Chapter 33: The Fugitive and the Girl
"Forget it." Ryouma shook his head, pushing aside his regrets. Then, he recalled slicing Danzo in half with a single stroke and couldn't help but feel a flicker of satisfaction.
"I never expected that 20-point swordsmanship to have such offensive power. That was a real bargain." He stroked his chin, praising his own judgment. "My vision is truly exceptional, to recognize the power of that technique at a glance. But..."
His gaze fell upon the long sword strapped to his back. This blade is truly excellent, far superior to the weapons of this world. As expected of a system product.
He continued his aimless journey, enjoying the scenery of mountains and rivers along the way, feeling quite content. However, after traversing countless peaks, even Ryouma began to tire. Looking ahead, yet another massive mountain loomed.
"The mountain path here has eighteen bends, the mountain path here has nine chains?" Ryouma was starting to go a little crazy, feeling he had made a grave error in his chosen route.
He began to suspect that even if he walked for an entire day, he'd still be surrounded by mountains.
"System, exchange library. Do you have a map of the Naruto World?" With a universal system at his disposal, it made no sense not to use it.
"Sorry, no."
The system's emotionless voice ruthlessly rejected him once more.
"Damn it! You don't have shit! What kind of cheat system are you?!" The system remained silent. Frustrated, Ryouma continued his trek through the mountains. Half a day passed, and the sun was already high overhead. Just as he had predicted, beyond the mountains, there were still more mountains!
Ryouma shrugged, utterly helpless. After running all this way, he was exhausted. He found a large tree at random and lay down comfortably on one of its branches.
The sunlight filtered through the delicate leaves, warming his body pleasantly.
But just as he was comfortably dozing off, a strong wind rustled the leaves, stirring the peace.
After Hiruzen Sarutobi issued the kill-on-sight order and the bounty, news of it spread far and wide as time passed.
"Hey, have you heard? Ryouma defected from the village!"
"Yeah, I heard. I knew it—outsiders can't be trusted!"
"Oh? Weren't you the one who said just two days ago, when he was exceptionally promoted to Chūnin, that you'd marry your daughter to him?"
"You... stop talking nonsense! How could I give my daughter to someone like that!"
In the bustling streets, almost everyone was discussing Ryouma's defection. Conversations like the one above were countless. People who had once praised him now cursed his name, severing any connection.
Within the training hall of the Hyūga compound, two figures moved. One was a girl wearing black fishnet stockings. Her... assets... involuntarily brought the word 'voluptuous' to mind.
Opposite her stood a middle-aged man with a stern expression. He deftly parried the girl's attacks, occasionally countering, but his strikes always stopped just short of her vital points.
"Hinata, stop." The middle-aged man pushed Hinata back with a palm, then spoke softly yet firmly, looking at her sweat-drenched form and giving a slight nod of approval.
Hinata's injuries from the preliminaries had only just healed today. It was she who had proposed this training session to her father, Hyūga Hiashi. After her recent ordeal, Hiashi was surprised to find Hinata's strength had improved significantly. This discovery pleased him greatly.
"Yes, Father." Hinata stopped and bowed to Hiashi. She then looked at him hesitantly, wanting to speak but too embarrassed to voice her thoughts.
Hiashi knew his daughter's character well and understood she had something to say. "Hinata, is there something you wish to tell me?"
"Ah... yes, Father." Hinata's face flushed. "My injuries are healed now. Ryouma-nii came to see me a few mornings ago, but he didn't come today. I... I want to go find him, to see if something happened..."
Hearing her question and seeing her expression, Hiashi frowned. He thought of the news he had received at noon and shook his head slightly.
"Hinata." Hiashi's voice was soft.
"Ah... Father?"
"Starting today, forget about Ryouma." Hiashi sighed inwardly. He had actually been quite optimistic about Ryouma. Though the boy had only graduated at sixteen, he had created his own A-Rank ninjutsu and possessed a teleportation ability shortly after. Such a genius was bound for greatness. Aligning with him could have brought further glory to the Hyūga clan.
But now that Ryouma was a rogue ninja, all of that was impossible.
"Why? Father, why?!" Hinata was bewildered by his answer, her voice rising with distress.
"Hinata!" Hiashi's voice sharpened slightly. He frowned. "Ryouma has defected from Konoha. He has been designated an S-Class rogue ninja. Your position is precarious enough. Associating with him will only invite suspicion from the elders. From now on, you are not to speak his name. Do you understand me!"
"Defected... Defected... S-Class?" The words struck Hinata like physical blows. She sank to her knees, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Ryouma-nii... How could you defect...?"
Creak... creak...
Hiashi's footsteps echoed on the wooden floor as he walked out. He looked at Hyūga Harukaze, who was stationed outside, responsible for Hinata's protection. "Keep an eye on the young mistress. Do not let her leave the compound recently, and under no circumstances is she to go to the places Ryouma frequented."
"Yes, Clan Head." Harukaze knelt on one knee respectfully. He glanced at the despondent Hinata, thoughts of Ryouma and his long sword flashing through his mind.
S-Class rogue ninja... How did that kid get so powerful?
Deep within the rolling mountains, a little girl ran barefoot through the wilderness. She would squat to pick a flower, then chase after butterflies. Her light yellow kimono was soon covered in dust, but her bare feet remained as clean and pristine as jade.
"Huh? Is someone up there?" Chasing a rabbit, the little girl arrived at a large tree. High up in its branches, Ryouma was sleeping soundly.
"Hey, mister up there! Who are you? I've never seen you before!"