"...Hakimi Hakimi Haki..."
A childish voice hummed a little tune passed down on the seas. A little figure, less than a meter tall, walked briskly along the road, her steps light and full of vitality.
Kousei was draped in a miniature cloak and wore a straw hat large enough to block her entire field of vision.
She looked just like a mushroom spirit.
Under the miniature cloak, she still wore the same short-sleeved shirt and shorts she had when she first arrived in this world.
But at least she wasn't walking barefoot anymore.
A pair of children's shoes, still embroidered with 'little suns', adorned her feet, tapping rhythmically against the ground with her lively steps.
"Ah... Haku should have found the letter Kousei left, right?"
After successfully taking a merchant ship from the Land of Vegetables to the mainland and walking for most of the day, Kousei finally remembered Haku, who had been taking care of her all this time.
...As for Zabuza, Kousei thought he wasn't good-looking, so she rarely thought about him.
Although Kousei was young, she wasn't a clueless little kid.
From the attire of Haku and Zabuza when they first met, to Mei's proactive invitation which was refused...
Kousei understood clearly that these two probably just wanted to live a peaceful life now.
But she couldn't stay there forever.
Kousei didn't continue to ask them to help her find her dad. Instead, she chose to leave alone one morning.
These two were good people.
Even though Zabuza was a bit ugly, Kousei still hoped they could live the life they wanted.
At that moment-
About five or six hundred meters behind Kousei, two figures were following at a distance.
Who else could it be but Zabuza and Haku?
Although Kousei seemed to possess terrifying physical prowess naturally, she had still underestimated the two of them as Ninjas.
Her clumsy attempt to conceal her presence and leave had been discovered by the two long ago.
As for that 'farewell letter', which contained more drawings than words due to her limited literacy, Haku carried it with him solemnly.
"Zabuza-sama, do we really have to follow from this far away?"
Haku asked somewhat puzzled.
In his opinion, if they were so worried about letting Kousei go off alone, they might as well just openly accompany her.
Unexpectedly, Zabuza just shook his head upon hearing this.
"Haku, you don't understand her feelings. You saw that letter, didn't you?"
It truly was a world full of wonders… the [Demon] Zabuza actually saying that someone else didn't understand people's hearts.
"Ah... you're right."
Haku, upon hearing this, also recalled the sincere wishes Kousei had left in that farewell letter.
Let the little one be happy like this.
They just needed to follow from afar.
Haku and Zabuza weren't worried about the little girl being in danger; what they truly feared was Kousei being deceived by others.
After all, during their short time together, the two had already discovered:
Kousei really wasn't good at doubting what others said.
'That kind of mindset wouldn't do… the dangers lurking in the hearts of people in the Ninja World weren't that simple!'
Thinking this, the three of them continued in this distant 'formation', leaving the forested area behind.
Ahead lay a vast expanse of badlands.
'If I remembered correctly, this should already be within the borders of the Land of Grass, right?'
'Well, it's just a small country, nothing to worry about.'
Thinking this, the two watched as a staggering, bloodied figure emerged from not far away and walked straight towards Kousei.
And Kousei, because her hat blocked her view too much, didn't notice until the person was almost right in front of her.
Thud!
The one sent flying was Gaara.
The arrow that had pierced his shoulder happened to hit the rock wall, causing the entire shaft to 'pop' out.
This also caused another gush of blood to spurt from the wound.
Strangely, the sand that automatically protected its master didn't take any action this time.
It was unclear whether it was because Gaara was already too weak or for some other reason.
"Ah! Oh no! Kousei bumped into someone and killed them!"
Kousei stood there completely unfazed, only her hat had been knocked off by the impact, allowing her to see Gaara, who looked like he was about to die, in front of her.
"Hey, hey... are you okay?!"
Kousei's little legs pattered quickly as she ran to Gaara, who was leaning against the rock wall, frantically pulling things out of the cute little bag, which was hand-sewn by Haku, she carried with her.
Soon she found a roll of bandages and wanted to bandage his wound.
The intense pain seemed to jolt the dazed Gaara back to a semblance of awareness.
His vision refocused.
