Hinata stood there, watching that back disappear into the alley entrance.
Moonlight shone on her, making her face look somewhat pale.
She stood there for a long time.
Long enough that she heard a slight sound from behind her.
She turned around.
Nobunaga was leaning against the doorframe.
His complexion was terrifyingly pale. The moonlight shone on his face; it was deathly pale, without a trace of blood.
Beads of sweat on his forehead flowed down his cheeks, past his chin, and dripped onto the ground.
His eyes were still open. But the light in those eyes was fading bit by bit.
He was forcing himself to hold on.
But he was about to collapse.
Hinata's tears welled up instantly.
She ran over and supported him.
"Nobunaga-kun!"
Nobunaga looked down at her.
He wanted to say "I'm fine." Wanted to say "It's okay." Wanted to tell her not to worry.
But he realized he couldn't speak anymore.
His mouth opened, closed. Opened again, closed again.
He couldn't say a single word.
He could only use his eyes to signal Hinata not to be loud, lest Mei Terumī notice, which would truly be dire.
Hinata's tears flowed even more fiercely.
But she didn't cry out loud, just bit her lip, holding it back with all her might.
She draped Nobunaga's arm over her shoulder, then supported him as they walked into the room.
One step. Two steps.
They walked very slowly. Because Nobunaga had put almost all his weight on her.
Her legs were trembling, her shoulders were trembling, but she gritted her teeth and walked forward, step by step.
From the doorway to the bedside was only a few steps.
But by the time they finished walking, Hinata was covered in sweat.
She settled Nobunaga on the bed, then straightened up, panting heavily.
Nobunaga lay on the bed, watching her.
Moonlight shone in from outside the window, falling on his face.
He watched her.
Watching her wipe away her tears. Watching her take a deep breath. Watching her turn to fetch water.
She brought a basin of water and placed it by the bedside.
Then she knelt down, wrung out a towel, and pressed it gently against his face.
The towel was warm. Carrying a little heat.
It felt very comfortable.
Nobunaga wanted to say something, but couldn't.
Hinata wouldn't let him speak either.
"Don't speak." Her voice was very soft, but very serious.
She laid the towel on his forehead, then began to check his body.
Arms. Shoulders. Chest. Back.
Her hands were very light. So light as if she were afraid of breaking something.
But her movements were very careful. She checked every place that might be injured.
No external injuries.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Then she looked at his eyes.
That pair of Mangekyo Sharingan had already automatically closed, returning to a normal black.
But under the moonlight, one could still see some faint red bloodshot veins.
"It's excessive Chakra consumption..." She muttered to herself, "And... the eyes... is it the Sharingan?"
She took a small bottle from her ninja tool pouch.
The Hyuga Clan's ointment. Specifically for eyes. She usually couldn't bear to use it herself, but today she had it with her.
She opened the bottle, dipped a little ointment with her finger, and then gently smeared it on the corners of his eyes.
The ointment was cool. Carrying a faint herbal fragrance.
Her fingers were very light. Spreading it bit by bit, her movements were as gentle as if treating something precious.
Nobunaga watched her.
Moonlight fell on her face, making her contours look very soft.
She kept her head down, focused on applying the ointment for him. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and there was a tiny bead of sweat on the tip of her nose.
There were uncleaned tear stains on her face, shining faintly under the moonlight.
He suddenly thought of Temari.
Temari was like this too. Always taking care of others first, then thinking of herself.
"Hinata, why don't you ask me..." Nobunaga's voice was very soft, so soft it was almost inaudible.
Hinata's hand paused for a moment.
But she didn't look up.
"Don't speak." Hinata's voice trembled a little. But it was still very serious.
Nobunaga didn't speak again.
He just lay there, letting her continue applying the ointment.
The coolness of the ointment spread from the corners of his eyes, very comfortable. But what was even more comfortable was the temperature of her fingers.
After applying the ointment, Hinata checked him again.
After confirming there were no other problems, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She stood up and tidied up the things.
Then she stood there, watching him.
Nobunaga also watched her.
Moonlight fell between the two of them.
There was a long silence.
Then Hinata spoke.
"Nobunaga-kun."
"Hmm."
"She... why did she come to find you?"
Nobunaga was silent for a while.
He looked at Hinata's white eyes. Inside were care, worry, curiosity. And a little something he couldn't quite name.
He suddenly wanted to tease her.
So he smiled. A very faint smile.
"I'm not sure either. Maybe it's because she saw that I'm handsome..."
Hinata was stunned.
She looked at Nobunaga's face.
Ordinary features. Ordinary brows and eyes that looked the same after a while. The kind of ordinary that would definitely not be found if thrown into a crowd.
Handsome?
She blinked. And blinked again.
Then she couldn't help but laugh.
A small laugh. The corners of her mouth curled up a little, and her eyes curved up too. Tears were still hanging on her face, but she laughed.
"Nobunaga-kun... you..."
She covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking as she laughed.
Moonlight fell on her face, illuminating that smile brightly.
Nobunaga watched her.
Suddenly feeling, it didn't seem so tiring anymore.
The next day.
Sunlight leaked in from the crack in the window, falling on Nobunaga's face.
He opened his eyes.
His body was still sore. The consumption of Tsukuyomi was greater than imagined, and sleeping for a night didn't fully recover him. But at least he could move, could speak, could think.
He sat up and leaned against the headboard.
His mind began to race.
Mei Terumī left last night, but what she said was "not moving today." Not moving today, but what about tomorrow? The day after? After the Chunin Exams ended?
Must run.
But how to run was a problem.
Nobunaga leaned against the headboard, running through two routes in his mind.
The first, follow a Kage-level powerhouse.
Konoha now had plenty of Kage-level powerhouses. The Third Hokage, although old, still had his strength. Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, according to the original plot, had returned to the village in these few days and would take Naruto as his disciple.
If he could stay by their side, no matter how crazy Mei Terumī was, she wouldn't dare to make a move openly. A war between the Mizukage and the Hokage was no small matter.
But the problem was, why would they take him along? A Genin, why would a Kage-level powerhouse act as a bodyguard?
The second route, make money.
Running away needed money. A lot of money. After leaving Konoha, without missions, without income, he couldn't just starve on the road. And in case he needed to hide his identity, needed to buy intelligence, needed to hire people for help, all required money.
Nobunaga touched his ninja tool pouch.
Inside were a few crumpled banknotes. He counted them.
Enough to eat for three days. Not enough to buy a ticket to the border.
He was silent.
When he was the Kazekage, he never worried about money. Although the Hidden Sand Village was poor, the Kazekage still had perks. Someone delivered food, someone washed clothes, and someone followed when going out.
Now it was great, the Fifth Generation Kazekage, reduced to the point where he couldn't even scrape together the travel expenses to run away.