Chapter Thirty-One Leisurely Time

"Fire Sealing Technique!"

Kana let out a crisp shout, sealing the bonfire in front of her into a wooden board.

"Generally speaking, sealing jutsu don't have high requirements for the container—mainly that it's not too fragile."

Kana explained:

"Any sealing jutsu is naturally undone once the container is gone."

With that, Kana snapped the board in half with a wooden stick, and the fire blazed back to life.

"In practice, sealing jutsu requires excellent Chakra control, a certain level of perception, and the corresponding knowledge."

"You already have all that, so I'll skip it." Kana smiled slightly. "Now I'll explain the Fire Sealing Technique to you."

Hyuga Ao spent his days in the small valley, accompanied by a beauty, doing nothing and enjoying Kana's service, with personal sealing jutsu lessons from the Uzumaki Clan every night.

His life couldn't have been more carefree.

"Kana, you'll definitely make a good wife someday," Hyuga Ao said, feeling moved.

Kana shot him a reproachful glare. "Why bring that up all of a sudden?"

Hyuga Ao pointed at the valley:

"Look, Kana, you've farmed, woven cloth, made clothes, and built a house all by yourself over the years. Whoever marries you will end up a lazy bum spoiled by you."

Kana blushed. "That's not true."

After a bit of playful banter, Hyuga Ao suddenly said, "Kana, come with me to Konoha. I promise it's just as safe there."

Hyuga Ao had been recuperating in the valley for a month. His previously overexerted body had mostly recovered, and his right arm was nearly healed under proper care.

Tomorrow, Hyuga Ao would set out for the Land of Rain battlefield.

Uzumaki Kana fell silent. She refused without a word, turning her gaze into the distance.

"I see." Hyuga Ao's feelings were mixed. "I understand."

The next day, Hyuga Ao bid Kana farewell and headed for the Land of Rain battlefield.

"The Land of Grass?" Hyuga Ao frowned.

Not knowing where he was, he naturally needed to figure out his location. He hadn't expected that gust of wind to blow him all the way to the Land of Rain.

"Wait!" Hyuga Ao realized a very serious issue.

"If this is the Land of Grass, then isn't Kana Karin's mother?"

Hyuga Ao recalled his past life's information about Karin.

The original story didn't describe Karin's mother's situation, but just from Karin's circumstances, he could roughly guess what had happened.

At that moment, Hyuga Ao nearly turned back on the spot to carry Kana away.

"Going by the timeline, Karin's age is close to Naruto's and the others'. So I could come back and take her after the Ninja War ends."

He took two steps, then realized something was wrong. "That 'wait and see' mindset is always the start of a cliché tragedy. No, I'm taking her now."

Hyuga Ao returned to the valley and saw Kana still working, a mischievous smile curling at her lips.

He concealed his presence, crept up behind Kana, knocked her out, stuffed her in a sack in one smooth motion, and hoisted her up.

"Back to Konoha!"

"Ahhh!!!" A scream rang through the Hokage's office.

Kana woke up to find Hyuga Ao watching her with concern.

She looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, and a thought crossed her mind:

"Has Ao'er already brought me to Konoha?"

As she was about to question Hyuga Ao, he stepped back with a grin, revealing Kushina behind him, her eyes full of tears.

"Ah, I'm such a genius," Hyuga Ao shamelessly praised himself.

For someone like Kana, who was too passive to step out of her comfort zone, an external force was needed to drag her out.

With her personality, she'd usually just go along with it.

Soon, Kushina would hug her and cry, reminisce about the old days, talk about the present, and then look at her with hopeful eyes, begging her to stay.

Then the Third would walk in and give a speech about Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan—that would seal the deal.

Hyuga Ao didn't think Kana could withstand that kind of assault.

With Kana's issue resolved, Hyuga Ao now had to go have tea—or rather, be summoned for tea.

Disappearing from the battlefield for so long required an explanation, but with the merit of bringing back an Uzumaki, it was just a formality.

Two hours later.

