A Knot in His Heart

Hidden Radiance Village, hospital.

Yoya was powerfully built and exceptionally tall. Compared to him, his younger brother Keimei was at least a head shorter.

But if you thought Yoya took after his father while Keimei took after his mother, you would be completely wrong.

On the contrary, their mother had been one of the few tall, sturdy women in the clan.

She stood a full 1.9 meters tall, with a fiery temperament and a love for martial combat. She had been a mission fanatic.

Their father, meanwhile, was only 1.72 meters tall, so Yoya had inherited his height, build, and personality from his mother.

Unfortunately, their parents had died fifteen years ago.

They had died in the Third Great Ninja War.

Fortunately, Yoya had done fairly well these past few years, steadily improving in strength.

He had also made quite a few friends.

When Shamu entered the hospital room, he saw Yoya wrapped up like a mummy.

Kazuki, Gui, and Daichi were also standing nearby.

Kazuki and Gui had been handling matters at the Hidden Radiance Village school.

Both of them greatly enjoyed teaching the next generation.

Daichi was steady and reliable in his work, and he was still in charge of the barrier team.

The three of them were actually around the same age as Shamu, but as Shamu's position rose—

and later, after the founding of the country, when Shamu also became the National Ruler of the Land of Radiance—

they had not seen each other very often.

Now that the three of them saw Shamu enter, they all seemed somewhat restrained.

"Greetings, Clan Head."

The three of them stood and bowed to Shamu.

"Clan... Clan Head..."

Yoya had taken a heavy blow to the head, and his speech was still slurred.

"All right, no need for formalities. I just came to see Yoya."

Shamu casually pulled over a stool from the side and sat down.

The other three obediently stepped aside.

"Clan Head, there are still some matters at the school, so we'll be leaving first."

The moment Kazuki and Gui saw Shamu, they remembered being tied to trees. They were still a little afraid of him.

Shamu patted them on the shoulders. "All right. Put more effort into the school's affairs."

The two nodded. "Understood, Clan Head."

Daichi also said, "Clan Head, I've been here for a while too. I'll take my leave as well."

"Fine."

Shamu waved his hand and let Daichi leave. As his status continued to rise, even though Shamu was approachable, those who did not interact with him often still feared him to some extent.

Although Yoya's injuries looked rather serious—

they were actually nothing much in this world. As long as he received proper treatment, there would be no lasting effects.

He had been wrapped up like this only because Yoya was the restless sort.

If they did not bind him up properly, he would run around everywhere again.

Looking at Yoya's head, which had been wrapped into the shape of a pig's head, Shamu asked with a hint of amusement, "How did you end up like this? Weren't you already quite familiar with Yugito?"

Yoya habitually tried to scratch his head in confusion, only to tug at the holes Yugito had punched through his arm before they had healed.

The pain made him bare his teeth. "I don't know either, Clan Head. She seemed very unhappy that I treated her as an opponent."

Shamu was puzzled as well. "That shouldn't be the case. Isn't Cloud Village supposed to value martial prowess? Even if you considered her an opponent, she shouldn't have beaten you into this state."

Besides, this had not happened during the fight.

It had happened after the fight.

Yoya had clearly angered her.

"What did you say to her at the time?"

"I just..."

Then Yoya truthfully recounted everything he had said and Yugito's reactions to Shamu.

After hearing it, Shamu pinched the bridge of his nose, somewhat speechless.

"Your emotional intelligence is basically beyond saving."

Yoya asked in confusion, "Clan Head, what do you mean, beyond saving? I can't even ride a bicycle."

Yoya was extremely popular among the women in the clan, but he had no interest in any of them.

It had nothing to do with strength, but rather with his personality.

He felt that too few women in the clan were martial and battle-loving. He wanted to find a strong woman like his mother.

But clearly, none of the women in the clan could catch Yoya's eye.

In the ninja world, continuing the family line was not the most important thing. Passing down one's legacy was.

But for a great Kekkei Genkai clan like the Uchiha, continuing the family line was the most important thing.

After all, Kekkei Genkai were passed down through bloodlines.

Of the three people he had just seen, Kazuki and Gui were both married with children, while Daichi was dating Iori, and good news was likely coming soon.

Among people Yoya's age, there were very few who were unmarried and had no girlfriend.

As far as everyone knew, there were only two: Shamu and Yoya.

With a blade hanging over his head, Shamu naturally had no mind for romance.

After all, the enemy they would face in the future was the planet-destroying Otsutsuki Clan.

As for his bloodline, Orochimaru could even create clones now. There was no need to worry about that at all.

But Yoya simply could not find anyone who satisfied his standards.

Shamu knocked on Yoya's head with the gesture of knocking on a door, as though checking whether it was hollow inside.

"Your head isn't hollow, so why don't you have a brain?"

"You've known her for quite a while, yet you insist on saying things that people can misunderstand."

"People thought you were confessing to her. When she found out it was a misunderstanding, she got embarrassed and angry, then beat you up."

"C-Confessing!?"

Yoya sucked in a sharp breath.

Then Shamu witnessed Yoya's face-changing technique. His entire face instantly turned bright red.

Yoya stammered, "H-How could that be..."

Shamu twitched his mouth.

"You told her, 'I came all this way specifically to see you.' It would be strange if she didn't misunderstand those words."

Yoya covered his face in embarrassment. "No wonder she suddenly got angry."

"I still want to spar with her in the future."

Shamu curled his lip. If Madara had not remained unmarried his entire life because of Hashirama, he would have suspected Yoya was Madara's descendant. His mind was full of nothing but fighting.

"Enough. Why are you covering your face? You're unmarried, and she's unattached. What's the big deal?"

Yoya took a deep breath before lowering his hands. "But I really didn't mean it that way."

"Oh? Are you sure?"

Shamu narrowed his eyes first, then raised a brow as he asked.

Seeing Shamu's strange expression, Yoya asked uneasily, "S-Sure."

"I think you're actually quite fond of her."

Shamu raised his voice, making Yoya start to think about it involuntarily.

"It seems... I really am."

Shamu patted Yoya on the shoulder.

"You're already this old and still haven't started a family. Your younger brother is extremely worried. You can give the matter of Yugito some thought."

Yoya was startled and was just about to object when Shamu waved his hand.

"I'm telling you to consider trying to develop things further. Don't overthink it. Who knows whether she'll even be interested in you?"

"Maybe she already has someone she likes."

"But a misunderstanding is still a misunderstanding."

"No matter what, you need to face it yourself."

"If you don't make things clear, the awkwardness will always remain."

"Whether you have some feelings for her, or whether this is all just a misunderstanding, you need to tell her yourself."

Yoya thought for a while, then sighed.

"Clan Head, we belong to different factions, and she's Cloud Village's Jinchuriki."

"If Cloud Village starts another war in the future, we're so close to the Hidden Mist Village that we may directly clash with Cloud Village."

"Then we'll be opponents. By then, we might not even be able to remain friends."

Shamu was somewhat taken aback. He had not known Yoya carried such a knot in his heart. Yoya's way of thinking was rather too honest.