The foreign spies made their move

The group ate their boxed lunches under a tree, chatting happily. Before long, it was almost time for class.

After they said their goodbyes, Itō Yuying and his companion returned to the classroom.

Far away in their respective countries, the Kage also received intelligence from the spies they had planted in Konoha.

Holding the report on Itō Yuying, the Raikage said, "This brat is no ordinary kid!"

"Hahaha... haha, interesting. Konoha really does keep producing talent."

Then he told the Anbu before him, "Keep watching him. Kill him if you get the chance. There aren't many people who can make Tobirama Senju suffer even a small setback."

"Yes," the Anbu replied.

The Tsuchikage clicked his tongue as he read the report in his hands. "A promising youngster. He can actually fly too. Heh heh... interesting. Relay my orders: have our spies in Konoha keep a close eye on that child. If possible, try to become his friends. I hear he has quite a knack for researching ninjutsu."

"Find out everything you can about his techniques."

The Anbu kneeling on one knee gave a simple "Yes," then vanished from the Tsuchikage's office.

After receiving the intelligence, the Sand Shadow and the Mizukage gave a few instructions: watch Itō Yuying more closely and kill him if possible.

Over the next few days, spies from the various countries began to act.

Even Might Duy sensed that something was wrong. Whenever he was with Itō Yuying, he felt people around them glancing their way, whether deliberately or otherwise.

"Yuying, have you noticed? The people around us are acting strange."

"Mm-hmm..." Itō Yuying replied. Of course he knew what was going on.

People feared fame just as pigs feared growing fat.

"Sigh..."

"There's nowhere for a handsome guy like me to hide."

The two arrived at the training ground and began their respective training. Two hours later, Uchiha Hanyue came running over. When he reached them, he bent over with both hands braced on his legs and panted, "Sorry I'm late."

"Oh... no problem. We only just got here too."

I might have believed you if I hadn't seen your sweat-soaked clothes, Uchiha Hanyue thought.

After Uchiha Hanyue told his clan's leader and elders that he had befriended Itō Yuying, the older members of his clan showered him with praise. They called him a clever little fellow, told him to keep building his relationship with Itō Yuying, and even promised that the clan would spare no effort in nurturing him, and so on. They heaped all sorts of pep talks and empty promises on Uchiha Hanyue as though they cost nothing.

It left Uchiha Hanyue feeling immensely pleased with himself, as if he had reached the pinnacle of his life. Then he went home humming a little tune.

He had completely forgotten his promise to train with Itō Yuying and the others. By the time he remembered, more than an hour had passed.

In a panic, Uchiha Hanyue rushed to the agreed-upon training ground.

Uchiha Hanyue's thoughts returned to the present. Seeing no sign of anger from Itō Yuying, he relaxed and began training.

While they trained hard, a child with a pair of Byakugan hid behind an enormous tree not far away, gritting his teeth. That damn Uchiha Hanyue actually gets to train with Itō Yuying and the others. Shameless! So much for the proud Uchiha Clan. I think I'll call you Uchiha Bootlicker from now on. Look how practiced and happy you are at licking boots.

"Ptooey! Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. Disgusting, disgusting... disgusting..." Hyuga Yeyang muttered there.

On the training ground, Uchiha Hanyue handed Itō Yuying and Might Duy a bottle of water each. Itō Yuying thanked him. Might Duy flashed his signature big, white teeth too. "Yo... thank you, Hanyue! My youth acknowledges you!" Uchiha Hanyue smiled awkwardly. "Th-thank you for your youth's acknowledgment."

Itō Yuying smiled beside them. The Uchiha were usually aloof, but once they accepted you, they became easy to get along with.

After that exchange, the three began training. Watching the reckless way Itō Yuying and Might Duy trained, Uchiha Hanyue's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets in shock. So this is the person who made the Second Hokage suffer a setback without being able to complain.

So strong!!!

He's already this good, yet he still works so hard. It really pisses me off...

Then he joined them in training too.

In the distance, Hyuga Yeyang trembled all over with anger.

Time passed little by little. As the sun neared the horizon, all three were already too exhausted to get up.

"All... all right. Let's stop here for today. We'll train again tomorrow," Uchiha Hanyue said.

"Okay," the other two replied weakly.

Watching Uchiha Hanyue and Might Duy wobble away, Itō Yuying prepared to head home as well. Then he glanced toward Hyuga Yeyang's hiding place out of the corner of his eye. Is hiding behind trees and peeping a Hyuga Clan tradition?

Sensing Hyuga Yeyang gritting his teeth behind the tree reminded him of that shy girl. Itō Yuying smiled, nodded, and set off down the road home.

At a fork in the woods, Itō Yuying saw an old man lying on the ground, groaning quietly. As Itō Yuying approached, the groans grew louder.

"Oh... won't some kind soul help a poor, lonely man like me up? It hurts... help..." Watching Itō Yuying slowly approach, the old man secretly rejoiced. Come right into my bowl, he silently prayed.

As Itō Yuying drew closer, the old man's smile became increasingly obvious. Then he stretched out a trembling finger and said, "Little boy, s-save me."

"Call me little hero." "Little hero, save me," the old man replied. "Call me handsome boy." "Handsome boy, save me," the old man said again. "Call me little macho man." "Little macho man, save me."

"Hehe... I'm not saving you... hey... I'm just messing with you."

Then he quickly ran off.

The old man's smile gradually vanished. "You little bastard, stop right there! How dare you make a fool of me!" Then he chased after Itō Yuying, and the two raced through the woods.

The old man released his Transformation Technique, revealing a middle-aged man. As the chase continued, the middle-aged man soon caught up with Itō Yuying and knocked him to the ground with a flying kick. Looking at Itō Yuying, the middle-aged ninja laughed. "Go on, kid. Keep running!"

Before Itō Yuying could do anything, the middle-aged ninja restrained him in a flash, slapped a chakra-sealing talisman onto him, then slung him over his shoulder and leaped deeper into the forest.

For a moment, Itō Yuying could not react. Wait, this isn't how the story's supposed to go. I'm the protagonist! I'm the protagonist! Why am I getting tied up? Besides, you're moving way too efficiently. Aren't you supposed to start with some smart remarks and then throw in a few taunts?

The script! Follow the script!

He watched Itō Yuying muttering nonstop.

The middle-aged ninja ignored him and sped up even more. After running for a while, he spotted his companion in the distance. "Shijie, well done," his companion said quietly, nodding at the ninja named Shijie.

Then he added, "Hurry and take that brat away. I'll hold off the Konoha Ninja behind us. If you can't escape in the end, kill him."

"Okay," Shijie replied.

Looking at the somewhat dumbfounded Itō Yuying, Shijie laughed. "Did you think I didn't know there were Konoha Anbu behind us? If I'm not mistaken, Konoha's Anbu discovered me long ago. They just wanted to see what you could do, thinking you could easily handle any problem inside Konoha. Haha, we actually all know that your Anbu took care of the skilled spies and left second-rate ninja like us for you to practice on. Konoha really has gone to great pains to train you. And thank you for not attacking me rashly. Haha, that's why I managed to get my hands on you so easily."

Listening to Shijie's explanation, Itō Yuying began to lose his composure too. The reason he had not shouted or screamed was that he had long since sensed the Anbu's presence, and he also knew his own strength was enough to handle the problem easily. That was why he had teased this ninja for a little fun. Now that Shijie had seen through it all, he still felt panicked inside.