Caught in the Undertow

"We're done for. Am I really going to die here?" Remembering everything that had happened since he'd crossed over, Hyuga Gen suddenly felt reluctant to go.

The light grew dimmer and dimmer, and his consciousness gradually grew hazy. In a daze, he seemed to hear everyone calling out anxiously.

But it didn't matter. Nothing could change what was happening. He could only sink deeper into the pool with the current, toward the raging undertow below, where death was all but certain.

The group on the shore stared blankly in the direction where Hyuga Gen had disappeared. Once the water had settled, Might Guy released Uchiha Izumi, whose hand he had been holding.

He had saved the other three, but not Hyuga Gen. It wasn't that he hadn't wanted to; there simply hadn't been time.

Uchiha Izumi was the most devastated of all. She knew that if not for her, Hyuga Gen wouldn't have sunk so quickly. He had shoved her away just moments ago, keeping her from being dragged into the whirlpool, while he plunged into it even faster.

When she tried to swim over and grab Hyuga Gen, Might Guy seized her and pulled her back to shore. She knew he had done the right thing; otherwise, they might both have been swept under.

Thinking of everything she had gone through with Hyuga Gen, and of a future without him, she felt a dull ache in her chest for some reason. It squeezed her so tightly she could barely breathe.

Was this the pain of losing a friend? Uchiha Izumi asked herself, but she couldn't find an answer.

"There must be another outlet for the undertow here. Maybe he'll be lucky and survive. I'll ask everyone to help search the area in a bit," Bu Qianfan said, trying to comfort them.

When no one responded, he fell silent. To be honest, he didn't believe what he'd said either. Being swept into the undertow meant almost certain death; the chance of surviving was vanishingly small.

"Let's go. We still have a mission to finish," Might Guy said gravely. They couldn't stay here forever. There was no point.

With that, the group set off. They still had a short stretch to go. The Uchiha followed along in a daze. Of course, no one noticed that Uchiha Izumi had awakened her Sharingan.

Far away in Konoha, Hyuga Natsu suddenly felt a pang of anxiety. She stood up and looked northwest, murmuring, "Brother Gen." For some reason, she felt that something bad was about to happen, and the feeling made her deeply uneasy.

"Big Sister Natsu, who's Brother Gen?" The little girl beside her blinked her big, bright eyes and asked curiously.

Clearly, she had heard Hyuga Natsu's murmur. Noticing that Hyuga Natsu seemed a little strange, she committed the name Hyuga Gen to memory.

"He's Big Sister Natsu's childhood friend," Hyuga Natsu said with a smile as she crouched down and patted Hanabi Hyuga on the head.

"What's a childhood friend? Can you eat one?" Hanabi Hyuga asked adorably.

Hyuga Natsu only smiled gently and didn't answer. The unease she had been feeling seemed to fade after Hanabi Hyuga asked her that.

Maybe I'm just overthinking it. Brother Gen is so strong. I wonder what he's doing now. Is the Land of Waterfalls really that far away? It's already been half a month, Hyuga Natsu thought.

"Come on, let's go see your sister." With that, she took Hanabi Hyuga to the dojo where Hyuga Hinata was training.

In a dim house in Longyue Town, two people appeared to be talking.

"Have you got everything else ready?" Water Snake asked sharply.

"Lord Water Snake, I've got everything ready. It's just, it's just..." The fat merchant rubbed his hands together and trailed off.

"What is it? Hurry up and say it." Water Snake had little patience left. Time was money. Once he got paid, he planned to leave immediately. This place wasn't safe anymore, so he wanted to find somewhere else to enjoy himself.

"It's just that my nephew didn't die, so..." He didn't need to say any more; Water Snake understood what he meant.

You didn't even complete the mission, and you still expect to get paid? Dream on. That was probably what he wanted to say, but he didn't have the courage.

"So they're all still alive?" Water Snake's mood immediately soured. After using his final two ninjutsu, he'd figured they might not do much to Might Guy, but surely they would at least kill the weakest one, Bu Qianfan. Yet even Bu Qianfan had survived.

It left him feeling utterly dejected. His side had lost three people, while the other side hadn't lost a single one.

Of course, this was because they had incomplete information. They had only been watching Bu Qianfan and hadn't paid much attention to the others. If Water Snake knew that a little Genin with the Byakugan had been dragged into the undertow by his ninjutsu, he might have found a little consolation.

"So what? Think carefully before you answer." Water Snake clamped a hand around the merchant's neck and lifted his two-hundred-pound body into the air, his expression menacing. He couldn't be bothered to waste any more time.

Only after the merchant's face turned red, then blue, did Water Snake let go. The fat merchant slumped to the floor, gasping for breath after narrowly escaping death.

"Now you understand, right?" Water Snake looked at the merchant with a cold smile, showing him no regard whatsoever.

"I understand, I understand." The merchant broke out in a cold sweat, realizing this was someone he couldn't afford to offend. He deeply regretted his decision. He had practically invited a wolf into his home.

Before long, three boxes were brought in. After checking the goods inside, Water Snake stored them away in a scroll.

"By the way, there's one more thing. You owe me compensation," Water Snake said, his expression inscrutable.

"L-Lord Water Snake, what is it?" the merchant asked timidly. He had nothing left to give the demon standing before him.

"Thanks to your accurate information, all three of my subordinates are dead. So you can join them." As the fat merchant watched in horror, his throat was slit. He fell to the floor, twitched a few times, then lay still, eyes wide open.

Seeing the man sprawled on the ground like a dead pig, Water Snake seemed to feel a little better. His earlier gloom had vanished completely.

It felt great. He loved the feeling of holding someone else's life in his hands. It was truly intoxicating, and it was why he had worked so hard to train.

After looking around and finding a suitable spot, he quickly set it alight. Before long, the whole house was engulfed in flames, crackling as it burned. By then, he had already left, disappearing into the night.

Meanwhile, Guy and the others escorted Bu Qianfan home. They were preparing to rest under Bu Qianfan's arrangements when they noticed a fire in the distance and hurried over.

They helped the villagers fight the fire and stop it from spreading. Might Guy thought the fire seemed suspicious—a little too much of a coincidence.

Remembering the man who had escaped earlier, he had a hunch that the fire might be connected to him. He wondered if they could still find the man, but figured he had probably already fled.

Might Guy silently committed the man to memory. The next time they met, he wouldn't let him escape like he had today.