Araki immediately nodded in reply. Aside from finding it a little harsh, he had yet to make out what it actually tasted like.
The two then began eating quickly.
Within a few minutes, they had finished everything there.
Having full stomachs left them both in much better spirits.
Araki lowered his head to look at his empty plate, turning something over in his mind. After weighing the pros and cons, he felt he still needed to take the initiative.
"T-Teacher... I-Ibuki... wh-what... happened... to... S-Sora... Hyuga?"
Araki suddenly raised his head and asked.
This was the result of careful consideration.
Aside from the questioning by the Konoha Military Police Force, Ibuki-sensei had not mentioned a word about it.
Araki did not know whether Ibuki-sensei suspected him. Rather than keep speculating, he might as well take the initiative.
Besides, he felt that with a classmate missing and such a huge fuss being made, with the other students all discussing it after school, acting completely indifferent as though nothing had happened would itself be a problematic response.
"Are you curious?" The smile on Ibuki-sensei's face abruptly faded, and he instantly returned to his usual serious self.
"I... I... I'm worried... about him..."
Araki adjusted his wording slightly to put himself in a more proactive position. After all, curiosity sounded more like a spectator watching from the sidelines, while concern put him on Sora Hyuga's side.
"But he was going to hit you that day!" Ibuki-sensei could hardly believe his ears. He had never seen much interaction between Sora Hyuga and Araki, so Araki suddenly expressing concern was rather baffling.
"He... he... we... we're... classmates..."
Araki showed a little urgency, even raising both hands to gesture. He clearly knew what he wanted to say but could not get it out; his ability to express himself was entirely bottlenecked by speaking.
"You don't mind that he bullied you?"
Hearing the word "classmates" struck the softest part of Ibuki-sensei's heart. As a Ninja Academy teacher, he very much hoped his students would form bonds like these.
Araki simply shook his head, looking very firm.
"Araki, you're a good boy!"
Ibuki-sensei took a deep breath, a look of recollection entering his eyes. Remembering what had happened the previous night, he could not calm down for a long time.
Chapter 34: It's just one missing Branch Family member. Is that really worth making such a fuss over?
Ibuki-sensei was filled with emotion. Especially after hearing that even a student Sora Hyuga had bullied, like Araki, was concerned about him, thinking back to yesterday's experience left him with incredibly mixed feelings.
"Sora Hyuga is missing, and his whereabouts are still unknown. As of today, it's been three and a half days. I'm afraid the odds are against him!"
Ibuki-sensei could not help sighing. He knew he should not tell Araki these things, but keeping them bottled up felt awful, and he simply had to get them off his chest.
"Wait here a moment."
Ibuki-sensei suddenly stood and walked toward the counter. He exchanged a few words with the proprietor and returned with a bottle of sake. Judging directly from the scent wafting out, it was quite strong.
"There aren't any classes this afternoon anyway. Once I drop you off at the Medical Team, I can lie down. I've been serious for too long. I need to let loose once in a while. I can't even remember how long it's been since I last drank this."
Ibuki-sensei spoke with a wry smile, opening the bottle as he talked. A strong alcoholic aroma immediately hit their noses; merely smelling it was enough to go to his head.
"Araki, you're underage, so you can't drink this. I suppose I'll just have to enjoy it all myself. I can ramble to you a little, though. Really, I shouldn't be telling you these things, but they aren't exactly secrets, so it's no big deal."
Ibuki-sensei slowly poured out the sake. The strong smell was extremely pungent, leaving him a little tipsy before he had even drunk any. In a bad mood, he was all the more eager to give himself an outlet.
At that moment, Araki's words had already moved him, and he also felt that since Araki had trouble expressing himself, he would not go blabbing even if he heard it.
No matter how tight-lipped someone was, they could not compare to someone whose mouth was itself a sealed bottle.
In Ibuki-sensei's view, even if Araki's mouth could pour out a little something, it was about as good as a sealed bottle, capable of only the most basic expression.
Araki silently watched Ibuki-sensei's actions. He had barely said anything, yet the man was already volunteering to talk. This was unexpected. He had never actually expected Ibuki-sensei to tell him anything; he had only meant to make a token inquiry and test whether Ibuki-sensei suspected him.
He had not expected to get straight to the bottom of Ibuki-sensei's thoughts.
Araki watched Ibuki-sensei raise his cup, grandly preparing to drain the sake in one gulp, only to suddenly follow his instincts and take a timid little sip when it reached his lips.
Almost instantly...
Ibuki-sensei's cheeks reddened at a visible speed.
"Do you know?"
"The fact that Sora Hyuga hasn't been to school for these past three days..."
"The Hyuga Clan actually had no idea!"
"They only found out after I visited yesterday. A prestigious clan of Konoha, and they don't care whether their own clansmen live or die!"
