Another knock interrupted his thoughts. Sensing a much stronger heartbeat outside than before, Yunchuan Hyuga raised an eyebrow and invited them in. The door opened just a crack, and a head cautiously peeked inside.
At the sight of her face, surprise flashed through his mind, though he showed it openly and said, "Miss Aoi?" The visitor was Hyuga Aoi, a daughter of the Hyuga Main Family. She stepped fully into the room, her Byakugan brightening as it took him in.
She carried the reserved air typical of the Main Family, her gaze briefly sweeping over the piles of flowers with a trace of irritation before returning to him. Her eyes paused on his immobilized right arm, and her expression sank slightly. "I am here on behalf of the Main Family to visit Wang," she said stiffly, setting a thermal container on the bedside cabinet and asking about his recovery.
Yunchuan Hyuga's smile faded into something cooler as he answered that the injury was not serious and thanked the clan for its concern. That distance pressed on Hyuga Aoi's chest in a way she could not explain. Another system notice rang out, awarding 1000 Reality Points and raising his Remaining Reality Points to 21374.
Yunchuan Hyuga's gaze turned strange as he listened. She was being serious after all.
Yunchuan Hyuga noticed the shift in Hyuga Aoi's mood at once. Or rather, a young girl's thoughts were never something that could be hidden from him, especially not in front of Root. Her breathing was slightly uneven, her body tense and stiff, and her heartbeat was racing.
He had prepared himself for a change in Hyuga Aoi, yet when he truly confirmed her feelings, he still felt a strange sense of discomfort. It was only discomfort, without any extra emotion and without any romantic thoughts. He knew very clearly what he wanted, and just as clearly what he did not need.
The "Yunchuan Hyuga" that existed in Hyuga Aoi's eyes had never truly existed at all. "Lady Aoi."
So he simply shifted his gaze to the Insulated Food Container and asked, even though he already knew the answer, "Is this also the clan's decision?"
"…Yes." Hyuga Aoi paused, then lifted her chin slightly and answered in a stiff voice.
As if realizing her thoughts were a mess, she sat down on the chair beside the bed in a give-up sort of way. She opened the Insulated Food Container and took out the food inside. Steam mixed with the smell of rice drifted out, all light and plain dishes.
It was clearly prepared with care, though with her abilities it was obvious she had not cooked it herself. It was most likely made by the Branch Family members who usually handled her daily needs. What she did next, however, made Yunchuan Hyuga pause in surprise.
She held a bowl of hot porridge in one hand and a spoon in the other, scooping it up clumsily. Then she brought it straight in front of Yunchuan. "…"
The corner of Yunchuan Hyuga's eye twitched as he said, "Lady Aoi, I can do it myself…"
"Just call me by my name." Before he could finish, Hyuga Aoi cut him off impatiently. "Your arm is injured. How are you going to eat, lick it with your tongue?"
Seeing the spoon come even closer to his mouth, Yunchuan Hyuga leaned his upper body back slightly. He swallowed the words "only my right arm is injured" before saying them. He was still thinking about how to handle this properly when the door opened again.
kacha. Several people in white coats from the Medical Staff pushed a medicine cart into the room, bringing with them a sharp medicinal smell. "Lord Yunchuan, it's time to change the dressing."
The woman in front spoke gently but firmly, glancing at Hyuga Aoi in a way that left no room for argument. Hyuga Aoi pursed her lips and stepped aside. Soon after, the annoyance in her eyes faded and her face turned pale.
Just watching the process made it feel long and painful. No matter how careful the Medical Staff were, removing the blood-soaked bandages and cleaning the deep wound was still torture. The burn marks that pierced flesh and bone, along with the tearing pain, were impossible to ignore.
Yunchuan Hyuga pressed his lips together, cold sweat covering his forehead. His left hand clenched the bedsheet so hard his knuckles turned white, yet he did not make a sound. The sight alone was enough to make one's chest tighten.
"…" Staring at the horrific wound, Hyuga Aoi's face went completely pale, her body trembling slightly.
A system prompt sounded, awarding Reality Points as emotions surged and belief deepened. Yunchuan Hyuga's injuries were not fake, though he had limited his self-healing so they were only half real. That was why the system judged it as acting that had become real.
Back on the Kumogakure battlefield, the move he used with Lightning Release followed the same principle as the later Lightning Release Kirin. The difficulty and power, however, were on entirely different levels. Sasuke Uchiha only used his and Itachi Uchiha's Fire Release to raise storm clouds, while Yunchuan Hyuga had drawn on the presence of hundreds or even thousands of Konoha ninja and Kumogakure ninja.
Just guiding the lightning from the thunderclouds was enough to severely damage the meridians and nerves in his right arm. This was exactly the result Yunchuan Hyuga wanted. That single battle was enough to establish his reputation, and staying on the battlefield any longer would have been pointless.
Using the power of Konoha and Kumogakure to cast that Ninjutsu could be seen as good strategy. Facing the complete form of the Two-Tails, however, was not something he should defeat at his current stage. So when he faced the Two-Tails's rage, he showed signs of being gravely wounded and unable to continue fighting.
That was when Jiraiya and Gamamaru descended from the sky at just the right moment. They suppressed the Two-Tails with a sealing move, interrupted the Tailed Beast Ball, and then used a Sealing Technique to force it back into its jinchuriki state. As for Yunchuan Hyuga, who had "sacrificed himself" for Konoha, the outcome was obvious.
Under countless admiring gazes from the Konoha ninja, he was escorted back to Konoha as a hero for treatment. From there, he could continue gathering points from wave after wave of people. His first public performance before the entire Ninja World had gone very smoothly.
Over in Kumogakure, the Fourth Raikage was probably furious by now. Even so, Yunchuan Hyuga smiled to himself. "The war cannot end this smoothly. I hope Sunagakure moves faster."
Lost in thought, he finally felt the dressing change end. Fresh, thick bandages with a strong medicinal smell were wrapped tightly around his arm. "Lord Yunchuan, your injuries are very serious, so you must rest," the Medical Staff reminded him softly as they packed up. "If possible, it would be best to have someone take care of you."
From the glances they cast to the side, it was clear those words were meant more for Hyuga Aoi. They knew well that during the days Yunchuan Hyuga had been back for treatment, no one from the Hyuga clan or Root had come by. No one even asked about him.
Only a child named Neji Hyuga had visited him, and even that put the others to shame. The cold attitude shown by the Hyuga clan was something even the Medical Staff could not stand. Behind the scenes, they had complained about the Hyuga clan more than once.
"…" Feeling those sharp looks, Hyuga Aoi lowered her head.