Namikaze Minato's laughter made Killer B, a rapper with an already low threshold for laughter, burst out laughing as well.
Still, he decided to sing his lyrics.
"Both sides..."
Killer B had barely gotten started when Hyuga Bin interrupted him again. "You were going to say that you were prepared for both sides to suffer, right? Why not give it a try?"
Killer B could not help snapping at Hyuga Bin. "You little brat from the Hyuga Clan, all you do is hide far away and let others protect you. Do you dare come over here and battle me?"
Hyuga Bin said, "No."
Killer B: "..."
"All right." Namikaze Minato first signaled to Hyuga Bin before speaking to Killer B, whom he had "pinned beneath him."
"Though you are an enemy, I admire you very much. Your reactions and movements make you practically a ninja killer."
After saying that, Namikaze Minato flashed back to stand before Hyuga Bin and the others, then spoke to A. "A, you have a rare partner."
Faced with Namikaze Minato's praise for Killer B, A did not attack again this time. Instead, he returned to Killer B's side and remained on guard.
"A, Konoha has no intention of continuing its fight with Kumogakure. I hope Konoha and Kumogakure can maintain peace." Facing the still-wary A, Namikaze Minato continued.
"I will convey your words to my father. We're leaving." After saying this, A led Killer B and the other two Kumogakure shinobi away, retreating until they disappeared from Namikaze Minato's sight.
"This encounter with the A-B duo was unexpected, but their identities make them the perfect people to pass the message on to the Third Raikage." Namikaze Minato gave instructions to Hyuga Bin and the others. "All right, we should return to the village as well. Report this matter to the Third Hokage, then see how Kumogakure responds."
"Yes."
"..."
"Minato-senpai, didn't you leave out a line just now?" On the way back to the village, Hyuga Bin asked Namikaze Minato out of boredom.
Other than him butting in twice, this battle had been no different from the original story. Yet at the end of the conversation, Namikaze Minato had omitted a line he had said in the original.
"What line?"
"The next time we meet, you and I will face off in the name of Kage." Hyuga Bin directly recited Namikaze Minato's line from the original story.
Other than him, none of the six present were outsiders, so there was no problem with him saying it.
Faced with Hyuga Bin's rather blunt words, Namikaze Minato smiled modestly. "Bin-kun, I'm not certain I'll be elected Fourth Hokage yet. Besides, we have no intelligence saying that the Third Raikage plans to step down."
"I see." Hyuga Bin nodded, but inwardly calculated the differences between the original plot and the present.
He had long known that the Third Raikage had not died in battle, but Namikaze Minato's plotline and deeds had not changed at all from the original story.
In the original, Namikaze Minato's words meant that by this point in time, his position as Konoha's Fourth Hokage had already been decided. Then, after the Battle of Kannabi Bridge ended, he took office as Konoha's Fourth Hokage.
Yet Namikaze Minato now said the Fourth Hokage had not been decided. Was he being modest? Or was he truly uncertain?
Three days later, Hyuga Bin and the other five returned to Konoha after completing their mission.
After reporting the mission to Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen and having an S-rank mission recorded in the six of their ninja records, Hyuga Bin continued his vacation.
This mission had taken only six days, which meant Hyuga Bin could rest for another four days before heading with the main force to the front lines against Iwagakure.
Over these four days, Hyuga Bin planned to sample all of Konoha's delicacies.
Once he went to the battlefield, he would at least spend several months eating poorly and sleeping badly.
Thus, Hyuga Bin began sweeping through the food street that very day. Only after eating and drinking his fill, digesting it all, then eating and drinking his fill again did he return home.
Then, early the next morning, Hyuga Bin continued his morning dessert tour.
As expected, he once again "ran into" Kurenai Yuhi.
After exchanging greetings, the two sat facing each other, each eating sweets and chatting from time to time.
Regarding Kurenai Yuhi's confession half a month ago, he had made his position clear to her last time. The two were still merely former classmates.
He could not possibly reject Kurenai Yuhi because he had no intention of dating her, then rudely ignore her or outright block her just because she had confessed to him, could he?
After finishing their desserts, Hyuga Bin bid Kurenai Yuhi farewell and went to the training ground to exercise and aid his digestion.
Simply eating without exercising was obviously bad for digestion.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
As Hyuga Bin practiced taijutsu,
a figure entered the training ground. It was Sarutobi Asuma, only thirteen years old yet already sporting a full beard.
Sarutobi Asuma walked up to Hyuga Bin and immediately asked, "Bin-kun, would you be interested in sparring with me?"
The story had to begin more than two hours earlier.
Sarutobi Asuma had risen early. After eating breakfast, he went straight to find Kurenai Yuhi.
Although Kurenai Yuhi had rejected him again two weeks ago, it did not stop him from continuing to pursue her.
Giving up on pursuing her just because his confession had been rejected was not the Nindo of Sarutobi Asuma, son of the Hokage.
Moreover, based on his observations over the past two weeks, Kurenai Yuhi had not been close to any man. That meant her claim that she "liked someone" that night was very likely merely an excuse to reject him.
Sarutobi Asuma followed the familiar road toward Kurenai Yuhi's home, only to unexpectedly spot her happily heading toward the shopping district halfway there.
Kurenai Yuhi wore a beautiful long dress that day, with light makeup on her face. The sight made Sarutobi Asuma's heart pound.
"What is Kurenai going to do?"
Sarutobi Asuma was far too curious. Taking advantage of Kurenai Yuhi not seeing him, he followed some distance behind her, tailing her all the way to a dessert shop.
Watching Kurenai Yuhi enter the dessert shop, order a dessert, and sit by the window, Sarutobi Asuma was somewhat surprised.
"Didn't she used to say she never ate sweets in the morning?"
Not long afterward, Sarutobi Asuma saw Hyuga Bin enter the dessert shop and sit across from Kurenai Yuhi.
The two chatted and laughed, looking as though they were flirting.
Sarutobi Asuma touched his chest. For some reason, it hurt a little.
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