Chapter 36 C36

In the world that revolves around the protagonist, stories outside the official records are glossed over, and even the passage of time seems to be sped up.

But for the supporting characters on the fringes of the story, every injury they suffer, every person they lose, and every day they live counts.

Even Sasuke Uchiha, the protagonist, must have deeply understood this point.

Four years ago, Kana signed an unequal treaty with Hiruzen Sarutobi. Two years ago, she fulfilled her promise and became the youngest unlucky person in the top 30 of the Gold Exchange Bounty Ranking, thus fulfilling her requirement. Obviously, although there are some things in this world that cannot be measured by money, most things can.

She once vowed that "even dogs wouldn't stay in a place like the Dark Division," but she has lived this life, which is worse than a dog's, for six years and will soon be seven. Especially during the two years she was appointed as the deputy head, it was a true tragedy.

So every time she returned from a mission, one thing she would do was to beat up Uchiha Sasuke under the guise of teaching him a lesson—it felt so good.

Some might say Sasuke is innocent; he didn't ask you to take care of him. Kana doesn't care. Uchiha Sasuke is a person with limited civil capacity, and she has given full authorization to act on his behalf.

It was an overwhelming victory, even though Uchiha Sasuke had awakened his Sharingan during a previous mission. Kana showed her full respect for this – evident in her use of one hand instead of just two fingers in this sparring session.

The evening sunset burned especially brightly because of the rain, spreading out a canvas of intricate colors above Konoha. On the still-damp lawn, there was a wicker rocking chair, where Kana lay half-reclined, gently rocking, with a bowl of washed cherry tomatoes on her lap.

Kana looked at the book in her right hand, picked up a piece with her left hand and put it in her mouth, the sweet and sour juice bursting between her lips and teeth.

Sasuke Uchiha finally snapped, "Hey! Wasn't that for me?!"

Kana glanced down and saw that most of the fruit in the wooden basin had disappeared. She popped the one in her hand into her mouth, displaying the demeanor of a 17-year-old adult, and generously handed the basin over, saying, "Here you go, here you go."

"If you don't want it, I'll continue eating."

My hands were suddenly empty.

Someone was sitting on the low stool next to me.

Kana reached out and touched his face, which was so close to hers. Sasuke instinctively stepped back, but forgot that he was sitting on a backless chair and fell flat on his backside.

Sasuke was so angry he turned into a tomato.

Kana raised her hands to show her innocence—she swears she had no intention of teasing the cat. “On my face,” she pointed to her right cheek, “there’s a wound.”

"Get back here." Kana narrowed her eyes, gesturing for him to obediently rest his head on her outstretched hand. "Don't force me to catch you."

The wound was small; it happened when I fell down from a tree while practicing running after sparring with her and was accidentally scratched by a branch.

In fact, Kana always gave him some leeway during sparring sessions out of humanitarian spirit, so that he could crawl to take a shower and eat. He was the one who pushed himself too hard.

Kakashi, as the still relatively new and enthusiastic captain of Team 7, once pointed out that this way of getting along might be too violent, but this is already a milder version after some adjustment.

For the first two months, Sasuke would have a severe stress reaction every time he saw her. When Kana grabbed his left arm and he couldn't break free, he would use his right hand, make a fist, and frantically punch her again and again.

Kana used chakra to weave a protective layer on the surface of her skin. Since it didn't hurt, she let it be.

Kana initially didn't understand where Sasuke's intense hatred for her came from; he was practically treating her like Itachi Uchiha.

A clap of thunder flashed outside the window, followed by a torrential downpour. Kana suddenly realized that perhaps he was mistaking her for Itachi Uchiha.

Relationships between people vary in closeness and distance. When Sasuke first met her, she was connected to him as "Itachi's friend." All their interactions were built on this foundation; any separate connections between them were not as important as the former. Therefore, in his heart, Hyuga Kana and Uchiha Itachi were deeply intertwined.

