Dirty

Chapter 15 Dirty

In a garden somewhere in the Sarutobi tribe's territory.

Hyuga Yuto sat leaning against the stone bench, his eyes tightly closed.

Tsunade then extended a hand and gently covered Yuto's eyes, sending a gentle chakra from her palm to his eyeballs and optic nerve, stimulating cell repair and regeneration.

Chakra is a violent and powerful energy. Using it to heal the human body is extremely difficult. If the area to be treated is the delicate visual system and brain tissue, the difficulty is no less than embroidering on the tip of a needle. In the entire ninja world, there are no more than five people who have the ability to heal such injuries.

Fortunately, Tsunade was one of them. In fact, when it comes to medical ninjutsu alone, this last descendant of the Senju clan is undoubtedly the number one.

After an unknown amount of time, the cool sensation suddenly disappeared.

Hyuga Yuto opened his eyes, and apart from the needle-like pain, everything he could see finally became clear again.

"The pain will probably last for a week. Drink plenty of water and get plenty of sleep." Tsunade, with her blonde hair, breathed a sigh of relief.

She let her hair down and took a sip of her drink—Tsunade was a very ethical doctor, and of course she wouldn't drink alcohol while treating patients.

Hyuga Yuto rubbed his still-tense forehead, remained silent for a long time, and finally bowed solemnly to Tsunade:

"Lady Tsunade, you saved my life as a ninja. From now on, if you ever need me, Hyuga Yuto will do anything for you, even at the cost of his life!"

"Alright, alright, you brat from the Hyuga clan."

Tsunade grinned widely, completely disregarding her image. For anyone else, such a gesture would have looked ridiculous, but she was undeniably a stunning beauty, and even without controlling her expression, she was more captivating than the moonlight.

"Kid... your name is Hyuga Yuto, right? How old are you?"

"Replying to Lady Tsunade, 12."

The blonde woman paused slightly, then took a sip of her drink:

"At 12 years old, many people your age were still troublemakers who had just graduated, but you made a name for yourself through your own efforts... With young successors like you in Konoha, the Will of Fire will surely be passed down."

"Lady Tsunade, I am not strong enough yet, and there is still much I need to learn."

"Kid, when I was your age, I also dreamed of mastering the clan's bloodline limit and restoring the glory of the Senju clan. But now, I just feel... that often, simply being strong won't get you what you want."

"The strong may not get what they want, but the weak will inevitably lose more."

"That really is... a young boy's thought," Tsunade said softly, tilting her head to look at Hyuga Yuto, and suddenly added:

"Your injury...is it like that of a caged bird?"

Hyuga Yuto lowered his head. After a long while, he stood up and placed his hands on the stone railing of the pavilion. The night wind blew his bangs, carrying a faint smell of blood.

Tsunade couldn't see the boy's expression, but the sight of him leaning against the stone railing, gazing into the distance, left her with a slightly uneasy feeling.

Ten years ago, his younger brother, Senju Nawaki, was also twelve years old. On his brother's birthday, he wore the crystal necklace that he had given him and stood on the top of the Hokage Building, leaning on the railing and looking out, talking about his youthful and impetuous dreams... Then, the day after his birthday, he died in battle in the chaos of the world.

The blonde woman took another big gulp of wine. When people are in a bad mood, they want to escape. Alcohol is a good thing, but the Senju clan's strong physique has a drawback here: mere alcohol cannot make Tsunade lose her mind.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade, you're right." Just then, Hyuga Yuto's voice drifted from ahead:

"Perhaps this is a bit like airing dirty laundry in public... but you are one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha. In my eyes, you are a senior I can entrust with my life and rely on. I won't lie to you, the one who used the Caged Bird Technique was Shinji Hyuga."

"Tsk." The blonde beauty scoffed without any politeness.

"The Hyuga clan has fallen so low; they actually told a child about the secret order for something like the Caged Bird Seal." Tsunade seemed to have a lot of grievances against the Hyuga clan.

"When I was very young, the Hyuga clan had several powerful figures. Although they were far inferior to my grandfather and the others, they were still formidable individuals... But now, ha, the caged bird, the caged bird, has trapped the branch family and also the main family."

"Perhaps," Hinata Yuto said calmly.

"The moment the caged bird was activated, it hurt terribly. For a second or two, I thought if I had a kunai nearby, I could stab the caster in the neck."

Such words would be considered blasphemous in the Hyuga clan, but Tsunade found them perfectly normal.

If a 12-year-old genius, while being tortured to the point of wishing for death by a cursed seal, still thinks of serving the main family, Tsunade would only think that this person has been kicked in the head by a toad leg, or is simply lying.

"Kid, it's fine to say those things to me, but once you leave Sarutobi territory, forget all about how you felt back then."

"I said this to Lady Tsunade because I feel that you are a truly kind and gentle elder, someone I can entrust everything to."

"Heh...you've got a way with words. So, what about now, Hyuga Yuto? What are your thoughts on the main family now?"

"Now..." Hyuga Yuto lowered his head, his back to Tsunade. He realized that having long hair was indeed very advantageous; even though his heart was still filled with hatred and killing intent, he could conceal his expression and concentrate on controlling his tone of voice.

"Right now, I don't even know what I'm thinking... But what surprises me is that I don't have many negative emotions. I, Lady Tsunade, I don't know how to say this..."

"Speak up, kid, it's just you and me here."

"Yes... Lady Tsunade." Hyuga Yuto paused, a hint of hesitation appearing in his heart for the first time.

—Could I really say that? To reopen the wounds of a woman who has lost so many loved ones, just to achieve my own ends? Hyuga Yuto, how could you be so despicable…

This pause lasted only a moment. The next instant, Hyuga Yuto suppressed his hesitation and, following his memory, uttered the words he had seen in a manga in his previous life:

"Losing someone you cherish in battle... is not a ninja's mission."

"Because I live in a ninja world filled with death and chaos, I want to fight desperately to quell this war."

"I love this village and my friends... so I want to protect them."

"Ever since my parents died, this idea has sustained me... So, Lady Tsunade, I want to become Hokage."

"Because becoming the one who protects everyone is what the Hokage is... This has always been my dream."

Tsunade was stunned.

Those long-forgotten, sorrowful memories suddenly surfaced in my mind.

Ten years ago, when she and Kato Dan pledged their lives to each other, Dan said the same thing.

This was a secret between her and Dan Kato. Ever since Dan died in the Second Shinobi World War, she was the only one in the world who knew about these wild and unwavering vows.

Two figures suddenly appeared on 12-year-old Hinata Yuto.

The blonde beauty tilted her head back, raised the wine jug, but could not pour out a single drop more.

Ah... Rope Tree, Broken, do you want me to help this boy...?

(End of this chapter)