Kei's subconscious action undoubtedly hurt the young heart of Yugito. The experiences of jinchūriki in various villages were more or less the same.
Even Killer B, who later took disciples and held concerts in the village, was always followed by looks of hatred, fear, panic, and rejection.
The only difference was that Killer B had A to take care of him. He also had the courage to be willful, to isolate the entire village in return, and to live in his own world.
But as for the others... They were all alone. Even when hurt, even when feeling wronged, they could only lick their wounds in the corner by themselves.
"I'm sorry..." Yugito's golden hair, which should have shone like the sun, seemed to have lost its luster at this moment.
Her head hung low, and her small hands clenched tightly together. She bowed slightly to Kei in apology, her toes shifting subtly, clearly preparing to flee from this place.
But in the next moment, a touch on the top of her head made her body freeze. Like a frightened little kitten, she dared not move an inch.
"Ahem—I just got back from a mission outside the village, a bit on edge. You get it, right? Hmm... I don't really know what's happening in the village either. How about we go check it out together?"
Kei rubbed the little girl's head with one hand.
How should he put it? Soft, fluffy—the texture was top-notch!
The original owner of this body, Osoi, was honest and dull. After decades of being a ninja, he had fully recognized his own mediocrity and ordinariness, leading to a timid and overly cautious nature in daily life. Logically speaking, Kei's current actions did not align with the original owner's personality.
But he wasn't going to stay for long.
Once he completed his mission, he would return to Konoha immediately. So what if it didn't match? The little girl had been hurt by his retreating movement, looking like a wounded kitten—so pitiful.
If he didn't comfort her, he feared he wouldn't be able to sleep at night without berating himself. Might as well add a dramatic "I'm such a terrible person!" while he was at it.
The warmth from the top of her head gradually relaxed Yugito's previously stiff body. She almost instinctively believed Kei's words.
A ninja returning to the village after a mission must have experienced brutal combat—his nerves were bound to be extremely tense!
Yes! That must be it! He wasn't rejecting or ostracizing her!
Kei lightly patted Yugito's small head in response.
His gaze paused momentarily on her status panel before preparing to squeeze into the crowd ahead.
[Career: Ninja Academy Student]
[Traits: Two-Tails Jinchūriki (Red), Agile and Flexible (Blue), Strong-Willed (Green), Lonely (Gray)]
Yugito followed closely behind Kei, tentatively reaching out to grab the hem of his clothes.
Seeing that Kei didn't react to this, her eyes brightened slightly, and her chubby little face, still carrying a hint of baby fat, bloomed into a smile.
Should I kidnap the jinchūriki?
To be honest, he was only here to carry out an assassination mission. He was supposed to assassinate some high-ranking officials of Kumo, create confusion, and shift their focus—all for the benefit of Konoha.
Jinchūriki had nothing to do with him whatsoever. And if anything happened to the Two-Tails jinchūriki, Kumo would go completely insane!
Given their muscle-over-brain approach, if they couldn't figure out who took their jinchūriki, they'd probably just attack everyone and demand an explanation.
Kei quickly shook his head, pushing aside the absurd thought in his mind. If Tsunade were Hokage right now, he wouldn't hesitate—he'd kidnap her first and figure things out later.
But with the Third Hokage and Danzō in charge...
If he really kidnapped the jinchūriki, the next thing he knew, the entire Yamanaka clan would be forced to make a "Hizashi"-style sacrifice to atone for the crime.
After all, his identity was clear: The strongest of the Yamanaka clan, a staunch Hokage loyalist, and the fiancé of the Nine-Tails jinchūriki...
As long as the Third Hokage and Danzō wanted to avoid widespread resentment in the village while also keeping the Nine-Tails jinchūriki in check, then his safety wouldn't be an issue.
But if he were just an ordinary member of the Yamanaka clan…
You got lucky this time.
Kei glanced at the little girl clutching tightly to the hem of his clothes.
Yugito, noticing his gaze, immediately lifted her head and showed a bright yet slightly shy smile. It was as if she had grasped the most precious thing in the world—she was trying her best to show him her brightest side.
Kei raised his hand again, rubbing her small head, his face also showing a "kind" smile.
A jinchūriki, huh… With a sigh in his heart, he said nothing more.
Position, timing, capability. No matter which aspect, he was in no place to act out of kindness or to take responsibility for anything. Between the towering rock pillars lining both sides of the street, two ANBU ninjas stood on the steep rock walls, their gazes fixed on Yugito.
"Captain, who is that person the Two-Tails jinchūriki is following?" a noticeably younger ANBU asked nervously.
"Osoi, a chunin. Just an honest, good-natured guy. He has a kid who just graduated from the Ninja Academy."
The more experienced ANBU squad captain narrowed his eyes for a moment before turning his attention back to the central point of the attack. Compared to the jinchūriki, he was more concerned about what exactly was happening over there.
If this was just an assassination, even if a high-ranking official had died, it shouldn't have caused this much commotion.
The entire village had been alerted, yet the alarm still hadn't stopped. Wasn't this risking unnecessary turmoil? Or… was someone trying to use this assassination to achieve something else?
"So, you mean there's no need to be nervous?"
The younger ANBU still looked uneasy.
"You don't get it. People who have children tend to feel a bit of worthless sympathy and pity when they see other kids the same age as their own."
"Even if that child is a jinchūriki?"
"A jinchūriki isn't some unforgivable monster. You're an ANBU, not an ignorant villager—use your head!"
The younger ANBU flinched as his squad leader smacked him on the head.
The squad captain understood all too well—people always feared the power of the tailed beasts.
Recognizing the truth and actually treating jinchūriki like normal people were two completely different things.
As an ANBU squad captain, he had participated in the sealing of both the Eight-Tails and the Two-Tails. He had watched, helpless, as comrades around him fell one by one under the tailed beasts' overwhelming power.
No matter how many times he told himself that jinchūriki weren't the tailed beasts, that they were chosen by the village to seal and control them as heroes, the hatred, sorrow, and resentment from losing comrades always surged to the surface the moment he laid eyes on a jinchūriki.
He just couldn't do it.
Caught between reason and emotion, between moral obligation and personal guilt, the only thing he could do was keep his distance.
Not confront, but not harm either.
Osoi, if you can do it, try to let her live a little easier. The mask on the ANBU squad captain's face concealed his complicated expression.
He silently considered whether he should put in a good word for Osoi when reporting to the Raikage tomorrow.
After all, his own child and Osoi's child… were teammates.