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Chapter 129 - Studying a Foreign Language, Boy?

The Hyūga Clan—one of the two great dōjutsu clans of Konoha, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Uchiha Clan, a noble house steeped in tradition and affluence. Yet even amidst their polished compound, the members of the Hyūga always seemed burdened by something unspoken, a weight behind their pale eyes.

"Not surprising they look troubled. From the moment they're born, they become caged birds. Freedom isn't even on the table..." Nara Kazuki stood before the tranquil Hyūga residence, shaking his head with a wry, silent laugh.

Kazuki always felt the Nara Clan was blessed, comparatively speaking. No convoluted politics, no cursed seal of servitude etched on their foreheads, no divide between Main House and Branch House. If he'd been born Hyūga and had a Caged Bird Seal carved into his own skull, Kazuki figured he'd have sparked his own "Night of the Clan's Demise" by now.

But the truth was, outside of the Uchiha, no other clan really had the ingredients to replicate Uchiha Itachi's "legendary accomplishments." It wasn't just his strength that allowed Itachi to annihilate his own clan—it was also the covert support of the village, Danzo's machinations behind the scenes... all that backroom orchestration. Any other clan trying that kind of move would have to face down Konoha itself.

And as fragile as the village might seem at a glance, just contending with the Hokage alone would give any would-be traitor a migraine.

Kazuki shook off the thought. He wasn't particularly invested in Hyūga affairs. Not unless Ōtsutsuki Toneri suddenly decided to make a dramatic entrance. But who knew when that would be? Kazuki certainly didn't plan on camping around waiting for the guy. So he turned and wandered off.

"Might as well do a little casual recon," he muttered, rubbing his hands together like some shady merchant. He began threading his way through little-used side paths, curious if there were corners of Konoha he hadn't explored.

But it was deep into the night, and there wasn't much left to see. Outside of the entertainment districts and a few bars still glowing like fireflies, most of the residential areas were dark and dead silent. As Kazuki passed through a quieter street, he caught the occasional sound of rhythmic clapping behind walls and curtained windows.

"Nightlife in the ninja world's kind of lame," he sighed—right before he stumbled upon a park that proved just how wrong he'd been.

It was bursting with activity.

Girls—lots of them. Dressed in bold outfits, some in literal swimsuits. A few, bolder than the rest, sauntered right up and tugged at his arm.

"Wanna learn a foreign language, handsome?"

He declined. Politely. Kazuki wasn't about to take that risk—who knew what sort of bioweapon wombs these women might be packing.

Just as he stepped out of the Daikokubō Park District, someone called out to him.

"Kazuki?"

Minato Namikaze.

Standing beside him—Kushina Uzumaki.

The Fourth Hokage and his wife were carrying armfuls of shopping bags, clearly just returning from a late-night spree. When Minato caught sight of Kazuki emerging from that area, there was a flicker of expression in his eyes—wry, amused, knowing.

As Hokage, Minato obviously knew what that district was known for. But he didn't show any intent to shut it down. It was, after all, the world's oldest profession. A livelihood. If he tried to stamp it out, he'd only draw accusations of meddling in people's survival.

"Kazuki, out shopping this late?" Kushina asked cheerfully, clearly unaware of the nature of the area. She only ever came through here in the daylight, strolling the park, soaking in the sun and scenery.

"Ah… yeah. Just bored at home, figured I'd take a walk." Kazuki coughed lightly, glancing around. There were way more inns and love hotels around here than the rest of Konoha—packed close together like mushrooms after rain.

"You better just be taking a walk," Minato almost said aloud, but kept it to himself. No way was he going to bring that up in front of his wife. Kushina's jealousy could explode like a Tailed Beast Bomb, and once she started asking questions, it was a nightmare if you didn't answer just right.

So Minato simply pretended not to know anything.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Kazuki left the couple to their romantic moonlit stroll. Hand in hand, the Fourth Hokage and his wife walked the peaceful streets of Konoha, villagers bowing their heads in quiet reverence as they passed. Kazuki watched them with a small, fleeting smile. He'd changed the future of this world, but maybe… just maybe, it was for the better.

At least now, Naruto could grow up with both his parents.

What kind of person would he become? Hard to say. But with the reincarnated chakra of the Sage of Six Paths' son stirring within him, he'd probably end up with a personality like Hashirama Senju's—boisterous, good-natured, a beacon.

The next day, Kazuki returned to his patrol duties, perched on a high tree branch, deep in thought.

He'd been in ANBU for a while now, carrying out mission after mission. Overall, he'd racked up a decent amount of points. Enough to exchange for something good.

As Konoha's black-ops unit, ANBU operated under a strict and well-oiled system of rewards and penalties. Anyone with half a brain knew you couldn't motivate subordinates with pretty speeches alone—you had to give them real benefits to awaken that killer work ethic.

And ANBU delivered.

Missions earned you cash, but more importantly, they earned points—ANBU-exclusive merit that could be traded for all sorts of things. Technically, you could exchange them for money, but no one did that. Why? Because points could be used to acquire jutsu that money couldn't buy.

Every village hoarded its high-level jutsu like dragons guarding gold. Ordinary shinobi almost never had access to those techniques. That's why most missing-nin working off bounty boards were weaklings—plenty of chakra, but no real jutsu to use it with. Their only options were to invent something themselves... or attack other shinobi and force them to spill their secrets.

"My points should be enough to trade for a high-level jutsu now," Kazuki mused, eyes scanning the surrounding trees. But which one? That was the question. ANBU's catalog had some strong entries, but the truly overpowered ones—Forbidden Jutsu, the kind sealed in the Scroll of Seals—those were out of reach.

Still, he figured it was time to invest in a sensory-type jutsu. His ability to detect enemies was still lacking. Sure, he could sometimes gauge based on movement speed, but if the opponent didn't use ninjutsu, he was flying blind.

The Nara Clan did have a few detection techniques, but compared to what ANBU had archived, they were second-rate. Right now, Kazuki's priority was clear: acquire a top-tier sensory jutsu.

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