Analyzing the Transformation Technique

"Young master, weren't you going to make soup?"

The girl stood before the stove and looked back at him in confusion.

Hyuga Wuye stared speechlessly at the fish swimming around in the pot. "Are you trying to boil fish in warm water?"

"Th-then, how should I do it?" the girl asked awkwardly.

Hyuga Wuye's expression remained blank. "Kill the fish, scale it, gut it, then put it in the pot. You don't know any of that?"

The girl lowered her head in shame and said nothing.

"Go wipe the floor."

Hyuga Wuye did not make things difficult for her. He rolled up his sleeves and waved a hand.

"Yes."

The girl answered and stepped aside. When she reached the kitchen door, she subconsciously glanced back.

She saw the young man standing at the stove, scooping out the fish and smacking it with the back of a knife. Then he scaled and gutted it in one smooth motion, leaving the girl starry-eyed.

"So amazing..." she could not help saying.

Hyuga Wuye turned back, expressionless. "Why aren't you wiping the floor yet?"

"Oh, oh, I'm going."

The girl hurriedly ran out again, her footsteps pattering away.

Hyuga Wuye smiled at her retreating back, then turned around and took out a wooden basket to rinse rice and cook.

When he finished and returned to the living room, he did not see the classic sight of a kimono-clad girl sticking out her butt as she pushed a rag across the floor.

What a pity...

"How did you turn the living room into a pond?" he asked, leaning against the door with a headache.

The girl stood shamefully amid the puddles. "Th-the bucket spilled..."

Hyuga Wuye sighed with his hands on his hips. He could only fetch a dry rag, kneel on the floor, and wipe it little by little.

Whenever it got wet, he wrung it out over the bucket and kept wiping.

Seeing this, the girl hurriedly copied him, wringing out a rag and kneeling down to help.

"Ah!"

But with her butt raised and the floor slippery beneath her hands, she lost her balance and crashed toward Hyuga Wuye.

Hyuga Wuye, who had been focused on wiping up water, did not expect it at all. Their heads immediately collided intimately.

"Ugh..."

With a bang, his entire head buzzed.

Sure enough, all that falling down and landing lips-to-lips nonsense was just something novels made up to fool people... anyone who believed it was an idiot!

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

The girl ignored her reddened forehead and apologized again and again.

"Stop making things worse." Hyuga Wuye covered his forehead and pointed toward the kitchen. "Go turn off the heat, serve the rice, and bring the fish soup to the table."

"Yes!"

Seeing that he was not blaming her, the girl visibly relaxed. She scrambled to her feet and rushed into the kitchen.

"Be careful. Don't burn yourself," Hyuga Wuye suddenly called out.

"Yes."

The girl's voice drifted back from afar.

Hyuga Wuye shook his head and continued wiping the floor.

Fortunately, the girl made no mistakes serving the rice and bowls. By the time she had set the dishes and chopsticks on the table, he had finished drying the floor.

"Add another set of bowls and chopsticks. Serve another portion of rice." Hyuga Wuye glanced at the low table.

Watching the girl run back into the kitchen with her forehead still red, he thought for a moment, then went over to take some ice from the freezer and wrapped it in a towel he found in the bathroom.

"Come here."

Returning to the dining room, he sat down and beckoned to the girl.

"Is there anything else you need, young master?"

The girl came up to him, looking puzzled.

Hyuga Wuye pressed the cold towel to her forehead. "Hold this yourself and apply it for a while."

"Ah, yes, thank you, young master!"

The girl blushed as she held the towel in place.

Hyuga Wuye withdrew his hand and lifted the lid of the clay pot. A rich aroma of fish soup wafted out.

The girl instinctively twitched her little nose.

Hyuga Wuye divided the fish soup between two bowls. "All right, put that down. Eat first."

"Ah, there's some for me too?" the girl asked in surprise.

Hyuga Wuye glanced at her. "I can't exactly abuse child labor."

"Oh."

The girl sat down on her knees, half-understanding, and carefully picked up a spoon to drink the soup.

"Wait."

Hyuga Wuye suddenly grabbed her wrist and sighed. "At least blow on it first. Aren't you afraid of getting burned?"

The girl's face reddened again.

She normally would not make so many blunders, but whenever she faced Wuye, she could never remain calm.

Watching her puff out her cheeks to blow on the soup before taking little sips, Hyuga Wuye could not help looking at her a few more times.

He had never seen this girl act so ladylike before. It was quite novel.

The fish was neither too big nor too small, and there was just enough soup. The two of them quickly finished it all.

"Young master, I'll clean up."

Seeing Hyuga Wuye gathering the bowls and chopsticks, the girl hurriedly stood to help.

"No need." Hyuga Wuye did not even raise his head. "Go home."

"Go home?"

The girl froze. "As your maid, young master, I'm supposed to live with you, aren't I?"

"Go home already." Hyuga Wuye raised his head with a smile. "...Kushina."

"Uh..."

The girl went stiff as though struck by lightning.

"Wh-what Kushina?"

She was still struggling.

Hyuga Wuye set down the bowls and chopsticks, smiling at her. "Kushina, whenever you make a mistake, you always reach up and touch your earlobe. Every time you blush, the lower half of your ears turns red too. And there's much more..."

"Though the Transformation Technique is hard to see through, I know you too well," he said firmly. "You're Kushina. Stop pretending."

Bang!

White smoke rose, and the girl's appearance vanished. Kushina appeared before him with her head lowered.

Detected Uzumaki Kushina using the Transformation Technique. Can be analyzed.

Hyuga Wuye's expression shifted.

Kushina's long hair was still as red as ever, like flames draped down her back, like the blazing heart that would not easily retreat in the face of his rejection.

"Wuye, I know there's a reason you broke up with me." Kushina raised her head, her gaze blazing. "But I don't want to be controlled. I only want to be with you."

Hyuga Wuye looked away, avoiding that fiery gaze that seemed ready to burn him up. "I already told you the reason. I'm just that kind of person—I only enjoy ambiguity and refuse to take responsibility."

"That's not true!"

Kushina suddenly grabbed his wrist, gripping it tightly. "It was the Third Hokage, wasn't it?! He's the one who stopped us from being together!"

Her grip hurt his wrist, but he did not pull away.

In theory, I've already awakened the one-tomoe Sharingan. I should be able to get back together with Kushina, right?

Sharingan, the eye that reflects the heart. Awakened because love could not be attained. If reconciliation occurs now, its ocular power will disappear.

Must wait until the next tomoe appears before this tomoe can stabilize.

Of course. There was no loophole to exploit. Besides, wasn't love supposed to be sweet torment? Anguish, pain, tormenting a little girl... just thinking about it felt unbelievably good...

So good he was almost crying.

Hyuga Wuye slowly let out a breath and gently pried her hand away. "Kushina, I didn't lie to you."

Kushina's hands fell limply to her sides, her gaze fixed on the tips of her shoes. "I... can I make one final request?"

Hyuga Wuye took a deep breath. Without even asking what it was, he said, "All right."

"The day after tomorrow is our day off. Could you..." Kushina clenched her hands. "Could you spend one day with me? Like a real couple?"

Hyuga Wuye rose to his feet. Seeing the emptiness and confusion in her eyes, his heart clenched, and the words slipped out. "No matter how long..."

Kushina suddenly looked up.

But Hyuga Wuye abruptly stopped himself. "I promise you."

Kushina rushed out the door before her tears could fall, leaving behind only her frail voice echoing in the room. "Thank you..."