20 Chapter 20: You don't want everyone in the village to know about this, do you?!

Araki could clearly discern that someone was tracking him. It didn't feel like a wild beast. He had spent over three years practicing in this forest and knew it like the back of his hand.

If it were a wild animal, it wouldn't continuously follow him closely. Wild animals either remained completely still, pretending they hadn't noticed him, and let him leave, or they seized the opportunity to launch a lightning-fast attack.

The unusual presence trailing behind him now didn't match the sensation of a wild beast. Instead, it maintained a consistent distance, not too close but not too far, as if observing him.

To confirm his suspicion, Araki deliberately stopped walking after a while and exposed some vulnerabilities, turning his back towards the direction of the abnormality.

However...

The person following him also stopped after he did.

They didn't seize the opportunity to attack like a wild animal would.

This situation further confirmed to Araki that it was a person following him.

"Is it someone from Konoha Village?"

"Or someone from another village?"

"Why are they keeping an eye on me?"

"Could it be because of Kushina?"

Numerous question marks filled Araki's mind. This was the first time he had encountered someone tracking him during his three years of training here, making him extremely cautious.

"No action from the enemy, no action from me. I must not recklessly expose myself until I understand the situation."

Araki quickly made up his mind. He continued to move deeper into the forest.

His speed varied, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, repeatedly verifying.

The person behind him matched his pace, fluctuating in speed, always maintaining a considerable distance.

Gradually...

As time passed...

Night fell upon Konoha Village.

The forest transitioned from brightness to darkness and then to a hazy state.

The bright full moon hung high in the sky, its cold light embellishing the dark forest, adding a sense of mystery to the surroundings.

After some time...

Araki felt he had gone quite deep into the forest, farther than his usual training routes.

If the person behind him still didn't show any response, he planned to take a detour and return.

As for why he didn't go back the same way...

Araki didn't want to directly confront that person. Unless absolutely necessary, he preferred stability.

However...

Just at that moment...

The figure following Araki suddenly accelerated, no longer maintaining the distance between them. The two rapidly closed in on each other.

Here it comes!

Araki couldn't help but feel a slight tension in his heart.

However, he showed no signs of it on his face, demeanor, or actions.

He made an effort to remain calm.

In reality, he was overwhelmed by indescribable anxiety.

After all...

Araki could only sense the presence following him through subtle changes in the atmosphere.

But he had no way of determining whether it was a person or who it might be.

He never turned back to confirm.

Araki's biggest concern was Orochimaru because he possessed the Wood Release kekkei genkai. Although this ability didn't currently grant him formidable combat power, it could still pose great danger.

As long as it wasn't Orochimaru...

Then the problem wouldn't be as significant!

Araki considered several possible options in his mind.

One of them was the ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village. He knew from watching Naruto anime that Kushina had been kidnapped by ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village during this period.

It was the event that eventually led to Minato Namikaze's rescue under the moonlit night.

However, he couldn't determine the specific timing of the Hidden Cloud Village ninja's arrival, making it difficult to make a valid inference.

Another possibility was someone from the Third Hokage's group.

Now that Kushina was arranged to live with him, the fact that he went out to train every night had likely been discovered by the Third Hokage.

Araki didn't intentionally conceal this matter, nor did he publicize it. Moreover, he had almost no presence, and hardly anyone paid attention to him, so no one knew about his nightly excursions.

The fact that the Third Hokage could know about it was enough to make him conclude that at the current point in time, the Third Hokage had already begun using the Telescope Technique to spy on the entire Konoha Village.

This made Araki extremely cautious in everything he did, not showing any flaws because he didn't know when the Third Hokage might be watching him.

"Araki!"

Suddenly, a cold and stern voice resounded, filled with intense anger, as if wanting to tear Araki apart.

Immediately, a figure appeared.

Based on the airflow, this person was indeed the one who had been following him. Moreover, the person called out his name accurately, confirming that they were looking for him.

Most importantly...

There was something familiar about this person's voice.

The harsh tone couldn't conceal the slightly immature tone, indicating that they were around ten years old. Without any surprises, they should be a classmate.

In an instant, Araki deduced a lot of information, and his suspended heart relaxed. He turned his gaze towards the source of the voice.

Under the canopy of the night forest, the cold moonlight fell upon a figure, making it incredibly clear.