"Not until I found the Hyuga Clan's head..."
"He was training with his son Hiashi at the time, and he was in a terrible mood because I interrupted him. After hearing me finish explaining what had happened to Sora Hyuga, he actually had no reaction at all."
"Do you know what he said to me?"
Ibuki-sensei immediately opened the floodgates and began talking about the previous night, though he still deliberately kept his voice low enough that the people around them could not hear.
"No."
Araki simply shook his head. He did not stammer this time, mainly because it was so few words, and because Ibuki-sensei was clearly the sort who could barely handle a single sip...
"He said, 'It's just one missing Branch Family member. Is that really worth making such a fuss over?' Then he went right back to training with his son. Even that son didn't care in the slightest. They were so indifferent, as though he wasn't one of their clansmen!"
After saying this, Ibuki-sensei took another hefty swig. He truly could not understand it. After all his years teaching at the Ninja Academy, Sora Hyuga was the only Hyuga Clan member he had ever dealt with; the rest were trained within the clan.
"Does... Sora Hyuga... have no parents?" Araki suddenly asked.
"No."
Ibuki-sensei shook his head. This was something he knew very well; he had the background information of every student in his class.
"Sora Hyuga's parents died on a mission. Supposedly, they died protecting the clan head. I never imagined the clan head would be so cold!"
The more Ibuki-sensei spoke, the angrier he became. Even venting with the help of alcohol still left him feeling awful.
Though he did not know much about the Hyuga Clan, they were at least a prestigious clan in Konoha, one that even frequently competed with the Uchiha Clan for the title of Konoha's foremost clan.
But...
Was this clan really so indifferent to its own people?
He did not understand!
Nor could he understand!
Araki asked nothing else, merely nodding silently. It was much as he had expected: the boy really had been abandoned.
From his observations over the past three years, he had discovered that aside from Sora Hyuga, there were no other Hyuga Clan members at the Ninja Academy.
At this point in time, the Hyuga Clan still trained its members internally and could issue ninja forehead protectors themselves. They were the only clan in Konoha with this privilege.
To put Sora Hyuga's attendance at the Ninja Academy nicely, it was an attempt by the Hyuga Clan to integrate into Konoha. To put it bluntly, he was a lab rat cast out as an experiment.
He did not have the clan's Gentle Fist.
He did not have an awakened Byakugan.
He could practically be said to have no value whatsoever.
And he was a Branch Family member.
Under these circumstances, it was not incomprehensible that the head of the Main Family did not care. By the Hyuga Clan's way of thinking, it was quite justifiable.
The reason Araki had acted against Sora Hyuga so decisively was precisely that he had recognized him as an unloved Branch Family member. And with the boy so arrogantly intent on exposing him, preserving his quiet life meant better a fellow Daoist die than this poor Daoist.
A wise man did not stand beneath a crumbling wall!
At this stage, Araki only wanted to quietly build his strength. He would not go out of his way to provoke anyone, but if anyone wanted to put him in danger, he would nip that danger in the bud.
Either he did not act at all...
Or once he acted, he would grind their bones to dust and scatter their ashes.
He would absolutely not let himself get dragged into trouble.
Araki had no inclination to deal with so many troublesome matters. What he could do was eliminate the people causing him trouble.
Of course.
Kushina was an exception here.
Kushina had not deliberately caused him trouble and even wanted to be his friend. There was a fundamental difference.
"Ah..."
Just then, Ibuki-sensei heaved a long sigh, revealing an indescribable helplessness.
"With no other choice, I went to the Konoha Military Police Force. To my surprise, the Uchiha Clan, who outwardly don't get along very well with the Hyuga Clan, actually took this very seriously and immediately began investigating."
Ibuki-sensei drank as he spoke, no longer able to make sense of the situation.
In his original thinking...
He had assumed the Uchiha Clan would be unwilling to help, which was why he had approached the Hyuga Clan first.
Yet the outcome had been the complete opposite.
Even now, he still could not understand why.
Chapter 35: Want to let big sister take a look?
Araki silently listened to Ibuki-sensei's complaints, no longer having any worries about the matter.
Even the Hyuga Clan did not care about Sora Hyuga.
This matter would gradually blow over.
If they failed to find any clues about Sora Hyuga for some time, it would probably be left unresolved.
As for why the Uchiha Clan cared...
Araki could not come up with a specific explanation for now, nor did he have much inclination to think about such messy affairs. As long as it ultimately had nothing to do with him, he did not care how the factions within Konoha fought.
Some more time passed.
Ibuki-sensei vented about many things that displeased him, finishing the entire bottle of sake along the way. His whole face was as red as a large tomato, and his upright frame looked limp and weak.
"It's about time. Araki, let's go."
Ibuki-sensei slowly rose to his feet. His voice had already taken on a drunken cadence, its rises and falls altered, his words drawn out.