Encounter

Chance Encounter

Time always slipped away unnoticed, and Hyuga Yizhe had already been in this ninja world for six years, having barely made it through the time until he was old enough to enter the academy.

He could finally go to school to experience new things and officially begin his career as a ninja.

Yizhe's father, Hyuga Huo Jian, was a member of the Hyuga Branch House. In recent years, the outside world had not been very peaceful, so he was often away on deployment.

His mother, Hyuga Hezi, stayed behind at home to take care of the children.

Whether it was due to the transmigration of his soul or not, Yizhe's spiritual energy in this lifetime far exceeded that of ordinary people, and his family Bloodline Limit had awakened early at the age of three, supported by his powerful spiritual energy.

Not wanting to let her child's talent go to waste, Hezi took on the role of Yizhe's initial ninja instructor alongside her household chores.

Once at school, Yizhe discovered that the lessons taught by several Chunin instructors were about the same as what his mother Hyuga Hezi usually taught him, lacking much new material. This greatly disappointed Yizhe, who had wanted to learn more novel ninjutsu at school.

Of course, he was not entirely without gains, because the school's ninjutsu archives contained many commonly used ninjutsu that students could freely consult.

Since the teachers wouldn't teach them, he quietly memorized the relevant materials and practiced them in private.

Hah—

Taking a bath after every training session is truly a paradise-like enjoyment! Lying in the bath, Yizhe let out a long breath of stale air, feeling the comfort of his entire body's muscles and bones relaxing in the warm water, and could not help but sigh with heartfelt emotion.

Ever since he started ninja academy, his uncle, Hyuga Hizashi, had been entrusted by his father Huo Jian to come and guide him in practicing the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist.

His mother Hyuga Hezi was not a member of the Hyuga clan and naturally knew nothing about the Gentle Fist, so Huo Jian had asked his good friend Hizashi to guide him.

After training every day, Hizashi would bring Yizhe to the large bathhouse to soak together. Over time, Yizhe also picked up the habit of soaking in the hot springs after training.

"Kid, not bad! At such a young age, you already have the wisdom to enjoy things like this!"

Hearing this, Yizhe turned his head and saw that the speaker was a man with shoulder-length white hair and red markings under his eyes, with a white bath towel hanging around his waist.

His entire body exuded a ruffian-like vibe, not looking like a decent person at all.

"Kid, do you want to experience the ultimate enjoyment in the mortal world?" The white-haired man bent down, staring at the boy in the bath with an indescribable smile.

Why was this guy smiling so wretchedly?

Could it be that he had run into someone who swung that way? A wave of intense discomfort welled up in Yizhe's heart.

"Get away from me! Don't come over!" He stood up and took several steps back.

"Hey! Kid, what are you dodging for?" The white-haired man was a bit baffled.

He considered himself not a great beauty of a man, but he wasn't ugly either; surely he wasn't scary!

"I don't like men! Especially sleazy uncles! I like pretty young ladies!" Yizhe put on a straight face and explained righteously.

"What the heck!"

Looking at the boy's disdainful gaze, the white-haired man laughed through his tears as he finally understood what was going on.

"What kind of wild things are you little brats imagining!" With a bitter smile on his face, the white-haired man instantly vanished from where he was.

What? Where did he go?

Such speed! Feeling a pain on top of his head and a blur before his eyes, Yizhe realized that another figure had appeared in front of him, and he had taken a chop to the crown of his head.

Although he himself only had Genin-level strength, relying on the perceptual boost brought by the awakening of the Byakugan, even without activating it, it was impossible for him to be completely unaware when a Chunin-level ninja made a move right in front of him.

According to his estimation, the white-haired man before him possessed at least the formidable strength of an Upper Ninja!

"Kid of the Hyuga family, come here! This Sage will take you to see some beautiful scenery!"

The man who called himself a Sage crooked a finger at Yizhe and walked toward the partition wall in the middle of the bathhouse with a wretched smile.

