Could Kurenai blame Kozue if she killed a Leaf Village ninja?
The woman would know that the young man was only defending himself, so she couldn't hate him.
But what if the murdered person was someone close to her?
If the latter were to happen, Kurenai would be furious and would never forgive him.
But what could she do in this case?
Kozue already proved she was on a completely different level by defeating the Fourth Raikage, and she would be easily killed like an insect if she dared to seek revenge.
The woman would not stand a chance.
There was also the fact that morally the young man was right.
If Kozue were to kill a ninja from the Leaf Village, he would only be defending himself.
He had also saved her and her team, and she was very grateful to him.
The only thing that could prevent this whole complicated situation was for Kozue not to come into conflict with the Hyuga Clan.
But how would I do it?
The woman sighed and silently prayed that the Hyuga clan wouldn't be so stubborn and would understand that engaging in conflict with someone capable of easily defeating the Fourth Raikage was a bad idea.
But when have the elders of a noble clan ever been reasonable?
"Thank you so much"
While Kurenai was lost in thought, her favorite student had stepped forward and bowed 45 degrees to thank the young man who had saved them.
This surprised not only her but also her classmates, as Hinata was usually shy and always tried to hide. She was too embarrassed to be the center of attention.
But they assumed that after being saved, the young woman overcame her embarrassment to say thank you.
And as they suspected, Hinata felt her heart racing as she bowed. But the shyness she usually felt was absent for some strange reason.
But instead, a strange impulse or courage arose within the young woman and she took a step forward.
Hinata's strange surge of courage came about because of all the recent events.
From regaining the freedom she thought she had lost forever, to being engulfed in despair after almost being kidnapped by the cloud village, all of this caused the young woman to stop worrying so much about things.
On a subconscious level, the young Hyuga began to see that worrying was pointless. And after remaining silent for most of her life, the urge to speak up and express her opinion finally surfaced.
"I don't know if I deserve your thanks," Kozue replied.
"After all, removing the seal on your forehead caused the cloud ninjas to target you."
To tell the truth, Kozue was a little embarrassed.
He had been concentrating on the Hyuga Clan's retaliation against him and how he could have some fun in the upcoming battle, and had ignored that Hinata would be caught in the middle of it all.
If the Hyuga Clan wanted to kill him for removing the caged bird seal, what would they do to Hinata who was now 'free'?
Only now, when the Cloud Village tried to kidnap Hinata immediately after releasing her from the seal, did she realize that the Hyuga Clan might eliminate her to cover up the matter.
A simple mistake, although this mistake was born from wanting to help a young woman who was one of her favorite characters in the series, almost caused the same young woman to meet her end and Kozue felt bad.
"No, no, no, no," Hinata replied quickly while shaking her head.
Seeing Kozue feel guilty made the white-eyed young woman feel anxious to correct that.
"You did me a big favor," the young woman said as she thought about her words.
Of course, although she didn't feel as shy as she used to, she still found it a little difficult to articulate so many words in a short time in front of someone she had only recently met.
"...you're not to blame for anything..."
"...your help made me extremely happy..."
Hinata's words were her true feelings.
For most of her life, few people had shown concern for her.
Kurenai, Shino, and Kiba were those only people, but they were her teacher and teammates.
Kozue, on the other hand, was a complete stranger, yet he had done great things for her out of the blue. This stirred familiar feelings within her, feelings that only surfaced when she thought of a certain blond boy from the Hidden Leaf Village.
Hinata spoke her last words in a low voice, and a blush filled her pale cheeks, making her look extremely cute and adorable.
It would be a shame if something happened to her, and now Kozue was wondering if it was a good idea for the young woman to return to her village.
"My student is right"
At that moment, Kurenai stepped forward.
"You didn't do anything wrong"
"On the other hand, the help you haven't given is something we will hardly be able to repay."
At that moment, Kiba and Shino, although they didn't say anything, nodded in agreement with their teacher.
Shino's reserved attitude was natural. But Kiba's silence was surprising because of how extroverted he usually was.
But could he be blamed?
So much had happened in such a short time, discovering how insignificant he was compared to someone truly powerful like the Fourth Raikage.
But the young man in front of them had defeated that same Fourth Raikage as if it were nothing, so it was natural for him to adopt a reserved attitude.
Even Akamaru remained silent when he usually barked.
Kurenai didn't dwell much on her students' silence; instead, she gazed at the young man in front of her as she pondered how to address the matter that concerned her.
Not only had Kozue done them so many favors, but now he had to tell them that it was very likely the Hyuga clan would attack him?
And the most embarrassing thing was that Kurenai wanted to ask him not to kill ninjas from the Leaf Village, something that was ridiculous considering that the ninjas from her village definitely attacked with deadly intentions.
Kozue stared at the two women.
And although I didn't know his thoughts, I could feel his emotions.
Therefore, I knew that her gratitude was genuine.
But in the same way, she could sense Kurenai's hesitation and worry and could guess what was going on.
While Hinata's mind was simpler, Kurenai thought things through more and could foresee future problems regarding the Hyuga clan.
The Hyuga clan has trusted the caged bird seal for hundreds of years, so they wouldn't be happy if someone had deciphered it.
The Hyuga clan and Kozue will inevitably come into conflict.
Kozue was strong, so Kurenai shouldn't be worried about him.
The woman's source of concern should be her student, who will be caught in the middle of this whole mess.
Kozue could guess this and appreciated Hinata even more because the young woman didn't even have a single thought of resentment.
"I don't think the Hyuga clan is very happy that I broke their seal," Kozue said.
"Are you going to thank me even if I put Hinata and her clan in danger?"
And as Kozue thought, he sensed the hesitation in both women.
But unlike Kurenai, the young Hyuga's hesitation quickly disappeared and she promptly nodded her head.
"...even if you didn't know what you were doing at that moment, you helped me..." the young woman with white eyes said softly.
"...and you have nothing to worry about, I won't tell my clan who broke the seal..."
"...even if it costs me my life, I will keep your identity safe..."
And as Kozue suspected, the young woman was willing to die to keep him 'safe'.
"Tonta" dijo Kozue.
"I'm strong, you don't need to worry about me."
"On the contrary, you should be worried about your clan."
"If I and your clan fight, it will be the Hyuga clan that faces annihilation."
Kozue said all that matter-of-factly. It was obvious he was confident in dealing with the Hyuga clan.
Hinata suddenly 'remembered' Kozue's strength, being able to defeat the Fourth Raikage.
And while the young Hyuga was happy that Kozue would not be in danger, Kurenai was different.
"Ichihara-san is right"
"She's strong and doesn't have to worry about retaliation from the Hyuga Clan," the woman said as she rubbed her favorite student's head.
"Pero Ichihara-san…" - aquí Kurenai miró a Kozue.
"While the Hyuga Clan isn't a concern for you, the village will inevitably become involved if things escalate too much."
"It would be best if you avoided fighting with the Hyuga Clan for now."
"When I return to the village, I will go directly to the Hokage to report this matter and thus prevent the Hyuga Clan from attacking you."
"Otherwise, the village will see you as an enemy."