Hyuga Kaoru's Exchange

At this moment, he understood.

He understood everything.

There was no misunderstanding, no attempt to make friends, and certainly no request to learn medical ninjutsu. Nebula Kotetsu! That bastard! He was completely and utterly gunning for Rin!

He subconsciously clenched his fists, not caring in the slightest that his wounds might burst open.

Fortunately, by this time, the wounds had already closed and healed under the Mystical Palm Technique he had initially mastered, and Nebula Kotetsu stood up at that very moment.

He did not look at the injured Obito, but instead looked at Rin Nohara.

"Alright, Rin."

"It's nothing serious now; go find a doctor at the hospital later to have it checked out."

Rin Nohara nodded in a daze: "Hm?... Oh, okay."

"Got it, thank you... Nebula."

Nebula Kotetsu gave Rin Nohara a smile, then walked over to Might Guy and patted him on the shoulder.

"I told you it was nothing."

"With me here, you're fine."

Before Might Guy could express his gratitude, he was called away by his teacher.

Ten minutes later, inside the Ninja Academy office, Nebula Kotetsu's voice could be heard.

"Yes, yes."

"That's right."

"Teacher, it's precisely because my talent for ninjutsu is so poor that I decided to learn medical ninjutsu, so that I could be of help to my companions."

"The Third Hokage taught us that we must always care for our companions."

"The Will of Fire has always deeply influenced me. With the encouragement of my teachers, I have never given up on myself!"

"Dating? Oh, that's just because the pressure of training is too high, and some girls are just a bit concerned about me."

"We are all just good friends."

"That's right, it's just something that happened recently. Perhaps it's due to puberty; my chakra has been growing very quickly lately, and learning the Mystical Palm Technique was also a coincidence, a very big coincidence, a truly massive coincidence..."

After a full half-hour of explaining in detail how he had become self-taught and made rapid progress based on training notes his father had accidentally obtained, Nebula Kotetsu finally managed to escape the teachers' scrutiny.

He felt even more exhausted than he did after training with Might Guy.

With the interrogation over, the morning combat class also drew to a close. After school, ignoring the chattering girls, Nebula Kotetsu headed straight home.

The afternoon was the Three Basic Jutsu exam.

With his significantly increased chakra, Nebula Kotetsu did not encounter any accidents this time and passed smoothly.

As he walked out of the exam classroom, Nebula Kotetsu knew that his eight-year Ninja Academy career had finally come to an end.

Walking through the school corridors, he looked at the empty classrooms one by one, and in a trance, he recalled his school life.

The hostility from the male students.

The defeats in combat class.

The dismissive gazes of the teachers.

And the feelings and knowledge he had exchanged with upperclassmen and underclassmen from every grade in various classrooms, libraries, lounges, and stairwells.

Just as he was thinking this, the door to the library beside him suddenly opened.

A beautiful woman with exquisite features stepped out from the doorway.

Kaede Hyuga.

An outstanding chunin and the role model upperclassman for all the students.

The moment he saw her, a polite smile appeared on Nebula Kotetsu's face.

"Long time..." He had barely uttered two words when a fair, slender arm suddenly reached out, grabbed Nebula Kotetsu by the collar, and before he could even react, swiftly pulled him into the library.

"Bang!" The door slammed shut.

Nebula Kotetsu's voice rang out from inside.

"Wait a second!"

"Hold on!"

"What are you doing?"

"I have a date later!"

Kaede Hyuga's melodious voice replied: "When?"

Nebula Kotetsu: "After school."

Kaede Hyuga: "There's enough time. Exchanging the knowledge we've learned won't take much of your time."

Nebula Kotetsu: "No! This is the school! We..."

"I have a sound-dampening barrier." As Kaede Hyuga's voice rang out, everything fell into silence; there was not a whisper left in the library.

Ten seconds later, a male teacher hurried out from the end of the hallway, shouting as he ran.

"Nebula?"

"Student Nebula?"

"Nebula Kotetsu?"

With no one responding, the male teacher scratched his head in confusion: "He was just here a moment ago, where did he go?"

"The Uchiha cannot be trusted!" Outside the Hokage's office, the duty ninja listened to the voices coming from within, his heart tightening as his sharp gaze swept the surroundings, ensuring no living soul could approach.

"Danzo, you are too extreme!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice drifted out: "The Uchiha are also comrades of the village."

"Comrades are not to be trusted either!"

"Have you forgotten the instructions left by Lord Tobirama!"

"With such weakness, how can I be at ease about the village's future?"

"Enough!" Hiruzen Sarutobi barked sharply: "The future of Konoha is not for you to decide!"

"Hiruzen, you will regret this!"

"Danzo, I am the Hokage."

There was a moment of silence from within the room. Hearing approaching footsteps, the duty ninja immediately stood straight, eyes fixed forward.

"Creak—bang!" Watching the back of Elder Danzo, who looked like a defeated dog, disappear from his peripheral vision once more, he let out a soft sigh of relief.

Inside the room.

With his old friend having slammed the door and left again, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened, and he slowly sank into his plain, unremarkable Hokage office chair.

Looking at the stack of documents before him, he took a deep drag of his pipe.

"Knock, knock!" "Come in."

The duty ninja opened the door and reported: "The school teachers say that Nebula Kotetsu disappeared after school, and they have already sent people to look for him."

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand.

"Forget it."

"Tell them to stop looking; we shall meet again when there is an opportunity."

"Yes." "Creak." The man withdrew, closing the creaking door behind him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a cloud of smoke, and after a moment, muttered to himself: "The door needs replacing."

"The cost will be deducted from the budget of Root."

One hour later.

In the ninja school library, the bookshelves were in disarray.

Rows of books now lay scattered on the floor.

A few strands of hair clung to Kaede Hyuga's flushed, delicate face, and she sat atop a stack of Konoha Taijutsu Compendium, looking three parts languid and seven parts alluring, her eyes shimmering as she gazed at Nebula Kotetsu before her.

"How have you been lately?"

Nebula Kotetsu, exhausted from flipping through books, spread his hands and sat on the floor.

He replied irritably: "Don't you think it's a bit late to be asking that now?"

Kaede Hyuga chuckled softly.

"What does early or late matter? I wanted to ask, so I asked."

Nebula Kotetsu replied helplessly: "I'm just the same."

"Nothing different from before."

Kaede Hyuga: "Nothing different?"

"I don't think you're the same as you used to be."

"Mystical Palm Technique, tsk tsk..."

"To master the Mystical Palm Technique at your age—you're no dead-last, you're clearly a genius."

"With the graduation team assignments this time, if nothing goes wrong, you'll be led by a famous Jonin. Your future is promising."

Nebula Kotetsu could only offer an awkward smile: "A fluke."

"Purely a fluke."

Kaede Hyuga revealed a meaningful smile.

She didn't believe a word of Nebula Kotetsu's answer, but she couldn't be bothered to get to the bottom of it. Compared to things like the Mystical Palm Technique, she was far more interested in other matters.

"How many girlfriends do you have left now?"

Nebula Kotetsu felt his heart tighten: "You... why are you asking this?"

Kaede Hyuga flashed a wicked smile. She slowly leaned in toward Nebula Kotetsu, and under his nervous expression, whispered: "What?"

"As one of your girlfriends, is it not allowed for me to inquire about your relationship status?"

Nebula Kotetsu sighed helplessly: "Be normal."

"Not many, just around twenty or so."