Enemies

Under the watchful eyes of his companions and the other customers, Ye Zi put on a live all-you-can-eat show, sweeping the barbecued meat on the table into his mouth as swiftly as autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves. That speed of eating would probably have embarrassed even the Akimichi Clan.

In less than five minutes, only oil-stained empty plates remained on the table.

Bei Xingye stared blankly at Ye Zi. The slice of meat held in his chopsticks fell onto the table with a slap, while Kushina had long since piled enough food onto her own plate.

"It seems that wasn't enough."

Ye Zi rubbed his stomach and could still feel a faint hunger. He frowned slightly, but although he was not satisfied, he had no intention of ordering more barbecue. After all, Bei Xingye was not some rich fool to be taken advantage of.

After sighing inwardly, he looked toward Kushina, who was eating the barbecued meat on her plate at a leisurely pace.

Noticing Ye Zi's gaze, Kushina hurriedly pulled her plate back and warily eyed his wolfish expression. She snorted, "Don't expect me to share with you."

"Tsk."

Ye Zi turned his head away, not surprised by the result.

At that moment, Bei Xingye, having come back to his senses, raised a trembling arm and picked up the slice of meat that had fallen onto the table. He tossed it into his mouth and silently chewed. After a moment, he swallowed the meat, using that brief chewing time to calculate how much money he had left in his wallet. Then, with a forced smile at the corner of his mouth, he asked mournfully, "Um, do you want more?"

Ye Zi's eyes lit up at that, but he did not want Bei Xingye to keep spending money, so he shook his head to indicate that he did not.

Seeing this, Bei Xingye secretly let out a sigh of relief. If it had been anyone else, he would not have reacted this way, but Ye Zi's stomach was like a bottomless pit. One could never know how much food he was capable of swallowing.

Although Ye Zi had stopped eating, Bei Xingye, who had eaten only two slices of meat, felt too embarrassed to order more. He could only stare blankly at the plate, which held nothing but a small patch of grease.

Suddenly, a pair of chopsticks holding barbecued meat reached into his plate and placed a slice of meat inside.

Bei Xingye turned his head toward Kushina, who was sitting on the inside. She had transferred half the meat from her plate to his.

"Kushina..." Bei Xingye's face was filled with emotion.

"Eat quickly, before someone snatches it," Kushina said, glancing at Ye Zi. He remained unmoved, propping up his chin as he gazed out the window.

After the meal, Bei Xingye suggested taking a walk around the Sakura District, and Ye Zi and Kushina readily agreed.

It was the height of cherry blossom season. The area, planted thickly with cherry trees, had drawn many villagers. Pink petals danced in the wind, and the air carried the distinctive fragrance of cherry blossoms.

As Kushina watched the cherry petals swirling through the sky, she remembered that it was here, one year ago, that she had realized she did not truly want to become Hokage.

Even now, those malicious taunts never stopped targeting her pure-red hair. Fortunately, the two companions beside her had never shown the slightest disgust toward her hair—not even a trace.

Looking at Ye Zi, whose expression was indifferent as he stood with his hands in his pockets, and Bei Xingye, whose cheerful face flushed faintly whenever he looked at her, a smile rose on Kushina's face.

At dusk, Bei Xingye reluctantly said goodbye to Kushina and Ye Zi before leaving ahead of them.

Watching Bei Xingye's elongated shadow beneath the evening light, Ye Zi asked Kushina beside him, "What are you planning to do?"

"Do about what?" Kushina pretended not to understand.

"Nothing." Ye Zi shook his head, turned around, waved his hand, and left.

Only after Ye Zi's figure disappeared around a corner did Kushina sigh softly. She knew that Bei Xingye liked her, but she did not feel anything for him at all. She wanted him to give up as soon as possible, yet when she thought of his personality, she felt somewhat helpless.

She shook her head, casting those troublesome matters out of her mind, and walked toward home.

At the corner, Ye Zi pressed his back against the wall and looked slightly sideways at Kushina's departing figure. He wondered whether he should secretly follow her.

The several presences he had sensed at noon were definitely hostile, and they were targeting Kushina. Although he did not know why anyone would target a mere Genin like Kushina, he should at least inform her or follow her and protect her in secret. However, when he thought of those presences belonging to Konoha ninja, as well as the Anbu secretly monitoring him, he hesitated.

"If someone is already protecting her, then there's no point in my going." Thinking this, Ye Zi's resolve slowly tipped toward not following her.

He turned and took one step, but could not bring himself to take a second.

"But... what if something happens?"

Ye Zi stopped and his brows suddenly knitted tightly together. In the past, he would have stayed out of matters that did not concern him. But why was he hesitating so much at this moment? Could it be simply because Kushina's appearance resembled Ye Rui's in several ways?

At that thought, Ye Zi shook his head irritably. He knew that Ye Rui might truly be the reason, but he did not want to admit it. His ultimate goal was to leave this place and return to Earth, so he did not want to become entangled with anyone here.

But... why could he not simply turn around and leave?

"Damn it."

After hesitating in place for a long while, Ye Zi moved his lips and silently cursed. Then he quietly hurried in the direction of Kushina's home.

He could sense an Anbu member monitoring him, but he had no way to shake them off. Even if he had been capable of doing so, he could not have shaken them off; all the more so because he currently lacked the ability to escape the Anbu's surveillance.

Konoha was enormous. With the Hokage Rock forming one boundary, its towering walls enclosed a vast area. Besides the densely packed residential districts, the village also contained the Death Forest. In other words, the vast Konoha had both prosperous places and secluded corners, and the place where Kushina was staying belonged to one of the secluded areas.

When Ye Zi arrived at Kushina's home, he saw only several Konoha ninja lying in pools of blood. His expression changed instantly. After making a brief examination, a trace of regret flashed through his eyes.

All the Konoha ninja were dead. They had suffered numerous wounds, but the fatal injury was the slash across their throats. A trace of warmth remained in the blood, indicating that they had not been dead for long.

"Kushina..."

Ye Zi glanced toward the residence. After sensing no sign of Kushina, uncontrollable worry surfaced in his eyes, and he immediately ran toward the nearest wall.

He had no time to notify anyone else. Besides, he was certain that once the Anbu saw this scene, they would abandon their surveillance and notify the Hokage instead.

Sure enough, the moment he climbed over the wall and left the village, Ye Zi could no longer sense the presence of the Anbu member monitoring him.

After leaving the village, Ye Zi ran around like a headless fly. Lacking any effective means of tracking, he could not determine which direction the enemy had taken, even though they had only recently abducted Kushina.

With his heart sinking, Ye Zi felt a furious anger building in his chest that refused to disperse.

If only he had not hesitated for so long...

Ye Zi clenched both hands. His expression darkened as if it could drip water, and a chilling killing intent surfaced in his eyes.

He suddenly thought of Ye Rui, and his expression grew even gloomier.

The feeling of being unable to protect someone was like having his heart brutally torn open. It was unbearable.

If Orochimaru had been here, he would certainly have been slightly surprised. Although Ye Zi had killed many people while carrying out missions, Orochimaru had never seen even the slightest trace of killing intent on him. But now...

Just as Ye Zi began to despair while searching for traces, several strands of pure-red hair entered his vision in the last ray of afterglow as the sun sank.