It was his opponent from the simulated duel in the classroom.

Hyuga Sora.

After confirming the person's identity, Araki's inner nervousness disappeared.

He hadn't even considered this possibility.

How could a classmate follow him all the way out here!

"What do you want?"

Araki asked coldly, no longer deliberately concealing the fact that he knew the language here when speaking.

Araki was still giving Hyuga Sora a chance.

If they could resolve things properly, it would be the best outcome for him.

"Hahaha, the daytime duel isn't over yet, let's do it again!" Hyuga Sora laughed maniacally. He had been waiting for this opportunity to teach Araki a lesson.

He was extremely fortunate that Araki had walked so deep into the forest instead of leaving immediately.

At this distance, it would take at least half an hour to get back to where there were people in the village.

No one would disturb them anymore.

"That duel is over, and you won!" Araki said without hesitation.

He didn't expect Hyuga Sora to care so much about that simulated duel, following him all this way just for that.

At the same time, Araki kept a cautious thought in his mind.

Someone who would go to such lengths might have a very narrow mindset, the typical small-minded person.

"Offend not the honorable, do not provoke the petty."

This was a profound saying passed down by his ancestors.

Araki had already begun to consider how to resolve the situation, ideally defusing the conflict and then becoming strangers with Hyuga Sora, with no further interaction between them.

"Hehe..."

Hyuga Sora laughed coldly upon hearing Araki's words. His laughter was so reckless because he knew that there was no one here who could come to Araki's aid.

"I initially just wanted to teach you a lesson and be done with it!"

"I didn't expect..."

"You would treat me like a fool!"

"You directly surrendered, leaving me with no room to display my skills!"

"And I got scolded by Teacher Yinsui because of it!"

"This matter can't just end like this. Now we'll have another duel, and I'll go easy on you!"

Hyuga Sora spoke one sentence after another, not leaving any room for Araki to respond.

This was in line with his usual character.

Hyuga Sora was a member of the prestigious Hyuga clan, a renowned family in Konoha. He usually relied on his family's influence and had a strong sense of pride.

Especially when facing someone like Araki, there was a significant class difference in Hyuga Sora's mind, and he felt completely superior to Araki.

"Not interested."

Araki leaped up and jumped to a tree branch. After confirming the identity of the person following him, he had no intention of playing games with a child.

"Do you think you can escape?" Hyuga Sora sneered and chased after Araki. While running, he shouted, "You ran so far on your own. When I caught up, I made sure no one saw us entering the forest. This time, no one will help you."

"No one saw?" Araki muttered to himself, quickly thinking about countermeasures.

"You're quite fast!" Hyuga Sora suddenly noticed during the chase that no matter how fast he ran, the distance between them did not shrink. If they continued like this, Araki would really run out of the forest. He then said, "You secretly came here alone at night for some secret, right?"

Araki remained silent, but he could clearly hear Hyuga Sora's words, and he continued to think about how to handle this troublesome situation.

"Hahaha!"

Suddenly, at this moment, Hyuga Sora burst into laughter and stopped on a tree branch. He didn't continue to chase Araki but instead raised his voice.

"Are you here to train?"

"Or are you trying to hide some secret?"

"Araki!"

"You don't want everyone in the village to know about this, do you?!"

Hyuga Sora's tone carried a strong sense of threat. He knew he couldn't catch up to Araki, realizing that Araki was concealing his true strength, but he didn't think Araki's strength would surpass his own...

There was a very simple logic here.

In Hyuga Sora's view, if Araki's strength was superior, there would be no reason for him to run away.

Running away meant avoiding a fight!

Avoiding a fight meant inferior strength!

Based on this logical support, he believed his task was to provoke Araki and make him turn back on his own.

As expected...

Just as Hyuga Sora had anticipated.

Araki's running figure came to a stop, and he turned back expressionlessly, perching on a tree branch not far from Hyuga Sora.

"Will everything be settled if I have a duel with you?" Araki asked coldly. While he had initially been thinking about finding a solution, when Hyuga Sora threatened him, he became relieved and no longer felt nervous.

This statement appeared to be a question.

In reality, it was an ultimatum.

After all, they were classmates, and Araki decided to give Hyuga Sora a chance. Whether he could seize it or not depended on Hyuga Sora's understanding.