not have."
Hyuga Yuu fell silent.
Just then, a figure wearing a pale yellow hooded trench coat and keeping his hands in his pockets slowly emerged from the darkness.
He wore small, ink-black circular sunglasses in the dark. A pair of eyes, over which insects occasionally crawled, calmly watched and scrutinized Hinata Yuu, who was kneeling on the tatami mat in the center of the apartment.
Under that gaze, Hyuga Yuu felt as if insects were crawling all over his body, and he couldn't help but shiver.
When the other party mentioned the domain he shouldn't have touched, it took Hyuga Yuu only an instant to realize the cause and effect—
Just as he suspected, the [Byakugan Leak Incident] was not simple.
The fact that Kirigakure was able to obtain intelligence about the Main Family, acquire highly classified information like travel routes and escort personnel, and even specifically plan to hunt down a Main Family member,
was because Root had intervened in this incident.
Perhaps the Main Family's Byakugan was bait used by Root to flush out spies from various villages lurking within Konoha.
His own involvement—being targeted for assassination by Kirigakure after attempting to join the Main Family escort team, and subsequently killing a Kirigakure Chūnin—had indirectly affected Root's plans.
Therefore, he had been passively drawn into and influenced the incident, even if the impact was minimal.
Customarily, Root only had one way to deal with such a situation—silencing the witness.
Alarm bells immediately went off in Hyuga Yuu's heart.
Just then, the figure with his hands in his pockets shifted his gaze from Hinata Yuu's face, walked smoothly to a corner of the apartment, and examined the wooden box containing the bow and arrows, then suddenly spoke:
"Hyuga Yuu, you are not as simple as your record suggests."
"Nor are you as useless as described by the villagers, the low-ranking shinobi, or your clan members."
"Of course, even if we combine both to derive the truth, in my eyes, your value is still not very high."
He paused, reached out to stroke the variegated patterns on the wooden box, and then suddenly asked:
"That Kirigakure Chūnin, you were responsible for him, weren't you?"
Hyuga Yuu swallowed hard, his mind racing wildly.
He didn't know when the other party started monitoring him. Only half an hour had passed since he killed the Kirigakure Chūnin, and he had activated his Byakugan three times while doing the deed, yet the Byakugan had never detected the figure's presence.
Therefore, he couldn't determine if the question was a bluff or a certainty, and the results pointed to by the two answers were completely different.
His answer now would determine his life or death!
Just then, "Heh."
The figure with his hands in his pockets sneered, as if Hyuga Yuu's silence had confirmed something.
"You are very clever, Hyuga Yuu."
"For an ordinary Root shinobi, you are perfectly competent, even meeting the standards for external deployment."
"However, when measured against a Hyūga clan shinobi within Root, your value is far from sufficient."
"Therefore," the figure turned his back, hands still in his pockets, and said lightly:
"Your current situation is very dangerous."
"It's like crossing a bottomless abyss on a tightrope. One slight misstep, and you will immediately fall to your death."
"Even if you manage to take this step correctly, every subsequent step you take will be a dance on the edge of a blade."
"So,"
"What should you do?"
Hyuga Yuu was silent for a moment, gradually understanding the situation, and then answered in a deep voice:
"Increase my 'value'."
The low voice immediately questioned: "How do you increase it?"
Hyuga Yuu smiled.
"Haven't you already told me the answer—"
He took a deep breath and said clearly, word by word:
"Only by,"
"Dancing on the edge of a blade!"
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