Headache!

Kyoichi and Kurenai weren't actually that far apart in age—he was only around 15 when he began mentoring her, and she was 10 ten at the time.

But…

He had never once imagined forming any sort of special relationship with Kurenai.

Now that she had blindsided him like this, he was left completely stunned, mind blank, scrambling internally with no idea what to do. He slipped out of the room in an utterly flustered retreat.

Once outside, he didn't head toward Minato's area. Instead, he wandered through the courtyard with a long sigh.

He believed Shisui hadn't said anything to Kurenai about him planning to leave, yet she still figured it out. Truly, sharp as a needle was no exaggeration.

A love-triangle crisis occurring to him of all people…

No wait…

He wasn't even planning to stand on two boats to begin with!

Kyoichi fell into deep contemplation.

"What's occupying your mind?"

A voice suddenly came from behind, startling him. He looked back and found the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, standing there, pipe in hand, smoking away.

Kyoichi was speechless and muttered a complaint:

"No wonder I couldn't find you. So you came out here to smoke because the hospital doesn't allow it."

"Ahem… I rarely smoke when I'm near the Academy."

"Sure. I'll pretend I believe that."

Kyoichi chuckled dryly.

The day Hiruzen doesn't smoke is the day pigs climb trees.

Hiruzen coughed lightly, choosing not to explain.

Explaining was just making excuses.

Truth was, he had come out to smoke, and upon spotting Kyoichi brooding on a bench, he walked over. The kid looked like he had swallowed gunpowder—clearly troubled.

Men only worry about a few things, and right now…

Hiruzen pondered for a moment and more or less understood the situation.

"For someone as outstanding as you, attracting attention is completely normal. Girls are naturally drawn to geniuses."

"Oh…"

Kyoichi responded half-heartedly and got up, planning to head back in.

Talking about this with the Third…

It just didn't feel right.

Not that the Third didn't understand—far from it. When it came to emotions and human nature, the old man saw through things with piercing clarity. But age had wrapped him in a sort of twilight air, lacking the energy of youth. Talking to him about these things simply felt… off.

And besides…

His example wasn't exactly something to model after.

Kyoichi was definitely qualified to judge. He knew the Telescope Technique too, and since learning it, he had never used it for anything dubious.

The same couldn't be said for Hiruzen.

And Jiraiya, in many aspects, was very similar to his teacher.

Kyoichi returned to Minato's area. Everyone had moved past the initial panic and was now preoccupied with concerns about the Hyūga.

"How was it? What's the situation?"

Minato's mind had completely drifted away from his own wife's delivery. He understood better than anyone how crucial the Hyūga were to Konoha.

Calling them a major clan was an understatement. In Konoha's upper ranks, most tracking and reconnaissance ninjas relied on the Byakugan.

Their top-end combat ability might not compare to the Uchiha or the old Senju, but their sheer numbers and solid average skill made them indispensable.

And since the clan's authority rested entirely with the Main House, any complications there…

Would be deeply troublesome.

"No issues for now."

"Good…"

Minato exhaled in relief, though he understood perfectly—

"No issues for now" didn't mean "no issues at all."

It simply meant that Hyūga Hiashi's child wasn't in imminent danger. But the possibility of something deeper, something harder to explain, remained very real.

As Minato mulled this over, most others were focused on the Hyūga situation and completely missed the strange look on Kyoichi's face.

But…

How could Jiraiya miss it?

He might not be the strongest in raw combat, but when it came to intuition—especially regarding human emotions—he was frighteningly perceptive.

This kid…

Has something going on!

Of course, Jiraiya was only curious. He had no intention of asking. His glance shifted away almost immediately because—

The operating room lights turned green.

Moments later, Sarutobi Biwako emerged.

"How is it?"

"Safe. All of you can relax. And stop crowding around—you're getting in the way."

Biwako began shooing them off.

Minato's face bloomed with a dumb, overjoyed grin—looking exactly like a certain future blond knucklehead.

Biwako and Tsunade's clone handled Kushina's delivery, while in the neighboring operating room, Koharu and Tsunade's true body assisted with Mikoto.

That side finished soon after as well.

Kyoichi went upstairs to check, and sure enough—finished.

But Fugaku's expression control was leagues above Minato's. He kept a stern face with a forced, stiff smile.

Kyoichi didn't linger. After standing for a bit, he left.

And indeed, the reincarnations of Asura and Indra didn't seem any different at all right after birth.

Nothing unusual.

Previously, he might've wanted to tease Itachi and Sasuke a bit.

Now?

He had no such interest.

Kurenai…

That situation… how should he even deal with it?

Traveling with Tsunade and bringing Kurenai along?

No matter how he imagined it, it felt wrong.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Hm? Nothing—just pondering the Hyūga situation."

Tsunade had returned.

Lately, she had offloaded most of her duties onto Minato.

And Minato, in turn, had thrown most of his work onto Gekkō Hayate.

And according to Kyoichi…

Gekkō Hayate passed the majority of that onto the young Kohinata Mukai.

But regardless, Tsunade was finally freed from the mountain of paperwork. She had resumed studying medical ninjutsu, researching Sage Mode, and even started leaving work earlier than before.

Speaking of the Hyūga, Tsunade placed her things down and asked:

"What exactly is affecting them?"

"No idea. If I had to guess, probably something connected to the moon branch on the moon."

"The moon?"

The moon branch wielding the Byakugan was something the Great Toad Sage had mentioned before. So Kyoichi's theory sounded plausible.

But Tsunade couldn't figure out…

What kind of upheaval could reach the point of affecting the Hyūga down here?

"Everything depends on what Hiashi finds out. If it's limited to the Main House, then it might be related to bloodline purity and the Byakugan's completeness."

Kyoichi replied.

Tsunade nodded lightly.

If that was the case… it did sort of make sense.

Still—whatever was happening up there, they couldn't do anything about it for now. They lacked the means to go to the moon and take a look.

For now, all they could do was set the issue aside.

But if something—or someone—from up there ever descended…

It would be a nightmare.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com