"Are you all deliberately isolating me? Xiyan and I grew up together—she will listen to me!" Moonlight Hayate's face twisted with desperation. "Let me in! Xiyan will forgive me!"
"Hayate, enough." Yuhi Kurenai's cold voice echoed from the cave entrance.
Moments later, two figures emerged from within.
"This has nothing to do with me." Uchiha Qin Yu shrugged indifferently. "He was the one shouting to explain things to you. I'll leave it to you."
As the catalyst of this confrontation turned away nonchalantly, Yuhi Kurenai furrowed her brows, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Qin Yu, can you stay?"
"Stay?" Qin Yu raised an eyebrow at Kurenai's father, Yuhi Shinku.
In that instant, he caught a familiar, lingering tension in the air.
"Kurenai, why do you want him to stay?" Hayate interjected anxiously. "Step aside for a moment. I need to explain everything to you privately."
As he reached out to grab her wrist, Kurenai deftly avoided his touch, stepping backward.
"Hayate, don't act so recklessly in front of my fiancé, or I'll sever our friendship here and now."
The words fell like a hammer.
Everyone's gaze immediately shifted to Qin Yu.
Qin Yu sighed internally.
He finally understood—he had been dragged into the mess for no reason.
"Kurenai, what nonsense are you saying? Who's your fiancé?" Hayate's voice was laced with disbelief.
"It's Uchiha Qin Yu. My father has already given his approval," Kurenai stated firmly. "So stop pestering me."
"Him? No way!" Hayate clenched his fists. "I don't believe you. You're only saying this to spite me!"
"To make things worse, you don't even know him well!"
Among the younger generation of Konoha, the Uchiha had always been viewed with suspicion, their clan feared for its rebellious tendencies.
To hear Kurenai claim to be engaged to an Uchiha was simply beyond belief.
"Enough, Hayate." Kurenai's voice carried a clear note of disgust.
She had once regarded him as an intelligent, reliable, and skilled swordsman.
But now, his desperation only fueled her disappointment.
"No, I refuse to accept this! Give me a chance to explain!" Hayate begged.
"Tch. Pathetic." Qin Yu scoffed. "If she's done explaining, won't you still refuse to accept it?"
"I won't! If she explains everything, I'll walk away!" Hayate stubbornly insisted.
"Fine, watch closely."
Qin Yu wasted no time. He snaked an arm around Kurenai's waist, pulling her close.
Without hesitation, he pressed his lips to hers.
A brief yet unmistakable kiss.
A collective gasp swept through the crowd.
Hayate's mind went blank.
"You… What are you doing?!" Hayate finally snapped out of his daze.
For years, he had longed for this moment—only for Qin Yu to steal it in the blink of an eye.
"This counts as an explanation, right?" Qin Yu spread his arms. "Now give up."
"If there's nothing else, I'm heading back to rest."
As Qin Yu turned to leave, Hayate's expression twisted in rage.
Without thinking, he pulled out a kunai and lunged at Qin Yu's back.
The sudden attack made the surrounding shinobi's faces change drastically.
No one expected Hayate to act so irrationally.
Yet, just as the kunai was about to pierce Qin Yu—
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke erupted, and the kunai passed through an empty space.
"A clone?!" Hayate's eyes widened.
"Too slow."
Qin Yu's voice came from behind him, his hand forming a precise, knife-hand strike aimed at Hayate's neck.
Just before the blow landed—
A flash of golden light erupted between them.
In an instant, a new figure materialized, catching Qin Yu's wrist mid-strike.
The entire crowd froze.
Sun-kissed hair. A white haori lined with red flames.
The legendary Konoha's Yellow Flash—Namikaze Minato.
"It's Lord Fourth!"
"He made it here in time?!"
"Only Minato-sama's Flying Thunder God Technique could let him cross the battlefield this fast!"
"Tch, or maybe the only person fast enough to stop Qin Yu's strike was Lord Fourth himself."
"Hmph, that brat never backs down from a fight—but even he can't ignore Minato-sama."
The tension in the air was palpable.
Minato's sharp blue eyes locked onto Qin Yu.
"I had no intention of intervening," he said smoothly. "After learning that you repelled the Kumo-nin, I was about to return to the Land of Earth. But if I hadn't stepped in just now, someone would've been seriously hurt."
"Lord Fourth! He's the one who provoked me!" Hayate pointed accusingly. "He manipulated the situation so Xiyan misunderstood me! You must do something!"
Qin Yu chuckled.
"Minato, you saw everything. If you want him to calm down, let him take a hit."
Minato sighed. "If only it were that simple—"
Poof!
A second cloud of smoke burst from Qin Yu's body.
Another clone.
Before anyone could react, a dark blur flickered past Minato.
At the same time, Minato's fingers instinctively flicked a special-marked kunai behind him.
Qin Yu's real body had already materialized behind Hayate, his right hand slicing toward the back of Hayate's neck.
"He's here!"
The gathered shinobi tensed.
Lightning flickered around Qin Yu's hand, crackling ominously.
"Raikiri!"
A sudden blue flash tore through the battlefield.
Before the strike could land, Minato's body vanished.
With a whoosh, he reappeared just in time, catching his marked kunai and teleporting straight between Qin Yu and Hayate.
Minato's fingers curled tightly around Qin Yu's wrist.
"I got you," Minato said with a small smile.
It had been a long time since anyone dared challenge his speed.
But Qin Yu merely smirked.
"Really?"
A tiny whisper drifted into Minato's ears.
The next moment—
Lightning flared.
Qin Yu's body dissolved into crackling energy, reappearing inches behind Hayate once more.
Minato's eyes narrowed.
"Body Flicker: Lightning Step?"
Too late.
A swift, precise knife-hand strike connected.
Hayate's consciousness faded as he collapsed to the ground.
Silence.
The entire squad stood frozen in shock.
Even Minato had to admit—
This kid was fast.
Really fast.