Momona's Team

Thinking of the bow's material, Uncle could not help but sigh. "The First Hokage truly was the God of Shinobi. After all these years, even though the Clan has continuously nurtured the bow with special secret techniques, its material has kept deteriorating. Yet it is still as hard as iron. It is impossible to imagine just how strong the First Hokage was back then."

Hearing Uncle reminisce about the First Hokage's glorious years and Konoha's former prosperity, Hyuga Kazuya did not interrupt him. Instead, he set down the bow and picked up the smaller box inside the large one.

Opening the small box, he found two bundles of arrows inside, one hundred arrows in total. One bundle was labeled Chakra Arrows, while the other was labeled Ordinary Arrows.

On the surface, there was no difference between the shafts and arrowheads of the two bundles.

However, when Hyuga Kazuya picked one arrow from each bundle and infused them with chakra, he could clearly sense the difference.

One was somewhat difficult to infuse with chakra and could not retain it, while the other was the complete opposite.

"Uncle, I'm going to the forest outside to test their power." After saying that, Hyuga Kazuya wanted to leave immediately.

But Uncle stopped him. "Going out like that, do you want everyone to know that someone from the Hyuga Clan uses a bow?"

Without waiting for Hyuga Kazuya to reply, Uncle tossed him a Scroll.

"This is a Storage Scroll. Put the bow and arrows inside it before you leave."

Looking at the Scroll in his hand, Hyuga Kazuya could not help admiring Uncle's thoroughness.

He had just obtained something he had wanted for so long and had gotten a little carried away, overlooking certain matters.

Opening the Scroll, Hyuga Kazuya skillfully sealed the bow and arrows into the Storage Scroll.

As for why Hyuga Kazuya knew how to use a Storage Scroll, the academy taught it, of course. Although he still did not understand how Storage Scrolls stored things, that did not affect his ability to use one.

It was like how everyone in his previous life used mobile phones, yet how many people actually knew the principles behind their manufacture?

Putting away the Scroll, Hyuga Kazuya hurriedly bid Uncle farewell and headed for the Forest of Death on Konoha's outskirts.

It was nearing noon, and Konoha's streets were packed with people, bustling with life.

The cries of vendors and the laughter of playing children came together to form a prosperous streetscape.

Hyuga Kazuya walked briskly through the streets, quickly leaving the lively district behind.

In a relatively deserted street within a less crowded neighborhood, Hyuga Kazuya heard a familiar voice coming from afar.

"Aburame Tomomi, hurry up and use your Insects to stop it."

"Inuzuka Hana, tell your dog to stop chasing it! It's clearly afraid of dogs."

Hearing the clear, familiar voice in the distance, Hyuga Kazuya knew it was Hyuga Momona.

"Looks like their team gets along quite well."

He had not thought about it for long before the three of them appeared around the street corner.

Hyuga Momona was having a terrible day.

It had originally been a simple cat-finding mission. With her Byakugan, finding an animal should have been effortless, right?

But just as Hyuga Momona was about to touch the cat, Inuzuka Hana's stupid dog suddenly leaped out and scared it away.

Thus, the three girls, one dog, and one cat began a great chase.

Even clay figures had their limits. Although influenced by the Hyuga Clan's upbringing, the vast majority of the Clan appeared to be proper members of a great clan, with no faults to be found in their etiquette or character.

But everyone was different. Hyuga Momona, who was usually gentle and demure, had graduated and become an "adult" in the common sense of the shinobi world, allowing some of her true temperament to show.

Just as Hyuga Momona was considering whether to use a kunai to nail that damned cat down and then buy another one for the client out of her own pocket, she spotted Hyuga Kazuya in the distance.

"Big Brother, catch that cat!" Seeing Hyuga Kazuya standing in the cat's escape route, Hyuga Momona hurriedly called out.

Hearing Hyuga Momona's words, Hyuga Kazuya looked at their three-person team, along with a cat and a dog.

He immediately stepped into the middle of the road. Seizing the right moment, he moved at a speed far beyond that of an ordinary person, catching the calico cat in front with one hand and grabbing the little white dog behind it with the other—the dog that had been relentlessly chasing the cat and was about to leap up and bite it after seeing Hyuga Kazuya catch it.

Woof woof woof!

Looking at the little white dog struggling and yelping in his hand, Hyuga Kazuya glared fiercely at it. The dog was so frightened that it immediately tucked its tail between its legs, no longer daring to struggle. It could only whimper softly.

Seeing that Hyuga Kazuya had caught the cat, Hyuga Momona hurriedly ran over with her two teammates, panting heavily.

Patting her modestly developed, soft chest, Hyuga Momona looked at the kitten Hyuga Kazuya held out and said gratefully.

"Big Brother, thank you."

Taking the cat, Hyuga Momona fiercely rubbed it, then held its face in her hands. With her eyes widened in a mock ferocious expression, she said, "Run again, why don't you? You made me chase you through several streets."

"It's nothing. Are you doing a mission?"

"Yeah, the mission was to find this little guy." She grabbed the cat's body and shook it hard a few times, seemingly punishing it.

Hyuga Momona's teammate, Inuzuka Hana, looked shyly at Hyuga Kazuya. Blushing, she pointed at the little white dog in his hand and said, "Kazuya-kun, could you give that back to me?"

"Long time no see, Inuzuka Hana, Aburame Tomomi." Hyuga Kazuya greeted them as he handed the little white dog to Inuzuka Hana. "Your dog really doesn't recognize people, does it? It's not like this is the first time it's seen me, yet it still bared its teeth at me."

Was it still holding a grudge because I had gotten curious and checked its sex before? Dogs could hold grudges over something like that?

Inuzuka Hana said apologetically, "I'm really sorry, Kazuya-kun." She did not know why Whitey disliked Hyuga Kazuya either.

"It's fine, it's fine. It's nothing."

Seeing Hyuga Momona fiercely rubbing the cat, Hyuga Kazuya said, "Now that you've caught the cat, hurry and turn in the mission. If you take too long, you might get a complaint."

"Bye, Big Brother."

"Goodbye, Kazuya-kun." x2

Watching the three of them leave, it seemed they truly got along well.

Scratching his head, he muttered, "Why does it feel like Momona is the captain of the three of them?"

It did not quite fit with Hyuga Momona's usual personality.

"It must be my imagination."

No longer dwelling on it, Hyuga Kazuya watched as the three girls disappeared down the street leading out of town, then continued toward the Forest of Death.