Very Cute, But... He's a Man!

"Heh..." Yuki Haku covered his mouth and chuckled softly. He felt that the sleeping Aogetsu Hyuga was nowhere near as dangerous as he had been last time. The Aogetsu Hyuga from their previous encounter had made him feel as if he stood high above everything, looking down on all things and treating everyone as a plaything...

Arrogant, conceited, willful, vicious, fond of treating his enemies as toys, and so powerful that he inspired despair—this was Yuki Haku's first impression of Cangyue.

Yuki Haku recalled the scene of his battle with Cangyue. A flush surfaced on his fair, delicate face, and a flash of embarrassment and anger crossed his eyes.

Thousand Years of Death!

He still remembered it clearly. That move was called Thousand Years of Death!

Disaster Ninja?

Wrong!

Pervert Ninja!

Yuki Haku raised his hand and reached toward Cangyue's neck. If he could deal with Cangyue here, Zabuza would be very happy, right?

Moreover, there would be no need to go meet Team 7 three days later. The Sealing on his body would disappear, and Zabuza would also receive a large sum of money.

Yuki Haku saw the three members of Team 7 training hard in the distance. The hand reaching toward Cangyue's neck stopped. He bit his lip and hesitated, but in the end, his heart softened.

In the eyes of the children from Team 7, Cangyue was a very important person, right?

Yuki Haku picked up the blanket and covered Aogetsu Hyuga with it.

"That was a wise decision. You were only one step away from death just now." Aogetsu Hyuga slowly opened his eyes and looked calmly at Yuki Haku.

He had been pretending to sleep just now, wanting to see what Haku would decide.

The moment the little cross-dresser entered his range, he had already awakened from his sleep.

More precisely, he had used the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to cover the entire mountain with electromagnetic waves, then sensed someone entering the electromagnetic field.

"The weather has been rather cool lately. Be careful not to catch a cold when sleeping outside." Yuki Haku smiled faintly, his smile dignified yet adorable.

"Dignified and virtuous." Aogetsu Hyuga glanced at the blanket and teased, "You really are a good gir... man."

"By the way, is your butt all right?" Aogetsu Hyuga looked at Yuki Haku.

"You... That vulgar technique!" Yuki Haku instinctively took a step back. Covering his butt wrapped in his kimono, he eyed Aogetsu Hyuga warily. He was truly afraid that Cangyue would use Thousand Years of Death again.

"To be honest, you should give up being a Ninja. Compared with a cold-blooded, heartless Ninja, you're more suited to being a saint in an orphanage." Aogetsu Hyuga sat up and looked indifferently at Yuki Haku. "From your perspective, that was the only chance to deal with an enemy just now, but you abandoned it because you were softhearted and naive."

"Softheartedness is the beginning of error. It will doom you to failure."

Aogetsu Hyuga had never once been softhearted. In the past, whenever he encountered beautiful female enemies with fair skin, he could casually deal with them while treating them as toys.

An enemy was an enemy. Whether there was a grudge or not, they were beings that had to be eliminated.

Many Ninjas had no grudges at all. They merely stood on opposing sides. Once they stood on opposing sides, they had to fight with their lives on the line. That was what it meant to be a Ninja.

But the little cross-dresser's heart was too soft.

Yuki Haku chuckled. "You're quite interesting, Mister Pervert. I can't believe you're lecturing an enemy."

It was his first time being lectured by an enemy, and the feeling was more than a little strange.

Softhearted?

Then let him be softhearted.

"An enemy?" Aogetsu Hyuga said seriously. "By my standards, only someone with strength equal to mine can be called an enemy. With your pitiful strength, it's difficult for me to regard you as one."

Yuki Haku tilted his head and asked curiously, "Then what am I?"

Aogetsu Hyuga raised one finger and smiled faintly. "A plaything. A tool for completing a mission."

Merely a plaything.

Nothing more than a tool for completing a mission.

He had never taken Yuki Haku seriously.

Yuki Haku was speechless. "You really are a pervert, Mister Pervert. I actually wish you would regard me as your enemy."

A plaything?

He now wished that Cangyue would regard him as an enemy instead.

Mister Cangyue truly was just like the rumors said. He liked to use domineering, overwhelming strength to toy with his enemies as he killed them, and had a nasty personality.

He was too much.

