Once Sukuna was done with his post-mortem cleanup, he went to wash himself, making sure there was no way to track him by footprints, smell, or anything else.
By the time he returned to Konoha, it was already evening. The evening sky above the village was beautiful as ever, distracting him from going straight home. Instead, he stood and admired the rich orange glow until the sun completely set.
On top of the Hokage monument, he looked down at the bustling streets of Konoha. Even at this hour, the village was as lively as ever.
Sometimes he wondered how it would have been if he had been born and raised in another hidden village. He knew Konoha was the best in terms of living conditions, but how much better? He wondered what it would be like to live in a desert, among rocky mountains, or perhaps in a land filled with rivers and lakes.
'Forest isn't too bad though,' he mused.
Recalling the last time he failed to reach home before sunset and the horror of his mother's "Mommy no Jutsu," he cut his musing short and got ready to head back.
He also had to sort out the things he had gotten from Danzo. Too much work and too little time.
"Hey, white-eyes! Are you gonna cry now!"
His steps paused. He was only halfway home when he heard this. Blinking, he looked around only to find a familiar loli in distress.
"Don't you Hyuga think you're better than everyone? Huh?" another added, shoving her back.
He saw Hinata, her cute face on the verge of tears, surrounded by a few boys. They were definitely older than him, perhaps ten or eleven.
Hinata shook her head, her eyes glistening. "P-please… stop…" she whispered, her small hands clutching her sleeves.
'Man, why now.' Sukuna sighed. This was your typical back-alley bully scenario. He knew Hinata had been through this kind of experience, but wasn't that when she was younger? This should have been stopped by now, right?
Sukuna grumbled. He already knew that if he stopped moving, what was waiting for him back home wouldn't be pleasant.
'It's Hinata's fault honestly. She's too kind and soft. Almost too much, and these guys here take advantage of that. She didn't strike back, didn't raise her voice, didn't even glare. That only made the boys laugh harder.' Sukuna already saw how this would play out.
"What's the matter? Can't fight?"
"Ha! You clan shinobi always look down on us commoners, don't you? Why don't you show us what's so impressive about you!"
'Damn, here we go being the hero again for another loli.' Sukuna grumbled. He just couldn't walk away from Hinata and her tear-streaked face.
He wasn't that heartless.
As for what would happen to him when he went back home late… sigh. 'The essence of a shinobi is to endure at the end…'
"Yo, Hinata. These guys giving you trouble?"
He walked right into the circle without hesitation. The bullies turned to him, frowning. Honestly, even he found this sudden entrance a little random. He didn't talk with Hinata at all—this might've been the first time they spoke in their almost two years of academy life together.
"Huh… Sukuna-kun." Surprisingly to him, Hinata remembered his name. At least she could play along, then… good.
"What do you want?" one of the boys asked in a haughty tone.
Sukuna smirked. "What do I want? Hmm. Let's see. Maybe I want you clowns to stop bullying the cute girl half your size. Or maybe…" he cracked his knuckles, "I want to knock your teeth out since I'm gonna get a beating back home because of you idiots. Either way, it works."
The boys laughed. "Ha! What are you gonna do, shrimp?"
"You know, I've been hearing that line quite often lately. You know what happens to people who say that to me?" Sukuna grinned, his face always plastered with mischief. With his glasses, he looked like a naughty kid planning his next big prank.
The next second, one of them was on the ground clutching his stomach. Sukuna had kicked him so fast the others barely saw it. He tilted his head at the rest. "Ah, almost overdid it there. Hold back, idiot, they're kids," he chided himself.
They charged him together after seeing one of them go down so easily. Sukuna didn't even break a sweat. A punch to the nose, a knee to the stomach, a shove into a mud puddle—within seconds, all of them were groaning on the ground.
"Unbelievable, and you guys call yourselves bullies," Sukuna muttered, dusting off his hands. He turned to Hinata, who was staring at him wide-eyed.
"And you. What the hell was that? Just standing there crying? You've got fists, don't you? Use them."
Hinata flinched. "B-but… but they are bigger and…"
Sukuna groaned loudly, dragging a hand down his face. "Don't you know your clan jutsu? Who cares how big they are? Just use it on them…"
"Hmm b-but I didn't wan-wanted to hurt them." Hinata stammered. This Hinata was even worse than the twelve-year-old girl who got her ass kicked by Neji. This was a total pushover.
"And look where that got you. If you don't fight back, they'll just keep walking all over you." Sukuna scolded again. But the girl only looked more hesitant and shy after that.
"Sigh!" He calmed himself. There was no point shouting at her—she must have been hearing loud voices all her life.
'Nah, I need to put reason into her.'
"What will you do if they do this to you next time?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.
"Ahm… I-I'll don't, I fight back." Hinata stammered.
"Good, because if you won't, then you'll be the reason they bully someone else."
That certainly got her attention.
"Umm I didn't." She definitely wanted to say something, but Sukuna didn't let her.
"I know you would never, but they will. Just because they can get away with doing it to you, they'll try it on other people as well. Perhaps people smaller than you. Maybe they'll think white-eye people are pushovers… what then?" Sukuna scoffed.
Though he knew what would happen then—those kids would get a good ass whooping. Still, he didn't bother mentioning that.
