The moonlight was beautiful!

Sakura noticed Hinata's bright red ears, and immediately understood.

It seemed Hinata really had fallen for him...

But that was hardly surprising. Ye Chuan... really was outstanding.

He was handsome, and his strength was absurd... what girl wouldn't like him?

For no apparent reason, a strange feeling flickered through her own heart as well.

Visiting time was nearly over, and Ye Chuan did not intend to stay long.

"Your injuries still need rest. We won't disturb you any longer," Ye Chuan said goodbye to Yugito Nii.

Before leaving the ward, he suddenly stopped and quietly reminded Sakura beside him:

"Sakura, security here may be tight, but the Akatsuki's targets are Jinchūriki. They probably won't give up so easily."

"You should suggest to Teacher Tsunade that Miss Yugito Nii be moved somewhere more secluded inside the village."

Sakura froze at his words, then her expression grew grave.

Ye Chuan's warning made sense. If the Akatsuki could abduct the Kazekage, they could certainly infiltrate Konoha to seize the Two-Tails!

"Understood! I'll report to Lord Hokage right away!"

Sakura nodded firmly. At the same time, she immediately thought of another target in the village-Naruto!

"Then... what about Naruto...?"

Ye Chuan gave a helpless smile. "Don't worry. He'll be perfectly fine. He's very hard to kill."

In the original story, he hadn't made his grand entrance until the very end of Pain's invasion.

But... this time, there probably wouldn't be any need for him to appear.

The Six Paths of Pain were a perfect opportunity to farm experience!

As for Naruto's role as the savior...

All he could say was sorry. Taking Naruto's achievement of saving Konoha might affect his chances of becoming Hokage later.

Work hard on your own, Prince.

"Let's go, Hinata."

Ye Chuan stopped dwelling on it and called to Hinata, who was still blushing.

The two left the hospital.

Ye Chuan walked ahead, already silently planning how to handle the Konoha Crush.

Leaving the oppressive atmosphere of the hospital and walking along Konoha's streets at dusk, even the air seemed much fresher.

Hinata followed beside Ye Chuan with her head lowered, unconsciously pressing her fingertips together again.

After a moment of silence, she suddenly gathered her courage, raised her head, and asked softly:

"Ye Chuan... a-are you free right now? I... I'd like to treat you to ramen, as... thanks for all the guidance... you've given me."

Ye Chuan paused briefly and looked at the flushed girl beside him.

He did want to relax a little right now and regain some sense of everyday life.

"...Sure." He nodded.

At his agreement, Hinata's eyes instantly lit up, and an incredibly happy smile spread across her face.

The two walked side by side toward Ichiraku Ramen.

The last glow of sunset stretched their shadows as people bustled along the street.

As they passed the entrance to a training ground, they happened to run into Shikamaru Nara.

He was yawning, looking lazy, as though he had just woken up.

Seeing Ye Chuan and Hinata together, Shikamaru raised his eyebrows.

"Yo, Ye Chuan, and Lady Hinata."

"Are you... going on a date? What a rare sight, seeing you out with a girl."

Hinata's face grew even redder, and she hurriedly waved her hands.

Ye Chuan simply ignored his teasing, not even sparing him a glance.

Shikamaru shrugged, muttered, "Still as boring as ever," and went on his way.

They had not gone far before they ran into their Jonin instructor, Kurenai Yuhi.

"Hinata? Ye Chuan?"

Kurenai Yuhi was a little surprised to see them together, then gave a gentle smile.

"Did you just leave the hospital? How is Miss Yugito doing?"

"Yes, she's stable now. Lady Tsunade said she still needs rest," Ye Chuan answered briefly.

"That's good."

Kurenai Yuhi nodded, her gaze moving between them before finally settling on Ye Chuan.

"Ye Chuan, thank you for all your hard work lately."

"But at times like this, it's all the more important not to let your guard down. Understand?"

"I understand, Teacher Kurenai."

After a brief conversation, Kurenai Yuhi left as well.

Farther ahead, in a nearby clearing, Might Guy and his student Rock Lee were doing extremely intense physical training in their green bodysuits.

Seeing Ye Chuan and Hinata pass by, Rock Lee waved from a distance.

Ye Chuan treated the two hot-blooded idiots as though they were invisible and walked past without looking their way.

Hinata could not help letting out a soft laugh at the sight, but her gaze soon returned to the ever-calm, aloof boy beside her.

Their route happened to take them through an area holding a small festival.

It seemed to be a holiday celebrating the village's founding. Lanterns hung overhead, and numerous stalls had been set up, offering goldfish scooping, target shooting, candy apples... the area was filled with a lively, warm festive atmosphere.

"Wow... goldfish scooping!"

Hinata's eyes lit up when she saw one of the stalls, as though she had remembered something.

Ye Chuan stopped, and something stirred in him at this rare sight of the girl beside him.

In his memories, this girl always seemed to live in a state of nervousness, rarely enjoying such relaxed, happy moments.

"Want to try?" he asked.

"Huh? Can I?" Hinata was a little embarrassed.

"Go ahead."

With his permission, Hinata happily ran over to the stall, picked up a paper scoop, and carefully began scooping goldfish.

She clearly had little experience, and several paper scoops soon tore.

Ye Chuan watched from the side. With his eyesight, scooping up every fish in the pool would have been no problem.

But he did not intervene, merely watching Hinata's somewhat clumsy efforts in silence.

Finally, after breaking seven or eight paper scoops, Hinata successfully caught a tiny red goldfish!

Happily cradling the bag holding the goldfish, she ran back to Ye Chuan and showed it to him as though presenting a treasure.

"Look, Ye Chuan! I caught one!" Her smile looked especially bright and lovely in the glow of the festival lanterns.

She looked at Ye Chuan, then at the lively crowd around them and the little goldfish swimming merrily in her hand. Suddenly, her cheeks flushed slightly:

"This... feels like a date."

At her words, Ye Chuan looked at the goldfish in her hand, then at her shy face, but said nothing.

The two continued toward Ichiraku Ramen.

At last, they reached the familiar ramen shop.

They lifted the entrance curtain and were greeted warmly by Uncle Teuchi and Ayame as always.

After finding seats, Ye Chuan habitually scanned the shop while they waited for their ramen.

Come to think of it... ever since I came to this world, I don't seem to have run into Naruto at Ichiraku Ramen.

Could this be some kind of plot-correcting force too? How strange.

Their steaming bowls of ramen soon arrived.

Perhaps caught up in the festival atmosphere, Hinata spoke a little more than usual, quietly sharing some of her insights on training with Ye Chuan and occasionally mentioning matters within her clan.

Ye Chuan mostly listened quietly, occasionally offering a word or two in reply.

Although he still spoke little, the atmosphere was much more relaxed than before.

For him, too, this was a rare moment of relaxation.

By the time they finished their ramen, it was completely dark.

Ye Chuan escorted Hinata to an intersection near the Hyuga Clan Compound.

"All right, head home. Be careful on the way," Ye Chuan said.

"Okay!"

Hinata nodded but did not leave immediately. Instead, she raised her head and looked at Ye Chuan.

Ye Chuan looked up too, meeting her gaze.

Neither spoke. They simply looked at each other in silence.

Just then, the dark clouds parted, and bright moonlight spilled down, gently enveloping them both.

The night sky was beautiful, and the moonlight was soft.

Only after a long while did Hinata look away and speak softly again, her face red:

"Ye Chuan... goodbye."

"Mm, goodbye."

Watching Hinata's retreating figure disappear into the night at a light run, Ye Chuan stood there for a while before turning to leave.

The moonlight tonight truly was beautiful.