Chapter 39: The Village Demon
Early the next morning, at the entrance to Konoha Village—
"Today is truly a wonderful day for a journey."
Carrying his travel bag, Asuka turned to look at the villagers gathered to see everyone off and couldn't help feeling emotional.
No matter how much time passed, the villagers were still as enthusiastic as ever.
Unfortunately...
None of them were there to see him off.
He was currently traveling together with the Hidden Sand delegation, and the villagers still harbored resentment toward Sunagakure.
Glancing at another group of shinobi hurrying toward the battlefield, Asuka's gaze lingered on Uchiha Itachi for a long moment.
At the same time, he felt several pairs of eyes resting on him.
Just then, Yūgao Uzuki squeezed through the crowd and ran to the front.
Jumping up, she waved vigorously at Asuka and shouted,
"Master!"
"Have a safe journey!"
Smiling, Asuka waved back.
He then saw his other two students also forcing their way through the crowd.
When his eyes landed on Iruka and the footprints covering his clothes, the corner of his mouth twitched.
This unlucky kid...
Did he get trampled by the crowd?
"Teacher!"
"Come back soon!"
Hyūga Hanahana glanced at the excited Yūgao beside her.
She also wanted to jump up and call out to her teacher...
But...
"What are you standing there thinking about?"
Yūgao suddenly shoved her from the side.
Grabbing one of Hanahana's arms, she enthusiastically waved it back and forth.
"Teacher's leaving today."
"Don't look so gloomy."
"Mhm."
Looking at his three students waving goodbye under someone else's encouragement, Asuka smiled warmly and waved back.
Just as he was about to continue following the Hidden Sand delegation, his eyes casually swept across the farewell crowd.
At that exact moment...
Uchiha Mikoto looked over as well.
Their eyes met in midair.
Asuka blinked.
Looking at the dark circles beneath Mikoto's eyes and the silent movement of her lips...
He was instantly speechless.
With the Sharingan's eyesight...
He could easily read every word she was mouthing.
Pakura noticed Asuka suddenly stop walking.
Following his line of sight, she saw a pregnant black-haired woman standing among Konoha's crowd.
More accurately...
The woman was looking directly at Asuka.
After observing her moving lips for a while, Pakura turned toward him in surprise.
"Are you married?"
Asuka shook his head decisively.
"No."
"I'm still single."
Hearing that, Pakura looked back at Mikoto in confusion.
"Then why is that pregnant woman staring at you?"
"It looks like she's saying something."
"Could it be that she's hoping you'll return safely?"
Heh.
She hopes I never come back.
Asuka sighed inwardly.
Looking first at Mikoto's smiling face, then at Pakura beside him, he said emotionally,
"The first time I saw her standing in front of me with a big belly..."
"I even wished she'd miscarry."
"But..."
"As time passed..."
"My nervousness, unease, and disappointment gradually faded."
"Although that child's appearance shattered many of my beautiful expectations for the future and disrupted countless plans..."
"I eventually accepted it."
"I simply treated it as one more person in the clan."
"I hand over money every month to fulfill my responsibility."
"Now she's pregnant with a second child."
"Aside from feeling somewhat conflicted..."
"I don't have any particular thoughts anymore."
"Oh, right."
"She's here to see her husband off."
"If her husband weren't leaving for the battlefield today..."
"She probably wouldn't even be standing here."
Thinking about how the mission income he turned over to the clan each month might ultimately be spent raising Uchiha Itachi...
Asuka felt a dull ache in his chest.
I'd rather donate the money to Konoha's orphanage.
At least the orphanage would call me a good person.
Uchiha Itachi would probably just stab me in the kidney someday.
Slap!
Seeing the complicated expression on Asuka's face, Pakura suddenly smacked her fist into her palm.
A look of sudden realization spread across her face.
Combining everything she had heard with the most popular romance novels currently circulating throughout the shinobi world...
An entire melodramatic story immediately formed in her mind.
A scumbag gets a woman pregnant.
He tries to make her lose the child but fails.
The unexpected baby forces responsibilities upon him.
Those responsibilities shatter all his dreams of chasing other women.
In the end...
The woman insists on giving birth.
The scumbag reluctantly throws some money at her and considers the matter settled.
Judging by the current situation...
The woman has already seen through his true nature and distanced herself.
"Mhm."
Pakura nodded to herself.
Looking at Asuka again...
