Gentle Senior

"Gaara! Disperse the sand shield, now!" Temari shouted anxiously.

Before Gaara completely lost the ability to think, he dispersed the sand shield in front of him. With the sound spreading out, he finally regained a little clarity.

At that moment, a large hand clamped around his neck and dragged him rapidly into the distance.

Seeing Hyuga Kei trying to abduct Gaara, Kankuro and Temari moved to stop him.

But Hinata, Shino, and the others blocked their path.

"Beast Mimicry Ninjutsu: Beast Human Clone!"

Kiba braced himself on all fours as Akamaru leaped onto his back. A cloud of smoke burst out, and Akamaru transformed into Kiba's appearance.

"Kikaichū!" Swarms of black insects flew toward Kankuro.

"Gentle Fist Style: Strike!" Hinata quietly appeared behind Temari, forming a pincer attack with Kiba.

Hyuga Kei dragged Gaara into the distance, then hurled him forcefully against a large tree. The sand armor covering Gaara's body cracked slightly.

The pain also brought him back to his senses somewhat. The previous attack had indeed injured him badly, but it was not enough to rob him of his ability to fight.

Gaara rose to his feet with a crazed expression and stuck out his tongue to lick the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"You've made me angry!"

Under his control, vast amounts of sand rose into the sky, forming a gray cloud of sand overhead.

"Sand Shower!"

Sharp sand pellets continuously rained down from the sand cloud toward Hyuga Kei.

Hyuga Kei spread his hands toward the sky. "Sound Release: Tremor."

In an instant, massive fan-shaped sound waves erupted from his palms. Every sand pellet in the air was torn apart, and the low-hanging sand cloud was blown away as well.

In the blink of an eye, sand and dust filled the entire Forest of Death.

Outside the Forest of Death, Jiraiya looked up at the sky. "Is that... an attack from a genin?"

The many chunin proctors also saw the drifting sand and dust, their mouths hanging open in disbelief.

"Sand Binding Burial!" Gaara shouted softly as a huge mass of sand surged toward Hyuga Kei like a tidal wave. Hyuga Kei leaped onto the trees, nimbly using them to evade the pursuing sand.

"Sand Hand!" The pursuing sand transformed into three enormous hands that grabbed at Hyuga Kei from different directions. Seizing the right moment, Hyuga Kei exerted himself and thrust his hand into one of the sand hands.

Before Gaara could crush his arm, Hyuga Kei suddenly unleashed his strength. A powerful sound wave instantly shattered the entire Sand Hand.

Hyuga Kei used the Body Flicker Technique and appeared behind Gaara. With a single punch, he scattered the condensed sand shield and sent Gaara flying.

Gaara rolled into a tree and struggled to stand, but the previous strike had disrupted his nervous system. He staggered and could not get back up.

"Aaargh!" Gaara let out an enraged roar as the surrounding sand rapidly wrapped around his body.

Was this a One-Tail vessel?

"Sealing Technique: Corpse Seal!"

Blue chakra lit up in Hyuga Kei's palm as he slammed it hard onto Gaara's back. The surging Tailed Beast chakra was instantly forced back. Deprived of the Tailed Beast's power, Gaara immediately passed out from the agony.

Hyuga Kei had kept his strength and speed suppressed to the level he had when he had just joined the Anbu. Even dealing with Gaara had been quite difficult.

Hyuga Kei hoisted Gaara over his shoulder and headed back the way he had come.

On the other side, Shino's Kikaichū had crawled onto Kankuro's puppet. The moment Kankuro tried to use chakra to control the puppet again, it would be instantly devoured.

Kankuro could only fight using taijutsu, which he was not skilled at.

Although Temari was strong among genin, she could only ensure that she would not lose immediately. Even so, Hinata and Kiba kept landing hits on her.

Her body was already covered in claw marks. It would not be long before she was completely defeated.

Hurry up and defeat them. Kishu probably won't be able to hold on much longer.

That was what they thought. Though Hyuga Kei had displayed considerable strength, they still felt that he would not be a match for that monstrous killer.

"Stop!"

Hyuga Kei's voice rang out again. Carrying the unconscious Gaara over his shoulder, he made a dazzling entrance.

Kankuro and Temari's eyes widened. Gaara had lost? How was that possible? This was Gaara, who possessed the power of a Tailed Beast.

