The girl, unafraid, looked at the man in front of her with wide, curious eyes and answered in a soft, clear voice.
"My name is Natsuka ! I'm four years old!"
Arima looked down at the adorable girl before him, Natsuka, and noticed she didn't seem scared of him at all.
With a playful smile, he teased, "Aren't you afraid I might be a bad guy? What if I tied you up and sold you to some villains, huh? What would you do then?"
As he spoke, he deliberately made a scary face, baring his teeth and curling his fingers like claws in a mock-threatening gesture.
The little girl simply stared up at him. The "scary" expression on the big brother's face wasn't frightening in the slightest, it was actually kind of silly. She couldn't help but giggle.
Arima felt warmth bloom in his chest. It made him happy to see her so comfortable with him. He gently asked, "Do you remember what happened before?"
At the memory, Natsuka's expression fell, her cheerful face clouding with sadness.
"Some flying bad guys came to the village," she said quietly. "And now I don't know where Father, Mother, or anyone else has gone…"
Arima's heart ached at her sorrowful, well-behaved demeanor. She probably still didn't realize what kind of fate her parents might have met.
He chose not to press further, clearly, she knew little of what had truly happened in the village.
Reaching into his clothes, he pulled out a handful of candies and dropped them into Natsuka's pocket.
"They'll be back in a few days," he told her softly. "Here, try one of these. They're special, only the royal family of the Land of Fire gets them!"
Ever since he was little, Arima had loved candies. It was a habit passed down from his grandfather, Hashirama. Even now, he always kept some on hand.
Natsuka had never seen such beautifully wrapped candies before. Her pocket now bulged with the weight of the sweets, and the comforting distraction helped lift her mood.
She remembered once hearing her friends talk about the Land of Fire, it had fast metal boxes with big smokestacks that went "toot toot!" like magic.
For a moment, her sadness faded. She quickly unwrapped one of the candies and popped it into her mouth, happily sucking on its sweetness.
Suddenly, something seemed to occur to her. She wriggled out of Arima's arms, stood in front of him, and gave a serious little bow.
"Thank you, big brother, for saving me!" she said with sincere gravity.
"I don't have anything nice to give you... only this necklace. My mom and dad gave it to me for my birthday. I want you to have it!"
As she spoke, she reached up to unfasten the necklace around her neck.
Arima was taken aback by the gesture. A child with nothing, yet willing to give away her only treasure, her pure innocence moved him deeply. His throat tightened.
Quickly, he reached out to stop her. "Once you find your family again," he said gently, "you can give me another gift, okay? This necklace is from your parents, you should keep it safe."
Hearing that, Natsuka nodded seriously. She didn't press the matter, but she etched the promise deeply into her heart.
Arima couldn't help but think, She still doesn't know the tragedy her family might face. If something's happened to them… she'll be all alone in this world.
He made a silent vow, until they found her family, he would protect her himself.
To lift her spirits, Arima began telling stories, strange and wondrous things he'd seen throughout the Shinobi world.
Natsuka was completely enthralled by his tales and began to dream of seeing the world beyond her village.
Not long after, the three scouting teams returned. They had searched dozens of miles around the area, yet not a single other living soul was found. It seemed the entire village had been captured.
As the groups reassembled, they quickly noticed the little girl by Arima's side. She looked about three or four years old, with delicate features, utterly adorable.
Suddenly surrounded by so many strangers, Natsuka grew nervous. She shrank back, clutching tightly to the hem of Arima's robe. The familiar touch gave her comfort.
Seeing Tsunade and Iwa return, Arima gently handed Natsuka over and explained, "Her parents hid her in the basement, which is why she survived.
When I found her, she was already starving. Could you help her get cleaned up?"
But Natsuka clung tighter to his clothes, clearly reluctant to leave him. Arima leaned down and reassured her softly.
"These two ladies are my teammates. They won't hurt you. Go get all that dirt washed off, and I'll cook something yummy for you later."
Tsunade, her maternal instincts stirred, looked at the little girl with a soft smile that was rarely seen on her face.
"Your name's Natsuka, right? I'm big sister Tsunade, and this is Iwa. Come with us, we'll get cleaned up together. Your big brother makes the best roasted meat. You won't want to miss it!"
Hearing their kind words, Natsuka slowly loosened her grip and allowed herself to be lifted into Tsunade's arms.
She nestled into the embrace carefully, trying not to dirty Tsunade's clothes with her own filth.
Oddly enough, she'd felt no such worry when Arima held her. There was something about his presence that made her feel at ease.
Tsunade felt the small girl's cautious trembling and her heart ached.
Such a sweet, thoughtful child. She gently stroked her back and began humming a lullaby as they headed to a nearby house that had been spared in the attack.
Meanwhile, Iwa searched through the ruins, looking for clean clothes in Natsuka's size.
The attackers had left in haste, so the kitchen still had all its cooking supplies.
Arima easily found the ingredients he needed and began roasting the small game Jiraiya and the others had hunted earlier.
The smell of roasting meat filled the air, growing richer by the second. Jiraiya and the others couldn't help but salivate.
Just then, Tsunade and Iwa returned with a freshly washed and dressed Natsuka.
The group by the campfire looked up and were surprised by how cute she was, like a porcelain doll, small and refined.
Seeing her cleaned up, Arima handed Natsuka a special roasted rabbit leg he had prepared just for her and nodded encouragingly.
Natsuka noticed that no one else had eaten yet. Feeling shy, she held the leg out toward Tsunade and murmured, "Big sister, you eat first. I'm not that hungry…"
But just then, her stomach betrayed her with a loud grrrgle.
Her face turned crimson, and she lowered her head in embarrassment.
Tsunade's heart melted. This little one reminded her of her younger brother Nawaki, only much better behaved. She felt an instant fondness.
Patting Natsuka's head affectionately, she smiled. "Your big brother's roasting a whole bunch over there.
I'll get a big piece later, this one's way too small for me! You go ahead and eat it first. Come on, try it. It's really good!"
Natsuka, reassured, didn't argue anymore. She'd been dying to taste it anyway.
She took a cautious bite, chewing slowly. The flavor blossomed across her tongue, delicious and rich. She quickly swallowed and took a much bigger bite without even thinking.
She had never tasted anything like this before. For a moment, she forgot all her nervousness and focused entirely on the roasted meat.
Seeing her so content, the others couldn't resist either. Without waiting for Arima to call them, they stepped forward to help and soon dug in themselves.
Once the meal was finished and everyone sat around the fire with full bellies, they began to plan their next move.
Arima laid out what they had so far.
"It looks like the meteorite that used to be in Hoshigakure is what the Sky Shinobi were after. Also, the demon sealed in the Land of Demons, Moryo, that's likely another of their targets."
He continued, "I sensed a strange darkness in their chakra… My guess is they're using the kidnapped civilians as a source of chakra.
Which means we need to get to the Land of Demons immediately, before something goes wrong there!"
With the plan set, the group packed up, doused the fire, and set off toward the Land of Demons.
Natsuka, for now, traveled nestled safely in Arima's arms. She would accompany them on this next journey.
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