The terrifying offensive pierced straight through the Hyūga clan's defenses.
"!"
Hyūga Aoba's white eyes widened abruptly.
Scarlet blood began to flow slowly.
*Drip.*
*Drip.*
She... was wounded.
What had... happened? For a moment, the beautiful servant couldn't react.
"Ohhh~~~."
Naruto's sigh of pleasure already echoed. And soon, the tailed beast's bites began anew.
"Mmm~!"
Only then did Hyūga Aoba let out a pained moan, her heart overwhelmed with resistance and sorrow.
As if finding her noise annoying, Naruto carelessly picked up a piece of cloth that had fallen from someone and stuffed it into her mouth.
Now, the sounds were almost completely muffled, reduced to a mosquito-like buzz.
"There, that's much better."
Naruto smiled.
"Alright, let's continue together to search for the 'secret medicine recipe.'"
Naruto leaned forward, striving to search the basement for a way to save Hyūga Hazuki.
His small body worked so hard that even Hyūga Aoba, who accompanied him, shed tears of emotion.
"Aa-sa, I'll try even harder~... Ohhh~!"
Naruto accelerated his search for the treasure.
Meanwhile, in the upstairs living room, Hinata had indeed heard some noises coming from below.
But she remembered Naruto's instructions and decided to stay at her post, not to cause him any trouble.
"Naruto-kun~, don't worry, I'll stand guard~."
Hinata looked around, determinedly protecting the house so that no factor would disrupt Naruto's search.
...
Time passed quickly.
The night faded, and dawn arrived.
Early in the morning, Gekkō Hayate prepared a delicious breakfast.
Since his discharge from the hospital, he had been on leave at home, and not knowing what to do with his time, he had begun perfecting his culinary skills.
When his childhood friend, Yūhi yūgao , came to sit at the table, Hayate removed his apron and engaged in conversation with a smile.
"yūgao , how have your missions been these past few days?"
"Pretty quiet. Naruto helped me with a few things, my strength has improved a bit..."
Dressed in a long robe that revealed her snow-white arms and legs, yūgao displayed a delicate face, enhanced by elegant clavicles and neck.
Hayate looked at her and suddenly felt his throat dry up.
He quickly suppressed the thought and refocused on his plate: "In that case, we must thank Naruto."
Naruto, who had defeated Zabuza Momochi, was now a warrior with immense potential.
He could indeed help others progress.
yūgao took a spoonful of soup and slowly brought it to her lips.
Her full lips parted to swallow the liquid.
Each of her movements exuded an enchanting sensuality.
Hayate couldn't help but think that his childhood friend was becoming more and more feminine.
"Cough... cough..."
Suddenly, Hayate was overcome by a fit of coughing.
His hereditary illness continued to deteriorate his body.
What he had told Naruto—that he had at least a decade left to live—was not a lie.
"Hayate, are you okay?" yūgao asked worriedly, immediately setting down her spoon.
"As usual..."
Hayate shook his head.
"Never mind. Last time, Naruto saved me, and I haven't even thanked him."
Regardless, surviving Zabuza Momochi would not have been possible without Naruto's help.
"I really don't know how to thank him..."
"Don't worry, Hayate... I've already thanked him for you."
yūgao leaned toward him, assuring him that she had already expressed her gratitude to Naruto on his behalf.
Feeling yūgao 's delicate hand rest on his, Hayate's heart raced.
They had both reached the age where marriage was an option.
But with his health condition... and his life expectancy, he could never offer yūgao happiness.
So, it was better to leave things as they were.
Hayate stifled his urge to propose and finished his breakfast in silence.
His fears would remain secret.
On her side, yūgao had very different thoughts.
She remembered her promise with Naruto: today, she would receive her second power enhancement.
The prospect filled her with excitement.
So much anticipation and joy made her tremble slightly.
Her long white legs under the table stirred gently...
...
At Naruto's place.
He emerged from the basement, lifting the trapdoor.
Hinata was sleeping deeply, lying on the floor.
"Hinata, Hinata..."
Only upon hearing him call her did she jolt awake.
"Naruto-kun~? Huh?! It's already daylight... Naruto-kun, I... I'm sorry..."
Flushing with shame for falling asleep, Hinata immediately apologized.
She had planned to stand guard all night but couldn't resist.
"It's nothing. We've found the secret medicine recipe."
Naruto joyfully announced to Hinata that after a night of effort with Aa-sa, they had finally found the formula.
All that remained was to buy the ingredients in town to prepare the remedy.
"Really...?"
Hinata immediately broke into a radiant smile.
Finally... her mother was saved.
"And Aa-sa?"
Hinata didn't see the servant.
"She worked all night and is exhausted. Plus, she's covered in dirt and too ashamed to show herself. We can go directly, she'll join us later. By the way... Hinata, what do you want for breakfast..."
Naruto and Hinata quickly left the house.
Once they were gone, the rising sunlight slowly illuminated the basement.
The servant's tear-stained face, filled with despair and sorrow, stared at the ceiling as if something were there.
After an entire night spent searching for the recipe with Naruto, she was indeed covered in dirt, as he had said, her hair smeared with dust.
Her clothes were even torn by sharp objects, revealing her pale skin.
She was exhausted, terribly exhausted...
The servant, worn out from her night of labor, quickly fell into an unconscious sleep.
What did the next day hold for her?
She didn't know.
All she knew was that her life was already shattered.
It all traced back to the moment she had scorned Uzumaki Naruto. An irretrievable past, an uncertain future.
And this was only the beginning.
The days ahead promised an endless hell...
Thinking of her status as a member of the branch family, the admiring glances of her peers...
In everyone's eyes, she, the epitome of discipline and elegance, the object of so much admiration... was now... tainted…