Out the Door

After Xuan Ye closed his Divine Eye, he suddenly felt a little hungry. After all, he had been unconscious for nearly a day and had not eaten for so long. Of course he would be hungry.

Xuan Ye jumped down from his single bed and headed for the door. Once he reached it, he opened the closed door, and an intensely dazzling light shone in. The glare was so strong that he could barely open his eyes.

It only lasted for a moment. Soon, Xuan Ye's eyes adapted to the brightness. Looking into the distance, he saw the courtyard of his home.

The courtyard was empty. Trees stood quietly within its walls when a breeze suddenly swept through.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle."

The breeze gently brushed against Xuan Ye's face. He raised a hand to feel it, closed his eyes, and calmed himself as he sensed it. The cool breeze felt wonderfully comfortable, and he habitually stretched.

"It feels so good. Having a breeze like this brush across my face really is wonderful."

"I don't know why, but I've loved the feeling of wind brushing against my face ever since I was little. I used to love standing in my family's courtyard, simply standing there quietly and waiting for the breeze to pass over my face. No matter what troubles I had, that feeling could easily make me forget them."

After staying in his room for nearly an entire day, he had expended a great deal of mental energy and chakra. Even Xuan Ye felt somewhat tired, but the breeze in the courtyard effortlessly blew that fatigue away. It lifted his spirits, leaving him without the slightest trace of exhaustion.

But why wasn't Mother Kushina in the courtyard? Xuan Ye lowered his head and searched all around the house, running through several rooms, but he could not find his mother, Kushina.

After running around the house once, Xuan Ye returned to the courtyard. He had no idea where Kushina was, but one thing was certain: she had probably gone out on a mission.

After all, he was already four years old and no longer that young. He usually acted like a little adult in front of his mother, so she probably believed that nothing would happen while she was away. And that was true. His father, Minato Namikaze, was already Konoha's Fourth Hokage, and quite a few people were secretly protecting him near their home.

"Forget it. I was going to find Mother and see if there was anything to eat. I haven't eaten for almost a whole day, and I'm really starving, but it's understandable that she isn't here."

"After all, I was unconscious for nearly a day, yet Mother didn't notice. That shows Kushina probably isn't home."

"Forget it. Since Mother, Kushina Uzumaki, isn't home, I'll go out and get something to eat!"

After lingering in the courtyard for a while, Xuan Ye ran straight back to his room and took some of his pocket money, planning to use it to buy food.

He actually had quite a lot of pocket money. His mother would give him some every so often, and since he ate at home almost every day, he rarely had any use for it.

"I don't need to buy clothes either. Mother Kushina buys them and sends them to my room. Other than food and clothes, I don't need anything else, so this pocket money has just kept piling up until now."

However, aside from buying food, there were other things he needed to purchase this time. Xuan Ye had activated the system that could increase proficiency, obtained the Hyuga Clan's Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven and Gentle Fist Eight Trigrams Palm, and awakened the Divine Eye that complemented the Gentle Fist Eight Trigrams Palm. It was about time to buy some ninja tools, along with a few miscellaneous items.

Soon, he took all the pocket money from his room and put it into his pockets, then prepared to leave. He jogged to the front gate, opened it, walked outside, and closed it behind him.

Still, Xuan Ye felt that even if he had not closed the gate, nothing serious would have happened. This was the home of Konoha's Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Hardly anyone would be so blind as to break in.

Even if someone truly did, Konoha's Anbu were not there just for show. They would definitely take the intruder away immediately. He had no idea what would happen after that, but closing the door behind him was already a habit. It only took a moment anyway.

After closing the gate, Xuan Ye jogged away and reached Konoha's streets. It was early morning, and there were still many people coming and going through the streets. The village was lively and bustling.

As Xuan Ye walked down the street, numerous stalls called out to attract customers. Many of the stall owners were ordinary civilians of Konoha Village. Most could not use ninjutsu, but they still needed to make money and survive, so they could only sell goods on the streets.

As Xuan Ye walked along, a fragrant smell suddenly drifted over. He sniffed hard and slowly followed the scent, only to discover that it came from a grilled squid stall.

Xuan Ye walked up to the grilled squid stall and watched the owner place skewers of squid onto the grill. This stall was rather special, however, because many Konoha Village residents were gathered in front of it, waiting for the owner's grilled squid.

Seeing the crowd before him, Xuan Ye could not help frowning.

"There are so many people in front of this stall. But honestly, the squid here really does smell great!" Unable to resist the enticing aroma, he squeezed through the crowd and went straight to the front.

The Konoha residents who had been staring intently at the grilled squid felt someone pushing past them. They had originally intended to turn around and grumble a few words, but when they did, they saw Xuan Ye.

The Konoha resident who had turned around suddenly exclaimed, "X-Xuan Ye-sama? Isn't this Xuan Ye-sama?" The villager who recognized him was somewhat excited.

The other Konoha residents heard this and all turned around. When they saw his face, they began speaking one after another.

"Xuan Ye-sama is still as adorable as ever."

"Yes, yes. It feels like Xuan Ye-sama's skin has gotten even fairer."

"Xuan Ye-sama, why did you come out today? We haven't seen you in so long."

Many people in the crowd were talking, including middle-aged women, young girls, and young men.

Kushina Uzumaki often brought Xuan Ye out with her, and the other villagers all knew Kushina as well. Over time, most of the villagers came to know him too.

Seeing the villagers staring fixedly at his face, Xuan Ye felt a little embarrassed.

"Ah, this face of mine really charms everyone, young and old alike!" Xuan Ye said helplessly as he looked at his fair, tender face.

But there was nothing he could do about it. He could only quickly walk up to the stall owner, grab several skewers of grilled squid, pay, and run off.