It hurts so much… I can't breathe anymore.
Hanabi's consciousness was gradually fading. Just as everything seemed about to be settled and sink into silence, she suddenly felt a white light flash before her eyes.
In her daze, she seemed to hear the dull sound of a weapon piercing flesh, followed by a sudden sensation of weightlessness.
Before Hanabi could even process what had happened, she felt herself fall into a warm embrace.
Her breathing returned to normal, yet she didn't dare open her eyes, afraid that everything she had just felt was nothing more than a dream.
Then a very familiar voice sounded beside her ear:
"Idiot—what are you still spacing out for?"
At that voice, Hanabi's whole body trembled. She opened her eyes in shock and saw Ryūshin leaning over her, his face full of curiosity.
After Steel Garuru had detected Hanabi's scent, Ryūshin had decisively abandoned the search for the Animal Path and rushed over to save her instead.
On the way, he remained cautious. He activated his Transparent Release and moved forward silently at high speed.
When he saw the Human Path gripping Hanabi by the throat, Ryūshin didn't hesitate. He burst out at full speed, charged straight at the Human Path, and cleanly severed both of his arms with a single slash. Immediately after, he followed up with another strike, cutting through the Human Path's throat. After finishing all this, he turned, released his blade, and precisely caught the falling Hanabi.
Under Hoshiyomi's long-term and rigorous training, Ryūshin's strength had long since reached the level of an elite jōnin. Pulling off such a reaction in that instant wasn't particularly difficult for him.
That said, Ryūshin being able to instantly kill the Human Path also involved a fair bit of luck.
Among the Six Paths of Pain, the Human Path specialized in intelligence gathering and wasn't a combat-focused type. Combined with Ryūshin's solid mastery of Transparent Release, it was impossible for the Rinnegan alone—without sensory ninjutsu—to track his movements. With all these factors together, such a dazzling instant kill became possible.
...
At this moment, the distance between Ryūshin and Hanabi was incredibly close—so close that Hanabi could clearly feel his warm breath brushing against her face.
Her originally pale face flushed bright red. Under normal circumstances, she would have already jumped off Ryūshin in embarrassment by now.
But this time, feeling the warmth of his body, Hanabi instead felt an overwhelming sense of reassurance. She found herself wanting to stay like this, just a little longer.
Looking into Ryūshin's clear eyes, Hanabi suddenly remembered the thoughts she'd had when her consciousness was fading earlier.
If only I could be a little braver…
With that thought in mind, her mind suddenly went blank. By the time she snapped back to her senses, she had already pressed her lips against Ryūshin's.
After the initial shock, seeing Ryūshin staring at her with his eyes wide open and a face full of disbelief, a mischievous sense of triumph surged up in Hanabi's heart.
She shot a sly glance at the still completely frozen Ryūshin. Seeing that he was still mentally "crashed," she hardened her resolve, wrapped her arms around his neck, maintained the pose—and gently closed her eyes.
Time seemed to stop flowing altogether.
That is, until a clear, startled voice came from the mouth of the alley:
"Brother… Hanabi… you two actually—?!"
Rinne stared at the scene in front of her in utter shock, feeling as though her entire worldview had been violently shaken. She might be a bit airheaded, but she was already a twelve-year-old girl—there was no way she knew nothing about matters between boys and girls anymore.
Seeing her own brother and Hanabi kissing each other so "passionately," Rinne panicked and blurted out without thinking:
"I treated you like my best girlfriend, but you were actually trying to become my sister-in-law?!"
Hearing this, even Hanabi—thick-skinned as she was—couldn't hold up anymore. At the same time, Ryūshin finally snapped back to his senses and hurriedly set Hanabi down, flailing as he tried to explain to Rinne:
"Sis, listen to me! It's not what you think—this is all…"
Ryūshin wanted to say that it was all a misunderstanding, but then he suddenly realized—what kind of misunderstanding could possibly result in someone kissing him in his arms?
The moment that thought crossed his mind, he recalled the shocking softness of their lips touching just now. Before he could stop himself, he subconsciously licked his lips.
That single action only made things look even worse.
Seeing how close the two still were, Rinne couldn't help covering her mouth.
Noticing his sister's reaction, Ryūshin panicked for no apparent reason and instinctively reached out to grab Rinne's hand.
Hanabi reacted as well, realizing that things were spiraling out of control. She took a step forward and tried to soften her tone as much as possible:
"Rinne, calm down first. Just listen to me—"
Before she could finish, Rinne suddenly waved her hand forcefully.
"No more explanations! You two— you two actually—!"
Seeing Rinne react so strongly, Ryūshin and Hanabi exchanged a glance, both feeling deeply uneasy.
Hanabi did like Ryūshin, but she didn't want to lose her sisterly bond with Rinne. As for Ryūshin, he already had strong big-brother instincts, and seeing his sister like this completely threw him into panic.
At that moment, the two of them felt like criminals awaiting sentencing—neither daring to speak in their own defense, only waiting to hear what kind of final verdict Judge Rinne would deliver.
"You two… you two are really together! I'm so happy!"
?????
Ryūshin and Hanabi were completely dumbfounded.
They stared blankly at Rinne, who was dancing around in excitement all by herself, feeling that the development of events had gone completely off the rails.
Seeing their stunned expressions, Rinne grinned and leaned in closer, saying smugly:
"Hmph! Do you really think anything could escape the eyes of Detective Rinne? You two have no idea—I've wanted this for such a long, long time—cough, cough—I mean, I noticed you two were together ages ago.
And think about it—if you two are together, Hanabi, you can move into our house in the future. That way, we can be best sisters forever and ever and ever!"
Ryūshin and Hanabi both wore expressions full of question marks.
Since when were we together for a long time? How come we didn't know that ourselves?
Hanabi, however, didn't think too deeply about it. Hearing Rinne say that she and Ryūshin were together made the world suddenly feel bright and sunny.
Rinne… has anyone ever told you that you're basically a little angel?
As for Ryūshin, it took him quite a while to process everything. Then he suddenly let out an exaggerated shout:
"How did it turn into me and Hanabi being together for a long time?! There's clearly nothing going on between us!"
The moment he said that, two cold, piercing gazes shot straight at him.
They didn't need to say a word—Ryūshin knew exactly what those looks meant.
You kissed her and still won't admit it—big brother really is a scumbag, huh?
You kissed me and now you want to deny it? Men really are all heartless pigs!
...
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