Chapter 232: Is Gekkō Hayate's Death Today?
By the time Akiyama Makoto stopped, Uzuki Yūgao was already breathing erratically, her face flushed.
He felt that if he went a step further now, she wouldn't resist, at least not until the very last step. She was, indeed, a woman who was not good at resisting or refusing, and yet she was so beautiful.
However, he had no intention of going further. He had said it was their "first meeting." If he went all the way on their first meeting, how would she be able to face herself?
He held her by the waist, and they lay on the lawn, looking at the stars together.
Yūgao also slowly calmed down. Not only did she not feel neglected because he had stopped, but she felt that he was fully respecting her wishes.
She shyly linked her fingers with his, rested her head on his shoulder, and savored everything that had happened today. Although it was chaotic... the sense of contentment in her heart told her that she did not regret it.
After her heartbeat had gradually returned to normal, he decided to start a serious topic.
"What do you plan to do next?"
"Continue as an Anbu, or stay by my side under the pretext of a mission, or... truly join me?"
It seemed like he was giving her a choice, but in reality, in her current situation, she had no choice.
Even if he took her forehead protector and didn't publicly announce that she was a rogue ninja, losing her protector was a very serious problem for a ninja, and she would definitely be punished by the Hokage. This was because the forehead protector was not just a symbol of identity, but also a means of identification, which contained a special formula to identify a ninja's affiliation.
This meant that if her protector was picked up by a hostile force, it could be used for subversive activities and intelligence theft.
So, even if she accepted the punishment from the Hokage's Office and managed to keep her status as a ninja, she probably wouldn't be able to stay in the Anbu.
Yūgao frowned, considering all this. Finally, she sighed softly. "I don't know."
"You're right, Makoto-kun. My idea of defecting was too naive. As a person of Konoha, I will, of course, work hard to protect it."
"But... what exactly should I do? I don't know."
This answer was not surprising. It was the standard answer that most ninja would give. They had been raised as ninja since they were young. Outside of the village, they really didn't know how to live.
Zabuza, a Jōnin-level rogue ninja, had been mocked and ridiculed by Gatō, yet hadn't dared to fight back easily. Although he was also after Gatō's wealth, it was enough to show how strong a ninja's mental inertia was.
This was even more true for a ninja like her, who had joined the Hokage's personal Anbu at a young age. They didn't even really know how to live a normal life.
"In that case, report to the Hokage that you're applying to be a chef at my house. That way, you can stay with me."
Her expression changed slightly. He thought she would say the Hokage wouldn't agree, but she just said, "I... I'm not a very good cook."
He let out a puff of laughter. She blushed and reached out to cover his mouth.
He kissed her palm in response. The tickling sensation made her quickly pull her hand back.
Seeing that she was about to get angry, he said, "Alright, it's just an excuse for the public. Hiruzen Sarutobi won't believe it either. You just need to let him think I'm doing it out of lust for your beauty."
He cupped her face. "You have the capital for that, don't you?"
Her heart felt sweet, but she said, "But... is that really appropriate? Won't it be bad for your reputation?"
"It's fine. I don't have a good reputation to begin with."
After he had confessed to four girls at once, he knew he didn't have much of a reputation in that regard. But from another perspective, this was also proof of his "strong reputation," enough to make Hiruzen believe that he had taken her in because he was captivated by her looks.
"I'll... go and write the report for the Hokage tomorrow."
She agreed, but then hesitated.
He knew what she was worried about. She didn't know that Gekkō Hayate was going to die, but she wouldn't just forget the intelligence she had gathered about the Sand Village's strange movements.
"Are you worried that the Sand Village will start a war?"
She nodded.
He said calmly, "Didn't you see Lord Jiraiya? Don't you have any thoughts on that?"
A trace of instinctive disgust appeared on her face. "I think we should just call him 'Jiraiya'. We can call him 'Lord' in front of others."
He nodded, agreeing. Although he felt that Jiraiya's peeping was a harmless quirk, he certainly couldn't say that in front of her, a near-victim. He couldn't even say it in front of the other girls.
"Although Jiraiya has a bad reputation and writes adult novels, his strength is beyond doubt. And for him to return to Konoha at this time... don't you think it's not a coincidence?"
Her eyes lit up slightly.
"Lord Hokage's side must have also learned of the Sand Village's movements. He definitely has his own arrangements. As for why he didn't adopt your suggestion, it can only be that he has his own plan. It's not like he's doing nothing, right?"
He gave a perfectly reasonable judgment. If he didn't know the future developments, he would definitely think that Konoha was not afraid of the challenge.
