Are You Acting Cute? (Seeking New Book Collections and Recommendations)

"When was this mark left? Was it when he patted my back on the battlefield in the Land of Whirlpools? That bastard!"

Hyuga Aya trembled with rage, her knuckles turning white as she clenched her fists.

Connecting the activation requirements of the Flying Thunder God Kunai to the location of this mark...

"Doesn't that mean this guy can... at any time?"

"When did you... leave a technique formula on me?"

Hyuga Aya's voice was laced with suppressed fury and extreme embarrassment; she could no longer maintain her usual icy composure.

"Ahem, well, the situation was urgent back then. I had to leave a backup, just in case..."

Yusuke watched her face flush a sudden, deep red and saw the mix of shame and anger in her eyes. He rubbed his nose and looked away, feeling rather awkward.

Good thing I didn't place it on her backside, Yusuke thought irrelevantly. Otherwise, Hyuga Aya would be unleashing a Gentle Fist barrage on him right now, pounding his chest into a pulp.

Hyuga Aya took a deep breath, her pure white eyes locked onto him: "Now, immediately, erase this mark."

Yusuke nodded, stepped forward, and reached out. Chakra gathered at his fingertips as he prepared to dispel the Flying Thunder God technique.

However, after channeling his chakra for a moment, his movements stalled.

Yusuke tried a few more times, his brow furrowing.

"What is it?" Hyuga Aya sensed that something was wrong.

"It's a bit troublesome."

"Your Caged Bird curse seal seems to have identified this mark as an invasive chakra, but for some reason, the two have reached a strange equilibrium."

"Forcing it off might trigger a defensive reaction from the curse seal."

Yusuke withdrew his hand, his expression turning grave.

Hyuga Aya's body stiffened. The Caged Bird was a shackle carved into her very soul; any accident involving it could lead to her total ruin.

Seeing the sudden change in her complexion, Yusuke softened his tone.

"To be safe, it's best to wait for Tsunade to return, or consult Lady Mito before we handle this."

"Don't worry, I will definitely help you with this matter," Yusuke promised solemnly. After all, he was the one who caused the trouble.

Hyuga Aya bit her lower lip, remaining silent for a few seconds.

"Fine, we'll put the mark aside for now."

"But as compensation, you must take me with you on this trip to the Land of Whirlpools."

She changed the subject, issuing a request to team up once again.

Yusuke was stunned and immediately refused: "No. If I travel alone using the Flying Thunder God, I'll be faster and a smaller target."

"Taking me will be more efficient."

"My Byakugan can see through traps and disguises, allowing us to avoid risks."

"It's better to have two people looking out for each other than for you to take risks alone."

She paused, as if having made a difficult decision. Her voice lowered, carrying a hint of uncharacteristic awkwardness: "You... didn't you say I count as your ally?"

Yusuke scratched his head: "Are you acting spoiled?"

Hyuga Aya activated her Byakugan in a rage, glaring at him. Yusuke couldn't help but gulp; the pressure was immense.

He had always been a man who yielded to soft tactics rather than hard ones. If the cold Hyuga Aya had stayed icy, he would have shut her down with a single sentence.

But he was in the wrong this time, and the atmosphere was truly subtle.

He sighed: "Having said that, the Byakugan is indeed useful, but you must follow my lead in all actions."

Hyuga Aya let out an "hmph," returning to her icy persona, though two faint blushes still lingered on her cheeks.

"The Flying Thunder God requires physical contact to transport others," Yusuke said, stepping forward and wrapping his arm around Hyuga Aya's slender yet resilient waist.

The moment his palm made contact, he could clearly feel her entire body tense up.

But she didn't push him away. She merely turned her head slightly, her ears turning red, and gave a forced, calm "Oh."

Yusuke said no more, focusing his mind to sense the coordinates of the Flying Thunder God Kunai he had left along the way.

"Let's go."

Hum—!

A spatial ripple swept past, and the two figures vanished from the room in an instant.

The spatial vertigo from multiple consecutive teleports left Hyuga Aya feeling somewhat unwell, but she gritted her teeth and didn't make a sound.

Yusuke could feel her hand gripping his sleeve tightly.

Finally, when the surroundings stabilized, they were standing atop a scorched ruin.

Moonlight spilled down, illuminating the outlines of broken walls and debris, and the familiar smell of charred earth hung in the air.

Hyuga Aya immediately pulled away from Yusuke's embrace, stepped back, and pretended to be on guard as she scanned their surroundings.

She took several deep breaths of the frigid air, finally suppressing the flush and discomfort on her face.

Hyuga Aya swiftly activated her Byakugan, her three-hundred-and-fifty-nine-degree field of vision sweeping over the surroundings.

"Safe. There are no chakra signatures nearby."

Yusuke also deployed his sensory ninjutsu to confirm, then nodded.

"Is the key reacting?" Hyuga Aya asked.

Yusuke took the key from his ninja tool pouch; its surface was emitting a faint chakra glow, pointing in a specific direction.

"It's over there." Yusuke pointed toward a certain direction.

The two of them did not delay any longer, moving rapidly through the ruins.

With Hyuga Aya's Byakugan guiding the way, they avoided several remaining explosive tag traps.

Eventually, the key's guidance led them to the site of a half-collapsed shrine.

The entrance here was blocked by giant boulders, looking no different from the other ruins.

"It should be beneath this."

"There is a hollow space underground; the entrance has been cleverly concealed by genjutsu and Earth Style."

Hyuga Aya's Byakugan pierced through the rock, and after observing what lay below, she spoke.

Yusuke stepped forward and pressed the complete key against a seemingly ordinary stone wall.

Hum—!

The patterns on the key lit up, and the stone wall rippled like water, revealing a narrow downward passage.

The two exchanged a glance. Yusuke entered first, with Hyuga Aya following closely behind, her Byakugan remaining on high alert.

The passage extended downward, ending at a heavy stone door.

The door was inscribed with complex spiral-shaped sealing formulas, with a key-shaped void in the center.

Yusuke embedded the key into the center of the stone door.

Click.

The sealing formulas shimmered with flowing light before slowly fading, and the stone door slid open silently.

The interior of the vault was not large; a few kunai, shuriken, and explosive tags were scattered in the corners, though not many in number.

Clearly, they had been depleted after the ravages of war.

In the center of the vault stood an ancient stone pedestal.

Resting quietly on the pedestal was a massive scroll, crafted from a special material with an obscure luster flowing across its surface.

"This is it." Yusuke's eyes brightened.

"Wait." "The surface of the pedestal is covered in a layer of transparent sealing formulas. It is extremely precise and integrated with the vault's entire defensive system."

"Forcing a touch might trigger a counterattack."

Hyuga Aya kept her Byakugan fixed on the pedestal.

Yusuke sensed carefully and, sure enough, detected a subtle yet powerful chakra fluctuation permeating the area around the pedestal.

He couldn't help but praise her silently; bringing Hyuga Aya along was indeed the right choice. The Byakugan was immensely useful in situations like this.

He observed the pedestal and the scroll closely, discovering a recessed mark at the front of the pedestal, the shape of which matched the key in his hand perfectly.

"It seems the final lock is here."