Me, doing this for Hyūga Yu?
The more he thought about it, the more Hyūga Tetsu's heart trembled.
He suddenly realized that he had actually been silently watching Hyūga Yu in the dark all along—watching the foolish things he did, watching him overreach and self-righteously violate the Hyūga Clan's established customary rules, one after another:
Members of the Hyūga Clan must practice the Gentle Fist from a young age.
Members of the Hyūga Clan must value the clan's reputation and never bring shame upon it.
Members of the Hyūga Clan must become ninja of the Reconnaissance Squads or Barrier Squads.
Members of the Branch House are born to bow their heads to the Main House, kneel before the Main House, and die for the Main House!
...
But that guy, that Branch House Hyūga Yu, always recklessly violated these iron laws, one by one!
And then,
He lived until now.
Hyūga Tetsu had to admit that he wanted to see Hyūga Yu keep going, to see just how far Hyūga Yu could ultimately go.
However,
If Hyūga Yu refused the Main House elder's appointment, then he would be sent back to the battlefield of the Third Great Ninja War—a place where nine out of ten die!
Having experienced two years of war, Hyūga Tetsu knew perfectly well what kind of landscape that was.
Especially since the intensity of the war was getting higher and higher.
Yet Hyūga Yu was still marching in place, still a weakling, a cannon-fodder-like Genin.
He simply did not want to see Hyūga Yu completely disappear from his vision.
He simply did not want a future where he could no longer hear those harsh discussions directed at Hyūga Yu.
He simply did not want... to stand before the Memorial Stone wearing black mourning clothes, mocking a guy who paid the price of his life to try and live, who quietly resisted, doing things Tetsu himself could never do in this lifetime.
Wait, how many "simply did nots" was that... forget it!
Hyūga Tetsu suddenly stood up, crushed the milk carton in his hand, and threw it to the ground.
He began to walk.
He strode toward that apartment building once again.
He wanted to try persuading Hyūga Yu one more time.
If Yu still insisted on his foolish ideas, then even if he had to break Yu's legs, Hyūga Tetsu would keep him in the village!
However,
Just as he took two steps,
A graceful, ethereal figure—one that often appeared in his dreams—suddenly floated into view before Hyūga Tetsu.
"Where are you going?"
At this moment, the voice that reached him was not the gentle, affectionate, Yamato Nadeshiko-like melodious voice from his impression.
Instead, it was a calm and indifferent inquiry, elegant as a night-blooming flower.
The tones of the two voices were vastly different, yet they came from the same person's mouth; it felt jarring, yet somehow, it seemed as if this was exactly how it should be.
It was Hyūga Natsu.
"I... You..." Hyūga Tetsu froze in place, his eyes widening slightly, feeling his brain wasn't quite keeping up.
Hyūga Natsu, who should be flirting lovingly with Hyūga Yu right now, appeared in front of him?
This isn't right. Why?
Hyūga Natsu just stood calmly in front of 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 undergoing an important interview."
Realizing this was related to Hyūga Yu, Hyūga Tetsu's expression instantly hardened, and he couldn't help but ask:
"Interview? Where is he going? Did that guy refuse the Main House elder's appointment just for this interview?"
Hyūga Natsu curled the corners of her mouth, smiling elegantly. The neon lights of a nearby shop sign reflected on her face, outlining an arc that only seemed more real under the cover of night.
"That... who knows?"
Saying this, Hyūga Natsu suddenly changed the subject, looking at Hyūga Tetsu with a beaming smile.
"However, Hyūga Tetsu, regarding this matter, I can tell you exclusively. Can you... keep a secret for him?"
"Hyūga Yu's secret..." Hyūga Tetsu looked shaken, somewhat dazed. He immediately raised his head, but only asked a question rather than promising to keep it.
"What is it?"
He had his principles. If this secret required sacrificing Hyūga Yu or the Hyūga Clan, he would naturally have to make a choice.
Hyūga Natsu smiled slightly, and with a tone of pride—like saying 'my cub has grown up'—she hummed with a laugh:
"Lion-kun, he is currently undergoing... a Root interview."
Hearing this, Hyūga Tetsu's eyes snapped wide open, and he couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.
"What did you say?"
"It's... that Root!?"