The Anbu member tasked with interrogating Hyuga Ao stared at the transcript in his hands, lost in thought.

To be honest, if the Hokage hadn't given him a heads-up, he really would have pressed harder.

"Deliver this to the Hokage-sama."

The Anbu felt that Hyuga Ao was hiding too much; his instincts told him there was a much bigger secret buried beneath the surface.

What the Anbu needed to ask about was naturally her experiences during this period.

Hyuga Ao's answer was simple: she said she had accepted Orochimaru's mission to monitor Iwagakure, saw them fighting among themselves, couldn't resist getting closer to watch, was discovered and chased by Iwa-nin, and finally fell off a cliff in the Land of Grass.

The Anbu asked why Orochimaru would send a Chunin to carry out such a mission.

Hyuga Ao showed him the Wind Cloak, then indicated that everything was Orochimaru's arrangement—go ask him, he knows, and many things aren't suitable to tell someone like you.

As for how Orochimaru would answer, that was his business. Hyuga Ao believed that after she demonstrated her strength, Orochimaru wouldn't want to give up a partner like her.

After the battle with Iwagakure, Hyuga Ao had truly gauged her own power.

Shikotsumyaku was very strong. If you had enough chakra, setting aside the drawback of the Kekkei Genkai Disease that killed you faster the more you used it, it was a fairly versatile bloodline.

She even suspected that Shikotsumyaku's strength lay somewhere between Kekkei Genkai and Kekkei Tōta, half a step beyond Kekkei Genkai.

With her current strength, after activating Shikotsumyaku, Hyuga Ao was already considered strong among Kage-level fighters—like the Third Raikage, with thick armor, high health, and powerful breakthrough ability.

But the problem was that Hyuga Ao didn't dare use Shikotsumyaku openly.

A pure-blood Hyuga being able to use Shikotsumyaku was too shocking; before Hyuga Ao had enough strength, she couldn't bear the trouble it would bring.

Only a madman like Orochimaru would ignore everything else and help Hyuga Ao hide it, the two of them mutually benefiting.

If you broke down Kage-level, then without using Shikotsumyaku, Hyuga Ao only reached Kage-level in Taijutsu, speed, and defense—and even the defense was a side effect of Shikotsumyaku.

"Sigh," Hyuga Ao lamented. "A long road lies ahead!"

For now, Hyuga Ao had nothing to do. Her mission report still needed review, and regarding the Wind Cloak mentioned in her brief, the Third Hokage was very interested, very eager.

After all, this kind of state-based ninjutsu was incredibly rare, and its boost to a person was enormous. If Konoha could mass-produce this technique for its forces, they would gain a batch of mobile, stealthy elite units.

But of course, the Third wouldn't directly ask Hyuga Ao for it—he could just go to the Main Family, simple and effortless. Why not?

Hyuga Ao didn't care, though.

Teach the Wind Cloak? Sure.

It's just: feel the wind, convert chakra into wind, use your own converted wind to control the natural wind.

Three steps, see? Simple, right?

As for the principles, Hyuga Ao said she didn't know either. She just understood, she just got it, but couldn't explain it—and that was indeed the truth.

Maybe later, when Hyuga Ao had accumulated more depth, she could describe the Wind Cloak the way Jiraiya taught the Rasengan.

So these days, Hyuga Ao was helping out at the hospital.

She hoped to practice Medical Ninjutsu more at the hospital. Once she unlocked the Chakra Scalpel, she could use it to limit the spread of Shikotsumyaku's Bone Cells, allowing her to use Shikotsumyaku without side effects.

And now, Hyuga Ao could truly control a bit of the Hyuga clan. Because of the Wind Cloak's appearance, the Main Family had increased their attention on her, raising her status.

She had gone from a promising asset of noble birth to wealth about to be cashed in.

But along with gaining the authority to control the Hyuga clan, another troublesome matter arrived.

Hyuga Ao looked at Hiashi, who was at her door looking for her, and felt a wave of dizziness.

Hiashi smiled. "Ao'er, want to take a walk?"