Coldness

The feeling of standing on the brink of death was like having all the oxygen in one's chest squeezed out in an instant. The sudden suffocation bred an instinctive, bone-deep terror and gradually robbed one of every sense of touch. In that steadily darkening space, one experienced the tragedy of losing everything bit by bit.

Once was enough for such an experience... Yet Ye Zi had gone through it twice.

A cherry tree had been planted not far from the ninja hospital. It was in full bloom, and a faint floral fragrance drifted in from far away, passed through the window, and brushed against Ye Zi's nose.

The early morning sunlight was warm without being harsh. It fell upon his pale face, yet could not enter his pitch-black eyes.

"That choice back then was wrong." Ye Zi gazed at the sky outside the window and spoke in a low voice, contradicting the unrest in his heart.

How many times could a person experience being on the brink of death in a lifetime? How many times could he endure it?

He had walked out of the darkness, listening to familiar voices fading into the distance. He had even been able to touch the deepening fear. After wandering through the endless darkness for who knew how long, he had finally found the sole trace of light. It was like a drowning person finally breaking free of the water's restraints, struggling to open his mouth and greedily breathe in the air.

He had once thought he was going to die, but he had survived. And so, he had begun to regret it.

In that dark corridor, the voice of his closest relative had been behind him, while the light lay ahead.

If he died, everything would be gone.

Ye Zi slowly tightened his fist. A faint chill colored his dark eyes. He had never been someone willing to sacrifice himself for others, except for his own family...

But why, exactly? What motive had driven him to step forward that night, even nearly dying in the process?

Crack!

The door opened without warning.

A girl with deep-red hair walked in carrying a fruit basket. Two people followed beside her: Minato and Bei Xingye.

At the sound, the coldness in Ye Zi's eyes slowly receded. He turned his head and quietly looked at the newcomers.

Kushina walked over, placed the fruit basket on the table, and looked at his face, which had turned pale from losing too much blood and vitality. She asked with concern, "Does your wound still hurt?"

"It's almost healed." Ye Zi avoided Kushina's concerned gaze, his voice calm.

Bei Xingye came over at this moment. Looking at Ye Zi's pale face, he said, "You nearly scared me to death. Even if you wanted to train, you didn't have to run somewhere so dangerous."

The day he learned that Ye Zi had been injured, he had immediately rushed to the hospital to visit him. What he saw was Ye Zi, wrapped up like a mummy and lying unconscious.

Ye Zi smiled faintly without confirming or denying it. When he had woken up yesterday, Orochimaru had already given him a brief explanation of the relevant matters. Regarding Kushina's abduction this time, he could roughly sense that something was going on. What he could confirm was that everyone and everything involved was far from simple—so complicated that he could not touch any part of it.

Enemy ninjas had invaded and abducted Kushina. Ye Zi had then suffered serious injuries while rescuing her. Yet the official explanation in the end was that he had been overly confident, gone to the Death Forest to train, and accidentally sustained severe injuries. Fortunately, he had been discovered in time and managed to cling to life.

The real reason had been completely concealed. He wondered whether, if he had died, he might have died without value, dying without anyone knowing.

But none of that mattered to him anymore. After experiencing life and death this time, he understood many things. The people of this world had no ties to him whatsoever. He did not belong here...

Minato stood quietly beside the hospital bed. The sunlight streaming in from outside made his golden hair even more dazzling. He looked at Ye Zi on the bed, his deep-blue eyes carrying a faint admiration.

His temperament had always been gentle, and he never fought with others over anything. But he had always possessed absolute confidence in his own strength. Ever since Ye Zi appeared, however, he had realized that competing with others was not necessarily a bad thing—especially when that person had even surpassed him.

Kushina picked up a red apple and asked Ye Zi with a smile, "Would you like an apple?"

Bei Xingye's expression turned strange at the sight. Kushina's behavior was far too out of character.

Minato usually paid close attention to Kushina as well. Seeing her speaking so gently and smiling so warmly, he seemed to have noticed something strange. His expression became slightly odd, just like Bei Xingye's.

Kushina did not notice their changes. If she had, she might have accidentally crushed the apple in her hand.

In the past, Ye Zi would have mercilessly pointed out Kushina's false display of affection and explained her personality and the situations it matched in plain, easy-to-understand language.

But now...

A trace of indifference flashed deep in Ye Zi's eyes. He glanced at the bright-red apple and declined in a perfectly measured tone, "I'm not hungry. Thank you."

The arm holding the apple trembled imperceptibly. Kushina stared at Ye Zi's expression and manner, which seemed no different from before, and slightly furrowed her brows. That "thank you" seemed to have made her sense something.

She did not think too much of it, though. She tossed the apple down and said irritably, "Eat it or don't. I was even thinking of peeling it for you."

Ye Zi smiled faintly and turned his head toward the blue sky outside the window. Although their appearances were very similar, their personalities were worlds apart. Throwing away his life to do something so foolish once was enough.

Bei Xingye glanced at Ye Zi's calm expression, then at Kushina, who looked somewhat angry. For a moment, he did not know what to say. Vaguely, he seemed to sense that something was wrong as well. The atmosphere between them had not seemed like this before.

"If there's nothing else, I'd like some peace and quiet." Ye Zi did not know why, but he felt very uncomfortable, so he asked them to leave.

"Oh? Oh!" Bei Xingye froze. After coming to his senses, he looked at Kushina. Her brows drew together slightly before she said, "Get some good rest."

With that, she turned and left. Watching Kushina walk out, Bei Xingye said to Ye Zi, "Ye Zi, get better soon. When you do, I'll treat you to barbecue."

Ye Zi continued staring out the window and nodded lightly in acknowledgment.

Seeing this, Bei Xingye followed Kushina out. Minato looked at the three of them and seemed to have noticed something as well. He politely greeted Ye Zi before turning and leaving the hospital room.

Before long, Ye Zi was alone in the hospital room again.

"The only person I can rely on is myself."

"Kushina, wait for me." The moment Bei Xingye left the hospital, he waved and called out.

With no choice, Kushina could only slow her pace and wait for Minato and Bei Xingye to catch up.

Looking at Kushina's unusual behavior, Minato's eyes revealed a trace of inquiry. A team that had spent more than a year together should not have been like this. Especially since Ye Zi had been willing to risk his life to save Kushina, why had the atmosphere just now been so strange?

"Kushina, don't you think Ye Zi is acting strange?" Bei Xingye glanced at Minato, thought for a moment, and then voiced his opinion without holding back.

"Who knows?" A trace of disappointment passed through Kushina's eyes. She waved her hand irritably and answered impatiently.

She had noticed it—the coldness in Ye Zi that differed from before. That coldness... was the same coldness he had possessed when they first met, though it had been carefully concealed beneath his calm expression.

Why?

She was confused. The more she thought about it, the more irritated she became.

Having spent more than a year with Ye Zi, Bei Xingye was no fool. His senses were sharp as well, not much less so than Kushina's. He had also noticed the coldness hidden deep within Ye Zi, a coldness that had long since been dissolved during the time they had spent together.

"What exactly happened?" Seeing that Kushina did not want to linger on the subject, Bei Xingye tactfully fell silent, but he wondered what could have happened during these few short days.

As an outsider, Minato found it difficult to figure out what was going on. He looked at Kushina and smiled gently.