Horrifying

What Orochimaru wanted to do was fundamentally irrelevant to Makoto.

So when he first heard Orochimaru's insane idea, he had no intention of stopping him.

Makoto only needed to speak up when it was time to speak.

Until the war with Iwagakure ended, he no longer needed to concern himself with any disputes in the village.

Ayari had found him many books, but her attitude had become much worse. Whenever she looked at him, her eyes carried the urge to beat him up. Makoto guessed it was because of the meal he had shared with Hyuga Natsu last time.

Makoto found it difficult to explain himself, so he picked out a few small gifts on the street and gave them to her as a token of apology.

Who knew where Ayari had gotten the books from? One of them explained the seven Chakra natures and was far more profound than similar books the original owner of this body had read in Makoto's memories. There were also medical books about the human body. After casually flipping through them, Makoto found them rather specialized, meant for dedicated medical ninja.

That book on Chakra alone was enough to occupy Makoto for quite some time.

His life became peaceful. After his final visit to the hospital for a physical examination, he tried training at the Hyuga Clan's training grounds, but it was too tedious and yielded little result. Growth in strength required steady accumulation over time.

Though it was something people in this world generally accepted, Makoto felt somewhat resistant to it. He preferred things that came without effort, but he could only think about such things.

He began making training plans for himself, consisting only of physical conditioning. Without the Byakugan, the Gentle Fist path was no longer viable. For taijutsu, he could only lean toward Konoha's Strong Fist Style, but the Hyuga Clan had no one who practiced Strong Fist, nor did they possess books on the subject.

Fortunately, the original owner's foundation remained. A Hyuga clansman at Chunin level naturally possessed excellent physical capabilities.

Over the past few days, Hyuga Ayano had visited Makoto again and brought him quite a few things, including daily necessities and food she had prepared herself.

But even if a woman in her early twenties had some schemes, they were far too shallow in Makoto's eyes. The two of them were both acting, each harboring their own thoughts.

Ayano believed she could easily control a child. Makoto cooperated with her well, displaying closeness and gratitude toward her.

Anko had also come to see Makoto a few times, but purely out of her own wishes. She thought Makoto was quite a good person. After all, what bad intentions could someone who liked dango possibly have? Besides, Lord Orochimaru seemed rather fond of him.

A week passed in the blink of an eye. News suddenly arrived from the front lines: Konoha had suffered a defeat and sustained devastating losses.

It seemed they had encountered an ambush while marching, and countless comrades had perished.

The moment the news reached the village, the atmosphere throughout Konoha became oppressive. Even Ayari was deeply troubled. Though they did not need to risk their lives on the front lines, the war affected everyone.

On his way back from the training grounds, Makoto ran into a group of people. He knew all of them, and at the center of the group was Hyuga Natsu.

"Makoto?" Hyuga Natsu greeted him in surprise.

The people beside her were all younger members of the Hyuga Clan.

The one around Makoto's age was Hyuga Iroha, a Chunin who should have been on the front lines.

The two younger ones were Hyuga Tetsu and Hyuga Tokuma, both newly graduated Genin about Anko's age.

"It's Makoto." Iroha greeted him as well, using a more familiar and casual form of address.

Hyuga Tetsu and Hyuga Tokuma both called him Big Brother Makoto, while secretly glancing at his eyes.

As clansmen of the same generation, they naturally knew one another.

"Hello." Makoto returned the greeting.

"Iroha just came back from the front lines. We're planning to go out for a meal together. Come with us, Makoto." Hyuga Natsu smiled.

Makoto noticed a strip of white bandage faintly visible beneath Iroha's ninja combat uniform.

He must have been injured and returned to the village to recuperate. Yet judging by how unaffected his movements were, the injury should not have been serious. Under normal circumstances, there would have been no need for him to return to the village.

This was the preferential treatment the Hyuga Clan received as one of Konoha's ancient prestigious families.

"We haven't seen each other much since you returned to the village. Come along." Iroha smiled.

When Hiashi had returned from the front lines because of Makoto's incident, Iroha had not come back with him.

After a brief consideration, Makoto nodded. "Sure."

After joining their group, they headed toward the main gate of the clan compound.

Makoto asked Iroha, "How are you feeling?"

Iroha gave a bitter smile, then lifted the inner layer beneath his combat uniform, revealing his entire abdomen wrapped in bandages.

