"Oh, Ryosuke is here. Stay and eat with us. No need to help, just sit there."
"Thank you, Grandma..." Hyuga Ryosuke's scheme had succeeded, and he returned to the living room with a grin.
Hyuga Aokawa rolled his eyes at him. "How many times have you used that trick?"
"Oh, come on, we're all so close. Don't be so stingy."
Hyuga Ryosuke knelt by the table and poured himself a glass of water.
Hyuga Aokawa looked at his relaxed demeanor and spoke slowly:
"Lend me thirty thousand."
"Pfft!"
The fat guy sprayed out the water he had just taken a sip of before he could even swallow.
Hyuga Aokawa quickly dodged.
"Hey! I'm just here for a meal, and you're trying to rob me?" Hyuga Ryosuke wiped the water from the corner of his mouth and snapped.
"I'm injured. It's for treatment," Hyuga Aokawa said calmly.
"What kind of injury costs thirty thousand? You're just doing D-Rank Missionss; it's not like you could've been stabbed."
"Yeah, I was stabbed..."
Hyuga Aokawa tossed the Hospital bill over. "It cost me eighty thousand."
"Eighty thousand?" Hyuga Ryosuke stared at him with wide eyes.
"Is it really necessary to go that hard for a mission?"
He glanced down at the bill. "My goodness, such a ruthless attack. You didn't cuckold someone, did you?"
"Cut the crap. Are you lending it or not?"
Hyuga Ryosuke stared at him for a while, then sighed after a moment.
Pouting, he reluctantly took out his wallet.
"It wasn't easy for me to save up some money."
He slowly pulled banknotes from his wallet; counting thirty thousand Ryo felt like he was counting three million.
After counting for quite a while, he finally handed them over to Hyuga Aokawa reluctantly.
Just as he was about to take them, Hyuga Ryosuke suddenly pulled his hand back:
"I'm going to eat a few extra bites later."
"Fine!"
"You have to pay me back. I'm saving this to get a wife."
Hyuga Aokawa snatched the banknotes that the other had been clutching for ages:
"How much could getting a wife possibly cost?"
"Hey, hey, hey, that's uncalled for." Hyuga Ryosuke pointed at Hyuga Aokawa:
"You have girls throwing themselves at you, but I don't. You swear you'll pay me back."
"Don't worry, I'll pay you back after the next mission."
"With the way you lose money on missions, it'll take forever. How will I ever find a wife?"
Hearing this, Hyuga Aokawa raised his hand:
"Finding a wife is easy. If I can't pay you back, I'll introduce one to you."
"You said it. It's a deal."
He watched helplessly as Hyuga Aokawa stuffed the money into his pocket. Then he looked away and became serious, asking:
"What exactly happened?"
"There was a bit of an accident."
Hyuga Aokawa leaned in and lowered his voice, telling Hyuga Ryosuke exactly what he had reported to Yūhi Shinku.
He also didn't tell Hyuga Ryosuke about the Quincy business.
It wasn't that he didn't trust him, but rather that it was unnecessary.
The village was full of surveillance; once spoken, it would be beyond his control.
In this world, even the dead couldn't keep secrets, let alone the living.
If he said it today, Danzo would have him sent to Root tomorrow. After all, long-range attacks were unique in assassination and perfectly suited Danzo's taste.
Hearing that there was a bounty on the Hyuga Branch Family, Hyuga Ryosuke's expression also turned serious.
"No wonder I felt like they were coming for me during the last mission. Luckily, there was a Jonin in the team."
Hyuga Ryosuke felt a lingering fear as he looked back.
"They can't get the Byakugan of the Main House, so they're planning to use the Branch Family to try and crack the Bird in a Cage," Hyuga Aokawa said.
"You should be more careful with your missions lately."
Hyuga Ryosuke nodded.
"Dinner's ready!"
"Little Aokawa, Little Ryosuke, come help serve the dishes."
"Coming, Grandma..."
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was night.
The original plan to attempt Sage Mode was also delayed.
Early the next morning.
Hyuga Aokawa sat on the bed and continued his attempt at Sage Mode.
High levels of Natural Energy would lead to Petrification, so Hyuga Aokawa didn't plan to absorb it throughout his whole body from the start.
Moreover, his current understanding of Sage Mode relied entirely on fragments from the original story and his own conjectures; he still didn't know the exact situation when absorbing Natural Energy.
Therefore, he planned to start with his palm to keep the risk within a certain range.
He would first experience the feeling and speed of absorbing Natural Energy, and then slowly expand after becoming familiar with it.
"Byakugan!"
The veins around Hyuga Aokawa's eyes bulged, and his entire vision shifted to a black-and-white palette.
He found several Chakra Acupoints at his wrist connecting his forearm and palm, and sealed them one by one using the Pressure Point Technique.
He created a relatively sealed area.
Then, controlling his palm, he opened a Chakra Acupoint connecting the inside and outside, absorbing the sensed Natural Energy into his palm.
In the vision of the Byakugan, the surrounding floating Natural Energy began to be drawn in, slowly trickling into his palm through the Chakra Acupoints.
For the first absorption, Hyuga Aokawa didn't dare to be aggressive; instead, he absorbed slowly so that any changes would remain within a controllable range.
When the Natural Energy first entered his body, it felt cool and very comfortable.
But after a short while, this Natural Energy became turbulent.