"Do you have someone important to you? Someone you love and would protect no matter the cost?" Yuki Haku tucked his hair behind his ear. With a faint smile, he recalled the scene of his first meeting with Zabuza.

In his eyes, Zabuza was more important than his own life.

To protect someone important, he was willing to become a tool without emotions or even thoughts. As long as he could remain by Zabuza's side, everything was worthwhile.

Yuki Haku smiled warmly. "I do have someone important to me. I'm willing to give everything for him."

Aogetsu Hyuga replied in a very casual tone, "Including your butt, little gay boy?"

"What's wrong with my butt?" Yuki Haku froze slightly. After understanding, his face flushed bright red, and he glared angrily at Cangyue. "Pervert!"

"Everything?" Aogetsu Hyuga said. "You'll be killed by me."

"When people are protecting someone important to them, they become extraordinarily strong." The corners of Yuki Haku's lips lifted slightly, revealing a happy smile. "On a snowy day, he became my only salvation and my only home."

"Even if he treats me as a tool, I'll still be happy. Even if I die, it will be worth it."

Chapter 49: Very Cute, But... He's a Man!

After Yuki Haku awakened his Kekkei Genkai, everyone around him regarded him as a monster. They all feared and hated him. Even his parents wanted to burn him to death.

Yuki Haku had been desperate at the time. When he was at his most helpless, Zabuza appeared and said that his ability was very valuable.

He knew Zabuza was using him, but even if he was treated as a tool, Zabuza was still his only salvation and the meaning of his existence!

"Love is the most twisted curse. You're beyond saving." The corners of Aogetsu Hyuga's mouth lifted slightly, forming a mocking smile.

Utterly foolish.

The moment someone became willing to die for another person, they were already beyond saving.

Choosing death was the most foolish action. Staying alive was the wise decision.

This little cross-dresser was willing to die for the person he revered most, willingly becoming a tool without emotions.

That was already a twisted curse.

But the little cross-dresser's resolve was firm, and that was still worthy of respect.

"A curse? My Kekkei Genkai is more like a curse." A bitter smile appeared at the corners of Yuki Haku's mouth. "If I hadn't awakened my Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, why would my parents have hated me? Why would others have regarded me as a monster?"

"Is that so? Perhaps." Aogetsu Hyuga grumbled inwardly.

Obito Uchiha takes the blame!

The reason Kirigakure had once hunted Kekkei Genkai Ninjas on such a massive scale was that Obito Uchiha had controlled Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, at the time.

Kirigakure had been called the Bloody Mist Village because of Obito Uchiha as well.

Come to think of it,

Behind nearly every disturbance in the Ninja World, there seemed to be a shadow of the Uchiha Clan. Whether it was the Nine-Tails' Rampage or the Bloody Mist Village, the Uchiha Clan really knew how to cause trouble.

Yuki Haku's expression turned serious, and he said firmly, "He is the meaning of my existence and the value of my life. He needs my strength. Working for him, fighting for him, and helping him realize his dream—that is my dream."

When everyone had regarded him as a monster and even his parents had hated him, it was Zabuza Momochi who had reached out with a warm hand during that snowy winter.

He had said that he needed Haku's strength.

Even if Haku was treated as a tool to be used, he was still needed.

When someone who had given up on life in despair was told that he was needed, that feeling was truly wonderful.

Yuki Haku tilted his head, his smile elegant and dignified. "Now, because of him, I've even come to like this power that made me a monster."

"I never once thought about being needed by others. I select my playthings instead. I'll consider your touching speech an epitaph and listen to it for the time being." Aogetsu Hyuga picked up the prepared instant noodles, blew on the scalding noodles, and ate while speaking indistinctly. "Whew... whew... So hot. Yesterday, I was holding a big sister while eating premium meat. Today, I'm sitting in the mountains eating this lousy instant noodles. Life really is unpredictable."

Yuki Haku's situation was similar to Naruto's. Both had been regarded as monsters by those around them since childhood, but after meeting certain people, they each embarked on their own Ninja Way.

Yuki Haku complained, "You spent too much money."

"Mister Cangyue, your students are all Genin, right? Five short days of training won't be enough for them to defeat Zabuza, who is a Jonin." Yuki Haku looked toward the three people training hard in the distance.

He clearly remembered that when Cangyue had fought Zabuza, the three young Ninjas of Team 7 had been unable to move because of fear.

