Chapter 19 C19
[He definitely has a problem with me.]
Kana wrote this sentence in the communication scroll.
Soon another line appeared on the paper: [Training again tomorrow?]
[As long as I run fast enough, he won't be able to catch me. See you at the same place tomorrow.] Kana said without hesitation.
Just kidding. Being caught by the Third Elder and forced to practice Soft Fist martial arts alone, versus being able to use whatever moves you want—anyone knows which to choose.
Kana initially thought that the Third Elder's words, "You are not allowed to leave until you learn xx today," were true. In order to escape as soon as possible, she went all out. He used a new move to hit her, and she immediately used the same move to hit him back.
At such times, his face would turn ugly, and he would accuse her of "lacking ambition," and then he would resort to even harsher measures, without caring whether it was a secret technique passed down in the clan.
Gradually, Kana realized that he was probably unhappy because she was learning too quickly, so he simply gave up, only blocking and not attacking, and couldn't use any new moves for ten days or half a month. He was very considerate of the main family's fragile self-esteem.
He seemed even angrier, almost losing all the decorum he usually maintained as an elder; he was practically in a rage. He relentlessly chased after her, gritting his teeth and cursing her for "self-degradation." The pain, bordering on hatred, made Kana momentarily wonder if she had unintentionally thrown away his most cherished treasure as if it were trash.
Kana: Tsk, this person is really hard to please.
It's inconvenient to confront the main family directly, so now she's in a situation where she's on the run while they chase her, and she can't go home.
[What about you? Are you okay?] The fight last time was a bit too big, at least both sets of parents knew about it. When they ran into Uchiha Fugaku, he even gave them a scrutinizing look, as if he was really worried that the previously unknown underachiever was wasting his son's time and energy.
[It won't change.]
Regardless of family stances, we are friends, and that will not change.
"Hey!"
Kana was startled. Even though she sensed a familiar presence approaching, her body still reacted instinctively when the other person suddenly patted her shoulder.
She turned around and greeted Akimichi Kita, as well as Nara Shikatori behind him.
These two people are also her classmates in Class 6.
As for why the third person is her, with the surname Hyuga, and not Yamanaka—
Not everyone has the opportunity to form their own "Ino-Shika-Cho" formation; only the core members have that kind of agreement. That's how Shikatri explained it.
Akimichi leaned closer and examined the scroll open in her hand. No matter how many times he looked at it, it was indeed obscure and difficult-to-pronounce Buddhist verses. "How amazing. Kana, you seem to have nothing to do with religion, yet you always read Buddhist scriptures."
The communication scroll has a rather ordinary owner recognition function. Whenever someone is curious, she generously shows it to them, but the other person will lose interest after seeing the second line at most.
Of course, there are always exceptions.
Kana always felt that a ninja's personality could be reflected in the ninjutsu he was good at. She liked Lightning Release because it was fast and easy to dodge, and Water Release was second because it was highly adaptable and the first choice for long-range attacks.
However, she always seems to encounter some low-probability events.
For example, Itachi, who came from the Uchiha clan, which was famous in the ninja world for its aggressive Fire Release techniques, was an anomaly who dreamed of "world peace." The Nara clan was good at Shadow Techniques, which were silent and inconspicuous, just like the characteristics of its users. However, Shikatori was also a rare breed with genetic mutations.
He was a less typical Nara, and strong evidence of that was that he wanted to become a Jonin.
Shikato is curious, and more importantly, he's intelligent; these two qualities combined make his desire to explore stronger than others.
So he read the scroll from beginning to end without missing a single word—but unfortunately, he didn't find anything amiss. He then gave Kana a look that said, "Don't let me catch you."
In a back-and-forth exchange, Kana was also an oddity in Shikatori's eyes—how could a Hyuga member resist close combat and prefer to use ninjutsu to instantly defeat her opponent?
In contrast, Ki Tai is a very normal "Akimichi". As long as you don't step on any landmines related to body shape, he is generally easy to talk to.
"Any new missions?" Kana put the scroll away.
It's as if they should only have interactions during missions. Shikato turned his head away and scoffed.
"No, no." Unbeknownst to him, Kita had become the glue that held Class 6 together. "I was wondering if Kana wanted to go for yakiniku (grilled meat) tomorrow? Shikatori is treating."
tomorrow?
It wasn't a special day, there were no prior arrangements, and it wasn't because of any mission.
Invitation? Deer Stealing?
—He didn't seem to be in a good mood either.
Huh? Me?
Are you angry?
So—it's his birthday tomorrow.
Kana quickly came to a conclusion.
“Forget it, Mr. Ji,” Lu Qu said, staring with dead fish eyes. “He might have something else to do tomorrow.”
