Holding Hinata’s soft little hand, they ambled through the small town of the Land of Waves.
Hinata wore a purple and white zip-up jacket, blue slim-fit pants, and leg wraps. Despite being the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan, her attire was quite simple.
Lin Yu was even more understated, in loose casual clothes, looking like a recently awakened unemployed youth.
“Teacher Lin Yu… where are we going?”
Hinata clutched the corner of her jacket, still feeling a bit scared and shy. After all, everything that happened last night was deeply etched in her young mind. She even found it unbelievable that she hadn't fainted after witnessing it all.
Was Hinata truly a bad girl?
“Let’s just walk… you’ll know soon enough.”
Lin Yu gradually spread out his senses. He didn’t know Gato’s lair, nor did he intend to ask passersby. This was just a leisurely stroll, no need for a strong objective.
Hinata softly acknowledged, shaking her head to clear those messy thoughts.
Suddenly, a grubby little girl tugged at Hinata’s sleeve and extended her mud-caked hands.
“Sister…”
Hinata paused for a moment, then quickly reacted, taking out some compressed biscuits from her backpack and handing them over.
“Wow, thank you, sister!”
Seeing the little girl run off happily into a nearby alley with the biscuits, Hinata realized that the villagers lining the road were all gaunt and emaciated.
“What’s wrong with this town? Everyone looks so…”
Lin Yu said, “This is probably why Tazuna is determined to finish that bridge at all costs.”
Hinata looked at the villagers wearing straw hats, their eyes dim and lifeless, and nodded thoughtfully.
“Can we help them?”
Lin Yu countered, “How? With money? And then let Gato oppress them again?”
“At least let them have enough to eat.”
Lin Yu shook his head, “They have hands and feet, they can work and farm. They don’t need our pity. They just lack faith, a bit of courage.”
“Then, can we help them?”
Lin Yu smiled, “Aren’t we already on our way to help them?”
Hinata looked up at Lin Yu, her eyes curving upwards.
“Teacher Lin Yu actually looks very handsome when he’s doing serious things!”
“Little Hinata, have you seen Teacher do anything… not so serious?”
“Mmm…”
Hinata blushed, tightened her grip on Lin Yu’s large hand, and whispered, “Will Hinata get her share of the money we’re going to steal later?”
Lin Yu was quite surprised, “Wasn’t Little Hinata very resistant to this sort of thing?”
Seeing Hinata stammer and unable to speak, Lin Yu burst into laughter, “Whatever Little Hinata can steal later, you can keep. The more you steal, the more you get!”
“Okay, Hinata will work hard!”
Hinata clenched her little fists, determination on her delicate face. She, Hinata, was going to make money!
Lin Yu smiled wryly. Corrupting little lolis was something he had always enjoyed. Kurenai was like that, and now Hinata was too.
…
Gato’s Manor.
“Lord Gato, Tazuna is being protected by several ninjas. Our men are no match for them.”
“What are you afraid of? We have more formidable ninjas.”
Dressed in a suit, tie, and sunglasses, Gato lounged with his legs crossed, sipping red wine, showing no sign of the terror from yesterday.
As a smuggler of contraband, he had faced enough dangers to fill a novel. As long as his heart was black enough, and he was more ruthless than his enemies, the enemy would be the one to die.
Though he feared death, he feared poverty even more. For this reason, he was confident in anything that could be solved with money.
Gato could tell that Kakuzu was a mercenary, and as long as he paid the price, the other party would not break their contract.
“Ninjas like this should be serving me,” Gato adjusted his glasses, a thought appearing in his mind to recruit Kakuzu to his side.
Bang bang bang!
A subordinate burst in frantically, shouting anxiously, “It’s bad, Lord Gato! Someone has broken into the manor and injured many of our men.”
Gato roared in anger, “Who has the guts to oppose me, Gato? How many are there?”
“A little girl!”
*Slap!*
The subordinate covered his bright red left cheek, a clear handprint visible. He hadn’t spoken incorrectly, so why did Lord Gato hit him?
“You idiot! A woman managed to take you all down? I…”
*Boom!*
Before Gato could finish speaking, the manor’s main gate was blown open with a single palm strike, and a weak voice echoed.
“You are Gato?”
Watching the Byakugan-eyed girl walk slowly towards him, Gato signaled to his subordinate and asked loudly, “Who are you?”
The girl took a deep breath, assumed a Gentle Fist stance, and shouted, “I am Hyuga Hinata, pay up!”
“……”
“Hahaha! Little girl, I think you’ve been reading too many fairy tales and want to play the hero?” Gato roared with laughter. He had never seen such a foolish kunoichi, breaking into his manor alone and demanding money.
“Little girl, are you trying to rob me? Uncle doesn’t have money, only this stick. Do you want it? Hahaha!”
Hinata didn’t understand what the man was referring to, but seeing his lewd expression, she felt a surge of disgust.
Just as she was about to teach this perverted bald man a lesson, two black cloaks embroidered with red clouds appeared in her vision.
“They are…”
“Konoha ninjas?”
Kakuzu’s eyelids twitched slightly. He didn’t want to deal with people from this village, especially after the First Hokage’s revival. He didn’t even want to go to the Land of Fire.
To encounter Konoha ninjas in this remote Land of Waves, Kakuzu felt a bad premonition.
“Quick, capture this little girl!” Gato pointed at Hinata and shouted at Kakuzu.
Kakuzu’s green pupils flashed with cold light, and he instantly appeared before Gato, grabbing him and saying coldly, “Are you ordering me?”
*Drip… drip…*
Gato clutched his crotch and said obsequiously, “I can pay more, ten million… no, no, twenty million. And they are the ninjas hired by Tazuna. If you want to complete the contract, you will have to deal with them.”
Kakuzu frowned. What Gato said made some sense, but he had hundreds of ways to kill an ordinary person and could easily avoid these Konoha ninjas. He didn’t want to cause himself trouble.
Kakuzu said coldly, “Fifty million. Whether the contract is completed or not, if I get one yen less, I’ll kill you.”
Without giving Gato any room to speak, Kakuzu walked coldly towards Hinata. Just as he was about to tell her to leave, he noticed Hidan tugging hard at his sleeve from behind.
“Don’t move! Look outside!”
Kakuzu’s gaze swept past Hinata and landed on the small road outside the manor, where a red-haired young man in casual attire was slowly approaching. Seeing that familiar face, and then looking at the rather cute girl in front of him, Kakuzu’s heart almost stopped beating.
“Hehehe, didn’t you say money is your faith? Why aren’t you saying anything? Why aren’t you acting!” Hidan cackled gleefully from behind. He hadn’t participated at all; he was just an observer.
Kakuzu did not reply. He silently turned around and transformed into his Earth Grudge Fear Form. Strands of fine black threads wrapped around Gato, binding him in mid-air.
“You dared to attempt to harm this old man with money, to insult my faith! You are truly damned!”
Hidan clutched his forehead and burst into laughter!
Kakuzu actually had a cute side, how rare!