A Rainy Night: Strong Liquor and Blades

A Rainy Night: Strong Liquor and Blades

Hyuga Yuto held an umbrella as he walked through the cold, rainy night.

The native-born people of the Hidden Rain Village did not like using umbrellas. To them, rain was normal weather, while sunny days were a rare sight that came once in a century. They were used to getting soaked; carrying an umbrella instead seemed overly delicate. After all, their skin was waterproof.

The young man from the branch family was in a good mood. This trip outside the village had brought him considerable gains. Besides acquiring money and establishing a secret base in the Land of Hot Water, he had also made contact with the Akatsuki. With Nagato's help, he had completed Lion Fang Severance and gained the means to survive in the ninja world.

It's time to go back to the village, he thought, heading toward the edge of the Hidden Rain Village.

Splash. His foot stepped into a puddle, and Hyuga Yuto suddenly noticed an unnatural "stickiness" beneath his shoe.

His Byakugan activated instantly. Without even lowering his head, he saw through his own body and spotted what was stuck to the sole of his shoe—a bloody chunk of flesh.

Then, within Hyuga Yuto's expansive field of vision, a man came into view.

It was Takeda Shigen.

He sat in a filthy alley with his back against the wall. Blood and viscera seeped from his body, flowing with the rainwater pooling on the ground and out of the alley until it reached Hyuga Yuto's feet.

The branch family youth hesitated for a moment before entering the alley and stopping in front of Takeda Shigen.

The Byakugan was the finest tool a medical ninja could have. After one glance, Hyuga Yuto sighed.

A green glow gathered in Hyuga Yuto's palm as he applied the Mystical Palm Technique to Takeda Shigen. After a while, Takeda Shigen slowly woke, coughing up a mouthful of blood in misery.

Hyuga Yuto withdrew his hand and said softly,

"Sorry, your internal organs have all been smashed... Even if my master were here, she couldn't save you... You probably have a few minutes left. Since we were neighbors for a month, I can pass on a message for you. Do you have any last words?"

Takeda Shigen opened his mouth, taking several ragged breaths. His voice was hoarse beyond measure.

"No... The person who would have listened to my last words died before I did."

The stimulation from external chakra, along with the final burst of vitality before death, greatly improved Takeda Shigen's mental state. Ignoring the gaping hole in his abdomen, his face looked no different from usual.

"Is that so?" Hyuga Yuto nodded, standing calmly before Takeda Shigen. "I'll watch you leave. Even a ninja would feel sad if no one were by their side before death."

"What a gentle person you are... Yuto." Takeda Shigen murmured, then hesitated. "On the next street over, there's a tavern with a gourd hanging over the door. Could you get me a flask? Please be quick. I'm afraid I..."

"Wait for me."

Hyuga Yuto left with the Body Flicker Technique and returned shortly afterward.

He crouched down, lifted the flask, and slowly poured its contents into Takeda Shigen's mouth.

"Cough, cough..." Takeda Shigen coughed violently a few times, then inhaled contentedly. "Good liquor. On a rainy night like this, this really is what one ought to drink. My body's warming up."

Hyuga Yuto glanced downward.

The liquor he fed Takeda Shigen only traveled a short distance down his esophagus before immediately flowing back out.

—His body was riddled with holes. The gaping wound in his abdomen had caused his soft internal organs to spill onto the ground, and his spine had been completely severed. Takeda Shigen was alive now only because Hyuga Yuto's chakra was keeping him going.

"That was an impressive method." The branch family youth frowned. "Attacking from behind, tearing open your body... A blade master like you was actually caught in a blind spot?"

"Heh. That man wore a bird-faced mask. I asked his name. He called himself Owl. He should be from your Hidden Leaf Village."

"One of our village's experts came specifically to kill you?"

"Probably cleaning house. Kaoru... was a spy you sent."

Hyuga Yuto clicked his tongue and continued feeding Takeda Shigen liquor.

"Cough, cough... Slower... This liquor is strong... Hm?" Takeda Shigen froze slightly and muttered, "My tongue can't feel anything anymore."

"Because you're about to die."

"Ah..." Takeda Shigen slumped against the wall. Death began to rob him of what little life he had left. After thinking for a moment, he said with difficulty, "Behind me and to the right, about two hundred meters from here, there's a package. There's a lot of money inside. It's yours, payment for keeping this dying man company while he drinks..."

After saying that, his body weakened like an avalanche. In just a few seconds, Takeda Shigen's expression dimmed further, and his voice became increasingly hoarse and faint.

In the end, the only last words Hyuga Yuto heard were broken sighs mixed with the rain.

"Kaoru... I only wanted to take you somewhere nice... But why..."

A damaged shell slipped from the hand of the body, which was gradually growing cold.

In the alley, Hyuga Yuto stared at the man's corpse for a long time without leaving.

Things have become more complicated.

Asano Kaoru was a spy, so close to me. Over the past month, she probably saw everything I did and reported it to someone higher up.

Cleaning house outside the village... This doesn't seem like ordinary ANBU. Such extreme secrecy and cold-blooded methods—could it be Root?

It wouldn't be a good thing to catch the attention of someone like Danzo...

Hyuga Yuto sighed inwardly, knowing that after returning to the village, there would be one more person he needed to guard against.

Shimura Danzo was ruthless and especially fond of plotting in the shadows. In the future, orchestrating the ambush against the three from the Hidden Rain Village and gouging out Shisui Uchiha's Sharingan would both be among his proudest achievements.

Should I chase after that guy called Owl and kill him right now? The thought flashed through Hyuga Yuto's mind.

No. Information about me may already have been reported to Shimura Danzo. This is too risky. And if Owl gets away, I'll become a target for everyone and can only defect immediately. My strength isn't enough yet...

Hyuga Yuto kept thinking. As he did, he found a curtain and covered Takeda Shigen's body with it.

"Takeda Shigen, Asano Kaoru, we may not have been friends, but in some ways, we were alike. Most people are stray dogs who don't even dare bark. Only hopeless fools like us choose to draw our blades against fate..."

His hand suddenly stopped.

Beneath the cold, rainy night, a spark of madness ignited in the heart of the young Hyuga branch family member.

—How can you win if you don't even dare sit at the gambling table?

He shook the flask and drained it in one gulp.

The intense spice and fragrance burst from the tip of his tongue, burning into his stomach and driving away the chill of the rainy night.

His emotions began to boil. Something fiercer than liquor roared within the youth's heart. Chakra surged and churned, nearly becoming a raging tsunami.

"What fine liquor."

Hyuga Yuto grinned and tossed the flask aside.

The next instant, he crashed into the curtain of rain, moving faster and faster. The rain striking his body instantly vaporized, forming a long trail of white steam.

Like a red-hot blade.