"Hey—"

"You're damaging the dignity of a Sage like this!" Until then, Yizhe finally understood what this white-haired man was actually trying to do.

He was going to peek into the women's bath!

"Are you coming or not, you little brat!" The white-haired man turned his head and called out once more.

"I'm still a child! Isn't this kind of inappropriate?" Yizhe spread his hands and shrugged, feeling quite helpless about it.

"Really not coming? Today, a great beauty just came into the women's bath next door, oh! If you don't come, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"

Crouching down while searching for a spot to strike, the white-haired man still could not help but coax the boy.

Before long, he seemed to have found a suitable location.

He raised his index finger, and in just the span of a breath, a chakra orb condensed at his fingertip. The orb was only the size of a fingernail and spun endlessly.

Yizhe watched as he used that very finger to gently poke the partition wall.

A small hole, visible to the naked eye, formed instantly.

Although the partition wall was no less than two fingers thick, it was made of unusual wooden materials.

He had heard that it was a special material deliberately used by the bathhouse owner to prevent peeping, and its toughness was sufficient to withstand three Chunin-level attacks and ignore Genin-level destruction.

It seemed this white-haired guy was quite formidable, quietly punching a hole straight through the partition wall!

Yizhe was once again startled by the white-haired man's strength. In his view, to achieve that level required at least the strength of an Elite Upper Ninja.

In his heart, he once again raised his estimate of the white-haired man's strength by another level.

"Hey! White-hair! Is that woman really that pretty? Worth you putting in so much effort and working this hard to peek?" Yizhe was quite curious.

What kind of beauty could she possibly be?

"You little brat, keep your voice down!" The white-haired man turned around, glared fiercely at Yizhe, raised his index finger to make a hush gesture, and added, "When you grow up, you'll understand!"

"With your kind of strength, you're still this shameless! What else is there to be afraid of? Why not just charge right in?" Holding the attitude of watching a good show, Yizhe continually stoked the flames.

"What do you know! That woman is terrifying; if she catches me, she'll beat me to death for sure!" The white-haired man's eyes flickered, as if he were genuinely a bit afraid.

"If she's that scary, you still dare to peek?"

"Well... I'd regret it even more if I didn't look!" The white-haired man gave Yizhe a sidelong glance and lamented.

"You don't happen to like her, do you?"

Yizhe seemed to understand something; there had to be a reason why the white-haired man was so persistently eager to see such a beauty.

"Ha, ha! Don't you really want to come and see Konoha's top beauty?"

The white-haired man laughed heartily and changed the subject, not expecting this little brat to ask such a sharp question.

"Aren't you afraid that after I take a look, that beauty will insist on marrying only me?" Unafraid of exposing the white-haired man, Yizhe continued to bait him into speaking.

He even vaguely anticipated the white-haired man getting caught in the act of peeping, waiting to watch the spectacle.

"Hahahaha—"

The white-haired man clutched his stomach and roared with laughter, laughing until tears streamed down his face.

"Kid, say that again after another ten years!" The white-haired man pointed at Yizhe's lower body, laughing so hard he could barely catch his breath.

"Huh?"

For a moment, Yizhe failed to react, but following the direction of the white-haired man's finger, he glanced down at himself and finally understood what the white-haired man meant.

"Go die!" He casually grabbed a small wooden basin and hurled it over.

"Fine, fine! If you aren't going to look, then forget it, I'll look by myself!" The white-haired man reined in his voice and smile, effortlessly caught the small wooden basin, and set it down gently.

With that, ignoring Yizhe, who was fuming in the bath, he turned around, pressed his head against the partition wall, and cast his gaze into the small hole he had just poked.

"Jiraiya!" Immediately, an infuriated female voice rang out from the women's bath next door.

Along with the roar came a powerful surge of chakra pressure!

"Not good!" The white-haired man cried out in alarm, startled by the sudden roar.

Before he could even find his target, he had been discovered.