His outstretched right fist was covered by someone's hand, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't budge it an inch.

He was overwhelmed by the humiliation and self-blame of feeling weak and powerless—just like that night when he faced Itachi Uchiha.

"Do you want revenge?" he heard someone ask him.

He looked up, staring at her fiercely, his clenched teeth trembling with tension. "I'm going to kill him!!!"

"Very good." The restraints binding his hands were released, and he was momentarily exhausted, staggering back two steps before barely managing to stand up.

“I also think he deserves to die.” The communication scroll that would never receive a reply, along with the forehead pendant, was thrown into the bottom of the box by Kana.

"I can teach you." Regardless of whether you seek revenge against Itachi or Konoha in the future, you must have the strength to match it.

Sasuke stared at her in a daze.

Since he awoke from Tsukuyomi, everyone he'd encountered had looked at him with either pity or sympathy. The nurse who dragged him back from the training grounds told him that his most important task now was to recover.

Now? And later?

Sasuke concluded from his hesitant expression and eyes that he also thought I was overestimating myself.

The third generation leader hoped he would live a good life, not let hatred blind him, and not think about revenge, saying the village would handle it. He refused his offer to become the leader's apprentice.

They don't understand, they don't understand anything.

He lives on hatred; if it weren't for revenge, he wouldn't be alive now.

His people, his parents, all died in such a tragic way. What right did he have to live? What right did he have to live happily as they claimed?

The late summer wind, carrying rain, rushed in through the half-open window. She was facing the window sideways, her wisps of hair fluttering up and down by her ears, revealing white eyes that were the complete opposite of Itachi Uchiha's.

At this moment, Hyuga Kana no longer exists in Sasuke's world as Itachi Uchiha's appendage, but as an independent and complete person.

The shuriken he suddenly threw was knocked away by this person without her even blinking. She didn't even raise her hand; the shuriken was deflected by something invisible.

He wanted to continue; he needed to ascertain Hyuga Kana's strength. An ordinary Jonin wouldn't be enough to kill that man.

Then, the next second, Kana delivered a chop to his head.

"I don't teach short people."

She took out her pocket watch and glanced at it. "At your age, if you don't get enough sleep, you might not grow to be 1.8 meters tall."

"you!!"

Kana was immune to the frizzy Uchiha cat, finding it neither cute nor interested in teasing it. This cold and ruthless woman raised her right hand and said, "Say one more word and I'll beat you up."

He was tied to the bed by Kana.

The gentle flow of water lingered tenderly around her wrists, yet when it touched her body, it was an unbreakable, inescapable rope.

More importantly, she made no attempt to hide anything, so he saw it clearly, and a burning desire for power ignited in his eyes, "You didn't form any hand seals..."

...

That night, Sasuke Uchiha realized one thing: Kana Hyuga always kept her word.

Moreover, cutting someone hurts a lot.

The sound of rain outside the window gradually subsided, and the breeze blowing in dispelled the heat of the summer night.

Uchiha Sasuke lay flat on the bed, turned his head, and saw Hyuga Kana sitting on the windowsill, one leg bent and propped up in front of her. The streetlights outside cast a milky white light, cutting out her figure playing the flute and spreading it on the ground into a shallow and hazy dream.

For the past two months, he has had the same nightmare almost every night. It's like he's afraid he'll forget, afraid he'll be weak, afraid he'll still love him. The cruel scenes keep replaying, leaving scars on his heart time and time again.

Only occasionally would he lie on a small boat, where the water and sky merged into one seamless expanse, the stars twinkling, the moonless boat swaying gently, accompanied by the distant, ethereal sound of a flute, drawing him into a soft dream.

He quickly closed his eyes and turned his head away, afraid that something might accidentally leak out from there.

The flute was played on the wrong note, but no one noticed.

The breathing inside the room gradually became calm and regular. Kana put away her flute and looked into the unknown distance.

This long, sweltering summer is finally coming to an end.