Hyuga Bai snapped his eyes shut, avoiding Tsukuyo's gaze.
At this very moment, an uncontrollable shift occurred in his mentality.
No, rather than a change in Hyuga Bai's mindset, it was more accurate to say he couldn't bear to look directly at Tsukuyo.
Gazing upon Tsukuyo's beauty for too long gave Hyuga Bai the illusion of being drawn deep into those blood-red pupils.
Because Hyuga Bai had arrived, Tsukuyo simply stated, "The effects of the medicine will last for another two hours," and then turned and left without a trace of reluctance.
Tsukuyo's strength was considerable; if she wanted to leave, no one could stop her.
And Hyuga Miyu didn't want to expose her own secrets in front of Hyuga Bai, so she made no attempt to keep Tsukuyo there.
She felt she hadn't asked Hyuga Bai to sacrifice so much for her. Seeing him risk his life like this stirred complex feelings within her.
In Hyuga Miyu's heart, Hyuga Bai was fundamentally weak—unable to protect her yet trying to act tough.
This kind of behavior didn't move Hyuga Miyu; instead, it caused her pain. If similar incidents happened in the future and Hyuga Bai continued this way, he might even force Hyuga Miyu to save him in return.
Effort without strength was practically useless, completely worthless!
Even seeing Hyuga Bai gravely injured, Hyuga Miyu couldn't muster any feelings of gratitude, not even sympathy or pity—only annoyance.
So much so that she coldly told Hyuga Bai to hurry back and tend to his wounds.
She completely disregarded whether his injuries would even allow him to make it back to his own residence, or the dangers still potentially lurking outside.
Hyuga Bai remained silent, dragging his heavy body step by step towards the courtyard exit.
The moment he saw Tsukuyo, something he had always held onto deep inside collapsed.
As he walked slowly, the image that surfaced in Hyuga Bai's mind was, unexpectedly, the silver-haired beauty he'd just seen, the one with two large hydrangea flower clusters pinned in her hair.
His vision grew increasingly blurry until...
The silver-haired girl from his memory reappeared before him.
Hyuga Bai's eyes widened as he stared at the girl's lovely face, blooming like a flower with a smile.
Her sweet voice reached his ears, "Hey~ Since you're playing the loyal dog anyway, why not switch masters? How about switching to me?"
Night fell.
Senju Wakama escorted Uchiha Yuki back to the Naka River Forest, lingered for a little while longer, and then finally returned to the clan grounds.
Their meeting today had lasted much longer than usual.
Several unexpected things had happened, and Senju Wakama felt like he was on cloud nine.
Just because Senju Wakama had casually remarked, "I will marry you," Uchiha Yuki, who had always been somewhat reserved, seemed to go wild.
It was because of this that Senju Wakama confirmed his suspicion: the Uchiha clan truly were all intense individuals.
He had told her they were still too young to mess around.
Yet somehow, Uchiha Yuki had unexpectedly made her move on him.
He never imagined that the seemingly demure Uchiha Yuki had surprisingly many tricks up her sleeve.
"Third Brother, why do you look like you've been completely drained? How did you end up like this? Did you run into a spider demon?"
Tsukuyo, having just returned from outside, got a huge shock the moment she saw Senju Wakama.
Did he accidentally wander into the Cave of Silken Webs?
Without asking, Tsukuyo grabbed Senju Wakama's arm and used the miraculous 'Returning Summer Wood' technique on him.
She muttered as she did, "Didn't I warn you about wasting your energy when you're young... Ah, forget it. Since it's already like this, which Cave of Silken Webs did you visit?"
Senju Wakama said hoarsely, "...Don't mention it. Today, well, I was on a date with Yuki, and..."
Senju Wakama had always viewed Tsukuyo as a younger sibling (who happened to like wearing women's clothes), so he didn't shy away from such topics.
He told Tsukuyo about his experiences that day.
He had expected a regular outing, but the other party had been overly proactive. Senju Wakama was stunned, and by the time he came to his senses, he had already, as Tsukuyo put it, "lost his virginity prematurely."
It wasn't until today that Senju Wakama truly understood what it felt like for two people to be that close.
It felt incredible, absolutely exhilarating. No wonder the adults enjoyed this kind of recreational activity so much.
The problem was, Uchiha Yuki had gotten overly excited, leaving Senju Wakama feeling utterly spent, like he could turn to dust.
Tsukuyo looked at Senju Wakama with a strange expression; she remembered that Uchiha Yuki was male.
Tsukuyo had initially told Senju Wakama to find a girl and continue dating. She never, ever imagined he would end up with Uchiha Yuki.
Tsukuyo genuinely hadn't expected Senju Wakama to be so wild. She could only say that while she didn't quite approve, she respected his choice.
Senju Wakama felt Tsukuyo's gaze on him was odd. But since Tsukuyo said nothing, he seemed to guess what she was thinking and couldn't help but mumble, "Yuki... she dresses as a boy..."
Tsukuyo rolled her eyes, still silent.
Senju Wakama felt apprehensive. "What is it? What's wrong?"
Tsukuyo shook her head. "Nothing at all. Third Brother, you need to take good care of yourself. Dying in bed, overwhelmed by women... that's truly an ugly way to go. You'd be better off dying directly on the battlefield."
Senju Wakama's lip twitched.
The siblings walked side-by-side into the Senju clan's territory.
Senju Wakama couldn't help but whisper, "Um... Yuki told me that the new lord of Rift Valley City is planning to move against Pine Country again."
"I know. You don't need to worry about this matter. Leave everything to me," Tsukuyo replied with a smile.
Rift Valley City belonged to the Hachisuka family. They coveted Pine Country's iron mines and its other riches, pursuing it relentlessly.
Previously, Rift Valley City had hired the Hagoromo clan to invade Pine Country.
However, the lord of Pine Country, Hori Hideie, being wealthy and influential, hired the Senju clan for a hefty sum to act as guards.
What followed was straightforward: the Hagoromo clan couldn't defeat the Senju. The Hachisuka family then upped the ante, hiring the Uchiha clan as well to counter the Senju.
Later, due to Tsukuyo's schemes and plots, this group descended into infighting.
Now, that internal strife had likely been mostly resolved, but the Hachisuka family still hadn't given up on Pine Country.
This time, the Hachisuka family's new head was no longer trying to be cheap. They directly spent a large sum to hire the Uchiha clan to continue their efforts against Pine Country.
Because Pine Country was extremely wealthy, it frequently collaborated with the Senju clan.
The relationship between the two had always been friendly. With Rift Valley City hiring the Uchiha, Pine Country would undoubtedly hire the Senju.
When that time came, a fierce battle between the two clans would be unavoidable.
This was also what worried Uchiha Yuki.
However, Senju Wakama believed that simply telling his sister about it meant the matter was effectively settled.
Meanwhile.
A gloomy atmosphere hung over the Hyuga clan's territory.
Many clan members had regained consciousness not long ago.
But looking at the grounds left in shambles, the awakened Hyuga members endured the feeling of humiliation and began to clean up the mess.
Due to his severe injuries, Hyuga Bai had been granted a few days of rest by the clan head.
But at this moment, Hyuga Bai sat alone in his private room. No lamps were lit. He sat before a mirror, staring at his reflection.
The 'Cage Bird' seal that should have been on his forehead had vanished without a trace.
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