Chapter 062
[Filial Son - Black Zetsu]: How can he be like this!
Black Zetsu almost slammed the table and stood up.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Mr. Black Zetsu?
[Filial Son - Black Zetsu]: Uh… nothing, just thought their relationship is really good.
Black Zetsu spoke against its conscience.
[Filial Son - Black Zetsu]: …
Black Zetsu wondered what kind of scene it was being shown. It's still just a child.
That said… Lady Kaguya is compromising far too much.
········
Rabbit from the Ōtsutsuki Clan had compromised a lot.
Kitahara Kaede gently stroked its ears.
"If you behave this well next time, I'll reward you again," Kitahara Kaede said.
Seeing the Rabbit obediently cleaning the floor, Kitahara Kaede gave it a sign of affection as a reward.
If this were a pet, this would be normal contact.
Normal contact.
"…" But clearly, to the Rabbit, it wasn't.
"…" The Rabbit.
Probably trying to hide the fact that Black Zetsu had arrived, the Rabbit endured.
For the Ōtsutsuki Clan, anyone who isn't from the Ōtsutsuki is a lower lifeform.
So at most, this act could be likened to… say, walking down the street and having a leaf fall on you from a tree.
Not something worth caring about.
But—
There was some inner conflict.
Because—
Just like how it had dismissed Black Zetsu, it had realized… Kitahara Kaede was improving far too quickly.
Perhaps it wouldn't take long before he could fully inherit its power.
At that point… he would be another kind of Ōtsutsuki.
So…
He couldn't be treated like a lower lifeform anymore. He had to be treated as a being of equal standing.
So for the Rabbit, this felt like… being kissed by someone of the same race.
And it wasn't that it didn't want to dodge earlier—it simply found that it couldn't.
His speed was too fast.
"Want to take a break?" Kitahara Kaede said. "I can teach you the Clone Technique, then you can have a clone clean the floor for you."
"…" The Rabbit.
The Rabbit wondered if this guy had any shame.
Couldn't he just hire someone to clean? Or get a servant?
Still, the Rabbit had to admit—Kitahara Kaede was knowledgeable, exceptionally gifted, and also a domestic kind of man.
He was diligent, seemed to genuinely enjoy housework, and took full responsibility for its food supply.
So it thought—maybe using a clone wouldn't be a big deal.
What it had said to Black Zetsu was also a message to itself. It had appeared here and wanted to recover its power, so it needed Kitahara Kaede's strength.
Relying on kin?
Impossible. The Ōtsutsuki Clan never helped each other—they devoured one another.
So… maybe the only reliable strength was the one it cultivated itself.
But that night, when it was time to sleep, Kitahara Kaede found that the usually aloof Rabbit wasn't on the windowsill or the table, but by his bedside.
And when he was half-asleep, the Rabbit appeared next to him.
He could feel chakra being drawn from his body, though the amount was very small.
"Rinnegan."
He could see the chakra in his body gathering toward the Rabbit.
??
Was it absorbing his chakra?
That kind of behavior was very Ōtsutsuki-like.
But why was it so dumb—this isn't how you absorb chakra.
Chakra is transmitted, just like how the Sage of Six Paths did in the past—not timidly absorbed like this.
So Kitahara Kaede directly pressed his finger against its body and sent it some chakra.
But the Rabbit seemed startled, instantly jumping up and quickly retreating back to the table.
"Hahaha—"
Kitahara Kaede chuckled softly.
But the Rabbit immediately returned to the windowsill.
·····
Kitahara Kaede's rabbit was quite proud. After being caught stealing chakra, Kitahara Kaede waited for it for half the night, but it never came close again.
So the situation became simple.
"Mm…"
"Why is it like this?"
The next morning, Hyūga Hinata came to Kitahara Kaede's home.
She found Kitahara Kaede had dark circles under his eyes.
"Maybe I was just too excited about the Chūnin Exams today to sleep,"
Kitahara Kaede answered while efficiently finishing his morning routine.
"Even you can get so excited about an exam that you can't sleep?" Hyūga Hinata seemed a little incredulous.
"Hmm?"
Kitahara Kaede glanced at the corner—his Rabbit still quietly perched on the windowsill.
"Um…" Hinata continued,
"You're always so confident, Kitahara-kun. Every time there's an exam, you seem totally unconcerned."
Confident, huh?
True.
Because he never fights a battle he's unprepared for.
"So then…"
"You're talking about my confidence—does that mean you're not feeling confident yourself right now?" Kitahara Kaede's gaze shifted from the Rabbit to the girl in front of him.
Black Hinata had once said she didn't like coming to his house because the Rabbit always looked at her like a lower lifeform.
That was probably a fear imprinted in the bloodline.
The real Byakugan vs. a degraded and nearly fractured Byakugan.
So, Black Hinata was deeply self-conscious and withdrawn.
And since Black Hinata and regular Hinata shared sensory input while switching control of the body, Hinata also inherited that instinctive fear of the Rabbit.
Thinking back now, when he was training Naruto and Sasuke, Hinata would often come around—it was probably because of this issue.
From graduating ninja school to the start of the Chūnin Exams had only been a little over a month.
Normally, Genin wouldn't participate in this round of exams.
But Hinata was different.
Because of Black Hinata, Hiashi probably had great confidence in Hinata.
So she too joined the exam.
Just like in the original story. But unlike the original trajectory, she lacked confidence.
"Mm… yeah." Hinata lowered her head, seemingly exposed.
"Then it's fine," Kitahara Kaede said. "Because I believe in you."
"Believe… in me…?"
"Yeah." Kitahara Kaede nodded. "Because I know how hard you've worked."
"When I was at the library, you were there reading too."
"And even though I haven't seen you much lately…"
"Look—"
Kitahara Kaede took her right hand.
The center of Hinata's palm was slightly rough.
That came from repeatedly using Gentle Fist to strike wooden training posts.
A symbol of her effort.
As Kitahara Kaede touched her palm, a faint green chakra surrounded it, quickly restoring it to the softness of fine jade.
"You've worked very hard," Kitahara Kaede said.
"So… do you have confidence now?"
"Don't you want to see where all your effort can take you?"
"Eh!"
Hinata's confidence may have risen—but another issue quickly appeared.
Thud!
Her cheeks turned bright red, the blush spreading down her neck and over her body. She collapsed forward like a broken robot.
Kitahara Kaede quickly caught her.
"As I thought…"
"For Hinata, even such ordinary contact makes her overly excited?"
Kitahara Kaede muttered. "Even though she and Black Hinata share the same senses, it seems all the experience Black Hinata has built up hasn't been passed on to her."
But if he imagined it was Black Hinata instead, her reaction would probably be completely different.
"Well then…"
Kitahara Kaede picked up Hinata and prepared to leave the house, but then turned around again.
"This Chūnin Exam might be pretty interesting."
"You should come too."
Kitahara Kaede said.
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