Chapter 65 Return (End)

  I gazed faintly at the slender figure hurrying along in the dead of night, this time I didn't deliberately conceal my tracks, because she had an exceptionally keen intuition for this kind of "hiding".

  But one thing doesn't have to be hidden in order not to be found, putting it among other similar things is also a good method, especially for those who are good at finding hidden things.

  I adjusted my breath to a state similar to that of a wild animal, waiting in the tree and looking at the child who was so tired that he fell to the ground, but his hands were still subconsciously crawling forward.

  Is it really necessary? All I did was take her away from that prison, why would she want to risk her life to follow me?

  Why are you all so... obsessed? The Third Hokage with the Will of Fire, Orochimaru with the written word, Uchiha Sasuke with revenge, you with following me, that clan with "God", "he" with each other, and Uzumaki Naruto with bonds... Is it necessary to have something you're obsessed with in order to be considered a living, whole person?

  For someone like me who has never truly cared about anything, have I ever really lived?

  You're overthinking things, many matters don't need to be thought of as so complicated, you're just a kid.

  Kid, kid? Who treated me like a kid? I've never lived as a "kid", in the eyes of the villagers of Konoha, I'm a "monster", in the eyes of the Third Hokage, I'm the Fourth's "legacy", in the eyes of Haku and Zabuza, I'm an "adult", in the eyes of those escaped ninjas, I'm the "God of Death"......

  ...can enjoy being spoiled and willful like a "child"…

  You said, who has ever treated me as a "child"? I asked with doubt, I really don't know!

  Even a kid with a similar background to mine can be so persistent? "Ming" is the same, we're all so similar, why am I the only one who can't be persistent? I don't understand? I really don't understand? I half-knelt on the tree, my right hand tightly grasping my chest.

  Nine, my heart is so painful... really... I closed my eyes and calmed down my emotions at the same time.

  For me, indulging in emotions is no different from losing myself.

  I don't know how long I was frozen, but I finally returned to normal. Sorry, Jiu, I lost my composure. Seeing someone similar to the past is inevitable and will have some resonance. It's truly impolite. Controlling my expression has become not only a protection for me, but also an instinct, an instinct that concerns life itself.

  You ah! Sigh, you shouldn't be so extreme. At first, I wanted to say "think positively", but this sentence is really too hypocritical. Even if it's the person involved, who has the right to tell them to think positively? Maybe even the person involved can't tell themselves to think positively?

  I'm fine, I'm doing well now, I'll go help her with treatment, goodbye, Jiu.

  Jiu watched as I quickly left, and the words he had not spoken earlier were now said: "You only look good, when can you truly care about yourself a bit more?"

  Sorry, maybe someday! Will there be such a day?

  I gently jumped down from the treetop, turning her body to face me, and saw a dazed little face filled with resentment and realization.

  Is it really necessary?

  Her hands and feet were bleeding profusely, especially the soles of her feet, which had no shoes on them as she ran barefoot in the forest. They were almost all blistered, filled with half-dried thick bloodstains. Her small face also had many abrasions and bruises. I used my medical chakra to treat the exposed wounds on her clothes, but didn't clean the wound thoroughly, so as to conceal the fact that I had already treated it.

  Just as I was about to leave, I thought for a moment, took out a pair of shoes and placed them beside her. I heard two faint but very familiar footsteps coming this way, and couldn't help but smile silently, then put the shoes away and prepared to slip away quietly.

  It's true that we all think alike! Hehe, I'd better hurry back to sleep. Otherwise, it won't be fun if they find out I'm a shadow clone.

  ※※※

  It's been about a month since I first heard that call, and White and Kunimaru have already left the forest and have been waiting outside for five days.

  Today is the last day, if Shizuku can't find a way out of this forest within today, then we probably won't have any chance to meet again. And Shizuku will have to accept her fate and spend the rest of her life in an ordinary village, living a dull and uneventful life.

  If sixteen nights can emerge from this forest with a body that has not learned any ninja techniques or physical training, I will let her follow me for the time being.

