Is it him?

We sprinted through the forest, the silence broken only by the sound of our footsteps and the rustle of leaves; not a single word was exchanged.

Throughout the journey, I remained silent, and Kusama Shigeo was uncharacteristically quiet as well. By the end of the day, our makeshift team was as mute as three deaf-mutes.

A sudden premonition made me look up at the boy leading the way, a flicker of doubt crossing my mind.

I had never forgotten the person I saw in the underground reservoir.

Good grief, it was impossible to forget a face like that, not to mention the fact that I'd been beaten up for nothing! I clenched my fists in frustration, swearing that I would find that person!

But—

I looked ahead.

For some reason, the figure of Hyuga Makoto before me was gradually overlapping with the boy from the reservoir!

"They're a bit similar..." I muttered, my heart filled with suspicion.

"The pressure points... the Hyuga Clan's pressure points... the build is also very similar..."

Most importantly, the timing of their appearances was too coincidental not to make one suspicious.

However, as for their features—

At this thought, I frowned, suddenly remembering something!

No, that's not right!

The boy's eyes were deep blue, bright and cold like water! But Hyuga Makoto's eyes were the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan, pure white without a hint of any other color!

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

Even though all the other characteristics matched, this one detail was completely different!

Regardless of anything else, eye color shouldn't just change, right?

"..."

If... if only I could see his face!

My eyes lit up. I quickened my pace, quietly catching up to peek at Hyuga Makoto's profile from the side, trying to distinguish his features as my heart hammered against my ribs.

But after a few minutes, I realized that with his mask on, there was no way to see his true appearance.

"Why does this guy have to wear a mask..."

I was at a loss, but unwilling to give up, I made up my mind to observe him more closely along the way; perhaps I would eventually see his true face!

You have to eat and drink eventually, right! I refuse to believe I won't see your face!

I nodded, fixing my gaze firmly on the figure ahead—

"Hey, what are you looking at? Is that deadpan face really so good to look at?"

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

"Does it have anything to do with you?"

I glanced at the brat behind me who was looking for trouble, ignored him, and silently rolled my eyes.

Because we hadn't left the Land of Fire yet, the journey had been relatively smooth, which gave Kusama Shigeo endless opportunities to stir up trouble!

Throughout the trip, he would spout sarcasm almost every half hour, either attacking me and my family or disparaging Hyuga Makoto and his.

This guy is truly sick!

I was seething with anger, not because I didn't want to vent, but because I knew the mission was what mattered!

In the end, this hard-won harmony, which had lasted for a whole day, was finally shattered completely.

"Hey, what kind of pathetic path are you taking us on! Is this even meant for humans to walk on?"

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

"Since you're from the Hyuga Clan, can't you use your eyes to find us a better path? Or is it that you don't know how to use the Byakugan at all? Were you just bragging?"

I didn't speak, and naturally, no one answered; aside from our footsteps, there was only silence.

"You..."

Kusama Shigeo's fury was ignited instantly, and he mocked loudly: "Looking at your age, you're not much older than us, yet you're already a Jonin?" He sneered, clearly not believing it.

"You're probably just a Special Jonin."

A Special Jonin was a ninja who hadn't passed the official Jonin exam but was promoted due to other specific strengths.

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

I frowned but still didn't speak. It wasn't that I was afraid of Kusama Shigeo, but our time was too tight; we didn't have time for arguments.

—But someone else didn't think so.

From then on, Kusama Shigeo's temper grew worse, and his complaints and taunts never ceased, with most of his attacks directed at Hyuga Makoto and a small portion at me.

Yet, faced with provocation after provocation, Hyuga Makoto never replied once, acting as if he hadn't heard a thing, simply maintaining his speed and continuing forward.

Ignoring someone is far more piercing than verbal abuse.

"Hey, I'm talking to you! Are you deaf or just don't understand human speech?"

After another failed provocation, Kusama Shigeo suddenly accelerated, passing me and charging straight toward Hyuga Makoto with a ferocity that looked like he was itching for a fight.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I quickly spoke up to stop him. "We're already approaching the Land of Bears. Even if it's a small nation, it's still a foreign border. Who knows if there are enemies around? Keep it together!"

"Yo, as expected of the big clan types, you've already started wearing the same pair of pants, huh?" Kusama Shigeo's footsteps faltered, his anger surging toward me as he even grabbed my clothes.

"I haven't even settled the score with you from earlier yet!"

Seeing Kusama Shigeo acting so tangled and persistent, and with Hyuga Makoto's figure about to vanish into the jungle, I stopped paying him any mind. I leaped upward, accelerating to close the distance with Hyuga Makoto, while Kusama Shigeo, seeing me try to escape, chased after me in a fit of pique.