The three members of Team 7 had been completely intimidated by Zabuza's killing intent. Later, when he and Cangyue fought, the three members of Team 7 could only watch weakly from afar.

That alone proved how weak the three members of Team 7 were. At present, they had no way to resist Zabuza, a Jonin.

Even if they trained hard for five days, what meaning would that have?

They were merely sharpening their weapons at the last minute!

When the decisive battle came three days later, Team 7 would undoubtedly lose!

Yuki Haku did not look down on Team 7. On the contrary, he thought they were very talented. But talent was something for the future. No matter how hard the three of them trained now, they could not defeat a Jonin.

Not to mention that they had only five short days to train!

"Don't say that. Five days can accomplish a great deal. Give me five days, and I could even tame that proud woman Mei Terumi into a very docile little dog." Aogetsu Hyuga took a sip of noodle broth, let out a satisfied sigh, and said casually, "Would it really be difficult to power-level Team 7 in just five days?"

"Of course, the first part was a joke. Mei Terumi does have quite an overbearing personality."

Yuki Haku complained, "Pervert Ninja."

What kind of statement was that!

Tame the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi?

She was a genuine Kage Level powerhouse!

Mister Cangyue really dared to say such things!

No matter how outstanding Mister Cangyue was, there was no way he could make the three Genin of Team 7 strong enough to defeat a Jonin in just five days, right?

If people could become stronger in five days, powerful people would be everywhere!

Mister Cangyue must be planning to temper the three members of Team 7 mentally. After they trained hard and were defeated by Zabuza, their will would be stimulated.

"Teacher Cangyue, how do I burst this rub...ber ball..." Naruto Uzumaki carried a rubber ball and ran over to Cangyue, grumbling all the way. Before he could finish complaining, he saw the delicate and beautiful Yuki Haku.

Naruto Uzumaki stared blankly at Yuki Haku. His face flushed slightly, and he muttered instinctively, "So cute. Even cuter than Sakura-chan..."

Oh, my gosh!

There was actually such a cute girl!

His heart was pounding!

"Idiot Naruto, what did you say!" In the distance, Sakura Haruno had ears like a bat. After hearing Naruto Uzumaki's mutter, she angrily rolled up her sleeves and ran over to punch Naruto Uzumaki.

"Bang!" Before Naruto Uzumaki could react, Sakura Haruno sent him flying with one punch. He flew through the air for a long distance before crashing awkwardly into the trunk of a tree, shaking down a large shower of leaves.

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts—!" Naruto Uzumaki rolled around on the ground in pain, tears in the corners of his eyes as he clutched his head. The intense pain felt as if he had been sent flying by a blow from an iron hammer.

Sakura-chan's fist was even more powerful than before!

"Sakura-chan, that's too harsh..." Naruto Uzumaki raised his head and looked pitifully at Sakura Haruno. He had only muttered one sentence, yet Sakura-chan had become so angry that she had hit him with all that force.

"Eh, eh, eh—?" Sakura Haruno stared in bewilderment at Naruto, who had been sent flying so far. Her delicate face flushed awkwardly. She scratched her cheek with one finger and said apologetically, "Sorry, I just... didn't use any force."

She truly had not used any force. She had only intended to hit him casually to vent her anger. She never imagined that she could send Naruto Uzumaki flying so far with one punch.

"You didn't use any force?" A look of panic flashed through Naruto Uzumaki's eyes, and he secretly swallowed.

She was that powerful without using any force?

Was this Sakura-chan's growth after training?

If she used force... Just imagining it was terrifying!

He had better provoke Sakura-chan less in the future.

Yuki Haku covered his mouth and chuckled softly. "Hehe... Your student is quite interesting."

Naruto Uzumaki clutched his head and got to his feet. He quickly ran in front of Aogetsu Hyuga, pointed angrily at Cangyue, and said unhappily, "Damn it, Teacher Cangyue! We're training hard over there while you're chatting with a pretty big sister!"

"You little brat, didn't I teach you to respect your elders and care for the young?" Aogetsu Hyuga looked at Naruto Uzumaki indifferently, then backhanded him and sent him flying.

"Ah—!!!" Naruto Uzumaki spun through the air several times before crashing heavily onto the ground.

"Idiot." Sakura Haruno covered her eyes. She could no longer bear to watch Naruto Uzumaki.

That idiot Naruto kept getting beaten up. Why couldn't he ever learn his lesson?