Her eyes were now filled with anger and contempt.
Scumbag.
The next instant...
She appeared beside Mikoto.
Before the latter could react, Pakura casually wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pointed toward Asuka, and whispered,
"Don't you wish that man would never come back?"
"I can help you."
Following Pakura's finger, Mikoto looked toward Asuka, who was greeting other villagers.
She nodded slightly...
Then shook her head.
Her expression remained calm.
"Whether for the village..."
"The clan..."
"Or personally..."
"I still hope he returns safely."
Seeing that Mikoto's expression didn't appear fake in the slightest...
Admiration appeared on Pakura's face.
Grinding her teeth, she declared,
"You're far too kind."
"If I were you..."
"I would've roasted that irresponsible scumbag into a dried corpse long ago."
That single sentence immediately silenced Mikoto.
She quietly studied Pakura's indignant expression.
After carefully organizing her thoughts, she forced a smile.
"Pakura-jōnin..."
"I think..."
"You've misunderstood something."
"Misunderstood?"
Pakura looked at her for a long moment before gently patting her shoulder.
"Then let it stay a misunderstanding."
"Even though I'm from the Hidden Sand..."
"As a woman..."
"I still hope you'll find happiness."
"But—"
Before Mikoto could explain further...
Pakura stuffed a handful of money into her hands.
The next instant...
She reappeared beside Asuka, glaring at him murderously.
Watching Pakura's lips move...
Mikoto's expression instantly darkened after reading what she had said.
Since when was I abandoned?
---
"Money."
Walking along the main road toward Sunagakure together with the Hidden Sand delegation, Asuka glanced sideways at Pakura's gloomy expression and pursed his lips.
"You imagined all of that yourself."
"And then you shoved money into our Clan Head's wife's hands without even blinking."
"I honestly thought you were giving her money for baby formula."
"Turns out..."
"You completely misunderstood what I meant."
Pakura's expression darkened even further.
Glancing toward Ebizō and the others walking at the very front, she said irritably,
"Shouldn't members of the clan feel happy..."
"Excited..."
"Thrilled..."
"When the Clan Head's wife becomes pregnant?"
"Why would you feel uneasy?"
"You're practically inviting people to misunderstand."
Sigh...
Asuka sighed and turned back toward Konoha in the distance.
"You don't understand."
"From the moment the Clan Head's wife became pregnant with her first child..."
"The gears of the Uchiha Clan's fate began turning."
"They've only spun faster and faster ever since."
"They're already beginning to break apart."
"That's why I was upset."
"If you don't want to explain properly..."
"Then don't make so many excuses."
Touching her now-empty wallet, Pakura naturally extended one slender arm toward Asuka.
"Sunagakure is very poor."
"When you arrive there as Konoha's exchange representative..."
"Your living conditions will probably be terrible."
"The food won't be much better either."
"But..."
"If you're willing to pay..."
"I can arrange a decent house for you."
"So this is how the Hidden Sand treats Konoha's representatives?"
"Heh."
Pakura sneered before clasping both hands behind her back.
There was an unmistakable threat hidden in her voice.
"Most exchange representatives sent by other villages have died in unfortunate accidents."
"The desert nights are extremely cold."
"If someone's house happens to be rather shabby..."
"It wouldn't be surprising if they occasionally froze to death."
Before she even finished speaking...
She suddenly felt a thick stack of banknotes pressed into her hand.
Looking down in surprise, Pakura squeezed the bundle to estimate its thickness before calmly putting it away inside her wallet.
Recently...
The village had paid far too much in reparations.
Rumor had it that even the Daimyō had drastically reduced Sunagakure's funding.
Even a jōnin like her had begun living frugally.
Every extra coin she saved...
Could be given to the village to help support its orphans.
Quietly stealing another glance at Asuka...
Her expression gradually became more complicated.
During the past several days...
After putting aside her prejudice and observing him more carefully...
Some of her opinions had quietly changed.
Just now...
Her first instinct had actually been to empty his wallet for the sake of the village.
When did we become this familiar?
She clearly remembered treating him as an enemy the first time they met.
When did that change?
Oh...
Maybe it started after hearing that the Daimyō had cut the village's budget...
And I became desperate to find new sources of income.
After all...
The village behind me is poor.
And I'm Pakura...
The Hero of the Hidden Sand.
Thinking that, Pakura calmly slipped her wallet back into her ninja pouch.