Is It Him?

We hurried through the forest. Apart from our footsteps and the rustling leaves, not a single word was spoken.

I didn't say a word the whole way, and Kusama Shigeo was uncharacteristically quiet too. By the end of the day, our hastily assembled team was silent as the grave, like three mutes.

I looked up, as if sensing something, and glanced at the boy leading the way. A flicker of doubt crossed my mind.

I had never forgotten the person I'd seen in the underground reservoir.

Come on, how could I forget that face? Not to mention the fact that I'd gotten beaten up for nothing! I clenched my fists in indignation, swearing I'd find him one day!

But—

I looked ahead.

For some reason, the figure of Hyuga Makoto in front of me was gradually merging with the boy I'd seen in the reservoir!

"He looks a little like him..." I muttered, doubt churning in my heart.

"Gentle Fist... the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist... their builds are similar, too..."

Most importantly, the timing of their appearances was awfully coincidental. It was hard not to make the connection.

But as for their looks—

I frowned, then suddenly remembered something!

No, that's not right!

The boy's eyes had been dark blue, bright and cold as water! But Senior Hyuga Makoto's eyes were the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan: pure white, without a hint of any other color!

"One white, one blue..." I lowered my head, falling into self-doubt again.

All their other features matched, but this one detail was completely different!

No matter what, eye color couldn't change!

"..."

If only I could see Senior's face!

My eyes lit up. I quickened my pace and quietly caught up, peeking at Hyuga Makoto's profile from the other side. I tried to make out his features bit by bit, my heart pounding wildly.

But a few minutes later, I realized that I couldn't make out his real face through the mask.

"Why does this guy wear a mask...?"

At a loss and unwilling to give up, I decided I'd keep an eye on him as we traveled. Maybe I'd get a chance to see his real face!

You have to eat and drink at some point! I refused to believe I'd never see your face!

I nodded to myself, keeping my eyes fixed on the figure ahead—

"Hey, what are you looking at? Is that sourpuss really so good-looking?"

I was still lost in thought when the taunt came from behind.

"What's it to you?"

I shot a glance over my shoulder at the troublemaking kid, ignored him, and silently rolled my eyes.

Since we hadn't left the Land of Fire yet, the journey had been fairly smooth overall. That gave Kusama Shigeo endless opportunities to make trouble!

Every half hour or so, he'd make some sarcastic remark—either attacking me and my clan or criticizing Hyuga Makoto and his clan.

What was wrong with this guy?

I was seething, not because I didn't want to vent, but because I knew the mission came first!

And so, after lasting a whole day, our hard-won peace was finally shattered.

"Hey, what kind of lousy road are you leading us down? Can anyone even walk here?"

Kusama Shigeo's voice came from behind me, filled with complaints and barely concealed hostility.

"You're from the Hyuga Clan, so why don't you use those eyes of yours to find us an easier path? Or is it that you can't even use the Byakugan? Were you just bragging?"

I said nothing, and no one answered him. Apart from our footsteps, silence settled over us once more.

"You..."

Kusama Shigeo's anger flared. "You don't look much older than us, and you're already a Jōnin?" He scoffed, clearly unconvinced.

"Maybe he's only a Special Jōnin."

A Special Jōnin was a shinobi who hadn't passed the Jōnin exams but had been given the rank because of other strengths.

In other words, Kusama Shigeo was questioning Hyuga Makoto's abilities.

I frowned but still didn't speak. It wasn't that I was afraid of Kusama Shigeo; we were just too pressed for time to waste it arguing.

—But not everyone felt the same way.

Kusama Shigeo grew angrier and angrier. His complaints and taunts never stopped, and most of them were aimed at Hyuga Makoto, with a few directed at me.

In the face of one provocation after another, Hyuga Makoto never said a word. He acted as if he hadn't heard anything, simply maintaining his pace and pressing forward.

Being ignored cut deeper than being insulted.

"Hey, I'm talking to you! Don't you understand human speech?"

After another provocation went unanswered, Kusama Shigeo suddenly sped past me and charged toward Hyuga Makoto, looking ready to pick a fight.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I hurriedly tried to stop him. "We're close to the Land of Bears now. It may be a small country, but this is still another country's border. Who knows if there are enemies nearby? Behave yourself!"

"Well, well. You're both from big clans, so you're already standing shoulder to shoulder?" Kusama Shigeo stopped, his anger turning on me. He even grabbed my clothes.

"I haven't settled things with you yet!"

Seeing that Kusama Shigeo wouldn't let up, and that Hyuga Makoto was about to disappear into the forest, I stopped paying attention to him. I leaped up and sped toward Hyuga Makoto. When Kusama Shigeo saw me trying to get away, he chased after me in a fury.

