At this moment, Team 11 was about to leave the Land of Fire.
The sound of leaves being carried by the wind made Toru look up at the sky.
'I've never left Konoha before. It's obvious that Yamato-sensei has.'
He shifted his attention to Hinata for a second.
'She hasn't said a single word since we started the mission.'
"Nii-san, do you know where we're spending the night?" Hanabi asked.
Toru looked at Yamato, since in situations like this, he knew what to do. With that in mind, he said:
"You'll see when it gets dark."
Hanabi pouted because she wanted to know. Either way, Toru always stayed quiet like that, so, annoyed by his cold attitude, she quickly climbed onto Toru's back.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm tired. Since escorting us is your job, it should be fine, right?"
Hanabi smiled, finding it amusing.
'And... some people never change, huh...'
Toru sighed tiredly. In the past, he had to deal with similar things every time Hanabi snuck out.
While Hanabi enjoyed bothering Toru, Hinata watched everything with a sad expression on her face.
She lowered her gaze once again, because whenever she looked at Hanabi, all she could see was the "superior version." It made her a little sad, because even though she had trained to become stronger, Hanabi, despite being younger, surpassed her by far.
"It looks like it's almost getting dark. We should stay around here," Yamato said, bringing Hinata out of her thoughts.
"About time. My feet are starting to hurt," Ino added tiredly.
Hiashi, who had been walking ahead, stopped beside the others and, with his arms crossed, looked at Yamato.
"We should find a place where we can't be easily ambushed."
"I'll take care of that," Yamato replied.
For a few seconds, the sensei observed the terrain. It was filled with trees, bushes, and vegetation. It was perfect for using ninjutsu.
"All right..."
Yamato nodded, with everyone's eyes on him. Suddenly, he formed the hand seals in a single second and said:
"Mokuton: Shichūka no Jutsu."
Tree roots burst from the ground, rising six meters into the air. All the roots began joining together, forming four walls. Little by little, the wood took shape, finally becoming a house.
"No matter how many times I see it, it's still amazing," Ino said.
It was already the third time she had witnessed Mokuton.
Hiashi observed the house for a few seconds and recognized the ninjutsu when he saw it.
'Mokuton: a jutsu that belonged to the First Hokage.'
Although it was strange for someone like Yamato to possess a jutsu like Mokuton, Hiashi decided not to ask.
"I've never seen any ninjutsu like this before..." Hanabi whispered. She looked at Toru as if expecting him to answer.
He sighed and said:
"Maybe Yamato-sensei will end up using that jutsu more than once during this mission."
At first glance, it seemed to be a completely empty house, but when they entered, everyone realized that it actually was. The building was divided into different rooms, six in total.
Yamato looked at this with a neutral expression. However, a sudden sense of unease came over him. He looked at the children and then at Hiashi, who seemed completely calm.
"You can choose whichever room you want. In the meantime, I'll take care of keeping watch tonight."
'Isn't sensei acting strange?'
Ino didn't wait any longer and walked toward the house.
"I'm tired of walking so much, so I'm going to bed."
'Of course, because complaining about everything is exhausting...' Toru thought, rolling his eyes to the side.
"I'm going to bed too... Good night," Hinata said. She bowed and followed Ino.
Hiashi watched Hinata leave, and a sigh escaped his mouth.
"I'm going to bed too, Father, nii-san," Hanabi concluded.
After that, she entered the room that Hinata and Ino were sharing.
The only ones left were Hiashi and Toru, but they silently stared at the doors of the house. Of course, there wasn't much the two of them could talk about.
"I should go to bed as well. You should do the same, boy," Hiashi said as he entered the house, but he stopped at the doorway to add something else. "In a room far away from my daughters."
"Okay..." Toru replied. What had he done wrong for Hiashi to act like that for a moment? There was no way for him to know, but Hiashi certainly knew.
The leader of the Hyuga Clan was aware of his daughters' attitude toward Toru, but there was little he could do about it. After a long sigh, Hiashi climbed the stairs and entered one of the empty rooms, leaving Toru alone.
'I don't understand what happened, but I guess I'll take the room closest to the door.'
Toru put his hands in his pockets and began climbing the stairs. It didn't take him long to reach the room, which, interestingly enough, was right next to Hinata's.
When he entered the room, he made sure the door was completely closed. Although the hinges were made of wood, they were so well-crafted that they didn't make a sound.
The inside of the room was completely empty, and sleeping on the floor would hurt his back, but Toru was already prepared for it. From his pocket, he took out a summoning scroll, placed it on the wooden floor, and brought his hands together.
"Kai."
A small cloud of smoke appeared, and a second later, a futon appeared beside a lit candle and a plate.
'That's better...'
He lay down on the futon and, with his hands behind his head, stared at the ceiling. He raised the hand holding the empty scroll and thought:
'It's going to be a pain to seal the futon again...'
He already possessed several of these scrolls, which allowed him to store many of his weapons and survival supplies. He had approximately five scrolls hidden among his clothes.
A few more minutes passed, and Toru was still staring at the ceiling.
'I can't sleep...'
He sat up on the futon.
For a few seconds, his gaze remained fixed on the door. He didn't know whether he should go outside and get some fresh air.
"Something isn't right..." he said. Was his premonition betraying him?