The forest was quieter than usual.
Not the calm kind of quiet—
the watching kind.
Akahoshi slowed his pace, eyes scanning between the trees as Daisuke followed behind him, still clutching his kunai. The chakra-mutated beast they fought two chapters ago had left more than wounds. It left questions—ones that refused to stay buried.
"Your breathing's uneven," Akahoshi muttered without looking back. "You're thinking too loudly."
Daisuke exhaled through his nose.
"I'm thinking normally."
"For you, that's loud."
They kept walking until the trees thinned and the dirt trail of the Land of Hot Water appeared. Their mission was technically complete, yet neither of them felt like victors. Daisuke's ribs still ached, his Blood Release still pulsed strangely beneath his skin, and the memory of those glowing crimson eyes from the beast clung to him like a shadow.
Akahoshi finally stopped under a large cedar and turned around fully.
"Daisuke… that creature reacted to your chakra. Not mine. Not any normal shinobi's."
"I know."
"Do you know why?"
Daisuke hesitated.
He had an idea.
A suspicion he didn't want to say aloud.
"…Because it was like me," he finally whispered.
Akahoshi's expression hardened—not angry, but troubled.
"The Chinoike name carries more than a kekkei genkai. It carries history. It carries chains. And now it seems it carries attention from things we don't understand."
Daisuke clenched his fists.
"I'm not letting fear define me. I won't be a prisoner like the rest of my clan."
"You won't," Akahoshi said calmly. "But you have to understand—whatever mutated that animal reacts to Bloodline chakra. Meaning someone out there is either studying you… or hunting you."
The air felt colder.
Before Daisuke could respond, the leaves around them rustled sharply—controlled movement. Not a beast. Not wind.
A squad of three shinobi stepped out of the trees wearing Hot Water Village forehead protectors. Their leader, a tall kunoichi with pale grey eyes, spoke first.
"You two. Halt. We sensed an unusual chakra disturbance. State your purpose."
Akahoshi flashed his mission scroll.
"Leaf shinobi. Escort mission. Completed."
Her eyes scanned Daisuke—not his Hitai-ate, not his stance—
his blood.
A flicker of recognition.
Then something colder.
"…Chinoike."
Daisuke stiffened.
Akahoshi subtly shifted one foot forward, ready to intervene.
The kunoichi didn't attack—
but she did something worse.
She bowed her head slightly.
"My condolences."
Daisuke's breath caught.
"For what?"
She looked up, gaze steady, tone respectful yet distant.
"For being born into a name that the world has not forgiven."
The silence hit harder than any jutsu.
Daisuke felt his stomach twist—not from anger, but from the reminder that his clan's sins, real or fabricated, followed him everywhere… even where he wasn't known.
Akahoshi stepped in. "We're leaving."
They passed the Hot Water shinobi without further words, but Daisuke could still feel their stares on his back like thorns.
Once they were out of earshot, Akahoshi spoke softly.
"You felt that, didn't you?"
"…Yeah."
"Good. Remember it. Let it fuel you— not break you."
Daisuke closed his eyes for a moment.
He didn't want vengeance.
He didn't want fear.
He wanted freedom—for himself and for his clan.
And for the first time…
he understood just how heavy that wish truly was.