Hatred, revenge, hatred, revenge…
If the bonds between people are connections, then hatred and revenge are the most eternal bonds of all…
Hatred accompanies revenge, and revenge accompanies hatred. No one can ever separate them. No one…
If that incident a few months ago had never happened, perhaps…
Perhaps he would be married to her by now…
"Yugao…"
In the dead of night, deep within a forest, Hayate Gekko placed a bouquet of white flowers before a simple gravestone. This was where Yugao Uzuki was buried.
It was not the village cemetery where fallen shinobi were laid to rest. This was the place where they had first met. It held their memories. They had trained here, talked here, and here… they had fallen in love.
Silver moonlight fell upon the gravestone, illuminating the name carved into the stone: Yugao Uzuki. Hayate's hand tightened around the katana that had once been hers. His hand, his entire body, would not stop shaking. He fought to keep the tears from falling.
Even after dying for the village, she can't be buried in the village cemetery? The thought was the final blow to his restraint. The tears could no longer be held back.
When he learned that Yugao could not be interred in the village cemetery, that even her file could no longer be found, Hayate's mind had gone completely blank. Anbu were different from regular shinobi, but they were still granted a burial in the cemetery after death, where their loved ones could pay their respects.
But no matter how loudly he questioned the ninja in charge of the records, it was useless. No file meant no file. Even when Hayate used every resource available to him, he could find no trace of any information on Yugao Uzuki.
It was as if, overnight, a ninja of her name had never existed in Konoha.
Hayate had considered confronting the Hokage, but he crushed the thought as soon as it formed. The person in the records office certainly didn't have the authority—or the nerve—to do such a thing. The only explanation was that the order had come directly from the Hokage.
"Why?" Hayate threw his head back, his vacant eyes staring at the moon hanging in the sky as he screamed the question over and over in his heart. "Why did it have to be this way? Why…"
That mission, that person… not only did she get away with it, but after slaughtering so many of our comrades, she was allowed to return to the village unharmed. A person like that… a person like that… I, Hayate Gekko, will not acknowledge her as a ninja of the Leaf!
"Heh… heheh…" A neurotic laugh escaped Hayate's lips. He remembered the day he had gone to seek revenge against her, only to be utterly and cruelly humiliated.
"So… it's hopeless after all… heh… hahaha…" Hayate clutched Yugao's katana, then fell to his knees before the gravestone with a thud. A torrent of tears he could no longer hold back streamed down his face.
"Yu… Yugao… I'm… I'm so sorry… I… I really… I miss you so much… For… forgive me… I want to avenge you…"
Hayate's trembling left hand slowly reached for the forehead protector tied around his head. His fingers shook violently as he gripped it. He wanted to rip it off, to cast it aside, but years of ingrained loyalty, of faith, made it impossible. He couldn't bring himself to tear away the symbol of his identity as a Leaf shinobi.
"Yu… Yugao… what… what am I supposed to do… What can I do…?" Hayate sobbed, his voice raw as he posed the question to the cold stone before him.
The only answer was the whoosh of something slicing through the air.
Two kunai shot out from the darkness—one aimed at his heart, the other at his spine. They were thrown with lethal intent, leaving no room for survival.
But Hayate was a Tokubetsu Jonin, a veteran of countless battles. Though still lost in a sea of grief, his instincts took over. He threw himself to the side in a desperate roll, Yugao's katana already unsheathed in his hand.
"Who's there?!" he roared into the trees from where the kunai had come.
The forest fell silent. A long moment passed with no sound, but Hayate didn't lower his guard. The trajectory of those kunai made the attacker's motive clear.
The enemy was likely waiting for him to relax his guard before striking again. The tactic was similar to those used by the Anbu. Hayate scanned his surroundings, his senses on high alert. He wasn't naive enough to think it was over.
Sure enough, in a fleeting moment of distraction, the glint of a blade appeared from behind, thrusting toward his heart.
Clang!
The sharp screech of metal on metal echoed through the deserted woods. In the darkness, sparks flew as swords clashed, and two figures moved with blinding speed.
The rhythmic ping and clang of their duel composed a symphony of death, and under the moonlight, their steps were a dance accompanying the morbid tune.
Hayate's breathing was already becoming ragged. The assassin was skilled, at least on the same level as him. He tried to identify his opponent, but all he could make out was a male shinobi, his entire body wrapped in cloth, with no identifying marks.
That made determining his origin difficult. He could have been sent by a rival village, or he could have been sent by… the village.
Hayate's heart sank at the thought. As for the first possibility, he was self-aware enough to dismiss it. While he had a minor reputation in Konoha, he was hardly important enough for an enemy village to dispatch an assassin. There were many shinobi of his caliber in the Leaf; if they were to send an assassin, it would be for someone whose death would have a major impact on the war.
So, if the first possibility was ruled out, that left… only the second.
But… why? Why would the village do this? Hayate had never done anything to betray the village. Whatever mission he was assigned, he completed it with all his heart, always striving to do his best. When faced with a choice between his personal interests and the village's, he always chose the latter.
And yet, for this unwavering loyalty, the village had sent someone to kill him. Hayate couldn't understand.
Spurt!
A spray of blood erupted from Hayate's right arm. Lost in his own dark thoughts, his focus had slipped, and his opponent had seized the opportunity.
"Hah… hah…" Hayate clutched the wound on his arm, panting heavily as he stared at the masked man. "Who… who sent you…?"
The masked man gave his blade a flourish but didn't press the attack. His exposed eyes stared coldly at the wounded man before him. "Your bounty isn't high, but it's an easy job. Just think of it as some extra income."
"A… a bounty hunter?" Hayate froze for a second, then frowned, his eyes filled with disbelief. "Where do you think you are? A bounty hunter? Hah… If the village decided to eliminate me, why bother with the pretense? Tsk…"
The masked man was silent for a long time before finally speaking, his voice cold. "If you already know, why ask? In your next life, don't become a ninja."
"I see. So the village is determined to get rid of me." Hayate understood. Now that the man had admitted it, there was no turning back.
"Why?" Hayate asked one last time, unwilling to accept it.
But the masked man had no intention of answering. He charged, his blade glowing with a faint blue light, the tip seeming to grow longer and sharper.
A chakra blade…
Hayate still had the strength to fight, but the collapse of his faith had extinguished his will to live. In his pupils, the reflection of the masked man and his chakra-infused blade grew larger and larger…
Hayate tilted his head back and looked up at the bright moon, a faint smile on his lips as he closed his eyes.
"Yugao… I'm coming…"
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