c29 — The Night of Fireworks and Confession
On a quiet slope overlooking the Uchiha district
"Wow…"
Sunset Kurenai gazed up at the fireworks blooming against the starry sky. Her crimson eyes shimmered with reflected light, filled with wonder and joy.
She had watched fireworks before, but never like this never ones that painted the sky with hearts and falling petals.
Her heart throbbed softly.
She hadn't expected that Qianye would go this far…
To think that all of this this entire grand celebration wasn't just for the clan, but for her, too.
The realization made her blush.
Still, she couldn't help but murmur under her breath with a shy smile:
"This way of showing affection is really… over the top."
Qianye turned toward her, a faint grin on his lips.
"How's that?" he asked lightly. "Do you like it?"
Kurenai nodded firmly, her dark hair swaying in the wind.
"I love it," she said softly, her tone brimming with warmth.
Her eyes lingered on him gentle, sincere, filled with a warmth she had rarely shown anyone before.
At that moment, under the cascading light of the fireworks, she felt like the happiest woman in all of Konoha.
Qianye smiled faintly and reached out, pulling her gently into his arms. For a moment, neither spoke. The explosions in the sky faded into distant echoes, and the night wind brushed past them like a whisper.
---
As the night deepened, Qianye walked Kurenai home.
At her door, the two stood together for a long while, neither wanting to break the moment.
Finally, after a few hesitant glances and half-steps, they parted ways.
Kurenai turned at the doorway, watching Qianye's silhouette vanish down the dimly lit street.
Only when his figure disappeared completely did she finally exhale and turn to go inside her heart still pounding.
"Red!"
A familiar voice called out behind her, loud and unexpected.
Kurenai froze for a moment, her brows knitting slightly.
Turning, she saw a familiar group walking up the street Kakashi, Guy, Anko, Hayate, Yūgao, and of course… Asuma Sarutobi.
It turned out that after the fireworks festival, the group had grown hungry and decided to head to Ichiraku Ramen for a late-night snack.
By coincidence, they happened to pass by her neighborhood at this very moment.
Asuma waved cheerfully, unaware of the tension that flickered across Kurenai's expression.
"Hey, Kurenai! You missed out tonight!" he said enthusiastically. "The fireworks were incredible you should've seen it! There was even this pink heart pattern at the end! It was the most beautiful part of the whole show"
He stopped when he noticed Kurenai's faintly flushed cheeks and the small sparkle in her eyes that hadn't quite faded yet.
Kurenai smiled awkwardly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I… did see it," she said softly.
"Huh?" Asuma blinked, confused. "You did? But we didn't see you anywhere near the Uchiha grounds"
Kurenai's lips curved slightly. "That's because I had… company."
The words hung in the air like the last spark of a dying firework.
Asuma's grin faltered.
For a brief moment, the cheerful noise from the distant festival seemed to fade, leaving only silence between them.
And in that silence, the unspoken truth settled heavy in the night air.
At this moment, Asuma suddenly noticed something.
He pointed toward Kurenai's slightly flushed lips and said with a half-smile, "Hey, Kurenai, your lips look a little swollen. Did you eat something too spicy tonight? You should drink plenty of water or you might get heatstroke or even constipation!"
Asuma said it in the tone of a caring friend, thinking he was showing his warm and thoughtful side.
Kurenai: "…"
Even Kakashi, who had seen all kinds of nonsense during missions with Gai, couldn't endure it anymore. He sighed and said, "Asuma, enough already. Let's go. If we keep standing here, there'll be no seats left at Ichiraku."
Asuma, still oblivious, smiled and turned to Kurenai.
"Kurenai, why don't you come with us? It'll be fun."
"I'm not going," Kurenai replied almost instantly.
Asuma blinked. "Why not?"
"Not feeling well."
"Where exactly?"
"…Belly. Child. Convenient. Secret."
Kurenai practically ground her teeth as she forced out each word, her patience at its limit. Without waiting for a response, she spun around and disappeared into her apartment, her red hair swaying sharply behind her.
A long silence followed.
Asuma turned to the others and said in complete seriousness, "See? I was right! Too much spicy food can cause constipation!"
Kakashi: "…"
Anko: "…"
Guy: silent thumbs-up of despair.
Anko exhaled and shook her head helplessly.
To be honest, she had once hoped Kurenai and Asuma might become a couple.
After all, Asuma wasn't just anyone he was the Third Hokage's son, a capable Jōnin, and a man with a promising future.
Recently, rumors had spread that the Daimyō of the Land of Fire was forming an elite personal guard, the Twelve Guardian Ninja, and that Asuma was on the list of candidates.
To be considered for that post meant you were among the strongest of your generation trusted enough to protect the Fire Daimyō himself.
Yes, Asuma was strong and respected… but sometimes, his brain just didn't keep up with his heart.
---
Meanwhile, back at the Uchiha compound
Qianye sat cross-legged in his study, opening his system interface.
The night's grand fireworks celebration had not only won the villagers' hearts, but also skyrocketed the Uchiha clan's reputation.
As a result, the system chimed again new rewards!
A huge surge of points had been added to his total.
"It wasn't easy," he muttered with a grin. "But I've finally reached one hundred thousand points!"
After three months of effort and investment, Qianye had finally accumulated the amount he needed.
Without hesitation, he opened the System Mall.
"One hundred thousand points…" He exhaled, excitement burning in his eyes. "I can finally buy this technique!"
The item he had been saving for was none other than
The Flying Thunder God Technique (Hiraishin no Jutsu).
A legendary ninjutsu created by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, and later perfected by Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage known across the nations as the Yellow Flash of Konoha.
That alone spoke volumes about its power. A single technique so fearsome it created a title that echoed through history.
After confirming the purchase, Qianye's point balance dropped instantly to three digits.
But instead of regret, he felt only excitement.
"This is the power that turned Minato into a legend," he murmured.
He summoned a kunai from his pouch and held it tightly. The moment he infused chakra into it, strange black markings spread across the handle forming runes that resembled flowing tadpoles.
This was the Flying Thunder God seal formula, the core of the technique.
It was said that once this formula was placed, it could never be erased by conventional means not even by time itself unless a master of Yin–Yang Release dispelled it directly.
Satisfied, Qianye flicked his wrist and sent the kunai flying forward.
Swish!
The kunai cut through the night air.
In the next instant
A flash of golden light.
Qianye's figure vanished and reappeared hundreds of meters away, his hand closing perfectly around the airborne weapon.
He exhaled slowly, a triumphant smile spreading across his face.
"As expected from the system's version… I've completely mastered it already."
He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the faint spatial distortion lingering around him.
"So this is time–space ninjutsu…" he murmured, his tone full of awe. "It really feels like bending reality itself."
There was a reason he had spent such a staggering sum of points on this particular jutsu.
It wasn't just its power though it was terrifying.
It was its convenience.
A technique that allowed him to move instantly between locations would become indispensable in his next stage of planning for both his secret ambitions, and the future of the Uchiha clan.
---