Wandering

"Young Master, I don't have any particular preferences; as long as it's food, it's fine."

Hyuga Yunfei replied earnestly.

But Hyuga Hoshishaku wasn't buying it, and without turning his head, he said:

"That won't do. Good food is a brief yet beautiful salvation in a bitter life. If you don't have any preferences, I'll take you to taste a few more places; you're bound to find a salvation of your own."

Hearing this, Yunfei pursed his lips, looking a bit stunned, but he quickly reacted.

He nodded again and said, "Yes."

Only, his tone had changed ever so slightly from before.

Hoshishaku glanced back at Yunfei, appearing as if it were unintentional.

He quickly noticed that his cousin was in a different state than he had been at the training grounds that morning.

Back then, his eyes had revealed panic, unease, and numbness.

But now, there was a bit more humanity in them.

Or rather, there was light in his eyes.

Thinking of this, Hoshishaku nodded to himself.

He was gauging the family dynamics; whether it was teaching Yueye a lesson or deliberately being kinder to his cousin, he had plenty of reasons.

As for Yueye, that went without saying; it was purely competition.

But for his cousin, the intentions were more complex.

Beyond pitying him and feeling some empathy for his circumstances, there was another important factor: cultivating a bond.

One had to remember, this was the world of Naruto.

It was not that former world of money-worship and greed.

Here, there were not only Daimyo and clans, but also various archaic systems and backward concepts.

In this world, if you invest emotion in someone and build a bond, that person will basically never harbor any ill intent toward you.

Looking back at the history of Naruto, perhaps only Uchiha Obito directly or indirectly killed the Fourth Hokage and his wife, who had been good to him.

And his betrayal was muddled with conspiracies, love, hate, and even his own theory of a "peaceful world in dreams."

Such a betrayal is basically impossible to replicate.

Therefore, excluding this special case, the atmosphere of this world is, to a certain extent, quite decent.

If one were to add a prerequisite to this logic:

That is, if a superior invests emotion in a subordinate, the other party will basically give their life for you and would be extremely averse to the idea of insubordination.

Although Hoshishaku didn't need his cousin to die for him, As he sought to take the Hyuga clan into his own hands to further his goals, Cultivating loyal confidants was a necessity.

The Hyuga clan compound was located in a bustling area of Konoha.

Adjacent to it were nothing but important village buildings and the compounds of other clans.

Hoshishaku had wanted to complain about this before; the real-life Konoha was simply boundless.

Except for the Hokage Rock to the north, looking in any other direction revealed nothing but a sprawl of buildings.

This was why, when he went out on exploration missions before, he hadn't dared to go far, only wandering nearby.

Now that he had his cousin as a guard, and with his overall physical fitness having improved significantly after the card draw, As soon as he left the clan compound, Hoshishaku headed toward places he hadn't been before.

Today, no matter what, he was going to have a good look around Konoha.

At this moment, Hyuga Yunfei suddenly asked in a low voice: "Young Master Hoshishaku, do you need me to follow in concealment?"

Hoshishaku turned his head, curious, and asked: "Huh? Why hide?"

"If I follow right beside you, I might disturb your enjoyment. Young Master Yueye used to instruct me to do so."

Hoshishaku's expression turned strange upon hearing this, but he still refused: "That's an inexplicable instruction. From now on, forget everything he told you. Just follow me like this for now."

After saying that, he turned back and couldn't help but mutter: "Walking the streets alone—that's no fun at all."

And so, the two figures, one large and one small, one in front and one behind, began to weave through the streets and alleys of Konoha, starting from the Hyuga compound.

In less than three hours, the two of them had eaten their way through an entire street.

It wasn't until the sun set that Hoshishaku rubbed his stomach and headed back toward the compound.

"Although there wasn't anything exceptionally delicious, those fried skewers and the three-colored dango were truly great."

He sighed with such sentiment.

In his heart, he was pleased that two of his daily tasks were already complete.

They were the exploration task of spending one hour exploring outside, and the stamina replenishment task of buying a meal to eat while out.

The only one left unfinished was the duel task of defeating three people, for which he still needed to defeat two more.

Xingzhuo planned to spar with Yunfei once they returned to the clan grounds, then find a way to track down another branch family member.

It would be best to have Yunfei find one for him—specifically someone who had bullied Yunfei in the past.

This way, he could complete the task while simultaneously winning over hearts; it was simply perfect!

Walking alongside his young master and having eaten his fill along the way, Yunfei was currently grinning foolishly.

There was no trace of the deep-seated bitterness he had shown before.

"Right, where did you live before?" Xingzhuo asked.

"Young Master, I previously lived in a room within the branch family compound."

"You lived alone, right?"

"Yes."

Xingzhuo rubbed his chin and said, "Then move into my courtyard when we get back. I have plenty of empty rooms, and the backyard is spacious enough for training."

"Huh?"

"Huh what? It's settled. As a bodyguard, shouldn't you live closer?"

"Understood, Young Master."

There were many reasons for making such a decision.

But the biggest reason was—loneliness.

As one of the next heirs to the main branch, Xingzhuo had lost his mother at a young age and lived alone in his current courtyard.

When he was small, older women from the main branch would take turns looking after him.

Once he grew older, aside from the servants who rotated in to clean the house, the courtyard was empty most of the time, leaving him in complete silence.

If not for the frequent training sessions and eating at his father's place, Xingzhuo felt he might have gone mad from the isolation.

Just as these thoughts were running through his mind, five or six children chasing each other suddenly burst out from a nearby alley.

Though they were called children, they were actually about the same age as Yunfei, around ten years old.

The moment those children saw Xingzhuo and his companion, they seemed startled.

They all tumbled to the ground, not daring to say a word.

Just as Xingzhuo began to wonder if he had food stains on his face and reached up to check, the lead boy suddenly picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it at his eyes.

Simultaneously, the boy's voice rang out, filled with fear and disgust: "Get lost, you monster with the white eyes!"

Once those words were spoken, it was as if a signal had been given to the other children; they all scrambled to pick up stones from the ground, intending to throw them as well.

In the blink of an eye, Yunfei, who was behind Xingzhuo, stepped forward, preparing to swat the incoming stones away.

However, Xingzhuo gripped his shoulder and gently pushed him aside.

At the same time, he reached out, deftly caught the first stone thrown at him, and threw it right back, striking the boy on the head.

All of this happened within two or three seconds.

Following the first cry of pain, the other children who had thrown stones were not spared either.

After Xingzhuo's rapid-fire retaliation, almost all the children were clutching the bumps forming on their heads, wailing loudly.

The scene before him left Hyuga Yunfei stunned.

Xingzhuo dusted off his hands and said to the children in a rather nasty tone, "Tsk, what a bunch of buzzkill brats. If there is a next time, I won't mind slapping your faces until they swell up to teach you a lesson."

Upon hearing this, a flash of malice crossed the face of the child who had started it.

He suddenly grabbed a brick from the side, scrambled to his feet, and charged at Xingzhuo, swinging it wildly.

"Die, you monster!"