We were near the border now, and perhaps because it was uninhabited, the surrounding vegetation had grown increasingly dense. It was like the primeval forests of my past life; the massive canopy blocked out the sun, making it stifling and hard to breathe. I leaped upward, caught a glimpse of Hyuga Makoto through a gap, and hurried toward him.

Just then, I felt something flash before my eyes—thin as a thread, vanishing instantly in the dim environment.

What was that? A spiderweb?

I blinked, noticing that the figure ahead had also stopped, crouching motionless on a tree trunk as if observing something.

What's wrong? Is there an enemy?

I was just about to leap to Hyuga Makoto's side when he suddenly turned back, his eyes locked onto me, veins bulging around them as he shouted, "Don't move!"

"What?" Carried by momentum, I was still leaping forward. My arm seemed to brush against something, causing a stinging itch, followed by a strange, sharp pain in my arm and calf, as if something invisible had grazed past me in the air.

I sensed something was wrong and was about to land on the branch ahead, but Hyuga Makoto's expression shifted, and he lunged straight at me!

His speed was too fast. Before I could land, he grabbed my body, slamming me hard into his chest and forcibly changing my trajectory!

In that instant, I felt his muscles tense. His breathing grew rapid, and his body even trembled slightly, as if he were enduring some immense pain, yet he still held me tightly, not loosening his grip by even a fraction!

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

"Sen... Senpai... what's going on?" The event was so sudden that my face hurt from the impact. I was about to reach up to touch my face when a wave of pain shot through my entire arm!

Lifting my hand, I saw a gash on my forearm that I hadn't noticed before. It wasn't large, but it was deep, and a line of fresh blood was flowing from it! Looking at my calf, I saw the same wound.

"It's Chakra Spider Silk."

The indifferent voice accompanied drops of blood falling from above. I looked up and saw a bright red wound across Hyuga Makoto's face. His mask had been sliced open, and blood was sliding down his cheek to his chin, then dripping onto my face.

I moved, feeling my left hand become sticky. That hand was behind the boy's back, and it, too, had touched warm blood.

I had no doubt that Hyuga Makoto's back had been sliced to ribbons.

My hands began to tremble, my heart filled with disbelief.

"Your landing point just now was an unfolded spiderweb."

His voice remained devoid of inflection, cold as ice, just as it had been when we first met.

And under my hand, the blood was warm.

The contrast between the cold and the heat nearly made me lose my mind.

Didn't he... hate me?

"Senpai, you, you're hurt!" A drop of blood landed on my face, and only then did I react, struggling to stand up to check his condition!

"Don't move. There are Chakra Spider Silks everywhere here."

Despite being severely injured, Hyuga Makoto's tone didn't change. He picked me up and placed me on the treetop, his eyes scanning the surroundings with veins bulging around them.

"What?" I finally processed his words and asked, "Chakra Spider Silk? What is that?"

The boy stood up slowly, lifting his left hand to pluck at a thin thread. It was as fine as a spider's silk, shimmering in the faint sunlight, nearly invisible to the naked eye.

"A sharp thread created from chakra. If a ninja hits the silk, their body will be sliced apart."

"This is the method of the Land of Bears."

"Why would they do this?" I looked at the blood on my arm, not understanding why a small nation that hadn't participated in the war would have such hostility toward Konoha.

"For self-preservation."

For some reason, these four words left me stunned.

Hyuga Makoto lowered his head, observing the area below, and quickly locked onto a figure.

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

Kusama Shigeo suddenly burst up from below. Before I could even warn him, Hyuga Makoto lunged out and kicked him off the tree trunk!

A loud "Bang!" echoed from below. This was clearly a dangerous move, yet the moment I heard Kusama Shigeo's scream, I couldn't help but laugh.

It was a truly steady, precise, and ruthless solution—very fitting for someone like Kusama Shigeo.

"Senpai, is there no spiderweb down there?" I asked in a low voice, not daring to move, terrified that I might be the next one kicked off.

Hyuga Makoto's silence provided the answer.

"But why? Why not set up spiderwebs down there?" I didn't understand. "The space below is clearly larger; it's the ground where more people walk."

Hyuga Makoto turned back, and though there was no other expression on his face, I understood immediately.

Because I had already spoken the answer.

This stuff was meant to defend against ninjas, not ordinary people. Since ninjas wouldn't enter from below, the Land of Bears wouldn't set up the threads there.

What a... nation of clear loves and hates.

"Don't move."

He climbed back onto the tree, gripped my arm, and leaned over me.

"Hold onto me."

With that, he shielded me with his body, weaving through the trees until we landed safely on the ground.

Below us, Kusama Shigeo was buried deep within the vines, only his head visible, staring at us with a look of pure resentment.

The corners of my mouth twitched; I tried thinking of every sad thing that had ever happened to me in this life, but I still couldn't hold back my laughter and burst out laughing.

It seems this grudge is truly set in stone.