Are You Pouting?

"When did this mark get put on me? Was it when he patted my back on the battlefield in the Land of Whirlpools? That bastard!"

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

Thinking of the conditions for activating the Flying Thunder God Technique, then considering where the mark was...

Doesn't that mean this guy can... whenever he wants?

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

Hyuga Aya's voice was thick with restrained fury and utter embarrassment. She could no longer maintain her usual cool demeanor.

"Ahem, well, things were urgent at the time. I had to keep a backup plan, just in case..."

Seeing her face suddenly turn bright red and the look of embarrassment and indignation in her eyes, Yusuke rubbed his nose and awkwardly looked away.

Good thing I didn't put it on her butt.

Yusuke thought irrelevantly. Otherwise, Hyuga Aya would be hammering his chest with a barrage of Gentle Fist strikes right now.

Hyuga Aya took a deep breath and stared at him with her pure white eyes. "Right now. Get rid of this mark."

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

However, after channeling chakra for a moment, he suddenly stopped.

Yusuke tried a few more times, his brows furrowing slightly.

"What's wrong?" Hyuga Aya sensed that something was off.

"This is a little tricky."

"Your Caged Bird Cursed Seal seems to have mistaken this formula for foreign, invading chakra. But for some reason, the two have reached a strange balance."

"Forcibly removing it might trigger a reaction from the Cursed Seal."

Yusuke withdrew his hand, his expression grave.

Hyuga Aya's body stiffened. The Caged Bird was a constraint engraved upon her soul; any mishap related to it could spell her doom.

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

"To be safe, we should wait until Tsunade returns, or consult Lady Mito before dealing with it."

"Don't worry. I'll help you with this, I promise." Yusuke spoke earnestly. After all, he was the one who had caused the problem.

Hyuga Aya bit her lower lip and fell silent for a few seconds.

"Fine. We'll put the mark aside for now."

"But as compensation, you have to take me with you to the Land of Whirlpools this time."

She changed the subject and applied to team up with him again.

Yusuke was taken aback, then immediately refused. "No. I can travel quickly with the Flying Thunder God on my own, and I'll be a smaller target."

"We'll be more efficient together."

"My Byakugan can see through traps and disguises and help us avoid danger."

"Two people looking out for each other is better than you taking risks alone."

She paused, seeming to steel herself. Her voice dropped, tinged with an awkwardness that was hard to detect. "You... you said I counted as your ally, didn't you?"

Yusuke scratched his head. "Are you acting cute?"

Hyuga Aya glared at him, activating her Byakugan. Yusuke couldn't help swallowing, feeling immense pressure.

He'd always been one to yield to gentleness, not force. If Hyuga Aya had been her usual icy self, he would've shut her down with a single sentence.

But this time, he was in the wrong, and the atmosphere was undeniably awkward.

He sighed. "Come to think of it, the Byakugan is useful. But you'll follow my orders in the field."

Hyuga Aya murmured, "Mm," and returned to her usual ice-cold expression, though two flushes still colored her cheeks.

"I need to be in physical contact with someone to take them along with the Flying Thunder God." As he spoke, Yusuke stepped closer and put an arm around Hyuga Aya's slender yet resilient waist.

The instant his palm touched her, he could clearly feel her whole body tense.

But she didn't push him away. She only turned her head slightly, her ears reddening as she tried to stay calm. "Oh," she said.

Yusuke said no more and focused on sensing the coordinates of the Flying Thunder God Kunai he had left along the way.

"Let's go."

Buzz—!

Space rippled, and the two of them vanished from the room in an instant.

The dizziness from repeated, rapid teleportation made Hyuga Aya feel uncomfortable, but she gritted her teeth and didn't make a sound.

Yusuke could feel her hand gripping the hem of his clothes tightly.

Finally, when the scenery around them settled, they found themselves standing atop a stretch of scorched-earth ruins.

Moonlight spilled over the outlines of the crumbling walls, and the familiar smell of burning drifted through the air.

Hyuga Aya immediately slipped out of Yusuke's arms and stepped back, pretending to be on guard as she surveyed their surroundings.

She took several deep breaths of the cold air before the blush on her face and her discomfort subsided.

Hyuga Aya quickly activated her Byakugan, sweeping her three hundred and fifty-nine-degree field of vision across the area.

"It's safe. There are no chakra signatures nearby."

Yusuke also used Sensory Ninjutsu to confirm, then nodded.

"Is the key reacting?" Hyuga Aya asked.

Yusuke took the key from his ninja tool pouch. A faint chakra glow emanated from its surface, pointing in a particular direction.

"It's over there." Yusuke pointed toward it.

They didn't waste any time and quickly made their way through the ruins.

With Hyuga Aya's Byakugan guiding them, they avoided several remaining Explosive Tag traps.

At last, the key led them to the ruins of a partially collapsed shrine.

Boulders blocked the entrance, making it look no different from the other ruins.

"It should be underneath here."

"There's a hollow space underground. The entrance is cleverly concealed with illusion and Earth Release."

Hyuga Aya peered through the rock with her Byakugan and spoke after observing what lay beneath.

Yusuke stepped forward and pressed the intact key against an ordinary-looking stone wall.

Buzz—!

The markings on the key lit up. The stone wall rippled like water, revealing a narrow passage leading down.

They exchanged a glance. Yusuke went in first, with Hyuga Aya close behind, her Byakugan on constant alert.

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

Complex, whirlpool-shaped Sealing Jutsu formulas were carved into the door, with a key-shaped gap in the center.

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

Click.

The Sealing Jutsu formulas glowed, then slowly faded, and the stone door slid inward without a sound.

The Treasure Vault wasn't very large. A few Kunai, Shuriken, and Explosive Tags lay scattered in a corner, but there weren't many.

Clearly, the stock had been nearly depleted during the war.

At the center of the Treasure Vault stood a simple stone pedestal.

A huge scroll rested atop it, its material unusual and its surface shimmering with an obscure sheen.

"That's it." Yusuke's eyes lit up.

"Wait." "The pedestal is covered by a transparent Sealing Jutsu formula. It's incredibly intricate and connected to the entire Treasure Vault's defensive system."

"If you touch it by force, it might strike back."

Hyuga Aya kept her Byakugan fixed on the pedestal.

Yusuke carefully sensed the area and indeed detected a subtle yet powerful chakra fluctuation around the pedestal.

He couldn't help admiring the wisdom of bringing Hyuga Aya along. The Byakugan was incredibly useful in a place like this.

He carefully examined the pedestal and the scroll, noticing a recessed impression in front of the pedestal that perfectly matched the key in his hand.

"Looks like the final lock is here."