On the other side,
Inside the apartment,
Hyūga Yu slowly opened his eyes.
The sharpness in his pure white eyes had dissipated, leaving only a stubborn, unyielding obstinacy.
The person hiding in the darkness, seeing such a pair of eyes, couldn't help but praise:
"Very good eyes."
"Born of humble origins, harboring darkness in your heart. Such eyes will surely give that person quite a surprise."
At this moment, Hyūga Yu took a deep breath and took the initiative to question:
"Then, why didn't you seek me out?"
"Because you were too weak."
"Then why are you willing to see me now?"
"Because you proved your value."
"At the same time, you touched a domain you should not have touched."
Hyūga Yu fell silent.
At this moment,
From the darkness, a figure wearing a pale yellow hooded trench coat, hands in his pockets, slowly walked out.
In the dark night, he wore a pair of round, ink-black sunglasses. Through the lenses, a pair of eyes—across which insects occasionally crawled—calmly observed and scrutinized Hyūga Yu, who was kneeling on the tatami in the center of the apartment.
Under such a gaze, Hyūga Yu felt as if bugs were crawling all over his body, and he couldn't help but shiver.
And when the other party mentioned touching a domain he shouldn't have, it only took an instant for Hyūga Yu to figure out the cause and effect involved—
Just as he had thought,
The [Byakugan Leak Incident] was not simple.
That the Hidden Mist side could obtain intelligence regarding the Main House, obtain such nearly top-secret information about travel routes and escort personnel, and even specifically set up a plan to hunt the Main House...
It was because Root had a hand in this incident.
Perhaps the Main House's Byakugan was exactly the bait Root used to fish out the spies from other villages lurking inside Konoha.
And his own involvement—being targeted for assassination by the Mist for attempting to join the Main House escort team, and even the act of killing a Mist Chūnin in a counter-attack—had all indirectly affected Root's plan.
Therefore, he had been passively dragged in and had influenced this event, even if that influence was quite minute.
In response to this situation, according to custom, Root had only one method of dealing with it—
Silencing the witness.
Alarm bells instantly rang loudly in Hyūga Yu's heart.
At this moment,
The figure with hands in his pockets shifted his gaze away from Hyūga Yu's face. He walked slowly to a corner of the apartment, studying the wooden bow case placed there, and suddenly spoke:
"Hyūga Yu, you are not as simple as your file suggests."
"Nor are you as incompetent as the villagers, the Genin and Chūnin, and your clansmen describe."
"Of course, even combining the two to arrive at the true intelligence, in my eyes, you still don't have very high value."
He paused, reached out to stroke the mottled patterns on the wooden bow case, and suddenly said:
"That Mist Chūnin... that was your doing, right?"
Hyūga Yu gulped heavily, his mind racing frantically.
He didn't know when the other party had started monitoring him. It had been less than half an hour since he killed the Mist Chūnin. During the time he took out the Mist Chūnin, he had activated his Byakugan three times, but the Byakugan had never detected this person's traces.
Therefore, he couldn't confirm if this question was a bluff or a certainty. The results pointed to by these two answers were completely different.
And his answer right now would determine his life or death!
Just then,
"Heh."
The figure with hands in his pockets let out a sneer, seemingly having confirmed something from Hyūga Yu's silence.
"You are very smart, Hyūga Yu."
"Judged by the standards of an ordinary Root ninja, you are fully competent. You have even reached the standard to be deployed on external missions."
"But, judged as a Hyūga Clan ninja of Root, your value is far from sufficient."
"Therefore,"
The figure turned his back, keeping his hands in his pockets, and spoke faintly:
"Your current situation is very dangerous."
"It is like walking a tightrope over an abyss ten thousand feet deep. One slight deviation, and you will immediately fall to your death."
"Even if you are lucky enough to take this step correctly, every step you take hereafter will be a dance on the tip of a blade."
"So,"
"What should you do?"
Hyūga Yu remained silent for a moment. As his heart gradually gained clarity, he replied in a deep voice:
"Increase my 'value'."
The deep voice immediately questioned: "How will you increase it?"
Hyūga Yu began to laugh.
"Haven't you already given me the answer—"
He took a deep breath, then said, word by word:
"Only by,"
"Dancing on the tip of the blade!"
————
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