My Villainous Life Starting with Naruto

Chapter 147 The Caged Bird, Activated!

"Alright." Hyuga Yuto took two steps back, looking at the red knot in Tsunade's hair, and said with satisfaction:

"Beautiful! It seems my talent for tying knots is no less than that of Gentle Fist."

Tsunade snorted softly:

"That's because I'm good-looking."

Hyuga Yuto reached out and tucked a strand of blonde hair that was falling across the woman's forehead behind her ear:

"You're right, teacher. There is no woman in the ninja world more beautiful than you."

Today, Tsunade wasn't wearing the green vest that Konoha wore; instead, she was dressed in a very traditional outfit.

Her lower body was covered with scarlet hakama, and her upper body with yuban kosode, layered inside and out, with a loose Chihaya daipo on the outermost layer.

—A white top and red skirt, with pine and crane patterns—this is an extremely old-fashioned outfit.

Before chakra existed in this world, shamans mostly looked like this. A thousand years ago, the divine tree descended and people gained supernatural powers. The profession of shaman almost disappeared, and they could only be seen at weddings or funerals.

However, various traditional costumes have been passed down, and people wear them on holidays or important life events.

This is the last day for the Konoha group in Sunagakure. Coincidentally, today is the traditional festival of the Land of Wind—the Fire Festival.

Bonfire revelry, market dance party.

Before this, Hyuga Yuto had no idea that Sunagakure, a place shrouded in sandstorms, had such a festival.

"Then you're incredibly lucky." Tsunade smiled and lifted the curtain:

"It's late, let's go out."

Outside, the stars shone brightly, and the yellow sand stretched like a sea.

Centered around Sunagakure Village, countless low sheds and wooden stands appeared out of nowhere, with vendors thronging the area and people from all over the Land of Wind gathering here.

They lit a bonfire, laughing and lying on the yellow sand, tossing burning wooden sticks into the air as if trying to punch a hole in the night sky.

Konoha's grandest festival is New Year's Eve, but in the Land of Wind, the most lively event is tonight's "Fire Festival."

The desert is cold and harsh, so the people living on this land dress up in their finest attire today, laughing and joking as they throw torches into the sky to tell the heavens: the unlucky folks of the Wind Kingdom are still alive, and mere dust and sand can't kill us!

Hinata Yuto didn't know anything about these stories; he just felt that tonight was really lively, like a New Year's countdown in a metropolis in his previous life.

Tsunade grabbed his hand and ran out of Sunagakure to the market outside. The blonde woman first bought two masks, put them on herself and Hyuga Yuto, and then screamed into her student's ear:

"Pay!"

The young man who had separated from the family was stunned. He remembered that his teacher had lost all his money at the casino, and couldn't help but laugh. He took out his coins and handed them to the shopkeeper, and then gave the entire money bag to Tsunade.

"Don't waste it, teacher. I used all my savings to buy explosive tags."

"Don't worry!" Tsunade patted her chest, indicating that she had impeccable character.

Through the mask, the blonde woman's eyes sparkled.

She took her apprentice's hand and started wandering around.

At first, they weren't just wandering around aimlessly. As top-tier fighters, Tsunade and Hyuga Yuto both have excellent sense of direction and rarely get lost. However, the "grand market" of the Fire Festival was too chaotic and vast. Underfoot was yellow sand, in front of them were bonfires and people in their finest attire, and in their ears were noisy vendors hawking their wares. There wasn't even a road sign, making it difficult to remember the route.

The two decided to let loose and go wherever they pleased, indulging in food, drinks, entertainment, and shopping along the way, until their wallets were almost empty.

Finally, the master and his apprentice walked through the wide, bustling market and arrived at its edge.

There weren't many people here. Hundreds of thick wooden stakes were driven into the yellow sand. I don't know what they were for, but they might be related to the tradition of the Fire Festival.

"Phew..." The blonde woman let out a soft sigh, leaned against the wooden post, and rubbed her shoulders.

"Yuto, how long have we been walking?"

Three hours.

"I'm so tired... Hey, Yuto, remember that pig-shaped candy?"

"I remember, we bought it."

"That's so delicious! Do you have any more?"

"Here you go." Hinata Yuto opened his hand, revealing a small pig-shaped candy in his palm.

Tsunade raised her hand to take it, but unexpectedly, the branch family boy suddenly lunged forward, grabbed Tsunade's wrist, raised her hand above her head, and pressed it against the wooden stake.

"Teacher, you're tired, let me feed you."

Hyuga Yuto pinched the edge of Tsunade's mask and gently lifted it upwards, raising the bottom edge of the mask to near the woman's nose, revealing her fair and smooth jawline and delicate lips.

With her vision obscured by the mask, Tsunade trembled slightly, but instead of flinching, she nestled softly in Hyuga Yuto's arms, waiting to be fed candy.

—In fact, both master and apprentice knew perfectly well that the one who encountered those delicate, red lips could not possibly be candy!

Jingle Bell……

However, at that moment, the bell suddenly rang.

"Selling candy... handmade candy..."

Tsunade woke up with a start, pushed Hyuga Yuto away, and hurriedly put on her mask:

"This candy is delicious, I'll go buy some more..."

Then, she ran away as fast as she could.

Just three centimeters off! Hinata Yuto slapped his thigh in anguish, looking at the vanished blonde woman, knowing that his teacher would be avoiding him for the next couple of days.

He looked up at the candy seller with a hostile expression.

No wonder there are so many left... You're a wandering merchant, is it really okay to have such low emotional intelligence?

Hyuga Yuto walked up to the candy merchant and said irritably:

"Boss, have two pieces to try."

"Alright..." the merchant replied, his voice extremely hoarse, his exposed skin resembling the bark of an old tree, withered and loose.

Hyuga Yuto paused slightly, then softened his voice:

How old are you?

"That's quite big, young man... What shape of candy do you want?"

The old man had his head down, his body extremely hunched over, but his hands were very steady as he deftly rummaged through the cloth bag.

"Bird-shaped, I suppose... Grandpa, how big is 'big'?"

"It's probably bigger than anyone you've ever seen." The old man chuckled and handed him a bird-shaped candy.

"Young man, was that your girlfriend just now?"

"Well……"

"It seems to be someone he loves." The old man felt a little guilty.

"I'm sorry, my old eyesight is failing, I'm sorry to bother you."

"It's nothing." Hyuga Yuto waved his hand magnanimously.

"I'm still young."

"Youth is wonderful," the old man sighed.

"Mistakes can be corrected immediately, and there's plenty of time, unlike us old folks who, at our advanced age, have to go door-to-door selling candy to settle scores for our children and grandchildren..." he said, raising his hand with a chuckle.

"Young man, do you recognize this?"

The old man's withered, skeletal fists were clenched together, his thumb pressed against the second joint of his index finger, leaving a gap in his palm.

In an instant, the world fell silent, and Hyuga Yuto felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his long-buried memories roaring fiercely.

Three years ago, Shinji Hyuga also made this gesture!

"Finally found you, the little bird pecking at the cage..." The old man's hoarse voice reached Hyuga Yuto's ears.

At the same time, extreme pain was generated in the brain and the area around the eyes.

The world spun and groaned in immense pain.

—Bird in a cage, start!

(End of this chapter)