Flying Thunder God Kunai

After Hiashi arrived, he immediately told Hinata and Hanabi to hurry home.

The two were very reluctant, but they had no choice but to obey.

Hanabi looked at the unfinished egg fried rice with a look of longing, so Zeyu helplessly packed it up for them.

"That... you stinky red-hair, can I..." Hanabi nibbled on her finger, staring at the jar of Red Iced Tea on the table.

Zeyu flicked Hanabi on the forehead with his finger and said, "Call me brother! What's with the 'stinky red-hair'? Otherwise, I won't bring any for you next time!"

With that, Zeyu handed the Red Iced Tea to Hanabi.

Hanabi hugged the jar, giggling, then hid behind Hinata and made a face, saying, "Hmph, my sister wouldn't be like that."

"Alright, alright, hurry home," Hiashi urged from the doorway, while Xia stepped forward to take the items from their hands.

"Then, Zeyu, we're leaving..." Hinata said, locking eyes with Zeyu, her gaze filled with reluctance.

Just as they were about to leave, Zeyu called out to Hiashi. Everyone looked at Zeyu in surprise.

Zeyu bowed slightly to them and said, "Uncle, starting in a few days, Hinata and I will be heading out for training to prepare for the Chunin Exams in a month. Please grant us your permission!"

After Zeyu finished speaking, he bent his back even further, nearly ninety degrees.

"Zeyu..." Hinata murmured, her hands pressed against her chest, her pupils trembling with emotion.

Upon hearing this, Hiashi closed his eyes, turned around, and sighed. "Get up. I understand."

Zeyu lifted his head and smiled, locking eyes with Hinata; both were overjoyed.

"Hmph, looking at you, it seems you had this planned all along," Hiashi remarked with a side-glance.

He then turned to face Zeyu and said, "Kid, you're not leaving tomorrow, right? Come over for dinner; let's have a chat."

He then turned to leave.

"Eh? Is it for a marriage proposal?" Zeyu tilted his head, puzzled.

"No!" Hiashi suddenly glared and turned back to deny it.

"It's just a chat! Don't you dare prepare anything strange!" Hiashi shouted, pointing a finger at Zeyu as he saw him already reaching for his wallet to count money.

Hinata watched Zeyu from the side, her face flushed, her index fingers poking each other in front of her chest.

Hanabi was already starving, and Xia crouched beside her to feed her the egg fried rice.

"Forget it, let's go. You kid, remember—if you dare not show up, you'll see!" Hiashi said, waving his hand as he walked away.

"Aw, it's not a marriage proposal," Zeyu said with some regret, his head drooping.

At that moment, Hinata, who was walking at the back, looked at the others ahead, suddenly turned around, ran up to Zeyu, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him on the lips. Then, cupping Zeyu's face, she said, "Thank you, Zeyu. I like you the most."

After saying that, Hinata hurried to catch up with the others. Behind them, she looked back one more time at the stunned Zeyu, placed a finger to her lips, and smiled faintly.

Oh my goodness, that was intense! Zeyu thought as he watched Hinata.

Walking in front, Hiashi crossed his arms, glanced behind him, and coughed twice.

Hinata quickly walked properly, her heart pounding, her face bright red.

Hiashi sighed and continued walking forward.

"Father, thank you," Hinata suddenly said from behind.

Hiashi's pupils trembled slightly before he closed his eyes and said, "I heard everything from Neji. You've worked very hard; you did well."

Hinata looked up at Hiashi's back, her pupils dilated and trembling slightly.

"That kid is a good person. Get along well in the future, you hear? Don't bring shame to the Hyuga clan," Hiashi added.

"Yes, Father," Hinata replied, her lips trembling as she choked back tears. She lowered her head, tears streaming down, her hands clutching the hem of her clothes.

Zeyu... it's so good to have met you. Thank you, thank you... Hinata thought, wiping away her tears and breaking into a smile.

The sun was setting, casting a reddish glow over them and stretching their shadows long. Hinata's face was illuminated, shining brightly.

Not long after, Mikoto and Sato returned. Together with Zeyu, they prepared a sumptuous dinner and enjoyed the meal.

"Oh my~ our little Zeyu is all grown up now and can handle things on his own. It's truly wonderful," Mikoto said after taking a sip of wine.

Sato ate his food from the side, watching the two with a smile.

"Auntie, you should drink less," Zeyu advised.

"It's nothing, nothing at all... I'm just happy! We have to drink, hehe," Mikoto said, taking another sip.