Although it's not visible on the scroll paper, the hand gestures don't lie—they managed to piece together the message "tomorrow."
It's obvious he's being sarcastic, because he used the word "again".
Aside from daily tasks, Kana spends less time with them than with her mysterious partner.
Because they would need to cooperate with each other to carry out missions for a long time to come, Kana did not want to make things too tense. However, Shikatori was too smart and pointed out incisively during the third mission, "You don't consider us your comrades at all."
This is an old problem for Kana; she can't easily trust people she's just met. She knows all too well the saying "old friends are like strangers," but she's never experienced the feeling of "instant acquaintances becoming old friends."
This is probably why she was destined not to be the protagonist, because people in this world can give their lives for someone they've only met once.
She simply couldn't understand it.
"If you're upset about this, I'm sorry." It's regret, not apology. "I think it's as unreliable to completely trust someone you've just met as to fall in love at first sight. Trust, like feelings, needs to be built up."
She thought it was understandable for him to use the analogy of a deer to represent his intelligence, but she didn't expect him to get even angrier after hearing it. He was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his ears turning red with anger.
Akiyama, the teacher in charge of Class 6, slowly exhaled a puff of smoke and sighed with satisfaction, "What passionate and energetic young people!"
That's how the feud started, and now Shikagiri looks at her with a cold shoulder. Fortunately, the missions that genin (low-ranking ninja) undertake are all simple, and with the strength of the three of them, they can still complete them smoothly even without perfect teamwork.
"when?"
Akimichi Kita's eyes lit up. "Six-thirty, Tannoya, Kana, are you going?"
"If Shikari agrees."
Ji Tai quickly nudged Lu Qu with her elbow to signal him to speak, but Lu Qu dodged her, so Ji Tai had to speak up herself, "He agreed!"
Later, Shikatori regretted it countless times.
Even though Kana explained it many times, she didn't care.
“You didn’t kill him, so it’s not your fault,” Kana comforted him. “You don’t need to feel guilty at all. It’s your birthday, you should be happy.”
"If this makes you feel any better—he didn't die on your birthday; it was past midnight, which is technically a new day."
People who are too kind are easily swayed by their own feelings and prone to self-blame, which is why Kana shouldn't be a good person like Nara Shikatori.
Shika clenched his fist so tightly that his short fingernails dug deep crescent-shaped marks into his palm.
“Even if I had gone back that night, it wouldn’t have changed anything.” She looked down and pried his fingers off one by one.
“But at least…” Shikato found his voice stagnant and dull, carrying the salty taste of a fluid secreted when a person is in pain.
...At least you can see him one last time.
On his birthday, they had a meal at a barbecue restaurant. Kana accidentally drank a wine that smelled like fruit juice. She was not even ten years old when she broke one of the three forbidden rules of ninjas. Akiyama-sensei had heard about the strict rules of the Hyuga clan and knew about her background, so he could only take her to stay at a female friend's house for the night.
But it was precisely on that night that Hyuga Hizashi died.
Her body was given to the Land of Lightning as a gift of atonement, and she did not get to see her adoptive father one last time.
Despite the fact that the Land of Lightning made the first move to seize the Byakugan, Konoha, due to various political considerations, not only failed to teach the outsider who had come to their territory a lesson, but also had to endure humiliation and lose a life.
Such a thing was not honorable to be spread, so the death of the sir was kept quiet and the news was suppressed to the greatest extent possible by the higher-ups. Not even a proper funeral could be held.
For a week after Hizashi's death, Kana was confined to her home—in order to minimize the spread of the news.
Humans are very forgetful creatures. Once the initial surge of public outrage has passed, all that's left is a sigh of regret.
Kana didn't hide anything from Itachi and told him the truth when explaining why she couldn't agree to the usual sparring match.
Are you sad?
She looked at the words in front of her, touched her dry face, and made sure she didn't have any strange emotions.
[No. ]
Kana paused as her index finger touched the paper. She was a meticulous person, so she carefully recalled her memories related to Hyuga Hizashi.
He wasn't particularly tall or strong, but he had powerful arms. He tried to hug her, but she refused.
He has a shallow dimple on his left cheek when he smiles. However, he rarely smiles, and Kana has only seen it a few times, first noticing it at her birthday party—even though she said she didn't need such a thing.
She dodged his outstretched hand, squatted down to look him in the eye, and told him he hoped they could become a family.
He said he would bring her a beautiful haori as a graduation gift if he went to Wano next time—obviously he broke his promise.
He stood in front of the clan elders who came to arrest her and take her to the clan training session. When questioned, he replied, "She is my daughter."
She has a good memory, but it seems like she doesn't have anything particularly memorable.
The more things you care about, the more you will lose.
Kana continued firmly, "[I don't love him.]"
So I won't be sad.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
