Aftermath of the Death Forest 2/2

At the village entrance, Shimizu Daisuke and Hayato went their separate ways.

The Hyuga Clan compound lay in the center of Konoha, completely unlike the Uchiha Clan's isolated settlement. But a great clan was still a great clan. The Main Branch's mansion alone occupied half a street, and the entire Hyuga residential area was like a village within the village.

Hayato's home was a two-story wooden house with a courtyard. After his parents died in the Nine-Tails Uprising, the house had been taken over by the clan for management, then returned to Hayato when he was five.

Children in Naruto generally matured early, so it was not strange for a five-year-old to be capable of living independently. Besides, Hayato received two monthly pensions—one from the village and one from the clan—so at the very least, he never had to worry about food or clothes.

Hayato lay in the living room, breathing evenly. Only after it grew dark did he get up, take bread and milk from the refrigerator, and prepare to make do with them for dinner.

Someone knocked on the door.

The courtyard gate was not locked, so Hayato called out, "Come in."

A young man entered, dressed in a kimono and wooden clogs, carrying a tray in his hands.

"Brother, why are you here?"

A faint smile appeared on Hayato's face.

Tokuma Hyuga was Hayato's cousin. His family usually took good care of Hayato.

Tokuma Hyuga set down the tray. Seeing the bread and milk on the table, he frowned. "Mother made some tempura and asked me to bring you some. Is this all you're having for dinner? You're still growing. This won't do."

Hayato picked up a piece of tempura and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing heartily. The batter had been fried just right. After eating several pieces in a row, Hayato sucked his fingers and said, "Auntie's cooking is still amazing. Don't worry. Something happened today, and I just couldn't be bothered to eat out."

Normally, Hayato ate simple meals at restaurants and only occasionally cooked for himself. For a time, he had been obsessed with recreating Chinese cuisine. But when one was alone, no matter how delicious the food was, it could never feel like a family meal.

Tokuma Hyuga asked, "What happened?"

Hayato told him about what had happened in the Death Forest that day.

"If something like that happens again, don't rush in. You're not a ninja yet." Tokuma Hyuga said much the same thing as Shimizu Shunsuke. "The village is preparing to clear out the Death Forest and use it as the venue for next year's Chunin Exams."

That should be classified information, shouldn't it?

"This is the kind of secret everyone knows." Hayato's thoughts were written all over his face, so Tokuma Hyuga smiled and explained. "The ninja who infiltrated today were probably trying to steal intelligence on the Death Forest."

"Ninja from other villages?"

"They were just hired rogue ninja. Other villages must be behind them."

Other ninja villages did such things, and Konoha did the same. Everyone understood it; they were all cut from the same cloth.

"There will definitely be more than one wave of intruders like today's. Stay away from the Death Forest and find somewhere else to train." After thinking for a moment, Tokuma Hyuga said, "There are several open spaces beneath Hokage Rock. You can go take a look."

Tokuma Hyuga belonged to the reconnaissance unit, alongside his teammates Aburame Muta and Lan Hua. He knew Konoha and its surroundings like the back of his hand.

After seeing Tokuma Hyuga off, Hayato sliced the bread and ate it with the remaining tempura.

It was unexpectedly delicious.

Then came another monotonous round of chakra refinement, continuing until the dead of night, when all was silent.

Nothing happened that night, and he slept until dawn.

Hayato spotted a familiar figure from behind on the street.

"Neji."

Hayato quickened his pace and went up to greet him.

Neji Hyuga turned around and replied coolly, "Morning, Hayato. Long time no see."

"Uh, it has been a long time." Though they were in the same class, Hayato had skipped school for several days in a row, so Neji was not wrong.

When they reached the school gate, a girl in a pink qipao and side-fastened top leaned against the entrance. The girl's eyes clearly lit up when she saw Neji.

"Neji," the girl greeted sweetly.

"..." Neji nodded coolly, though his gaze warmed considerably.

Hayato grinned and teased, "I'm here too, you know. Do you only have eyes for Neji? That hurts. What are you doing here, waiting for Neji?"

"N-No..." Her cheeks flushed slightly as she was about to explain.

Just then~~~

A figure appeared at the end of the street, clad in a green jumpsuit, with a bowl cut and thick eyebrows.

"Neji, Hayato, youthfully run with all your might..."

Rock Lee lifted his legs high and pumped his arms as he ran in that bizarre posture. Before he arrived, his voice did, filling a thousand-meter radius with inexplicable embarrassment.

Whenever Rock Lee appeared, scenes like this were simply part of daily life. Embarrassing after embarrassing... Anyway, it was still embarrassing. There was no getting used to it.

Covering her face, she stuffed a notebook into Rock Lee's hands and said, "Study this carefully. It's all important."

"So much? I understand! I'll definitely work hard! Youth will never retreat!" Rock Lee was crushed by the "thick" notebook, then quickly became lively again.

Only then did Hayato remember that the Ninja Academy graduation exam included a written test.

Hayato asked Neji Hyuga, "What about your notes? Let me borrow them."

Neji Hyuga said proudly, "I remember everything after reading it once. What are notes?"

His fists felt a little itchy. What should he do if he wanted to punch someone?

With the graduation exams approaching, the clan children still laughed and chatted while the civilian children were tense and nervous. The atmosphere at school had become subtle.

The mornings were for theory classes, and the afternoons were for practical classes.

He spent the morning mostly asleep. In the bright afternoon sunlight, Hayato remembered the open spaces beneath Hokage Rock that Tokuma Hyuga had mentioned.

"Since I'm free anyway, I might as well take a look." Hayato once again prepared to skip class.

Hokage Building.

Sarutobi Hiruzen wore his red-and-white Hokage robes, puffing on his pipe as his expression darkened.

"What is it?" Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly asked.

An ANBU ninja in a fox mask appeared abruptly. Lowering his head and dropping to one knee, he said, "Hatake Kakashi requests an audience."

Hearing that it was Hatake Kakashi, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression improved somewhat. "Let him in."

Before long, the ANBU ninja led Hatake Kakashi inside.

Hiruzen waved a hand, and the ANBU ninja vanished in a puff of smoke with a bang.

Seeing Hatake Kakashi's travel-worn appearance, Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "You've worked hard. How did the mission go?"

Hatake Kakashi nodded. "I did not fail my mission. It has been completed."

The mission had been to pursue the ninja who infiltrated the Death Forest—one jonin, one chunin, and three genin, dead or alive. The mission had already been completed. Hatake Kakashi took out the mission report; once the Hokage signed and stamped it, he could collect the mission reward.

Sarutobi Hiruzen carefully read through the mission report and said, "Very good. Not one was missed. Hand them over to Ibiki Morino and Yamanaka Inoichi for immediate interrogation."

"Yes!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed. "Until next year's Chunin Exams begin, these infiltrations will not stop. Konoha is short on manpower right now, so you'll have to work harder."

Hatake Kakashi quickly replied, "It's no hardship."

Sarutobi Hiruzen added, "The injured Hasebe Kazuaki is your senior. Visit him when you have the time."

Normally, such matters were private affairs, and Sarutobi Hiruzen should not interfere. However, Hatake Kakashi was a talent he valued, and this was a way to help Kakashi build connections. One day, if Kakashi competed for the position of Hokage or had already taken the seat, those connections would prove their worth.

After Hatake Kakashi left, Sarutobi Hiruzen picked up another mission report. It was for a B-rank rescue mission, completed by a Ninja Academy student from the Hyuga Clan.

Should he stamp it or not?

Please recommend and bookmark the new book. The next chapter will be at 9:00 tomorrow morning. Many thanks!