Time slipped away until evening.

After dinner, Mikoto was already drunk, so Sato helped her back to her room to rest.

Once Sato and Zeyu finished cleaning up, Sato mentioned he was heading home.

"Why don't you just stay here tonight, Uncle?" Zeyu said to Sato, who was preparing to leave at the door.

"No need, Zeyu. I'm not married to Mikoto yet, so it wouldn't be appropriate to stay over. You two get some rest, I'm off," Sato said before closing the door and leaving.

Zeyu smiled slightly, turning his head to look at Mikoto's room. Auntie has met a good man; that's wonderful.

After washing up, Zeyu lay down on his bed.

Staring at the ceiling, he recalled the events of the day, feeling a mix of laughter and tears. Sigh, day after day, it never gives me a moment's peace, Zeyu thought, turning over to look out the window.

Gazing at the bright full moon outside, his eyes suddenly widened.

Wait, that's not all—there's one more thing! Zeyu thought, gritting his teeth as he scrambled out of bed, hurriedly preparing his ninja tools.

He rummaged through cabinets to find a night-raid outfit and a mask, quickly changing into them.

He leaped onto the windowsill, and after checking that no one was watching, his figure vanished into the moonlight.

Some time before this.

After leaving Zeyu's house, Kakashi had been searching for someone, eventually finding Genma Shiranui, who was heading home, right around dinnertime.

Kakashi managed to keep Genma around by offering to treat him to a meal.

After eating, the two stood on a rooftop.

"What is it? Kakashi, what exactly is going on?" Genma asked.

"Well, nothing special. I just wanted you to help me look at something," Kakashi said, pulling out the kunai he had swiped from Zeyu.

"What's so interesting about a kunai? How boring," Genma said, lifting his leg to leave.

"Well, take a closer look," Kakashi said, grabbing Genma by the shoulder, veins bulging on his hand.

Genma sighed, shifted the senbon in his mouth to the other side, and took the kunai from Kakashi to examine it.

"What's wrong with this kunai? Is there something..." Genma said nonchalantly, but suddenly he noticed the characters on the hilt. His gaze froze, and his mouth hung slightly open.

"Well, that's why I came to you. Try it out—is this effective?" Kakashi asked.

"Ah, let me try," Genma said, losing his casual demeanor and becoming serious.

He closed his eyes, sensing the kunai in his hand. Under Genma's focus, the characters on the blade began to emit a faint glow.

Genma opened his eyes, looking at the sharp kunai in his hand in disbelief, and remained silent for a long time.

"What is it? Can't you use it?" Kakashi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I can. But why? Who is this?" Genma muttered, staring at the kunai.

"Whose kunai is this, Kakashi?" Genma asked, looking at Kakashi with a grave expression.

"Sorry, I can't tell you that right now," Kakashi said, reaching out to take the kunai back.

Genma dodged Kakashi's hand, placed his own on Kakashi's shoulder, and said solemnly, "Kakashi, we were both taught by the Fourth Hokage; we're practically fellow disciples. No one knows better than us what kind of existence the Flying Thunder God Technique is."

Kakashi nodded upon hearing this.

Genma returned the kunai to Kakashi and said, "If the owner of this kunai is an enemy of our Konoha, the consequences are unimaginable, Kakashi."

"Are you sure you want to cover for him?"

As he spoke, Genma bit down hard on his senbon.

Kakashi looked at the kunai in his hand, remembered the Third Hokage's words, and thought of the Zeyu he had come to know over the past few days. He said solemnly, "Yes, I trust him. He is a man of Konoha, and I believe he will never be an enemy to this village."

Genma looked at Kakashi's earnest gaze and smiled. "That's good. I hope you're right."

He then leaned in closer to Kakashi and whispered, "Can you at least reveal who it is? I promise I won't tell anyone."

Kakashi gave him a deadpan look and said, "Today, I treated you to a meal, and then we both went home. Understand?"

"Then... goodbye."

Kakashi finished speaking and immediately strode away, leaping across the rooftops with a few swift bounds.

"Tch, stingy," Genma muttered as he watched Kakashi depart, flicking the senbon in his mouth.

You don't want me to know? We're all from Konoha, what's the big deal? Genma thought, smiling to himself as a spark of curiosity took hold, and he began to follow stealthily.

It's actually true. Rasengan and Flying Thunder God—you've learned them both, Zeyu. What exactly are you still afraid of? Could there be something even more terrifying hidden within Konoha? Kakashi thought, a faint sense of unease creeping into his mind.