Chapter 21
Next to the bathroom, in the residence separated by just one wall, Yūgao Uzuki's childhood friend, Gekkō Hayate, was humming a tune while cooking dinner.
The successful completion of the diplomatic mission brought him immense satisfaction and relief.
If Konoha and Kumogakure united, an infinitely bright future would be at hand.
At this moment, he deeply wished to share this good news with his childhood friend.
So, after finishing dinner, he quickly headed next door… "Yūgao…"
The dark courtyard here stood in stark contrast to his own brightly lit home.
One side was bathed in light.
The other was completely enveloped by the night.
With a puzzled mind, he knocked on his childhood friend's door.
Knock knock knock…!
"Yūgao!"
Gekkō Hayate called out, but there was no response.
It wasn't until the fifth call that the light in the bathroom came on.
Soon after, he saw his childhood friend, with wet hair, open the door.
Clearly, his childhood friend had just been showering.
Looking at Yūgao emerging from her bath, Hayate couldn't help but freeze in place.
Soon, he smiled, "Yūgao, you seem to have become even more beautiful…"
Gekkō Hayate didn't know that his childhood friend had just been startled awake by his knocking.
She quickly got out of the bathtub, only to find the water inside had already turned icy cold.
She hastily wiped her body, put on her clothes, and opened the door.
Before she could think, she saw Hayate, who had come in person.
At her childhood friend's invitation, Yūgao followed him next door.
The lavish dinner was appetizing.
However, Yūgao suddenly realized that her appetite still wasn't very good.
She vaguely remembered some things in her mind.
It was probably Naruto knocking her out.
Then, she had been unconscious for two days?!
Just as a Jinchuriki's rampage carries risks and may result in memory loss from that time, Yūgao, having endured the Nine-Tailed Chakra's erosion of her brain, also lost a portion of her memories.
Yūgao only remembered vaguely leaving Naruto's house and then not knowing how she got back… Her memories grew increasingly hazy, as if she had had a dream.
"Yūgao, what's wrong?" Gekkō Hayate blinked.
"Nothing… Perhaps I'm a bit tired from the mission. I fell asleep without turning on the light just now and only realized it was dark when I woke up…"
Yūgao gave a wry smile.
The warm dinner atmosphere continued.
The two chatted and laughed, as if nothing strange had happened.
When dinner was over, Yūgao originally planned to do the dishes with her childhood friend, but suddenly felt a bit unwell.
"Yūgao, if you're tired, you should rest early."
Amidst her childhood friend's gentle urging, Yūgaonodded and left.
"Goodnight, Hayate."
Standing on the second floor, Yūgao opened the window and waved to her childhood friend.
He returned her smile.
Once Gekkō Hayate's figure disappeared beyond the wall, Yūgao immediately closed the window.
An indescribable heat made her quickly shed her clothes.
Despite it being a cold winter, she felt an unusual heat in her body.
"So hot…"
Yūgao, murmuring softly, took off her underwear and quickly immersed herself in the bathtub.
Only then did she feel a little cooler.
However, this act of rushing to the fire was a drop in the bucket.
Soon… an even more intense heat surged into her heart and quickly spread throughout her entire body.
"Ugh~."
Yūgao closed her eyes, feeling hot all over, even her cheeks.
Splash… The water in the bathtub was stirred by her body's twisting.
Her hands, gripping the edge of the bathtub, fingers repeatedly sought the cool ceramic rim.
But this couldn't completely alleviate the heat.
Until… Splash!
Yūgao's hands reached into the bathtub, and then she touched something.
It might have been ice.
Finally, it started… to get cooler… Hyuga Clan Residence.
This ancient and rigid clan had long since implemented a curfew.
The moon began to rise in the night sky, the stars shone brighter, and the Hyuga Clan Residencebecame utterly silent.
Hinata lay in her futon, eyes open, unable to sleep.
Until a stern inquiry came from Hyuga Natsu in the next room: "Lady Hinata… please go to sleep as soon as possible…"
"Okay~, okay~."
Hinata hastily replied to her, then closed her eyes.
In her mind, Hinata was still thinking about that question.
"Tomorrow is my birthday, Naruto-kun… will he come?"
Hinata was still pondering this matter until she fell asleep.
Chapter Seventeen: First Encounter · Shunshin Shisui
"!"
In the morning, Yūgao Uzuki awoke with a start from her sleep.
She suddenly sat up on the large bed, as if at the tail end of a hangover.
The light in the bedroom was a bit dim.
Yūgao stared straight ahead, her mind constantly replaying the absurd experience of last night.
She raised her right hand, gazing at her slender, fair fingers, like scallions, as if something had grown on them.
Soon, Yūgao's gaze began to tremble, and her cheeks flushed repeatedly.
A sense of shame welled up in her heart, making her feel utterly mortified.
Last night, while soaking in the bathtub, she couldn't resist practicing Lightning ReleaseNinjutsu to dispel the unspeakable heat.
As an Anbu elite, Yūgao was familiar with all human anatomy and all physiological activities of the human body.
Having maintained her purity from childhood and never crossed the line, she had actually done such an absurd thing last night.
Yūgao, getting out of bed with a self-reproaching mood, did not immediately ponder the question of "why."
She pulled open the curtains; outside, the sky was just beginning to lighten.
Before she could leave the window, her childhood friend, standing outside in the yard, was already waving to her.
Yūgao returned a smile, though her smile seemed a bit stiff.
Gazing at Hayate on the distant street.
Yūgao's mind, however, was constantly pondering the cause and effect.
She thought of everything, yet she never suspected Naruto. Naturally, she also didn't know about Naruto's feeding her during the two days she was unconscious.
"Hayate…"
Opening the window, Yūgao was about to say something, but suddenly felt an abnormality in her facial muscles.
More precisely… her masseter muscles ached, making it difficult for her to speak.
What puzzled her even more was that when she waved to her childhood friend and her lowered right hand accidentally brushed against her body.
Something warm slowly flowed down… Perhaps it was raining, after all, the weather outside didn't seem very clear.
— Or perhaps it was Water Release, which only Ninja could use.
"What… what exactly happened to me…"
Yūgao looked at this scene, her eyes wide, and couldn't help but stand stunned in place… An hour later.
The area in front of the Hokage Building gradually became lively.
Many Ninja moved in and out, receiving their deployment orders, making their final preparations.
Yūgao, having hastily organized everything, also rushed to the office.
Her orders were to provide covert protection at the Konoha entrance.
In a short while, the Kumogakure diplomatic delegation would officially arrive.
Accompanying them, besides Kumogakure Ninja, were officials from the Land of Lightninggovernment.
They brought with them a desire for peace talks.
Years of friction with Kumogakure had long made the people of the Land of Fire suffer.
Now that the two nations were shaking hands in peace, all the villagers spontaneously flocked to the entrance to welcome their arrival.
For Konoha.