Chapter 213: Chapter 213: Direct Arrival
Chapter 213: Direct Arrival
Under the dim moonlight,
A figure soared through the night sky above Konoha like an eagle gliding on the wind.
Clad in a flowing white robe,
Ryosuke no longer needed to rely on his legs to travel. His body, having evolved to a certain level, allowed him to fly effortlessly.
Ever since his eyes had advanced into Tenseigan, the energy consumed by flight had become minimal, no longer a burden.
On his back, a girl with long, haze-blue hair lay sleeping peacefully, her eyes shut.
Strangely enough, despite flying at a thousand meters in the air at high speed, neither Ryosuke nor Hinata were affected by the fierce winds.
Their robes and hair remained perfectly still, untouched by the air currents, as if surrounded by an invisible barrier that maintained their physical condition, almost as if they were simply walking on the ground.
"Are we still on the road?"
A soft voice murmured near his ear. Ryosuke felt the slight stir of the girl on his back waking from her slumber, her body shifting gently.
"Did you sleep well? Sorry I didn’t give you time to rest," he said apologetically. He halted mid-air and began to descend slowly, landing steadily on a flat, open clearing below.
"Yeah, I slept really well."
Hinata hopped off his back, her feet hitting the ground with a light puff of dust.
Fresh from a deep sleep, her cheeks were flushed, but her spirit was bright.
"It was warm and soft, just like sleeping on a giant plush doll."
It was her first time traveling out of the village for training, and Ryosuke’s company only added to her excitement.
"That’s good. I was worried you wouldn’t be comfortable sleeping like that."
Ryosuke let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Although he had worked to relax his muscles and occasionally transferred chakra with warming medicinal effects into her body, he still feared disturbing her rest.
After all, in his eagerness to meet Shanks, his actions had been a little... abrupt.
While he had taken time to eat and prepare, Hinata had just finished a long meeting and returned home exhausted. Yet with only a few words from him, she was swept up and on the road.
From a ninja’s perspective, it was acceptable. Missions demanded urgency.
But from a couple’s standpoint, it was definitely inconsiderate.
How could I not be used to it?
Even if our sleeping positions change... we sleep together every night...
Hinata blinked but kept those words to herself.
She looked around, then pulled out a ration pill, took a small bite, and unfurled a map.
"We’re at...?"
"Blackwood Forest," Ryosuke answered, pointing at a marked location.
The Blackwood Forest sat deep within the Land of Fire—an essential resource zone supplying timber, stone, and minerals to the nation.
"This far already?"
Hinata’s eyes widened. "How long did I sleep?"
It felt like only a few hours, yet they are already near Saki Castle’s vicinity.
Normally, this journey would take days.
After checking the chakra he had used during the trip, Ryosuke replied, "I flew a bit faster. If we keep going all night, we’ll reach Saki Castle by tomorrow."
In truth, if he hadn’t been protecting Hinata from the airflow and adjusting his pace for her comfort, he could’ve arrived before dawn.
His transformed body far exceeded his expectations. Traveling to and from Konoha and Saki Castle in a single day? Once unthinkable, now within reach.
"Tomorrow...?"
Hinata paused but soon nodded. "Right, you flew straight here."
Still, a trace of disappointment lingered in her voice.
It wasn’t easy for her to leave the village. This was her first real mission.
She had planned to practice wilderness survival, gather ingredients, cook meals for Ryosuke, and show off her domestic talents as a future wife.
But now... they were already nearly there.
As for Ryosuke’s strength?
She had stopped being surprised. No matter how absurd his power seemed, she could always accept it.
"Then let’s head out early."
Hinata quickly rolled up the map and popped the rest of the ration pill into her mouth.
With cheeks puffed, she mumbled, "When we get there tomorrow, we’ll sneak into the city first. Then we can pay a visit after we’re rested."
With practiced ease, she climbed onto Ryosuke’s back once again.
Her small frame clinging to his broad one made her look like a kitten riding a tiger.
"So hard... totally different from before."
She tapped his back, the firm muscle beneath her palm as solid as stone.
Yet the aura... that was still the Ryosuke she knew.
"I’m ready," she said softly.
Ryosuke smiled, loosening the tension in his back muscles to make her more comfortable.
He had no objections to her plan, he’d long wanted to meet Shanks as soon as possible.
With Hinata rested and refueled, they resumed their journey.
The wind howled past their ears.
This time, Ryosuke no longer held back. He didn’t shield them from the airflow, meaning his speed shot up significantly.
They were en route to Saki Castle, preparing for a meeting that would affect their future.
No one from the clan could alter Ryosuke’s decisions.
Even Hinata could only offer advice, not stop him.
Bringing her along, despite her lack of field experience, had raised some eyebrows.
Both Hiashi and Hinata herself weren’t sure why he did it.
Still, they trusted him.
Hinata had departed in such a rush that she hadn’t even handed over family duties—or eaten dinner.
Now she lay quietly against Ryosuke’s back.
His sturdy frame shielded her from the harsh winds, allowing her to open her eyes and observe the scenery below.
Thousands of meters above the ground,
Hinata silently watched villages and towns blur beneath them.
And in that moment, she finally understood.
Why they had reached Blackwood Forest so quickly.
Time passed quietly,
The journey long, the view indistinct from such height.
But Hinata remained silent, not daring to interrupt Ryosuke or distract him.
Ryosuke didn’t say anything and simply continued on his way.
They walked in silence, but it wasn’t awkward.