"Do you have any younger siblings or cousins?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Hinata, still a little dazed by the sudden shift in topic, nodded hesitantly.
"Good. Then tell me, what will you do when those boys go after your younger brother, sister, or cousin just because they think they can get away with bullying others, since you didn't fight back?
What will you do?" Sukuna asked, heat in his tone.
Hinata, who had been still with her head lowered, suddenly jolted her head back up.
"No, they won't…" Horror filled her mind as she imagined Hanabi, who was only three years old, being ganged up on by those bullies.
"Why shouldn't they? You, as a big sister, can't protect her. You can't even protect yourself. What's stopping them…" Sukuna scolded back, shutting Hinata up. Her small hands clenched hard.
"I…" She wanted to protect, but the doubt of whether she could really protect Hanabi if it came down to it rose inside her. Doubt that froze her to the ground like a statue.
As Hinata fiddled with her fingers, tears trailing down her cheeks at the realisation of her own weakness, Sukuna suddenly pointed past her. "And YOU!"
He shouted, looking at the bushes behind Hinata. He pointed directly in that direction to make it clear to the shinobi that he knew he was talking to the hidden guard.
From the shadows, a man stiffened. A Hyuga guard, meant to secretly protect Hinata, had been watching the whole thing. Sukuna's grin widened. "Yeah, I see you, you creep. Creeping further back won't help you. What kind of babysitting is this, huh? Just sit there while a bunch of brats bully your young lady?"
"Hell… hell with 'young lady.' How can you watch any young girl be bullied like that and not act? What kind of man are you?" Sukuna shouted, full of anger.
The guard stepped forward, clearly annoyed. "You insolent child. You know nothing of the Hyuga. My duty is to observe and intervene only when—"
"—when your little princess gets beaten half to death? Or when all her self-confidence turns to dust?" Sukuna cut him off. "Because if that's what you were after, then bravo, job done. Look at her—she's even afraid to look up. Genius planning, asshole. Standing there like a scarecrow, doing nothing. Must be exhausting work, huh?"
Hinata gasped softly, covering her mouth. The guard's face turned red. "You dare mock me, boy? Do you know who I am?"
Sukuna put on a fake gasp. "Oh nooo. Which idiot gave this guy the job? Now he can't even recall who he was."
For the first time, Sukuna had seen those white eyes of the Hyuga turning such a shade of red.
He smirked. 'Now I get it, why those Chinese protagonists do this. Insulting others to their face feels awesome…!'
"Tell me, what's your job title? Professional tree-hugger? Royal Bush Creeper? Did your parents know you stalk little girls and enjoy watching them get bullied?" Sukuna said with a righteous tone.
The guard definitely popped a vein at that one.
"You arrogant brat!" the man barked. "I'll teach you some respect today!"
He lunged at Sukuna, striking with the precision of Gentle Fist.
'Dude, really? Gentle Fist? I get you're angry, but to use that on a child?' Sukuna's face darkened.
At first, he thought this was all Hiashi's order, so he only planned to complain to the guard so Daddy Hyuga would listen to his complaints. But seeing the guard's actions, it seemed like it wasn't just Hiashi at fault—this guy here wasn't much of a good man either.
The Hyuga did hold back, though. He didn't activate the Byakugan, however, the attacks themselves carried chakra. That could be really dangerous for a kid.
Sukuna blocked the palm with his forearm, twisted the man's wrist, and kicked him square in the chest.
The guard stumbled back, shocked. 'What?'
His mind was in utter shock. This was an academy student, right? He was a Chunin.
'Who's this kid?'
Sukuna grinned. "Watch carefully, Hinata. This is how you fight a bully who is older and bigger than you."
Growling, the guard attacked again—faster, angrier. Sukuna slipped under the strikes, smacked his hand away, and headbutted him hard enough to send him crashing to the dirt.
The man groaned, clutching his face. Sukuna stood over him, hands on his hips. "Lesson one: don't pick fights you can't win."
"Huh?" Both the guard and Hinata were speechless.
"What? You think you're in a movie shoot? Most often than not, you're gonna get your ass kicked if there are too many people. That's when you should do a strategic retreat. Unlike this guy here…" Sukuna pointed at the guard.
The guard's face turned red.
'Run away from you? In your dreams, brat.' He roared. However, before he could even get up, Sukuna was over him, punching him right in the face, slamming him back to the ground.
"Lesson two: Don't bother playing fair, 'cause they sure won't."
Hinata was baffled. How did this turn into a teaching session?
He turned back to Hinata, who was covering her mouth in shock. Sukuna crouched to her level. "And lesson three: no matter what, always punch back."
He swiftly twisted his body, sweeping the Hyuga guard's legs from under him as he tried to get up. The poor guard went tumbling back to the ground again.
"Got it?"
Hinata paused, pursed her lips, and after processing, opened her mouth. "Hmm… that… that was a kick."
"Got it," Sukuna repeated again.
Hinata blinked, then nodded softly. "…Got it."
Sukuna stood and stretched. "Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm late for dinner. Try not to get kidnapped or bullied again. If you want to, then call me. I'm a professional." He winked.
With that, he strolled off, leaving Hinata staring after him—half scared, half lost, and maybe… a little inspired.
xxx
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