"...A child?"
Gaara looked strangely at the little girl in front of him, then immediately seemed to remember something and shouted.
"Look out!"
The sand immediately formed a shield in front of him and Kousei, following Gaara's will.
The next moment, the same spiral arrow shot towards them.
Having lost too much blood and without any food, Gaara was nearly at his limit.
The sand shield only managed to block the first arrow before being shattered by the second one that followed closely behind.
At the critical moment, Gaara still tried to push the little girl away.
The target was him.
In his amnesiac state, Gaara wasn't as hostile as his previous self.
Perhaps this was his original personality.
But Gaara's arm didn't push Kousei away as he had imagined… instead, the reaction force made him press further against the rock.
Zabuza and Haku, seeing Kousei attacked from afar, immediately drew their weapons and charged over.
Snap!
The arrow was caught firmly by a small hand, then tossed aside casually.
"You're a good person, so they must be the bad guys."
Although Gaara's action hadn't succeeded, Kousei understood his intention.
In her simple worldview, someone like this counted as a good person.
And those four standing ahead, trying to chase down a good person, must definitely be the bad guys.
Instantly, the legends of the [Great Hero] and 'the Great Hero saving the people from oppression' that she heard from Nyon Ba in her childhood resurfaced in her mind.
Deng Deng!
It seemed as if the sound of some kind of instrument striking could be heard by everyone present.
When Kimimaro and the other three arrived in front of Gaara, they saw the little girl pick up her hat, put it on, then assume an exaggerated stance, one hand forward, one hand back, squatting in a horse stance.
"The Ninja World's Chivalrous Hero! Abbreviated as the [Ninja Hero], Kousei presents herself!"
"This..."
The scene before them left the pursuers momentarily stunned.
Jirobo's mouth twitched, but he said nothing.
Tayuya and Kidomaru looked like they wanted to laugh but didn't dare.
Only Kimimaro maintained his cold, expressionless demeanor.
"Kill her. Take the Jinchuriki."
They had already chased him for quite some distance. Seeing the Jinchuriki about to fall, they naturally couldn't give up now.
Hearing Kimimaro's words, whatever thoughts the other three had, they now turned into killing intent.
"Looks like you're just unlucky, kid."
Jirobo said, reaching out to grab Kousei.
Because they were some distance away earlier, the group hadn't seen Kousei catch the arrow with her bare hands, thinking it was Gaara who had acted.
Therefore, the three of them weren't taking it very seriously.
They hadn't even activated their Cursed Seal States.
"What?"
Jirobo's strength was the greatest among them.
Even without activating his Cursed Seal State, he wasn't someone an ordinary person could resist.
But this time, his outstretched hand was firmly gripped by Kousei.
Crack-
The clear sound of bone breaking echoed. Gaara, hearing it, immediately rallied his spirits, ready to strike Jirobo away.
But he didn't need to.
Thud!
Jirobo, with the bones in his hand shattered, was sent flying backwards by Kousei's kick as if he were a ball.
'There's something wrong with this kid!'
Jirobo activated his Cursed Seal the moment his hand bones were crushed, but even after being kicked by Kousei, he was still flying through the air, vomiting blood.
Kimimaro's pupils constricted sharply.
Black patterns appeared on his body, and bones extended from his arms and chest.
"Dance of the Larch!"
This was his defensive technique, using reinforced bones to form armor that could block enemy attacks and cause counter-damage.
Crack!
The next moment, the moment the ribs extending from his chest made contact with the small fist, cracks spread all over them.
'What an incredible strength!'
A look of disbelief appeared on Kimimaro's face, but before he could make another move, Kousei's roundhouse kick arrived.
This little girl's strength and speed far exceeded that of Kimimaro and the others.
Even if Kimimaro could barely react with his dynamic vision and reflexes, his body couldn't keep up with that terrifying speed.
By the time Haku and Zabuza arrived on the scene, what they saw were Kidomaru, Tayuya, and Jirobo completely incapacitated, unconscious and unknown if alive or dead, and only Kimimaro still struggling to hold on.
'It seems... we might be a bit superfluous.'