Although they arrived a little later than Ryosuke had expected, they still reached the outskirts of Saki Castle by noon.
Landing smoothly in the dense forest nearby, they disguised themselves and quietly blended in with the crowd heading toward the city.
The city gate loomed, majestic and towering.
Surprisingly, security around Saki Castle was relaxed. There hadn’t been any changes, even after the chaos caused by Hoshicai and his men not long ago.
It was clear that the city’s rulers. the Saki family understood the limits of their own power. They knew full well they couldn’t stop a ninja if one decided to infiltrate.
If a ninja wanted to sneak in, they wouldn’t even need the front gate.
Even walking straight through it, they had countless ways to slip past the guards unnoticed. That was why the Saki family didn’t even bother to invest effort into strict gate security.
As they entered the city,
Hinata, who had been walking quietly beside Ryosuke, suddenly widened her eyes.
The bustling, vibrant scene in front of her left her in disbelief.
"It’s so lively. It feels completely different from the village," she whispered.
She followed closely behind Ryosuke, weaving through the bustling street. Her voice was filled with amazement.
"I always thought Konoha was one of the most prosperous places in the ninja world. But this... this is on a different level."
Only now did she begin to show a spark of youthful innocence.
Like a child seeing the world for the first time, she marveled at the towering buildings and the river of people flowing through the streets.
"This is the difference between ordinary people and ninjas," Ryosuke said with a chuckle.
"Even in a central city like this, you’d be hard-pressed to find a training ground the size of Konoha’s. Different professions have different priorities.
In our village, the Ninja Academy is one of the most important places—it’s where we train our future combat forces.
But here, the nobles and commoners focus on trade, entertainment, and the economy. They aim to attract merchants and control domestic and foreign commerce."
Hinata nodded thoughtfully. With her clan duties involving logistics, she quickly understood why Saki Castle looked more magnificent than Konoha.
Without these civilians and nobles pushing the Land of Fire’s economy forward, Konoha wouldn’t have the resources to support its military strength so comfortably.
The yearly subsidy from the Fire Daimyō funded the entire village, including the Hyuga clan.
"It would be great if our Hyuga clan had a country like this backing us—providing funding and resources every year. Then, those shelved projects wouldn’t just sit gathering dust," she said with a hint of longing.
She was envious—just a little.
But Ryosuke shook his head. "Wait a little longer. The Leaf has earned a lot of credit over the years. The clan won’t abandon that so easily."
Without diving deeper into that tired topic, the two found a restaurant, enjoyed a warm lunch, cleaned up, and went to rest.
The overnight journey had taken its toll. Even Ryosuke needed to recharge.
With Hinata beside him, his mind didn’t drift into chaotic thoughts. As soon as he lay down, he slowly drifted to sleep, comforted by the familiar scent of the person next to him.
By the time he opened his eyes again, it was already deep into the night.
"Eat first."
Hinata had woken earlier, she’d slept a bit during the journey.
Before Ryosuke could even figure out the time, she walked into the room carrying a wooden box filled with food.
A pre-sleep meal, then another one after waking up, this was the basic standard of a physically trained clan.
At home, skipping a meal was practically taboo.
Hinata sat across from him, silently watching him eat.
After a long pause, she finally frowned. "I feel like you only brought me along to take care of your daily life."
"How could that be?" Ryosuke laughed. "If I really just needed someone to manage my routine, I’d have brought Aunt Ariane instead. I mean, you don’t even know how to—"
He cut himself off, realizing his mistake mid-sentence.
Hinata was already smiling, a gentle warmth in her expression.
"Yes, I’m sure now. You’re very important to me."
Ryosuke quickly changed the subject, nodding seriously. "I believe you’ve felt it too. I really need your help."
Hinata, who had been a little annoyed, softened when she met his gaze.
"I... felt it?" she asked, a bit confused.
But then her eyes lit up with realization.
"You mean... when you came to me that night saying you couldn’t sleep alone?"
Her tone turned more certain with each word.
Among everything that had happened lately, that was the oddest moment.
In the past, Ryosuke’s personality had been like a block of wood. If she hadn’t taken the initiative, their relationship would still be stuck.
But out of nowhere, he had shown up at her place in the dead of night, saying he couldn’t sleep without her.
At the time, she’d felt both panic and joy, thinking he had finally come around.
But now, in hindsight, it did seem strange.
"Yeah," Ryosuke admitted. "Lately, if you’re not around, I can’t sleep at all."
"Even when I’m resting, dark thoughts start creeping in.
That’s why I’ve been impatient lately. If I stop moving, and you’re not with me, I get overwhelmed with thoughts I can’t control."
Hinata’s face tensed with concern. "...Did this start after your body changed a while ago?"
She tried recalling the timeline. His visit to her house had come not long after that strange transformation.
"No," Ryosuke shook his head. "It has nothing to do with my body."
"After I noticed some problems, I started digging too deep without enough information. That led to... consequences that shouldn’t have happened."
"But don’t worry. I’ll handle it. Just stay with me for now."
His current situation was like a man who only earned 2,000 ryo a month but spent sleepless nights worrying about what would happen if the sun suddenly disappeared.
Was it a valid concern? Of course. It was an important question.
But it wasn’t something someone in his position should obsess over.
A person without real power, status, or resources couldn’t afford to chase after such problems.
If they did, those ungrounded thoughts could end up breaking their spirit.
And Ryosuke knew... he was standing right on the edge of that mental cliff.
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