"Wow… you three really look miserable."
A voice full of schadenfreude drifted down.
Starlight spilled through the branches, illuminating the treetops—and the figure standing among them.
Hyūga Akira stood on a branch, looking down at the three below.
Nawaki and Kushina were in absolute tatters. Their clothes were shredded, and both of them were hanging upside down from the tree, looking pitiful beyond words.
Even Minato, who was trying to free them, didn't look much better. His clothes were torn and filthy.
All three of them looked like beggars.
Akira casually flicked his wrist.
Two shuriken flew out, slicing cleanly through the ropes tied around Nawaki's and Kushina's ankles.
Thud. Thud.
They hit the ground.
Kushina jumped up immediately, face burning with fury.
"Just how many traps did you set up here?!"
She had completely lost her composure. The moment she was free, she launched herself toward Akira, clearly intent on fighting him to the death.
She barely reached the height of the branch—
Tap.
Akira calmly flicked her forehead.
Kushina dropped straight back down.
"I didn't set that many," Akira said lazily. "Just about fifty thousand ryō worth."
That single sentence nearly sent Nawaki into cardiac arrest.
That was his entire allowance.
Minato jumped up and instinctively caught Kushina in a princess carry.
"Ah—let go of me!" Kushina struggled wildly, her face flushing red as she wriggled out of his arms.
Minato scratched his cheek. "Sorry."
"Mind your own business, you sissy!" Kushina snapped, turning her head away. The darkness conveniently hid her red face.
Nawaki walked over and chopped her lightly on the head.
"Watch your manners, Kushina."
She covered her forehead and huffed, pointedly refusing to look at Minato.
Minato looked awkward, clearly not expecting her reaction to be that intense.
Meanwhile, Akira sat casually on the branch, legs dangling as he happily ate a steamed bun.
The aroma drifted down.
All three stomachs growled in unison.
"You've got two days left," Akira said between bites. "If you don't catch me by then, you're starving for three more days."
"AAAAH!! GET HIM!" Kushina shouted, immediately trying to climb the tree.
As a younger student, she still hadn't learned tree-climbing—and had already forgotten the pain of that forehead flick.
Akira lifted a finger, clearly planning to flick her again.
But Nawaki and Minato didn't forget what just happened.
Both of them jumped at the same time, reaching out from opposite sides.
Akira didn't counter.
He simply leapt higher, vanishing into the upper branches.
"DON'T RUN!" Kushina finally managed to climb up, her red hair whipping around like it had a life of its own.
The three of them chased after him.
Nawaki was the fastest. One leap put him within arm's reach.
Akira suddenly jumped backward—and dropped downward instead.
Nawaki instinctively adjusted—
Then looked down.
An explosive tag was pasted right on the branch.
"…Again?"
BOOM!
The explosion sent Nawaki flying off the tree.
Minato and Kushina jumped down together, steel wires flashing in their hands as they rushed Akira.
The darkness concealed the wires perfectly.
But even without the Byakugan, Akira's eyesight was sharp.
A bronze blade appeared in his hand. Flames ignited along its edge as he slashed—
The wires were severed instantly.
Minato and Kushina landed and charged again.
Nawaki roared and joined them.
Three directions. A perfect pincer.
Akira's lips curled upward.
[Experience +1]
[Experience +45]
[Experience +66]
Akira sheathed his blade and looked at the three figures groaning on the ground.
"Not bad."
His gaze lingered briefly on Minato.
That kid was already close to becoming a ninja.
Genin usually gave over a hundred experience points.
Sixty-six meant Minato wasn't far off at all.
Akira checked his pool.
[Experience Pool: 1370]
Most of it came from the brown bear. The rest were scraps from ordinary beasts—twenty at most, usually less than ten.
Even in the Forest of Death, chakra beasts weren't common.
To find more, he'd have to go deeper.
Kushina and Minato were giving him experience for the first time, but they weren't ninjas yet—barely worth mentioning.
"Still…"
Akira lifted his foot.
At some point, steel wire had wrapped around his ankle, trailing back to Minato's hand.
Akira looked at him.
"You're pretty impressive."
Minato wiped blood from his nose and hissed in pain when he touched a bruise.
"That wire wouldn't have held anyway," Akira continued, shaking his leg to free himself. "But I didn't even notice it at first."
"Fine. I'll count that."
"Yes!" Kushina cheered.
"Minato—truly the man who inherits my will!" Nawaki slung an arm around Minato's shoulders, overflowing with pride.
Once Minato graduated, he'd become the top of the academy.
The Third Generation: Namikaze Minato.
"So," Akira asked calmly, "what do you want?"
"Food," Minato answered instantly.
Akira didn't argue.
He tossed over a bag of steaming hot buns.
"These are yours."
Then he leapt back into the trees and disappeared in a few bounds.
Nawaki and Kushina immediately devoured the buns without any dignity.
They hadn't eaten all day. They'd tried hunting, but the area was so thick with traps they could barely move.
"…These buns feel like they were just made," Minato said after a bite.
Akira was covered in blood—he didn't exactly look like someone who'd gone cooking.
Nawaki leaned in and whispered mysteriously.
"My big brother has a magical treasure pouch. He can pull out anything. Not just meat buns—he could probably pull out a living person."
"Wow," Minato's eyes sparkled. "That's amazing."
"No way!" Kushina scoffed.
"Believe it or not." Nawaki rolled his eyes. "I've seen him pull out all kinds of things."
That tiny pouch could somehow produce a spiked mace.
Pulling out a person didn't seem impossible.
…Okay, maybe he exaggerated a little.
But he was absolutely certain of one thing—
Hyūga Akira's pockets could definitely hide a human being.
Elsewhere in the Forest of Death—
Akira sneezed.
"…Who's talking about me?"
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