"I was hit by a Stone Ninja's ninjutsu. Several rocks got into my stomach. They've been removed, but it still hurts like hell. I have to watch what I eat too. There's lots of stuff I can't have."

Makoto had been mistaken. This was no minor injury. His abdomen had been pierced through; one could imagine how serious it had been.

Yet although Iroha was complaining, he spoke of it as if it were nothing.

After lowering his clothes, Iroha smiled again. "Compared to what happened to you, this only counts as a light injury. Lord Hiashi took pity on me and let me return from the front lines to recuperate for a while."

Looking at the smile on his face, Makoto felt a little emotional. He was only twelve or thirteen, yet this world was so cruel.

"Was Makoto badly injured at the time too?" Hyuga Natsu asked from beside them.

"Badly injured? That doesn't even begin to describe it." Iroha smacked his lips. "When Makoto returned to camp, he was covered in blood. There was an enormous wound across his chest. The medical unit said it was a miracle he survived."

"Makoto, you could lift your shirt and show Natsu."

Makoto did not comply. He merely said, "What's there to see?"

Natsu shook her head as well. "Better not."

She could not help sighing. "The battlefield really is an extremely dangerous place."

Iroha agreed deeply. "Yeah, but with Lord Hiashi and Lord Minato there, we'll win soon enough!"

"Natsu, you have no idea about Lord Minato..."

Iroha enthusiastically began telling Hyuga Natsu about Namikaze Minato's legendary exploits. It was obvious he was one of Namikaze Minato's little fans. His words were filled with phrases like "incredibly," "unbelievably," and "extremely," and he spoke with animated excitement.

Though Hyuga Natsu listened attentively, she remained very calm, merely wearing a smile. Hyuga Tetsu and Hyuga Tokuma, on the other hand, kept exclaiming in admiration and repeatedly asking, "What happened next?"

Makoto could tell that Iroha liked Natsu, but Natsu did not show the same interest. She was only being polite to a friend.

The group left the Hyuga Clan Compound and arrived before a barbecue restaurant. It was Yakiniku Q, the same place Makoto and Anko had visited before. There were only a few restaurants in the village with a good reputation.

The five of them sat down. Iroha shamelessly took the seat beside Natsu, while Makoto sat with Tokuma and Tetsu.

The owner handed them a menu. Iroha was still endlessly recounting Minato's achievements, while the other two boys listened with rapt attention. When the menu was passed to Hyuga Natsu, she politely declined it.

Makoto did not stand on ceremony. He took the menu and began ordering.

By the time Iroha finally finished speaking to his heart's content, the table was already packed with grilled meat and dishes. He stared blankly. "How much did you order?"

Makoto had already started the grill. Hearing this, he said, "You all seemed absorbed in the story, so I didn't want to interrupt. I took it upon myself to order some things."

Iroha's mouth twitched, and his heart ached a little. More importantly, because of his injury, he could not eat grilled meat at all. He had brought everyone here because of Hyuga Natsu, wanting to treat her to a meal somewhere nice.

Hyuga Natsu smiled sweetly at that moment. "Makoto seems to eat barbecue often. He ordered all the signature dishes and even asked the owner for seasoning."

Hearing that, Iroha immediately said, "As long as Natsu likes it, that's what matters. It's only one barbecue meal. If it's not enough, we can order more."

Tokuma and Tetsu immediately chimed in, saying things like how generous Big Brother Iroha was.

Makoto handed him a bowl of porridge. "You probably can't eat grilled meat, right? I ordered this for you."

Iroha accepted the bowl and stared at Makoto with resentment, thinking that one day, he would definitely get even with this guy.

The meat sizzled on the grill, sending up wisps of steam. Makoto turned the meat with one hand and propped his cheek with the other as he casually asked, "I heard the front lines suffered a defeat?"

Iroha froze at the question, then his expression turned grave. After a long while, he answered, "Yeah."

"Our marching route should have been extremely secret, but somehow the Stone Ninja discovered it. They laid an ambush along the way..."

The atmosphere at the table grew heavy. The two younger boys stopped speaking, while Natsu held her teacup and listened quietly.

"How many people made it out?"

"A force of a thousand. Only three hundred and seventeen withdrew."

The horrifying number made Hyuga Natsu's grip on her teacup tighten involuntarily.

Makoto looked at the meat on the grill, which was gradually turning black, and said nothing more. He knew this was only the beginning.

Orochimaru would not stop.