As Shiki Uzumaki was making his preparations, he suddenly noticed a disheveled woman dragging her weary steps toward the village from a distance.
In circumstances like these, there was almost an eerie, ghostly quality to her approach.
However, Shiki narrowed his eyes as he watched the woman closely. He had the vague feeling that something about her silhouette was oddly familiar.
As she drew closer, Shiki realized that her clothing wasn't actually too bad—it was just soaked through, apparently drenched by the recent rain.
At this point, though, her shapely silhouette became clearly visible.
"At a time like this, what woman would walk alone without fear of encountering bandits or others?"
Shiki's mind filled with confusion, only increasing his curiosity about staying and observing further.
"Hey! What do you want here!"
A Chunin guarding the East Gate of Konoha stepped forward. With the clouds of war still lingering overhead, the sight of this lone woman naturally put the ninja on edge.
"Is this Konoha?"
The woman's tired voice floated over, causing the ninja to pause in surprise.
"Yes. What do you want?"
"I have a mission I wish to commission from you. I have money. I can commission your services."
After saying this, the woman seemed to lose all strength and collapsed onto the muddy road.
Shiki had now clearly seen the woman's face. She looked around twenty-something years old—quite pretty.
And he had already recognized her.
"Didn't expect it to be you."
Shiki furrowed his brow and looked down at the woman lying on the ground. He didn't know her all that well, but...
Chapter 222: Unresolved Mystery
"You alright?!" The Chunin on duty couldn't help but show alarm upon seeing the woman collapse.
On one hand, he really wanted to step forward and help her up, but under current circumstances, there were just too many suspicious points about this woman's appearance.
With the clouds of war still lingering overhead, he hesitated.
Could it be that this woman was an impostor—an enemy ninja from Sunagakure Village or Tayu Village?
Because of such considerations, the Chunin delayed taking action.
He just stood there frowning, weighing carefully how to deal with the situation.
"Don't worry. She's fine. I know her."
Just then, a familiar voice suddenly spoke from behind him, relieving the Chunin's immediate anxiety.
Turning around, he saw a thin-framed child standing there. Though he looked frail, an almost imperceptible aura of presence surrounded him—an air that naturally demanded quiet respect.
Clad entirely in black mourning clothes, he seemed especially eerie against the pitch-black night.
But that signature red identified who he was immediately.
"Oh, it's you, Shiki. So late already—why are you out here? And you know this woman?"
After exchanging greetings briefly, the Chunin still asked the question on his mind.
Shiki nodded quietly, managing a faint smile within his cool gaze.
"It's a friend of mine. I just didn't expect her to end up in such a pitiful state. May I bring her inside?"
"This…" The chunin hesitated slightly, as having a kid vouch for an unknown woman and letting her into the village at a time like this was simply too dangerous.
"Let her in. Shiki wouldn't make a mistake about someone."
Suddenly, another man walked out from the watchpost, his face wearing a kind smile.
Shiki Uzumaki looked up. Blondish-brown hair, familiar and amiable expression.
"Yamanaka San Tian…"
"I didn't expect you'd be here, Senior Yamanaka. Then thank you."
Shiki Uzumaki showed some surprise—it wasn't until this afternoon that they had finished the funeral of The Third Hokage.
Never thought that Yamanaka San Tian would start his mission so soon, guarding the watchpost no less.
"I didn't want to either, but right now the village is desperate for manpower everywhere. Besides, security these days has been strengthened quite a bit compared to before."
There was a note of helplessness in Yamanaka San Tian's voice.
This time, Shiki truly smiled—a smile filled with amusement at someone else's misfortune.
"But—" the somewhat unfamiliar chunin named Shiki hesitated.
"There's no 'but.' Don't underestimate Shiki, Willow Wan. You should know he's already made chunin rank, same as us. And yesterday on the battlefield, we were close allies who worked together seamlessly."
Yamanaka San Tian patted the shoulder of the chunin called Willow Wan.
Hearing this, Willow Wan clearly stiffened—he suddenly recalled the rumor that had already spread.
In yesterday's war against the Land of Wind, the one who stood out the most hadn't been any Jonin, but a mere child.
But what if that was true?
Willow Wan still couldn't feel at ease letting a child vouch for someone like this.
"No. If you just bring this woman directly into the village like this, it's clearly against protocol."
Willow Wan refused again.
Shiki Uzumaki furrowed his brow. He hadn't expected Konoha's security checks to be this strict right now.
Yet, since he did personally know that woman—and they had gotten along rather well previously—there was no way he could just stand by and do nothing.
Just as Shiki was about to propose a compromise, suddenly Yamanaka San Tian slapped Willow Wan's shoulder again.
"Alright, alright, no more teasing. Actually, the moment she appeared, I started using my sensor abilities to detect her chakra. You know I have secret arts—if she really were dangerous, under my careful scanning, there'd definitely be signs. So don't worry."
This time, Willow Wan's expression visibly softened. If that was the explanation, then he could accept it.
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