Konoha's Anbu

Shen Ye furrowed his brow, unsure what was going on.

He had just been getting ready to escape the awkwardness of being caught by Mikoto when this happened.

What's more, the voice sounded familiar. It seemed to belong to the little girl who had screamed at the women's bathhouse that day.

The thought flashed through his mind, and Shen Ye decided to go see what was happening.

He acted at once, breaking into a quick run toward the sound.

From a distance, he spotted two figures in a corner of the woods.

A masked man had backed a little girl into the corner, apparently intending to do something unsavory.

"Damn it! In broad daylight, right under the heavens—doesn't the law mean anything anymore?"

The masked man turned at the sudden shout and saw that it came from a child only a few years old.

"Where'd this brat come from?"

"Damn it. This body's actually being looked down on by this guy. I really do have something in common with Conan."

Shen Ye shook his head helplessly, clasped his hands behind his back, and sighed.

He still didn't know how strong this guy was. If he rushed in, things might end badly.

So Shen Ye decided to keep watching and wait for the right moment to act.

"Judging by your outfit, you're from Konoha's Anbu, right? You're attacking a girl from your own village. Aren't you afraid the Hokage will punish you?"

"Punish me? If I leave both of you dead here, who'll know I did it?"

It looked like the Anbu member was already prepared to act and had no intention of leaving any evidence behind.

But since Shen Ye had stumbled upon this, the only acceptable outcome was for the hero to save the girl. Otherwise, what was the point of reincarnating in this world?

If he weren't so limited in what he could do right now, Shen Ye would have smacked the guy aside without a second thought.

The Anbu member clearly didn't take Shen Ye seriously. He waved a hand, trapping the girl in place with a binding technique, then started to rise.

As the masked man stood up, Shen Ye finally got a clear look at the girl's face.

At its center was a pair of pale white eyes, framed by natural beauty.

"So she's Hinata's mother. No wonder Hinata grew up to be so beautiful."

Shen Ye muttered to himself, but the masked man was already preparing to attack him.

Chakra visibly surged around the man, and the air grew tense.

Hyuga Yuexing, huddled in the corner, stared at Shen Ye.

She recognized him. He was the creep who had spied on everyone bathing from the rooftop that day.

But she couldn't figure out why he had chosen this moment to step in.

"Die, brat!"

The masked man shouted, full of contempt for Shen Ye.

He was just a kid. There was no need to use his full strength; a single shuriken would be enough to take care of him.

Two sharp whistles cut through the air as a pair of shuriken flew toward Shen Ye.

Shen Ye's lips curled slightly. The moment the masked man had stood up, he'd already come up with a plan.

Anyone facing this tiny body would let down their guard, and that gave him the perfect chance to strike back.

"Strength of a Hundred—go!"

Shen Ye clenched his fist, concentrated all his strength into it, and punched hard at the incoming shuriken.

A rumbling boom burst through the air, like a sonic boom exploding beside the masked man's ears.

"I didn't expect you to have some skill. I'll let you two go for now. Next time, you won't be so lucky."

After throwing out a threat, the masked man fled in a flash. Shen Ye snorted and leaped to Hyuga Yuexing's side, pulling her to her feet.

Shen Ye glanced at his fist, admiring how handy Tsunade's natural strength was.

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. But why did you suddenly show up here? If I remember correctly, you were with Mikoto."

Shen Ye awkwardly scratched his head. He absolutely couldn't let Hyuga Yuexing know that he and Mikoto had just fallen out.

Yuexing was still young, but her eyes could see through things. She already had a few suspicions.

"By the way, why did that guy corner you here? From the way he was dressed, he seemed to be a ninja from our village."

Hyuga Yuexing nodded. The man really was from the village, and he held a position of some importance.

"He's a member of the village's Anbu. They're a very secretive organization, and some of its members are extremely greedy."

"Then I think I have a good idea what he was after."

As he spoke, Shen Ye slowly shifted his gaze to Hyuga Yuexing's pale eyes.

Their eyes met. A burning sensation rose in Hyuga Yuexing's mind, and she instinctively looked away.

Shen Ye smiled and shook his head, saying nothing more.

As he studied Hyuga Yuexing from head to toe, memories of her came flooding back. She was a fourteen-year-old kunoichi, and her talent for training was near the bottom of her clan.

Even so, she was still considered one of the best at the Ninja Academy.

"What? Haven't you looked enough yet?"

Shen Ye froze, unsure what Hyuga Yuexing was getting at.

Hyuga Yuexing waved a hand and shook her head.

"I'm just curious. How did you suddenly get so strong? You were such a weak little kid before."

"To be honest, I can only use that one move right now, and even then, only once in a while."

Hyuga Yuexing nodded. In fact, with her Byakugan, she could see Shen Ye's condition clearly, from his chakra reserves to the state of his body's chakra pathways.

"Anyway, I still have to thank you. If you hadn't shown up, that bastard might have gotten what he wanted."

As if she had seen through Shen Ye's thoughts, Hyuga Yuexing suddenly stepped closer to him.

Their eyes met again. This time, Shen Ye was the one who didn't know what to do with himself.

"Why... why did you suddenly come so close?"

"Tell me, were you the one spying from the rooftop that day?"

Hyuga Yuexing fixed her gaze on Shen Ye, her tone leaving no room for denial.

Under her stare, with her standing so close, Shen Ye's face flushed bright red. He never imagined Hyuga Yuexing knew about it too.

For a moment, Shen Ye didn't know what to say.

"You don't have to lie. My eyes are even sharper than Mikoto's. The moment I saw you, I knew it was you!"