Aoba led Hinata out of Ichiraku Ramen.
Just as he was about to head in the direction of the Hyuga Clan, he suddenly saw a tall man standing in front of him.
The man's expression was extremely unfriendly as he stared at him.
'Such a familiar expression!'
Aoba had seen this kind of expression many times.
Especially every time he met the parents of Tenten, Ino, or Sakura, they would secretly give him this exact look.
But the person in front of him, he didn't recognize.
However, those white eyes indicated that he was most likely Hinata's bodyguard.
"Little! Friend!"
"Thank you very much for taking care of our young lady."
"Uh, no need to thank me," Hearing the other person's gritted-teeth tone, Aoba didn't feel embarrassed at all. He was already used to it.
Aoba looked back at Hinata, who still had her head lowered, and said, "Hinata, your family is here to pick you up. I'll be going now."
"Ah?", Hinata, still looking down, instinctively raised her head, only to find that Aoba had already turned around and left.
Very quickly, in the night, she couldn't find his figure anymore.
Hinata pressed her lips together, her eyes full of disappointment. Then, as if she suddenly thought of something, she became even more dejected.
She didn't know when they would meet again.
"Lady Hinata?", The bodyguard also noticed Hinata's unusual reaction and quickly stepped forward in concern.
"I'm fine," Hinata shook her head, but the bodyguard clearly felt a hint of dissatisfaction in her tone toward him.
This was the first time.
Now it was the bodyguard's turn to feel a little aggrieved.
He had actually found Lady Hinata a long time ago, but he happened to see her happily eating ramen.
The bodyguard decided to wait until Hinata was ready to leave before stepping forward. After all, he was risking being reprimanded by the clan head just by waiting.
'That little brat is truly detestable!'
The bodyguard decided that once he got back, he would report everything to the clan head and thoroughly investigate that kid.
———
Recalling today's strange experience, Aoba pushed open the door to his house.
In the darkness, he fumbled to turn on the light switch.
Just as he placed his hand on the switch, he was suddenly grabbed by the collar and lifted off the ground.
"Who's there?", Aoba exclaimed.
His body spun rapidly in mid-air, and he launched a spinning kick.
But it was easily caught by a single hand.
However, Aoba didn't stop his attack. He immediately reached into the lining of his clothes.
Several shuriken shot out, heading straight for the shadow holding him up.
Aoba instantly felt his body falling, the hand that was holding him had already let go.
The sound of metal clashing echoed through the darkness.
Just as Aoba stabilized his stance and was about to pull out an explosive tag, the other party finally spoke.
"Alright, it's me," As the lights turned on, Shirakumo Hayame's firm face appeared before him.
"Uncle, scaring people like that is really dangerous," Seeing the familiar face, Aoba let out a sigh of relief and stuffed the explosive tag back into his clothes.
He had almost wasted 2000 ryo.
"Hmph, kid, you really stirred up quite the trouble in the village," Shirakumo Hayame returned to his seat, staring at Aoba with an unfriendly gaze.
Shirakumo Hayame had just returned from a mission and still carried the lingering killing intent from his task.
Even though Aoba knew his uncle wouldn't actually do anything to him, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.
His throat felt a little dry as he asked back, "W-what did I do?"
Shirakumo Hayame squinted his eyes and crossed his arms.
"What's your relationship with the Yamanaka girl and those two girls from the ninja tool shop?"
"Uh, just regular friends," Aoba scratched his head and answered truthfully.
"Really just regular friends?"
People in the ninja world matured early. It was normal to have crushes at four or five years old. Shirakumo Hayame didn't mind Aoba finding a little girlfriend, but he couldn't be too much of a playboy.
If he added the Haruno girl into the mix, that would make three.
If he really wanted to be a playboy, at least don't only go after noble daughters. Otherwise, as his uncle, he'd have a hard time in the village.
He had just returned to the village today. When he went to report his mission, Yamanaka Inoichi didn't give him a good face. And when he went to replenish his ninja tools, the shopkeeper did the same.
Although they didn't make things difficult for him, he still thought he had somehow offended them. After asking around, he realized it was all because of his nephew.
"I was just teaching Tenten how to throw shuriken. They came over on their own...", Aoba muttered in a low voice.
Shirakumo Hayame's eyelid twitched at that answer, then he asked again, "And when I'm not around, do you always come home this late?"
"No, today I was just having dinner with a friend," Seeing that the conversation was shifting away from trouble, Aoba walked over and sat on the sofa.
"Ino, Sakura, or Tenten?"
"Uh, it was the Hyuga clan's young lady, Hinata..."
"...", Shirakumo Hayame fell silent.
For a long time.
He finally spoke in a melancholic tone, "Aoba, I know you've always been a smart kid, so I think you should understand. Even though my strength is decent, this is as far as I'll ever go. In the end, I'm just a slightly stronger commoner."
The gap between commoners and noble ninja clans was like an uncrossable chasm. Stories of commoner boys and noble daughters weren't unheard of, but those were all cases where the boy was taken in as a son-in-law. Pure romance. This kid was attracting one noble girl after another, and Shirakumo Hayame was starting to get scared.
Aoba looked at Shirakumo Hayame with a puzzled expression, while Shirakumo Hayame's face grew even more serious as he continued, "I'm afraid that one day when I come home from a mission, I'll find you chopped into pieces."
"...", Aoba was speechless.
Shirakumo Hayame simply stood up and patted him on the shoulder.
"Get a good rest tonight. Tomorrow, I'll check on your training progress. If a poor kid like you wants to be with a noble lady, you can only rely on your own strength."
———
"You mean Hinata ate three whole bowls of ramen outside?", Hyuga Hiashi listened to the bodyguard's report, his face full of disbelief.
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't imagine Hinata, who would put down her chopsticks after just one bowl at home, eating three bowls of ramen without any sign of stopping.
"I saw it with my own eyes," the bodyguard confirmed.
Hearing the bodyguard's certainty, Hyuga Hiashi remained silent for a long while before finally coming to terms with it.
"I understand. You may leave. Also, prepare a report on Shirakumo Aoba for me."
"Yes, Clan Head."
After dismissing the bodyguard, Hyuga Hiashi returned to the living room and looked at Hinata, who was reading a book with her tiny sister Hanabi.
A feeling of guilt rose in his heart.
He had always viewed Hinata as the clan heir, but he had never considered the simple things that even a child could notice. Yet as a father, he had completely overlooked them.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y