We were close to the border now. Perhaps because no one lived here, the vegetation had grown increasingly dense, like the primeval forests of my previous life. The enormous canopies blotted out the sky, making it hard to breathe. I leaped upward and spotted Hyuga Makoto through a gap in the foliage, then hurried toward him.

Just then, something flashed past my eyes—thin as a thread, disappearing instantly in the gloom.

What was that? A spiderweb?

I blinked and saw that the figure ahead had stopped too, crouching motionless on a branch as if observing something.

What was wrong? Had he spotted enemies?

I was about to leap over to Hyuga Makoto when he suddenly turned around and stared right at me, the veins around his eyes bulging as he shouted, "Don't move!"

"What?" I was still flying forward from the momentum. My arm seemed to brush against something, and it prickled. Then a strange pain flared in my arm and calf, as if I'd grazed something invisible in the air.

I sensed something was wrong and was about to land on the branch ahead when Hyuga Makoto's expression changed. He lunged straight at me!

He was so fast that I hadn't even landed before he grabbed me, and I slammed hard into his arms! He forced me to land somewhere else!

In that instant, I felt his muscles tense. His breathing suddenly turned ragged, and his body trembled slightly, as if he were enduring tremendous pain. Yet he kept his grip on me, not loosening it for a moment!

We leaped through the air several times before finally landing on a narrow fork in a tree.

"Se-Senior... what happened?" It had all happened so suddenly that my face hurt from the collision. I was about to reach up and touch it when a sharp pain shot through my entire arm!

I lifted my arm and saw that, somehow, a gash had been cut into my forearm. It wasn't large, but it was deep, and a thin line of blood was flowing from it! My calf had the same kind of wound.

"Chakra Spider Silk."

His impassive voice came with drops of blood falling from above. I looked up and saw a vivid red gash stretching across Hyuga Makoto's face. His mask had been cut open, and blood ran down his cheek to his chin, then dripped onto my face.

I shifted, and my left hand felt sticky too. It was behind the boy's back, where it had touched warm blood as well.

I had no doubt Hyuga Makoto's back was covered in bloody cuts.

My hand began to tremble. I could hardly believe it.

"Where you were about to land, there was a web of it stretched out."

His voice remained completely flat, cold as ice, just as it had been when we first met.

But beneath my hand, the blood was warm.

The contrast between cold and warm nearly made my head spin.

Didn't he... hate me?

"Senior, you—you're hurt!" A drop of blood landed on my face. Only then did I react. I struggled, trying to get up and check on him!

"Don't move. There's Chakra Spider Silk everywhere."

Despite his severe injuries, Hyuga Makoto's tone didn't change. He picked me up and set me on top of the tree, the veins around his eyes bulging as he carefully observed our surroundings.

"What?" Only then did I realize what he meant. I hurriedly asked, "Chakra Spider Silk? What's that?"

The boy slowly stood up and raised his left hand. He caught a thin strand on his finger, as fine as a spider's thread. It glimmered in the faint daylight, almost impossible to see with the naked eye.

"Sharp threads made from chakra. If a shinobi runs into them, they'll be cut apart."

"This is the Land of Bears' method."

"Why would they do this?" I looked at the blood on my arm, unable to understand why a small country that hadn't taken part in the war would be so hostile toward Konoha.

"To protect themselves."

For some reason, those four words left me stunned.

Hyuga Makoto lowered his head, watching the ground below. He quickly spotted a figure.

"Hey, what are you two sneaking around for?"

Kusama Shigeo suddenly sprang up from below. Before I could warn him, Hyuga Makoto rushed forward and kicked him off the branch!

A loud thud came from below. It was clearly dangerous, but the moment I heard Kusama Shigeo's scream, I burst out laughing.

That was a neat and decisive solution—and one that suited someone like Kusama Shigeo.

"Senior, there aren't any webs down there?" I asked quietly, afraid to move in case I was the next one he kicked off.

Hyuga Makoto's silence confirmed it.

"But why? Why aren't there any webs below?" I didn't understand. "There's so much more room down there, and more people walk on the ground."

Hyuga Makoto turned to look at me. His expression hadn't changed at all, yet suddenly, I understood.

Because I'd already said the answer myself.

These things were meant to stop shinobi, not ordinary people. Shinobi wouldn't enter from below, so the Land of Bears hadn't set any threads there.

What an... us-and-them kind of country.

"Don't move."

He climbed back onto the tree, took hold of my arm, and bent down.

"Hold on to me."

With that, he shielded me as he carried me between the trees, bringing me safely down to the ground.

Below us, Kusama Shigeo was buried deep in the vines, with only his head sticking out as he glared at us resentfully.

The corners of my mouth twitched. I thought of every sad thing that had ever happened to me, but still couldn't hold back. I burst out laughing.

It seemed I'd really made an enemy for life.