"Is that monster dead?" Kiba asked in disbelief.

"He's not dead. He just fainted." Shino could sense that Gaara was still breathing.

"I'm in a good mood today, so I won't do anything to you. Take your teammate and leave this place." Hyuga Kei tossed Gaara toward Temari and the others.

Temari hurriedly caught her younger brother. Kankuro carefully picked up his puppet from the ground, and the two quickly ran into the distance, afraid Hyuga Kei might change his mind.

Hyuga Kei suddenly called out, "Stop!"

The two stiffly turned back.

"It's nothing. I just wanted to tell you that before my Fuinjutsu wears off, he'll probably sleep for a few days. You'll need to take care of him until then."

"So take this with you." Hyuga Kei lightly kicked the Heaven Scroll the Rain Ninja had left behind toward them.

Temari bowed deeply. "Thank you."

Hyuga Kei smiled. "It's nothing."

Temari gave Hyuga Kei a deep look before turning and leaving.

Hinata secretly glanced sideways at Hyuga Kei's figure. So handsome... and so gentle.

Then she shook her head again. How can I think about love before my great revenge has been avenged?

Watching them leave, Hyuga Kei turned to look at the Konoha group.

"Have you collected the Heaven and Earth Scrolls already? Sorry, I took it upon myself to give them your spoils." Hyuga Kei showed an apologetic smile.

"We've already collected them. I should be thanking you for saving us." Kiba shook his head repeatedly.

Hinata nodded rapidly beside him. "Thank you."

Shino also gave a slight bow in thanks.

Hyuga Kei waved his hand. "It was nothing. I just couldn't stand watching him kill innocent people indiscriminately. I happen to be heading to the Central Tower too. Shall we go together?"

"Sorry to trouble you." The others bowed again to thank him. They knew he was helping them. Their team had just gone through a major battle and their combat strength had dropped. If they encountered another team, it would be hard for them to win.

"No problem. I'll prepare lunch. We just went through a fierce battle, so let's rest this afternoon and head to the Central Tower tomorrow."

Hinata volunteered, "I'll help."

"Sure. With Hinata-chan's Byakugan helping, it'll definitely be faster."

"Um... I'm not as useful as Kishu says."

Shino also stepped forward to help, but Kiba stopped him. Kiba quietly said into Shino's ear, "Do you really think he's helping us just because Hinata helped him during the first round? He obviously likes Hinata, so don't get in the way of their good thing."

Hyuga Kei brought Hinata to a small river to catch fish.

"Hinata, use your Byakugan to see where there are fish," Hyuga Kei said. Naturally, he could not directly reveal his Tenseigan.

"Okay." Hinata activated her Byakugan and looked into the river.

"Over there!" She pointed toward a spot.

Hyuga Kei walked over and put both hands into the water. Before long, several unconscious grass carp floated to the surface.

Hyuga Kei waded to the center of the river, picked up the grass carp, and returned to the bank.

He handed several grass carp to Hinata. "Clean them. Remove the innards."

"Okay." Hinata timidly accepted them and crouched beside the river to clean out the fish.

Hyuga Kei instructed her from the side, sometimes guiding her hand over hand. Their bodies occasionally brushed against each other, making Hinata blush until she became a steam princess.

Hyuga Kei placed the cleaned fish on some leaves and looked at Hinata in confusion. "Hinata-chan, you're obviously very outstanding. Why do you always act so lacking in confidence?"

Hinata answered somewhat self-consciously, "I... I can't do anything well."

Hyuga Kei did not see it that way. He said sincerely, "But in my eyes, everyone has their own strengths. For example, Hinata-chan, you're gentle and kind. Even after such a short time together, I can tell that you'll definitely become a very good wife in the future."

Hearing the words "very good wife," Hinata turned into a steam princess again and shyly asked, "Really?"

Hyuga Kei tilted his head and revealed an exceptionally gentle smile. "Of course. So Hinata-chan should be more confident too."

Hinata was deeply moved. She smiled as well and nodded hard. "Mm!"

"All right, let's head back."

Following behind Hinata, Hyuga Kei kept rubbing his face. Putting on an act and forcing fake smiles was truly exhausting for his facial muscles.

Carrying the cleaned grass carp, the two returned to camp. Shino and Kiba had already lit a fire and set up a simple campsite.