ANBU

He concisely stated his identity, his voice somewhat muffled through the mask:

"Jonin Shinku has formally submitted a report on the annihilation of Mission Squad Aoi-4511001, which you reported."

"I am here to conduct a routine inquiry into certain details."

Hearing that it was merely a routine inquiry, Hyuga Seisen secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But his mind was already racing, reviewing again and again the story he had told Yuhi Shinku, searching for any remaining flaws.

Seeing Hyuga Seisen's tense face and his inability to speak, the other man softened his tone slightly. "There's no need to be nervous. It's just routine procedure. We need to verify the specific course of events with you."

As though reassured, Hyuga Seisen gradually calmed down and began recounting the events haltingly:

"After school that day, an upperclassman came to find me. He said he wanted me to join them on a mission and promised me a share of the payment..."

"The mission went smoothly, but on the way back, we encountered a rogue ninja..."

Hyuga Seisen clearly explained every detail: how his former self had joined up with the squad, how they had carried out the mission, and how he had ultimately been killed by the rogue ninja.

All of it had truly happened. He had not lied, and it could fully withstand scrutiny.

As for what happened after someone saved him, it had nothing to do with the deaths of the three men. He glossed over it, and the ANBU had no interest in it anyway.

Wildcat listened while rapidly and accurately taking notes.

Based on his experience, Hyuga Seisen's account was logically coherent, and its details matched the results of the previous investigation.

He put away his paper and pen. "Then that concludes this matter. You may leave on your own."

Without waiting for Hyuga Seisen to respond, he vanished without a trace with a Body Flicker Technique.

Hyuga Seisen looked at the spot where he had disappeared and thought to himself, So he really is ANBU. Root wouldn't be this easy to deal with.

Seeing that it was about time, Hyuga Seisen headed for the training ground.

As usual, he went to the field outside the village to train with Might Guy.

After every training session, both his stomach and cells were ravenous. It was the perfect time to go home for dinner and send nutrients throughout his body.

That was far better than training after eating.

Recently, training alongside Might Guy and recovering with senjutsu chakra,

he could feel that his chakra had increased considerably. Compared to how strapped he had been at the beginning, he now had more chakra to work into his tactics.

His taijutsu and hand-to-hand combat had also improved greatly, proving that his approach was correct.

He looked around but did not see Might Guy, so he could only warm up and train by himself first.

Just then, a green whirlwind rushed toward him from behind.

"Yo! Seisen, let's have a youth-burning training session!"

Hyuga Seisen turned around. Sure enough, it was Might Guy.

"Come on! I've been looking for you forever."

"Then let's start with a hundred laps of youthful warm-up running!"

The two of them exerted themselves at once and sprinted forward.

Two hours later.

"Seisen! Let's do another hundred laps of youthful handstand running!"

Hyuga Seisen sprawled limply on the ground, supporting himself with his hands. He was so exhausted that all he could do was wave his hand and gasp for breath.

Seeing this, Might Guy continued his handstand run alone, brimming with enthusiasm.

Hyuga Seisen practically crawled beneath the shade of a tree on all fours, laboriously putting on his goggles.

He focused and refined that precious bit of senjutsu chakra, giving himself a thorough "senjutsu massage."

Only after the fatigue gradually faded did he suddenly spring to his feet.

Out of the corner of his eye, however, he caught sight of a familiar, rotund figure waddling over.

He had actually run into Hyuga Ryosuke again.

"Are you training, looking so full of energy?" Hyuga Ryosuke asked.

"You wouldn't understand." Hyuga Seisen waved him off, too lazy to explain. He instead looked at the dust-covered, bedraggled fat man. "What happened to you? Did you roll around in the mud?"

"Don't even mention it." Hyuga Ryosuke looked utterly dead inside.

"Who knows what my uncle and the others were thinking? They insisted on buying a house in the village center and called me over to be free labor."

"I just helped them haul their renovation debris outside the village to dump it."

"The village center? A house?"

Those two keywords made Hyuga Seisen instinctively look up at the sky. After confirming that no rice-carrying figure was floating overhead, he finally said, "If they have money to buy a house in the center, why not hire someone to renovate it? Why drag you in as forced labor?"

"What money? I heard they borrowed a lot. They'll probably have to tighten their belts for the next ten or twenty years to pay it back."

"They borrowed that much money just to squeeze into the central district?" Hyuga Seisen was thoroughly baffled.

Hyuga Ryosuke looked equally helpless. "They said they wanted to do it all in one go. They're even doing the renovations themselves to save money, so I became ready-made labor."

Hyuga Seisen shook his head and patted his broad shoulder.

"Talk some sense into your uncle. Don't live in that house for too long. Once the debt is mostly paid off in ten or twenty years, sell it as soon as possible."

"How could that happen? He plans to treat that house as a family heirloom and live there for three generations!"

"Then tell your uncle to buy a few more insurance policies."

"That's even less likely. How could they have money left for insurance? Things are already tight enough as it is."

Hyuga Ryosuke clearly did not want to continue this heavy subject. Changing the topic, he said pitifully, "I'm exhausted today. I feel like only Grandma's hot home-cooked food can soothe my wounded heart and tired body..."

"I knew you showing up at this hour meant you were here to mooch a meal."

"We're neighbors. Don't be so stingy."

The two chatted as they walked, and before they knew it, they had reached the village's main street.

The atmosphere around them gradually became strange, far noisier and more chaotic than usual.

Following the unusual sounds, Hyuga Seisen looked over, and his heart sank slightly.

The village streets had somehow filled with ninja returning from the front lines.

They came in groups of three or five. Some struggled forward while supporting one another, while others lay directly on stretchers and were hurried past.

A faint smell of blood hung in the air, along with suppressed gasps for breath.

"...Those Hidden Rock bastards have no rules at all. They launched a sneak attack without a word... cough, cough..."

"They've been getting more and more arrogant lately."

"Hidden Sand Village is getting restless too. They've kept trying to cross the border."

"..."

Watching these battered, disheveled people, Hyuga Seisen felt an even stronger sense of urgency.

These were only exhausted troops being rotated out from tense border posts. Mere border skirmishes had already been this brutal...

The true Third Shinobi World War would likely be far more horrifying than he had imagined.

The original work had only brushed over the horrors of war in a few brief scenes.

But in the real world, every one of those people was a living life.

"Look, that seems to be your dad."

Hyuga Ryosuke pointed at Hyuga Kaze among the crowd.

He was dragging one leg as he moved through the ranks returning from the border.

With his rough, large hands, he repeatedly stopped the passing people, seemingly asking them about something.

"Why is he here?"

Hyuga Seisen's heart tightened. He hurried over, and Hyuga Ryosuke quickly followed.

Once they drew closer, they finally heard Hyuga Kaze's anxious, hopeful voice clearly:

"Excuse me, are Hara Shunpei and Oizumi Ryo among the returning troops?"

He stopped two ninja whose bodies were wrapped in bandages.

"Don't know them. Try asking the group behind us." They shook their heads.

"Alright, thank you... Thank you..."