  I, Bai and Junmaru initially arrived at that lake, spending about fifteen days, excluding the days of detours, strolls, and circuitous routes. With our current pace in sealed training, rushing with all our might, it would take about ten days.

  We were both preparing to leave the forest, but I wouldn't wait for sixteen nights. She had to walk out by herself. I only provided her with a military ration pill, a water bottle and a cloak.

  This forest doesn't have many large wild beasts, and I've also left some of my Chakra on Jūnikyū, so I can sense her situation at any time. I won't let Jūnikyū be in a life-threatening danger, but if she needs my rescue, then she's not qualified to follow me.

  I will proceed in a straight line, waiting for her at the edge of the forest until the sixth day when dawn breaks. I don't want her to have any dissatisfaction due to directional judgment issues, whether it's success or failure, she will be convinced and satisfied.

  I gaze at the stars and moon in the night sky, waiting for the moon to set below the western mountains, until the first light of dawn breaks in the east, but she still hasn't appeared...

  So our fateful encounter ends here, on the sixteenth night of the heavenly hunt.

  "Go to sleep! There's no need to keep watch in a place like this, Bai, Jun. Everything will become clear when the sun rises." It wasn't necessary to sacrifice their own sleep time for something like this. Opportunities to rest in nature were fleeting, and once they returned to Konoha, such chances would be scarce.

  "Let this campfire... just stay lit, don't extinguish it." After all, the psychological trauma of searching for unknown things in the dark is huge, and I didn't need to make things difficult for her over such a small matter.

  ※※※

  When I woke up to the first light of dawn on the tree, the aroma of food also came to my nose, and I lightly jumped beside Shiro and Juroku who had prepared breakfast.

  "Good morning, Bai. Sixteen Nights is also doing well!" Sixteen Nights' appearance was much neater and cleaner than I had expected, had she cleaned up?

  "Good morning." Bai greeted me with his uniquely gentle voice as usual.

  "Good morning, sir." Sixteen Nights responded with great spirit.

  The correspondence between us is just like I never suggested testing her because that's enough.

  "Where's Junmaru?" Usually he's the first one to greet me, I wonder if it's because of some trouble with a new member?

  "He went to the riverbank, should be soon………"

  "Good morning, sir!" Indeed, everyone has arrived.

  "Well, let's eat then! We'll be on our way soon!" I wonder if I should remind Kinnmusu to wash the mud off her shoes too. The reddish-brown soil unique to this forest is stuck to every part of her feet, making it hard for me to pretend not to notice.

  However, Bai seemed to have noticed, I turned my head to the side to eat breakfast, giving them two chances to study how to destroy those things.

  "It's time to return to Konoha." Ah, the long three years!

  "Is that Konoha? The place where the adults used to live?" White thought back to the expression on the adults' faces whenever they inadvertently mentioned their past, and didn't have a good impression of Konoha at all.

  "Hokage? I've heard he's very strong?" Kimimaro felt a thrill of excitement. He had previously heard from his clansmen that Konoha was currently the strongest of the five great ninja villages, and also had the most experts within it. The Third Hokage was also said to be an exceptionally powerful shinobi known as the God of Shinobi.

  "Wood Leaf?" The Sixteenth Night felt a sense of discomfort, having heard that the person who had helped their village was apparently born in Wood Leaf. An elder said that they had seen subordinates around that person wearing Wood Leaf's forehead protector, although they hadn't seen the person themselves wear one.

  I don't know what they are thinking now, and I can't say whether my mood is calm or excited.

  No matter what, promise? Watch a play? Long-cherished wish? Boredom? Hypocrisy? I will be leaving anyway.

  It was just about to arrive at that time, nine years later, the storm center of the Ninja World went.

  [End of Volume 2 Chapter 3]

  It's settled then, next chapter will start with a return to Konoha.

  However, there are almost no long reviews on this side of the starting point, and it's normal for the momentum to be a little less.

  Next week, I'll start uploading the third volume! If there's no unexpected event, I'll also take care of the Jianghu side, depending on the situation.

  It's roughly like that.