"Thud~"
The front door closed softly.
His fiancée's buoyant figure disappeared into the cramped apartment.
Hyuga Yu sat silently before the low round table. The harsh white light cast over the three scrolls before him, their elongated shadows seeming like massive weights pressing down on his shoulders.
Yet,
Hyuga Yu showed not the slightest hint of dejection.
When he came back to himself, he glanced at the mirror beside him as if possessed and found that he was actually smiling.
The smile looked both sleazy and perverted, startling even Hyuga Yu himself.
Instinctively, he thought he absolutely could not let such terrifyingly shady thoughts of "sneaking a big score" seep into his mind. But after pondering it for a while, he felt he might have been overly sensitive.
He spread his arms and fell back onto the tatami, the tightly wound strings in his heart finally loosening a little.
Hyuga Yu was no savior, nor did he bear some great responsibility to save the world.
He merely thought that since he had been given another life, he should strive to live well in this world—to live like a proper human being.
Then, as a person, making two or three friends should not count as some unforgivable sin, right?
Thinking so cautiously,
Hyuga Yu sat up, reached out to untie the bindings on the three scrolls one by one, spread them open, formed the hand seals for the Summoning Jutsu, and pressed his hands onto them.
"Poof~"
Amid swirling smoke, a pile of supplies appeared atop the low table.
First and foremost was a set of folded-steel ninja tools: three kunai, thirty-two Shuriken, a spool of steel wire, four smoke bombs, and a stack of Explosive Tags.
This was the standard equipment a ninja ought to possess.
Besides the various ninja tools, the table also held a finely made ninja sword around 1.2 meters long, a ninja combat suit, and a pack of Military Rations Pills that could sustain someone for roughly half a month.
Seeing the pile, Hyuga Yu's eyes lit up. He picked out the combat suit and held it up.
Ninja attire was quite particular. To carry enough ninja tools to sustain the demands of battle, one or two tool pouches were nowhere near enough, yet hanging several more would affect a ninja's balance and mobility.
The ugly green Chunin flak jackets and undershirts worn by most Chunin-ranked and above ninja in Konoha were, in fact, the most expensive part of an ordinary ninja's equipment.
And the one in Hyuga Yu's hands was undoubtedly a higher-grade custom-made combat suit.
Its overall appearance resembled a pure black, high-collared one-piece shirt.
Its collar could be pulled up to cover the mouth and nose. A ninja tool pouch hung at the waist, while each leg had a thigh strap for carrying a dart case and a scroll storage pouch. The inside of the suit contained finely woven chainmail that could effectively withstand blades and axes. Combined with the standard Chunin gloves, foot wraps, and a headscarf set with a forehead protector...
With its design, utility, and defensive capabilities far beyond a Chunin flak jacket, this combat suit probably cost no less than seven hundred thousand ryo.
Having lived through two years of war, Hyuga Yu naturally understood the difference such equipment could make in a ninja battle. He had long wanted a similar piece of gear.
But,
He was a Genin and had no right to receive the Chunin flak jacket issued by the village.
At the same time, the exorbitant price of such custom protective gear had made the cash-strapped Hyuga Yu give up on the idea.
He had simply never expected Hyuga Natsu to give him such an expensive gift.
At that thought, unease rose in Hyuga Yu's heart.
Hyuga Natsu did not come from a wealthy family. Like him, she was a war orphan. In fact, she lacked even his original family connections, which had allowed him to come into contact with figures such as the Hyuga main family elder.
So where had this combat suit come from? Hyuga Yu immediately understood.
As a Chunin employed by the Main House, Hyuga Natsu earned three hundred thousand ryo a month, and as far as he knew, she had started this job less than three months ago...
Now,
All of her wages were here.
Hyuga Yu could not help taking a deep breath, the knuckles gripping the combat suit turning slightly pale.
In the end,
He said nothing. Nor did he grab the scrolls and chase after her to refuse her kindness. He merely silently changed into the set of equipment Hyuga Natsu had brought him.
Then,
He heavily closed his increasingly sharp white eyes.
He sat quietly on the tatami, waiting for every second to pass—and waiting for the moment that would amount to a judgment of fate for him—
Having been rejected from joining the Hyuga Main Family Guard Squad, Hyuga Yu had no way to overturn the Hyuga Main Family's decision. He could only wait for the transfer order in a few days.
But by then, it would probably be far too late.
Hyuga Yu had no interest in whether that young master of the Hyuga Main Family lived or died, but he had to ensure that the people he cared about could survive the coming incident safely!
And if he wanted to bypass that decision and leave the village tomorrow to secretly protect Hyuga Natsu,
Then he needed a transfer order issued by a higher level of Konoha!
Just then,
Hyuga Yu felt the light filtering through his closed eyelids flicker several times.
Then,
Snap!
With that sound, the apartment was plunged into complete darkness.
In the silent darkness, a low, indifferent voice whose distance was impossible to discern suddenly sounded beside Hyuga Yu's ear.
"So—"
"Is this why you took the initiative to seek us out?"
"Lion... sir?"
Outside the apartment,
The sun was sinking, and night was rising.
Having personally watched Hyuga Yu enter the apartment beneath Hyuga Natsu's serene, sweet gaze, Hyuga Tetsu felt deeply troubled.
This was not heartbreak, nor was it jealousy.
For a moment, he simply could not understand why he was standing here. Like a kite that had lost its string, his thoughts drifted farther and farther away.
He wandered down the middle of Konoha Famous Tea Street, not far from the apartment building.
The lights in the shops along the street came on and flickered, reflecting off his stern face.
Wave after wave of passersby moved around him, carrying laughter, silence, distress, and the clear direction of their own lives as they pursued the fleeting pleasures that numbed them for the moment without the slightest confusion.
In such surroundings, Hyuga Tetsu gradually felt thirsty. He wanted a drink, but bound by the three ninja prohibitions and still underage, he could only buy a cup of milk from a shop.
He squatted by the roadside, taking occasional sips.
Yet his gaze kept drifting back to the lit apartment building.
That was right.
There was no clearly defined relationship between Hyuga Tetsu and Hyuga Yu in the traditional sense—nothing like [friends], [brothers], or [close companions].
They had exchanged fewer than ten sentences in total.
By sociological definition,
Their relationship was closer to that of [familiar strangers].
Yet after hearing that afternoon that Hyuga Yu had rejected the appointment from the main family elder,
Hyuga Tetsu had immediately dropped everything and rushed here impatiently, wishing he could shove Hyuga Yu's head into a water tank and make him come to his senses!
Was it for Hyuga Natsu?
It did not seem so. He did like Natsu—who would not like a beautiful girl like her? But Natsu liked Hyuga Yu more. Rather than taking Natsu away, he preferred to quietly wish her happiness.
Then it could not possibly be for that self-righteous idiot, Hyuga Yu, could it?
The thought startled Hyuga Tetsu. He abruptly stood up, spilling milk all over the ground.
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