"I don't know them. You can ask the teams behind us." The other party shook their head.
"Okay, thank you... thank you..."
The light in Hyuga Fū's eyes dimmed a little, and he turned around, rushing to ask the next stumbling squad.
"Don't know them," two more people shook their heads.
Hyuga Fū continued asking, and a bad premonition gradually grew in his heart.
"Is it Hara Shunpei and Ōizumi Ryōya?" A voice suddenly came from behind him.
Hyuga Fū spun around abruptly and saw a long-haired Ninja.
"Yes! Yes! Do you know them?" he asked eagerly.
The long-haired Ninja stroked his chin, his brows tightly furrowed, trying hard to recall:
"Are they... both quite tall, one with long hair, a bit... stout? The other one..."
Hyuga Fū's expression brightened upon hearing this, and he quickly added:
"Yes! The other one is bald! With a very obvious scar on his forehead!"
"Then it must be them." The long-haired Ninja nodded affirmingly after being reminded by him:
"Their captain is at the very end of the team, I'll take you there."
"Good! That's great! Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Hyuga Fū thanked him repeatedly and followed the long-haired Ninja to the end of the team.
The long-haired Ninja led Hyuga Fū to a middle-aged Jonin wearing a green vest and looking exhausted, briefly explaining the situation.
"They sacrificed themselves..."
The Vest-wearing Jōnin lowered his head, his voice heavy, carrying unconcealed grief.
"Sac... sacrificed? How could this be?!" Hyuga Fū was struck by lightning, crying out in shock.
Two Chunin, whose Body Flicker Technique wasn't bad, and the border they were patrolling only bordered small countries.
The risk wasn't very high, so how could they suddenly have sacrificed themselves?
"They should have returned by now," the Vest-wearing Jōnin's voice was low and suppressed:
"But they were temporarily conscripted to scout intelligence in enemy territory... and fell into an ambush."
"Not even their bodies returned..."
Hyuga Fū could no longer hear what the Vest Ninja said afterward.
Hyuga Fū could no longer hear what the Vest-wearing Jōnin said afterward.
He turned around blankly, his eyes hollow, his thoughts in a mess, just walking aimlessly forward.
He didn't even react when Hyuga Aokawa called him.
Upon suddenly hearing the news of the two's sacrifice, Hyuga Fū was momentarily unable to accept it.
Hyuga Aokawa looked at his dazed state and did not disturb him.
Two friends who had faced life and death together were suddenly gone.
Even for Ninja accustomed to seeing life and death, it was difficult to accept at once.
For several days afterward, Hyuga Fū was in a daze.
It wasn't until after dinner on the fifth day that Hyuga Fū uncharacteristically and silently put on his Ninja Tools pouch, which he hadn't used in a long time, and walked out the door without a word.
Hyuga Aokawa had been watching him.
Judging by the direction he was heading, it should be the Training Ground.
"Is he... preparing to resume training?"
After all, since his severe injury and retirement, Hyuga Fū had only been performing the simplest D-Rank Missionss and hadn't had any proper training for a long time.
But Hyuga Aokawa pondered for a moment, and his heart suddenly sank.
He might be planning to undertake that C-Rank Mission to exterminate mountain bandits alone!
The mission deadline was approaching, and the teammates he had originally agreed upon would never return.
He immediately chased after him and grabbed Hyuga Fū's arm.
"Dad..."
After calling three times, Hyuga Fū finally came back to his senses in a daze.
Seeing that it was his son, a trace of spirit appeared in his dull eyes.
He forced a smile: "It's you... Finished eating?"
"I can help with that mission to exterminate mountain bandits," Hyuga Aokawa said directly.
"Oh, you mean that one..." Hyuga Fū waved his hand, pretending to be relaxed and said:
"I've already figured out who to team up with, so don't come and make trouble; just focus on your studies."
But Hyuga Aokawa knew he was lying.
For a mission already accepted, finding temporary teammates was simply unrealistic.
Except for mission personnel assigned by superiors where there was no choice, for these commercial missions, everyone looked for familiar and reliable teammates.
No one felt comfortable entrusting their back to an unfamiliar person; there were many who stabbed teammates in the back in the Ninja World.
Moreover, Hyuga Fū had no mobility.
If he could easily find people to team up with, he wouldn't have been performing simple missions for the past few years.
"Dad, my archery skills have made new progress; at least I can help you snipe those stragglers."
Hyuga Aokawa decided to reveal some of his abilities. His previous self had actually been tinkering with archery, but without success.
Now, it wasn't too hard for people to accept that he suddenly knew archery-related Ninjutsu.
Hyuga Fū looked at his son, who was unprecedentedly eager and serious, and a trace of relief suddenly welled up in his heart.
His son used to only care about playing and rebelling, but recently he had suddenly matured a lot.
He trained diligently, developed a sense of responsibility, and now even understood how to worry about his father's mission.
"If only he could put more effort into Gentle Fist, that would be even better..."
Thinking of this, Hyuga Fū's eyes softened a bit.
As for helping with the mission?
Hyuga Fū secretly shook his head.
This child had been rebellious since he was young, thinking that learning Gentle Fist was too hard, and refused to put in the effort.
He spent all his time studying archery, saying he wanted to utilize the Byakugan's long-range vision to become a one-shot kill Ninja.
However, bows are huge and inconvenient to carry during missions.
Furthermore, the power of Chakra Arrows is entirely limited by the Materials of the bow itself.
Even if the wielder has immense power, their enhancement to the Chakra Arrows is negligible.
What if he hits a hundred out of a hundred? The Chakra Arrows he shoots can at most break through some Genin's defenses.
For some Chunin or Jonin, these Chakra Arrows are like toys.
Not to mention Hyuga Aokawa's accuracy, which started to falter at ten meters.
The Gentle Fist, passed down by the Hyuga Clan for thousands of years, might not be the strongest, but it is at least the most suitable.
If archery were suitable for the Hyuga Clan, it would have been developed thousands of years ago.
However, since his son was actively offering to help, Hyuga Fū didn't want to discourage him.
He patted Hyuga Aokawa's shoulder and said:
"You're still young. When you're a bit older, then come and help Dad, okay?"
Hyuga Aokawa wanted to say more, but Hyuga Fū had already turned around.
Dragging his heavy leg, he continued to walk resolutely towards the Training Ground.
Looking at Hyuga Fū's unusually stubborn back, he sighed helplessly.
Hyuga Fū's impression of him was still stuck in that unaccomplished stage, believing that he would only cause trouble if he went.
But it wasn't his fault.
Without the Favor of the Stone Slab, with his former self's pathetic strength, he would indeed only be a hindrance.
However, changing Hyuga Fū's preconceived notions about him was also very simple.
That was to let him see with his own eyes, and feel firsthand... that he already possessed strength capable of threatening him, and even fighting alongside him!