He stated his identity concisely, his voice muffled by his mask:
"Jonin Shinku Yuhi has officially submitted a report regarding the annihilation of Mission Squad Aoi-4511001, which you reported."
"I am now conducting a routine inquiry into some of the details."
Hearing it was just a routine inquiry, Hyuga Aokawa secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
But his mind was already racing, reviewing the story he had told Shinku Yuhi over and over again, searching for any remaining loopholes.
The other party saw Hyuga Aokawa's nervous expression, unable to speak.
His tone softened slightly: "No need to be nervous, this is just routine. We need to verify the specific details of the incident with you."
Hyuga Aokawa seemed to be appeased, his emotions gradually stabilizing, and he began to narrate haltingly:
"That day after school, an upperclassman came to me, saying he hoped I could go on a mission with him, and promised me a portion of the reward..."
"The mission went smoothly, but on the way back, we encountered a Rogue Ninja..."
Hyuga Aokawa clearly explained all the details: how his former self connected with the squad, how they carried out the mission, and how they were ultimately killed by the Rogue Ninja.
All of this was true; he hadn't lied and it could withstand scrutiny.
As for what happened after he was rescued, it had nothing to do with the deaths of the three, so he briefly mentioned it and the Anbu weren't interested.
As Lynx listened, he quickly and accurately took notes.
Based on his experience, Hyuga Aokawa's narrative was logically coherent, and the details matched the previous investigation results.
He put away his paper and pen: "Then this matter is concluded. You may leave."
With that, without waiting for Hyuga Aokawa's response, he disappeared without a trace using the Body Flicker Technique.
Hyuga Aokawa looked at the spot where he vanished and thought to himself:
"It seems it really is the Anbu. Root wouldn't be so easy to deal with."
Seeing that it was almost time, Hyuga Aokawa headed to the Training Ground.
As was his habit, he went to the Village's outdoor field to train with Might Guy.
After every training session, his stomach and cells would be ravenous, making it the perfect time to go home for dinner and deliver nutrients throughout his body.
This was much better than training after dinner.
Recently, training with Might Guy and under the restoration of Sage Mode Chakra,
he felt his Chakra had increased significantly. Compared to his initial scarcity, he now had more Chakra to plan his tactics.
Moreover, his taijutsu and combat skills were much stronger than before, which proved his approach was correct.
He looked around but didn't see Might Guy, so he decided to warm up and train alone.
Just then, a green whirlwind sped from behind him.
"Yo! Aokawa, let's have a training session that burns with youth!"
Hyuga Aokawa turned around, and sure enough, it was Might Guy.
"Come on! I've been looking for you for ages."
"Then let's start with 100 laps of youthful warm-up running!"
Both of them exerted themselves and ran forward.
Two hours later.
"Aokawa! Let's do another 100 laps of youthful handstand running!"
Hyuga Aokawa collapsed on the ground, propping himself up with his hands, too exhausted to do anything but wave and pant.
Seeing this, Might Guy, full of passion, continued his handstand run alone.
Hyuga Aokawa practically "crawled" on all fours to the shade of a tree, laboriously putting on his goggles.
He concentrated and refined that precious Sage Mode Chakra, giving himself a deep "Sage Mode massage."
It wasn't until the fatigue gradually dissipated that he suddenly sprang to his feet.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a familiar, portly figure strolling over.
It was Hyuga Ryosuke again.
"Are you training, looking all lively like that?" Hyuga Ryosuke asked.
"You wouldn't understand." Hyuga Aokawa waved his hand, too lazy to explain, and turned to look at the disheveled, dust-covered fatty:
"What happened to you? Did you roll around in the mud?"
"Ah, don't even ask." Hyuga Ryosuke looked utterly dejected:
"My uncle and his family, I don't know what they were thinking, insisted on buying an apartment in the Village's central district and called me to be free labor."
"I just helped them move the renovation waste outside the Village to dispose of it."
"Village center? Apartment?"
These two keywords made Hyuga Aokawa instinctively look up at the sky, and after confirming that no figure carrying rice was floating by, he spoke:
"They have enough money to buy an apartment in the center, wouldn't it be better to hire someone to renovate? Why drag you in as free labor?"
"What money? I heard they borrowed a lot. They'll probably have to tighten their belts for the next ten or twenty years to pay off the debt."
"Borrowing so much just to squeeze into the central district?" Hyuga Aokawa was very puzzled.
Hyuga Ryosuke also looked helpless: "They said they wanted to do it all at once, even doing the renovations themselves to save money, so I became the ready-made laborer."
Hyuga Aokawa shook his head and patted his thick shoulder:
"Advise your uncle not to live in that apartment for too long. After ten or twenty years, when the debt is almost paid off, sell it as soon as possible."
"How is that possible? He plans to make that apartment a family heirloom, to live in for three generations!"
"Then tell your uncle to buy more insurance."
"Don't even think about that. They don't have money for insurance. They're living very frugally now."
Hyuga Ryosuke clearly didn't want to continue this heavy topic, so he changed the subject, saying plaintively:
"I'm so exhausted today. I feel like only Grandma's warm food can soothe my wounded spirit and tired body..."
"I knew you'd show up at this time to freeload a meal."
"We're neighbors, don't be so bothered."
...The two chatted as they unknowingly walked onto the Village's main street.
The surrounding atmosphere gradually became somewhat unusual, much noisier and more chaotic than usual.
Hyuga Aokawa looked in the direction of the abnormal sound, his heart sinking slightly.
He saw that at some point, many Ninja who had retreated from the Front Lines had appeared on the Village's main street.
They were in groups of three or five, some supporting each other as they walked with difficulty, while others were carried quickly on stretchers.
The air was filled with a faint smell of blood and suppressed gasps.
"...Those Iwagakure bastards, they don't follow any rules, launching a sneak attack without a word... cough cough..."
"They've been getting more and more arrogant lately."
"Sunagakure is also stirring, constantly trying to cross the border."
"…"
Hyuga Aokawa looked at these disheveled and battered personnel, and his sense of urgency grew even stronger.
These were merely exhausted troops rotated from various tense borders; border skirmishes alone were already so tragic... The true Third Shinobi World War would likely be far more terrifying than he imagined.
The original work only briefly touched upon the brutality of the war with a few scenes.
But in the real world, those were vibrant human lives.
"Look, that person seems to be your father."
Hyuga Ryosuke pointed to Hyuga Fū in the crowd.
He was seen limping, weaving through the returning troops from the border.
With his rough hands, he continuously stopped personnel, as if asking about something.
"Why is he here?"
Hyuga Aokawa's heart tightened, and he quickly ran over, with Hyuga Ryosuke hastily following suit.
As the two approached, they finally heard Hyuga Fū's anxious and hopeful voice:
"Excuse me, are there anyone named Hara Shunpei or Ōizumi Ryōya in the returning squads?"
He stopped two Ninja whose bodies were wrapped in bandages.
"Don't know them, ask the squads behind." The other party shook his head.
"Okay, thank you... thank you..."