"Asakawa Kiyosuke?!"
Ao immediately stood up and hurled the sake in his hand straight at him.
"Damn it! Why the hell are you here?!" Kiyosuke threw his fruit juice in return.
"Ahhh! My eyes! My eyes!"
"My eyes! My eyes!"
Both of them squatted down at the same time, clutching their faces and rinsing their eyes with the hot spring water.
They quickly wrapped towels around their waists and got out of the water, now standing on the surface of the spring.
"No wonder your voice sounded familiar... I didn't expect it to be you, Ao, you bastard!"
"To think I'd run into you in a place like this! I'll kill you and avenge Mizukage-sama!"
Ao gathered Water Release chakra in his hand, forming a water blade and slashing it toward Kiyosuke.
"You think I'm some kind of weakling?"
Kiyosuke didn't bother with any more words. With a wave of his hand, a blazing greatsword of fire materialized.
Steel clashed with steel, water and fire colliding violently. The two began to fight fiercely, when suddenly—
A figure leapt over from the women's bath next door.
"Ao! I heard fighting—what's going on... Asakawa Kiyosuke?!"
It was Terumī Mei, wrapped in a towel. She had just finished changing when she heard the commotion from the men's side and rushed over. But the last thing she expected was to see Kiyosuke.
Why is he here?
"Mei! Get over here and help!"
"Uh, well…"
"Hmph!"
Kiyosuke slashed upward, knocking Ao's arm aside, then sent him flying with a kick.
"What a strange coincidence. Mei, it's been two years, hasn't it?"
Her smooth, fair skin was right in front of him, her shapely figure outlined by the towel. It gave off an unintentionally seductive air.
Crap!
He was still a hot-blooded young man—this was getting awkward!
Instead of continuing the fight, he sat himself back down in the hot spring and simply stared at her.
As long as I don't feel awkward… then the awkward one is someone else!
Sure enough, Mei blushed and said, "You two go on—I-I'm going to go change."
Ao: "..."
Now's really not the time for that!
"So? Still want to fight? Even the Third Mizukage in his Tailed Beast form couldn't beat me. You sure you want to get flattened?" Kiyosuke said, glancing at Ao.
"Don't get cocky!" Ao growled through gritted teeth.
"I'm just stating facts. I might be willing to do the Hyūga a favor and help them reclaim the Byakugan."
Even though Ao's eye had Kirigakure's seal on it, Konoha's sealing team could probably break it once they had his head. It wouldn't be too hard.
"Sit down. This is a hot spring. You're supposed to relax and enjoy it."
Ao snorted and left without another word.
Kiyosuke didn't care. What did interest him, though, was why they were here at all. Kirigakure had sealed itself off—it was rare for anyone from the village to be seen in another country. They should only be in the Land of Water.
Was it some special mission?
He thought about it for a moment, but when he couldn't figure it out, he gave up.
...
Just then, Terumī Mei came hopping over, fully dressed and face flushed red. The moment she saw Kiyosuke still soaking in the spring, she shouted:
"You pervert!"
Kiyosuke: ???
"I'm in a hot spring. Do you wear clothes when you bathe?"
"Ah, well..."
"Not like you can see anything anyway. I'll just take the loss here and stay seated. By the way, why are you guys here?"
"Just a mission." Mei twirled a strand of her hair and looked at him. "A mission?"
"A mission."
Kiyosuke wrapped a towel around his waist and stood up.
Mei yelped and covered her eyes—but behind her fingers, her emerald eyes peeked out, stealing glances.
Kiyosuke said, "Let's go. I'm not planning to fight you two. Let's talk outside."
With that, he headed to the changing room.
Mei hopped back into the women's bath—after all, walking out of the men's bath as a girl would definitely cause a misunderstanding, and she wasn't about to let that happen.
...
When Kiyosuke emerged, he was fully dressed. He wasn't wearing his Konoha forehead protector.
At fifteen years old, he already stood at one-seventy centimeters. Handsome, bright smile, black hair falling to his shoulders. Honestly, if he dressed in women's clothing, he might actually pass…
Well, aside from his figure, maybe.
Mei stepped out and froze for a second. The steam earlier had been too thick to see clearly, but now she realized—
He looked even better than he had two years ago. More manly, too.
With a soft smile, she said,
"Kiyosuke-kun's grown into a real heartthrob. You must be super popular with the girls in Konoha?"
"It's alright. I don't really pay them much attention—got a kid to take care of."
"A... a kid?!" Mei blinked. "What kid?"
"My kid, of course."
My… kid?!
My kid…
My kid…
Her mind turned into a broken record, repeating that phrase over and over.
Her nose stung. Her chest tightened.
With a forced smile, she said, "Congratulations, then. You… got married really early."
Kiyosuke walked closer, noticing the redness in her eyes.
With a grin, he asked, "Did you misunderstand something?"
"No, not at all." She took a step back and smiled. "Ao and I still have a mission, so I won't stay to chat. Goodbye. Wishing you happiness."
Of course she misunderstood.
He grabbed her wrist and explained:
"It's the Fourth Hokage's kid. He died in battle and entrusted the child to me before he passed. So yeah, he's my kid now. Did you think I meant something else?"
"I-I did not!" Mei puffed out her cheeks, looking incredibly cute. "Kiyosuke-kun, you're such a jerk!"
"Hahaha! All I did was speak the truth. You're the one who misunderstood. Come on, let's go! I heard there's a festival in town tonight."
"But we still have—"
Kiyosuke reached out, removed her Kirigakure forehead protector, and stuffed it into her hand.
"Now you're not a Mist shinobi. Let's go."
"Ah, okay..." Mei dumbly let herself be dragged along by Kiyosuke.
...
The two had barely left the inn when, from a distance, Ao came charging over, shouting:
"Mei! I'm coming to save you! Asakawa Kiyosuke, you bastard! Let her go!"
"Sheesh, here comes the third wheel."
Kiyosuke grinned at Mei.
She said, "Let me go. We still have a mission."
"You don't want to enjoy your time outside the village?"
"No. Just getting to see you… that's enough."
She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and whispered.
"I'm glad I got to see you too. Take care!"
Kiyosuke laughed and left the inn.
Ao rushed over and asked, "Mei, are you alright?!"
"I'm fine, Ao. He wouldn't hurt me. If he really meant harm, I would've died back at the Kirigakure hospital."
She smiled gently and added:
"He's a gentle idiot."
...
That expression...
Ao looked at her in concern and reminded her, "He's from Konoha. He's also the one who killed Mizukage-sama."
"I know."
She continued watching Kiyosuke's back as he walked away, smiling faintly.
"That's why I'm happy I got to see him. I might never get the chance again."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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