บท 3: Hanabi Hyuga

As Yato walked through the forest, he noticed a snake on a tree branch not far away, quietly approaching a bird's nest. The mother bird, feeding her chicks, seemed unaware of the danger. The chicks, too, were oblivious as they fought for the food in their mother's beak.

The snake, closing in, stuck out its tongue, ready to strike the mother bird. It knew that killing the adult bird would leave the chicks defenseless, an easy meal.

Yato glanced around, walked a few steps, picked up a branch, and then gently waved it in the direction of the tree branch.

"Gravity Slash..."

With a soft hum, a purple ripple slashed towards the tree branch at lightning speed.

The snake and the mother bird sensed danger, their bodies reacting instinctively, but before they could see the source of the threat, they were caught in the gravity wave and fell to the ground.

Even the tree branch couldn't withstand the gravity, snapping off the tree with a "bang." The snake and the birds, though not dead, were immobilized by the intense gravity, unable to move.

After seeing Yato clearly, they hissed and chirped in warning, but due to gravity, they couldn't do anything. It was like being pressed by a huge stone, with no room to struggle. Ignoring their distress, Yato threw away the flattened branch, approached the snake and the mother bird, and swiftly twisted their necks, killing them directly. He then used the same rough method to deal with the snake. As for the chicks, they didn't escape the fate of death either. Yato killed them without showing any hint of regret. These prey would be his dinner for the night.

"Let's take a bath before we go home."

Grabbing his prey, Yato headed towards the top of the mountain where a natural hot spring awaited. This small hot spring, capable of accommodating 2-3 people, was his private retreat. Apart from Yato himself, no one else came back here.

The hot spring was useful for his training. It promoted blood circulation, sped up metabolism, relieved fatigue from training, and accelerated recovery. Since discovering this hot spring, Yato soaked there almost daily after finishing training, so there was no truth in Dokkaebi's claim that he hadn't taken a bath for a long time.

After his bath, Yato walked out of the forest and back into the village. Despite the late hour, Konoha remained lively with taverns bustling with customers.

To avoid the same treatment he received in the morning, Yato took a detour into a dark alley. The scene changed drastically; the alley was littered with garbage, infested with cockroaches and rats, and occasionally filled with the barking of stray dogs and cats.

Yato navigated the darkness effortlessly as he was used to walking through this route.

As he walked, he heard the barking of stray dogs ahead. Approaching, he saw a little girl, trembling in fear, surrounded by stray dogs.

Seeing the scene in front of him, Yato stopped dead in his tracks. It wasn't because he was shocked by the dogs, but the girl's pure white pupils caught his attention.

"Byakugan?"

Hyuga Hanabi was very scared now. She had come out to play with her father and twin sister. Because she was the daughter of the main family, she had shouldered the responsibility of revitalizing the Hyuga clan since she was a child.

Compared with other people of the same age, she had less time to play because her father had been urging her to practice soft fist and how to become an excellent ninja since she was a child.

As for her twin sister, her father gave up on her very early because her training talent was not as good as hers.

So, when she finished a day of training and her father agreed to take them out to play, her fatigue was swept away. Just like a fledgling bird yearning for the sky, she was very curious about everything outside the family.

However, there were too many people on the street, and she didn't know when she had gotten separated from her father and sister. When she came to her senses, she had already entered the alley and was surrounded by several wild dogs as vicious as wolves.

She wanted to resist but found that her whole body was trembling. Her chakra reserve was empty and she could do nothing but cry and shout for help.

Looking at the wild dogs getting closer and closer, she could only hold her head with both hands, crying, desperate, and praying that someone would appear in time to rescue her.

"Who can save me..."

"B-Byakugan?" The sudden voice gave Hanabi hope. She saw a boy in a tattered black yukata holding a bloodied animal corpse. The sight was both strange and enchanting in the dark alley.

Hanabi stopped crying, frozen in fear at the sight of Yato.

"Yato, it's a Byakugan, and it's a very pure Byakugan. Kill her and take her eyes, and you can exchange them for valuable techniques or weapons," The Dokkaebi also saw the person and immediately jumped on Yato's shoulder, like a vicious dog, and instigated him. Its eyes turned scarlet as it eyed the Byakugan, reflecting the infinite greed in its eyes.

Yato ignored it. Even though he knew that he would get valuable items and powers if he exchanged the Byakugan, he suppressed his greed and remained rational. The girl's unmarked forehead indicated she was from the Hyuga main family. So, unless he wanted to die, he couldn't touch this girl.

At that moment, the stray dogs noticed Yato. They growled, but seeing he wasn't intimidated, they whimpered a few times before quickly retreating.

Yato also retracted his gaze at this time, and continued towards home, ignoring Hanabi and the wild dogs.

"Can you take me home?"

Seeing that he had no intention of paying attention to her, Hanabi looked around and plucked up the courage to speak.

Yato paused his steps and looked back at her.

Even though his heart had become cold after the daily treatment he received from the villagers, he wasn't cruel enough to leave a little girl to fend for herself at night while he could have just helped out with a simple gesture.

Without delay, Yato only said a single word, "Follow!" before turning and walking in a different direction.

Hanabi quickly got up and followed behind Yato while keeping a certain distance from him.

After a while, Hanabi recognized her surroundings and knew she was close to home. She smiled and jogged ahead.

That's right, this is her home, that person brought her back!

When she arrived at the front door of her house, Hanabi felt like she had survived a disaster and sighed in relief.

Turning around, she found that the little boy who brought her back had turned around and was about to leave, so she shouted.

"Can you tell me your name?"

Yato ignored her and continued to walk forward.

Seeing this, Hanabi hurriedly ran a few steps in his direction and shouted, "My name is Hyuga Hanabi. I want to be friends with you, but...can I?"

Hyuga Hanabi?

Yato was stunned when he heard this and looked back a few times. He found that the girl in front of him was indeed very similar to a certain woman in his impression.

So this is the future head of the Hyuga clan.

"I don't need friends."

Yato quickly regained his composure, retracted his gaze again, and left after saying this. No matter who she is, it has nothing to do with him.

Hanabi was stunned when she heard this, staring at the little boy in front of her blending into the night, like a wild wolf, and finally disappearing in front of her.

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