"You just need to rest assured and do your thing. I'll arrange a room for you in my house. You can slowly adapt to your new life."
"I have my own apartment. I—"
She blushed, wanting to say something more, but he had already placed his index finger on her lips.
Looking at his insistent gaze, her expression softened, and she nodded with a hint of grievance.
Only then did he reveal a satisfied smile. He then thought about the Gekkō Hayate problem.
If she had come to beg him to save him, and was willing to become his woman for it, then even if he would have been unhappy, he still would have saved him.
But now, this problem had become rather muddled.
She hadn't come for Hayate, and she had forgotten that he was going to die.
He could pretend he didn't know about his death, but would Hayate's death in turn make it so that she could never forget him?
Forget it. I should still have time to think about this.
It was getting late, and he still had several girls at his house. He couldn't just spend the night here with her.
At this thought, he said, "Let me take you home. We can live together starting tomorrow. You don't need to stand guard for me tonight."
"Besides, you've known about my strength for a while, right? There was never any need for you to stand guard. But you still insisted on doing it, and you didn't tell the Hokage all my secrets..."
As he said this, his expression changed slightly.
So that's why her behavior was so strange... She's had feelings for me all along.
Although this was a result of the "memory" buff, he still felt his heart grow warm.
She had clearly had a similar feeling. She was too shy to look at him, and just nodded, tacitly admitting what he had said.
His hand brushed through her hair, and he kissed her on the forehead.
Compared to their deep kiss earlier, this was nothing, but it was full of affection, which made her feel intoxicated.
He then picked her up and used the Flying Thunder God to return to his home.
The girls were still in the bath. Anko greeted her enthusiastically. "Looks like you've resolved it. Then let's go for a drink together tomorrow, Yūgao?"
This time, she didn't refuse, but returned a polite smile. "Alright, Anko-senpai."
"'Senpai' is a rare title... But in Makoto-kun's house, just call me by my name. After all, we'll all be sisters in the future, haha."
Anko was being her usual, boisterous self. Having just been comforted by him, she didn't have any jealous thoughts, only a sincere welcome for her.
Yūgao was also moved, her eyes shining. After being repeatedly hit by the Hokage and Hayate, she was once again feeling kindness from others. As he had said, it really wasn't easy to find kindness in the ninja world. And in his home, it seemed to be everywhere.
After saying goodbye to Anko, he took her by the hand and left the house.
She wanted to let go, but he refused.
"If we're seen like this by others," she said shyly, "it might cause some trouble—"
"What trouble could it be? Being seen will only make it easier for you to pass the Hokage's "review" tomorrow."
He was fearless, and even wrapped his arm around her waist.
She didn't know how to refuse, so she could only let him.
It was already late at night, and the two of them were walking on the empty streets.
Suddenly, he looked up in one direction, a trace of doubt in his eyes.
Could it be... today?
What day did Hayate die?
He didn't have an exact memory, but he knew it was probably within two or three days after the end of the second exam. During this time, Naruto had met Jiraiya and had just begun to train with him, without any results yet.
And most importantly, in the original story, Hayate had died in Kikyō Castle, not in Konoha—But now he was... following Kabuto in Konoha?
His eyes lit up. He suddenly understood. The current Kabuto was a candidate in the next round of the exam. And the incident where he had attacked Sasuke hadn't happened. This meant his identity had not yet been exposed.
However, Konoha had noticed the abnormality in Kabuto's resume during the second exam, which was why they had sent Hayate to secretly follow him. This meant that Kabuto couldn't leave Konoha to go to Kikyō Castle to meet Baki.
So the meeting place has been changed to a remote corner inside Konoha?
He released his senses. The two of them, one after the other, entered the old Uchiha compound.
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. If the Uchiha knew that their home had become a desolate place that anyone could just walk into, would they be so angry that they'd jump out of the Pure Land to beat people up?
"What's wrong?"
Yūgao noticed that something was off with him.
He thought for a moment. "I sensed a strange movement. I'm thinking about whether I should go and check it out."
She immediately understood. This probably meant that ninja from another country were moving in secret. She frowned and, after a moment's thought, said, "Tell me the direction. I'll go by myself."
"I am still an Anbu of Konoha. I can't just pretend nothing is happening at a time like this. But you're still a civilian—"
She was about to say something more, but he gently brushed his hand through her hair. "Besides being a civilian, I'm also your boyfriend now. I naturally can't just sit by and do nothing."
"Let's go. I'll go with you. Don't forget, I can still use the Flying Thunder God at critical moments."
Yūgao's mouth opened, but in the end, her words turned into a smile. She nodded in agreement.
The two of them then headed in the direction of Gekkō Hayate.
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