In the afternoon
"There are still too many Anbu watching me from the shadows…" Devan, in his office, let out a snort as he stretched. He could easily sense ten Anbu ninjas outside his office, watching his every move. "The Root ninjas withdrew an hour ago, Did they have a meeting with Danzo?" he thought.
"Even if they're investigating, it's very difficult for them to find the culprit, I think," he mused as he lightly stroked the tips of his fingers, then slid one hand into his pocket, calmly caressing the Fractured Mind Coin.
"What's it for?" he narrowed his eyes. However, no matter how much he rubbed or touched the Fractured Mind Coin in his pocket, it simply appeared to be an ordinary coin.
Knock Knock
There was a sound at the office door. Devan, without even settling at his desk, shouted, "It's open!" and calmly waited for whoever was outside to enter.
The wooden door opened, revealing a young man with a werewolf-like appearance. His skin was a bit darker than the average person's, and he wore a Konoha Jounin outfit.
"Asuma," Devan muttered with a faint smile, looking at the elite jounin, the Third Hokage's son, and almost guessed the reason this man was here.
Asuma walked forward slowly, his gaze radiating hatred, contempt in his steps, and rage bottled in his clenched fists. "Devan, we need to talk about…" before he could finish speaking, the necromancer slammed his desk with some force and put on a surprised expression.
"Wait!!!" the necromancer looked shocked. Asuma didn't understand, he almost tilted his head slightly upon noticing Devan's surprised, focused stare.
"There's an idiot in my office… hahahahaha!!!" Devan burst into laughter, only he understanding his own joke.
Asuma narrowed his eyes, clicked his tongue, then took several steps forward and slammed Devan's desk so hard he could have broken it.
"Enough!!!" he shouted, visibly enraged, like a dog about to attack. "I need to know exactly what happened between you and Kurenai for…" he looked slowly downward, his breathing heavy, his vision turning blurry as his emotions pulsed like hearts within his body.
Devan, still smiling, made a slight mocking grimace, "Maybe I can't use my bone spear or summon skeletons because of those Anbu ninjas' presence, but, How about my Curse spell?, I cast it silently and without anyone noticing, now, How will you act werewolf?" Devan thought as he watched Asuma sob slightly.
Asuma tapped the desk lightly, sobs escaping his lips, his body trembling slightly. He lifted his head just a little to look at Devan's smiling face.
Rage engulfed Asuma's body, he clenched his teeth in fury, growled like a dog, and quickly drew his trench knives to launch an attack at Devan the next moment.
However
The necromancer, though weakened physically by the constant decay of his body in exchange for mental energy, still managed to dodge thanks to Asuma being completely overwhelmed by his emotions.
"What does this mean?!!" Devan shouted, acting surprised and angry at Asuma's sudden attack. He quickly formed hand seals and murmured, "Lightning Style: Shock Wave!!" from his hands burst a barrage of blue lightning bolts aimed at Asuma's body.
Seeing this wide-eyed, Asuma quickly tried to take a battle stance, "Why?" he asked himself in his mind, finding it difficult even to move his own body. Different emotions inside him tormented him.
Before anything else could happen, an Anbu ninja appeared quickly, grabbed Asuma's body, and helped him dodge Devan's attack.
"Tsk!!" the necromancer clicked his tongue and snorted in displeasure at the sight, his eyes focused on the Anbu ninja who helped Asuma, "Your mask is… familiar to me," he remarked quickly.
For his part, the Anbu used a forbidden technique to knock Asuma unconscious in a fraction of a second. He hoisted the man onto his shoulders and looked at the necromancer.
"In fact, we have met before, but that's not the issue. Asuma is the Third Hokage's son, do you know what that means?" the Anbu's voice was monotone, cold, and to some extent, full of threat.
Devan shifted slightly, stretched, cracked his neck, and simply shrugged, "Do you know what the Third Hokage's son just tried to do? A guy like that, who can't even control his own emotions, bah!!!" he shook his head.
"You better take him away, I could be a chatterbox and spread this incident all over the village if you don't leave soon…" Devan threatened. The Anbu understood. Both, as if making a deal, nodded before the Anbu leaving.
"I need to get rid of the Anbu watching me from the shadows without killing them…" Devan thought.
In the center of Konoha Village.
Here, Naruto, now with clean clothes and his hair somewhat neatly combed, was watching the Ninja Academy from a distance.
He could feel the excitement of the people inside that academy, a kind of emotion he had never experienced before, a sort of desire, a yearning for the future swirling in his heart.
While Naruto watched the academy from afar, a girl with white eyes and black hair not too far away looked in his direction with narrowed eyes.
"Lady Hinata, we must return to the clan," a maid at her right tried to gently tug at her arm. However, she didn't move forward. Instead, she stood there watching the blond boy for a few moments.
"Lady Hinata," the maid followed the girl's gaze and noticed Naruto. Immediately after, she swallowed hard in some surprise. She knew that boy's identity. "Lady Hinata never spoke with him, nothing ever happened between them, so, Why does she seem so interested in the boy?" the maid wasn't sure why Hinata was staring so fervently at that boy.
She kneeled to look at Hinata's youthful face, a bright smile on her own, then raised her right hand to touch the girl's cheek, drawing her attention. "Hehe, Lady… Hinata, Why are you looking at the blond boy?" she asked innocently, making her voice intentionally higher-pitched.
There was a slight moment of silence. Hinata seemed to breathe a little faster, her eyes began to shine slightly, and she bit lightly at her lower lip.
The girl moved one hand to her chest, "It's like… I feel like I should know him, but, I don't," she rubbed her chest with some intensity, "Mayuri… Do you know why?…" she paused.
Almost as if drawing breath from the deepest part of her heart to speak, Hinata looked into her maid Mayuri's eyes, with an intention that a girl her age shouldn't be capable of having.
"Do you know why it hurts so much here when I see that blond boy? It feels empty, lifeless, strange, lonely…" Hinata lowered her head, small tears running down her cheeks, "I don't know him, I don't know who he is, and yet…" before Hinata could finish speaking, Mayuri pulled her into her arms to console her.
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