CHAPTER 22

In the next few days, Chiretsu Hyūga never approached Uchiha Tunan again.

Instead, he sat in his seat, dazed, silently watching Uchiha Tunan with an eerie, sickly expression in his eyes.

He was quiet—so quiet that he seemed almost lifeless.

This made Uchiha Tunan feel uneasy.

"Qianling, have you been sleeping poorly lately?"

Hinata Qianling turned his head slowly, his dull eyes meeting Asuma's concerned gaze.

After a brief pause, he forced a pale smile, lifted a hand, and curled a finger at Asuma, beckoning him closer.

Asuma's eyes brightened, and he leaned in eagerly.

"Asuma, do you like me?"

Hyūga Chiretsu's voice was hoarse, but to Asuma, it sounded like the sweetest melody.

"I... haha..." Asuma scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

The sudden happiness caught him off guard, leaving him momentarily speechless.

"Can you do something for me?"

Asuma pounded his chest confidently. "Of course! Just say the word!"

Hyūga Chiretsu's smile vanished. His expression turned cold, and he whispered:

"Find a way to kill the cat that Mui Ne keeps."

"Uh..." Asuma froze.

Then, just as suddenly, Chiretsu's face softened, and he chuckled. "I was joking."

Asuma exhaled in relief, grinning sheepishly. "Haha... you got me there."

Before Asuma could say anything else, Chiretsu handed him a small folded note.

"Give this to Tunan. Don't read it."

"No problem!"

Asuma took the note without hesitation. After all, everyone in the class knew that Uchiha Tunan and Uchiha Mina were a pair.

He walked over to Uchiha Tunan, placed the note in front of him, and said, "Qianling asked me to give this to you."

Uchiha Tunan unfolded the note and read:

Tunan, I want to talk to you alone.

Tomorrow at nine o'clock in the evening, meet me under the waterfall east of Hokage Rock. Come alone.

After reading, Uchiha Tunan glanced at Chiretsu Hyūga and gave a slight nod.

Chiretsu's pale face lit up with a faint smile.

To be honest, Uchiha Tunan had no interest in wasting time playing along with childish love games.

But a good hunter never forgets to disguise himself before revealing his fangs.

The Next DayIt was October 6th—a rest day in Konoha.

Sakumo Hatake was home, taking the day off.

Uchiha Tunan, never one to waste an opportunity, spent the morning at the Hatake residence training alongside Kakashi.

By evening, after having dinner, he headed to the Uchiha clan's northern training grounds to supervise Uchiha Mina's practice.

Meanwhile, outside the Uchiha compound, Chiretsu Hyūga arrived carrying a bag of cat food.

"Hey, kid, this is Uchiha territory. What are you doing here?" Two Uchiha patrol guards stopped him.

Chiretsu Hyūga lowered his head, blushing slightly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I... I'm here to see Mina... um..."

One of the guards glanced at the bag of cat food in Chiretsu's hands and scoffed impatiently.

"You're here to feed the cat, huh?"

Chiretsu nodded weakly. "Y-Yeah..."

The patrolman sighed. A little kid like this wasn't a threat. He waved a hand dismissively. "Go on."

Chiretsu hesitated, then looked up at the patrolman with innocent, pleading eyes.

"Umm... it's my first time here... I don't know the way..."

"Tch. I don't have time to show you around. Mina's house is over there—the one with the two cherry blossom trees in front."

The patrolman pointed in the direction and walked off.

"Thank you." Chiretsu bowed deeply before heading toward Uchiha Mina's house.

Uchiha Mina's parents had died in the Second Shinobi War, leaving her an orphan at a young age.

Before she entered the Academy, the Uchiha clan had assigned her a guardian. But once she started school, that protection was withdrawn.

Now, she lived alone.

At this moment, her house was empty—except for a snow-white kitten, curled up on the wooden porch, peacefully napping.

The courtyard gate was slightly ajar.

After all, this was the Uchiha district. Most residents only locked their doors when leaving for extended periods.

As soon as Chiretsu pushed the gate open, the kitten stirred, its ears twitching.

"Meow?"

It darted behind a wooden pillar, peeking out cautiously.

But when it recognized Chiretsu—and more importantly, the bag of cat food he was holding—it relaxed.

After all, Uchiha Mina often brought this cat to school, and Chiretsu had seen it many times.

The kitten trotted forward, rubbing its head affectionately against Chiretsu's leg, its big round eyes fixed on the cat food.

But Chiretsu didn't move. He simply stood there, staring down at the cat with cold, indifferent eyes.

The kitten, sensing no immediate reaction, decided to turn up the charm.

It flopped onto its back, rolling around on the ground, exposing its soft white belly—an irresistible invitation for affection.

As if to say: Come on, pet me! You know you want to.

Chiretsu's lips curled into a smile. "How cute."

The kitten, encouraged by his reaction, wriggled playfully.

Then—

A shadow loomed over it.

Thud.

"Meow!"

A sharp, pitiful cry.

Chiretsu turned away, tossing a folded note onto the motionless kitten's body.

"Too bad," he murmured. "You don't belong to me."

He walked out of the courtyard, carefully closing the gate behind him.

Then, slipping back into his usual meek and timid demeanor, he made his way to the meeting spot.

At that moment, Uchiha Tunan was still overseeing Uchiha Mina's training.

Even though he had trained an army of messenger doves to monitor Konoha, he couldn't track every little event in real-time.

So, he remained completely unaware of what Chiretsu Hyūga had just done.

Time ticked by. The sky darkened.

By nine o'clock, Uchiha Tunan finally wrapped up his training session and set off toward the waterfall under Hokage Rock.

As he walked, a flock of white doves took flight from the surrounding woods, vanishing into the night.