Faster Than a Rabbit

"You... what exactly are you trying to do?" Uzuki Yugao instinctively took half a step back.

After witnessing Qin Yu kill seven Anbu in an instant,

she would rather face those Anbu than hear him make such a lewd remark.

Being molested was better than being killed.

"I'm sure you already know, even if I don't say it." Qin Yu smiled playfully and looked at Gekko Hayate.

"I'll give you two a chance to live."

"You're willing to let us go?" Gekko Hayate's face lit up, and he hurriedly said, "My father is Gekko Kuro Yoru. If you let us go, I'll make sure you're generously rewarded afterward."

As he spoke, Gekko Hayate was already thinking of taking Uzuki Yugao and leaving.

"You seem to have misunderstood. I mean only one of you can leave alive." Qin Yu suddenly spoke.

Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao both froze.

Wasn't he making them fight to the death?

"Don't worry. You only have to decide who stays and who goes. I'll be the one to do the killing, of course." Qin Yu grinned maliciously.

"If you think you can take on seven Anbu, then go ahead and get yourselves killed."

His quiet voice echoed through the forest, adding an inexplicable weight to the tense atmosphere.

Uzuki Yugao couldn't help looking at Gekko Hayate.

What she saw left her stunned.

"Yugao, wait here. The outpost is only a few thousand meters away. I'm faster than you, so I'll definitely bring back reinforcements."

With that, Gekko Hayate turned and bolted.

He ran so fast, he looked like he was squeezing every last bit of strength out of himself.

After a few leaps, he plunged into the forest and disappeared.

"Tell me, do people only unleash their full potential when they're in dire straits?" Qin Yu asked with a smile.

Uzuki Yugao's face turned slightly pale. She pulled a Kunai from her ninja tools and thrust it toward her own throat.

Clang!

Qin Yu flicked a Shuriken backhandedly, knocking the Kunai from Uzuki Yugao's hand in an instant.

Uzuki Yugao's expression changed. She cried out, "Didn't you say only one of us could live? Can't I just do it myself?"

"Of course you can." Qin Yu answered seriously, "But I was only trying to scare you two."

"I didn't expect that guy to run faster than a rabbit."

"Come on. Otherwise, Uncle Uzuki will worry about you."

Leaving those words behind, Qin Yu turned and headed back to the outpost.

Uzuki Yugao was stunned. She had already been prepared to kill herself.

She never expected things to turn out this way.

Watching Qin Yu's retreating figure and recalling Gekko Hayate's desperate flight, she wore a trace of self-mockery.

"Help! Uncle Uzuki, hurry and save Yugao!" Gekko Hayate was spotted by the sentries before he even reached the outpost.

The sensor ninja had also detected Qin Yu's fight earlier.

So Uzuki Cangwu and Inubou had already led people out to meet them.

"Hayate, what are you doing here?" Uzuki Cangwu's expression changed. "What were you saying just now? What happened to Yugao?"

"Uncle Uzuki, something terrible happened!" Gekko Hayate hurriedly explained. "Yugao and I were ordered to bring Senior Minato's Flying Thunder God Kunai so he could pinpoint his spatial jumps precisely."

"But a few thousand meters from here, Yugao and I were ambushed by the Root Division. At the critical moment, a boy wreathed in arcs of lightning appeared and killed the Root Division members."

"But he lusted after Yugao's beauty and said only one of us could leave. I'm faster than Yugao, so I came to get help."

Everyone exchanged bewildered looks as they watched Gekko Hayate's frantic, anxious face.

"You little bastard!" Uzuki Cangwu swung his hand.

Smack!

A sharp slap rang out.

Gekko Hayate froze and clutched his cheek. "Uncle Uzuki, why... why did you hit me? Hurry and save Yugao! If we go now, there might still be time."

"To hell with you!" Uzuki Cangwu almost kicked him.

"He said one of you could live, and you fucking ran off first."

"If Yugao hadn't run into Qin Yu this time and something had happened to her, I'd have crippled you myself."

"I don't care if your father is Gekko Kuro Yoru."

In Uzuki Cangwu's eyes, Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao had grown up together.

Besides, Gekko Kuro Yoru had taught Uzuki Yugao Konoha Style Swordsmanship.

So he had always quite liked Gekko Hayate.

If things had gone on like that a little longer, Uzuki Cangwu might have let their relationship develop.

But now, when faced with a life-or-death choice, Hayate had run faster than a rabbit.

Uzuki Cangwu felt like he'd been blind.

"Uncle Uzuki... what... what are you saying? Yugao is still in that madman's hands..." Gekko Hayate's expression stiffened.

"Hey, were you looking for me?"

"I was out for a walk when I came across two reckless kids, so I rescued them."

A familiar voice drifted over.

Gekko Hayate froze and hurriedly looked toward it.

The face that came into view was unmistakably that of a man who killed without blinking.

Even more astonishingly, Uzuki Yugao was walking over with a frosty expression.

"You... how are you all right?" Gekko Hayate couldn't help asking as he looked at Uzuki Yugao.

"You're an interesting guy. You ran faster than a rabbit just now, and now you're asking whether I did that thing to Yugao?" Qin Yu said with a smile.

"I'm still young. I don't know what that thing is."

"You!" Gekko Hayate was so angry he could barely speak. He could still vividly remember Qin Feng's lecherous expression from earlier.

"Yugao, let me explain!" Gekko Hayate hurried forward.

Smack!

A sharp slap rang out.

"There doesn't seem to be anything between us that needs explaining, Classmate Hayate," Uzuki Yugao said icily.

"Dad, I'm here to report the mission."

"Mm. We'll talk inside." Uzuki Cangwu gave Gekko Hayate a cold look. "Girl, you need to learn to judge people better from now on."

"Some people won't show their true colors until the crucial moment. Once you choose wrong, there's no going back."

Uzuki Yugao turned and walked away without the slightest hesitation. Gekko Hayate's face turned ashen.

"Your name is Qin Yu, right? I want to..." Gekko Hayate clutched his still-stinging cheek and shouted.

"You want to fight me? Bring it on. I haven't killed enough yet." Qin Yu grinned wickedly.

"A duel! A duel!"

"Qin Yu, go ahead and accept. We can start a betting pool."

"Though your odds are pretty low..."

Watching the crowd erupt into commotion, Gekko Hayate's face flushed red. Remembering the seven Root Division shinobi who had been killed in an instant, he completely lost his nerve.

"I'm leaving. I'll go report the mission now." Gekko Hayate turned and promptly left.

This set everyone laughing uproariously again.

"Qin Yu, did you really learn Lightning Release Chakra Mode?" Inubou suddenly asked.