However, Shiki Uzumaki had a general idea where Hoshino Sena would place the clothes, making it much easier to find them.
In the end, he picked out a set of pink pajamas and carefully dressed the unconscious Ka Natsuko in them.
Only at this point did Shiki feel that he had finally passed through this crisis.
He then searched through the first-aid cabinet normally kept in the house and found some medication for a cold. Supporting Ka Natsuko up, he carefully fed the pills to her.
"It seems I'll have to wait until tomorrow to understand exactly what happened."
After finishing all this, Shiki carried Ka Natsuko to Sena-chan's room.
Then he returned to his own room to sleep. After all, it had been a busy day.
It was already one or two o'clock in the morning, so Shiki didn't bother with anything else.
He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the bed.
The night passed like this. Lying on his bed, Shiki enjoyed deep sleep because these past couple days had been extremely tense without any time for rest.
Suddenly, a shaking sensation from within his dream gradually woke him up.
"Hmm? What is it?"
Still groggy from sleep, Shiki rubbed his eyes, not yet realizing what had happened.
"Shiki, Shiki, wake up a little."
A particularly soft voice reached his ears—gentle, but carrying an undertone of anxiety.
Grumbling softly, Shiki finally opened his eyes.
Opening his eyes revealed a rather pretty woman before him, wearing the pajamas belonging to Hoshino Sena. Yet Shiki recognized her immediately, asking directly:
"Hmm? Natsuko-nee, what's wrong?"
Ka Natsuko hesitated slightly, her hair still disheveled as she fidgeted nervously with her fingers over her chest.
"That is... why am I here?"
"Oh right, yesterday—"
Shiki proceeded to explain everything that had happened the previous day to Ka Natsuko.
Upon hearing that Shiki had given her a bath and changed her clothes, Ka Natsuko visibly blushed.
But she felt oddly reassured.
After all, the person standing before her was still just a child, only trying to help her.
"By the way, Nee-san, I want to ask you something. Why are you here? Did something happen in Nikamura?"
Since Ka Natsuko had already awakened, Shiki naturally asked the question on his mind.
"Some things did occur… In Nikamura—"
As she spoke, Ka Natsuko's expression suddenly dimmed.
She paused, glancing at him again and again.
"Forget it, I won't tell you about those matters anymore. Shiki, can you tell me where the mission request office is located in Konoha?"
Instantly, Shiki understood—the Ka Natsuko before him saw him just as a little kid.
"It seems this childish appearance of mine continues causing unnecessary misunderstandings."
Sighing silently, Shiki lifted his gaze toward Ka Natsuko. "If that's the case, then let me come along with you, Natsuko-nee. However…"
"What 'however'?"
"But I think, in the end, the one who accepts this mission might still be me."
"Eh?"
"After all, I'm already a chūnin of Konoha now."
"You? A chūnin?"
Ka Natsuko's eyes widened in surprise. She clearly hadn't expected a child like him to have already become a chūnin.
"But even so, the matter we're facing this time isn't something a chūnin can handle."
Despite her astonishment, Ka Natsuko still revealed some regret.
This only deepened Shiki Uzumaki's expression of confusion even further. Just what kind of situation could it be that involved a village without ninjas?
"Hey Onee-san, you *did* say before that if anything came up, you should come find me in Konoha, right? Regardless of whether I could help or not, at least you could tell me about it now, couldn't you?"
At this point, Ka Natsuko also released her bitten lip and gave out a light sigh.
"Since it's like this, then I'll tell you." [To Be Continued]
Chapter 224: Going Back to Nikamura
"Back then, our village was very poor because in this war-torn country, having a stable life was almost impossible."
Sitting on the bed in Shiki Uzumaki's room, Ka Natsuko quietly recalled these memories.
"At that time, I was still a girl in my early teens. Often I would witness how even though our village was so impoverished, bandits and robbers kept coming anyway."
"So the people in the village lived their days in constant fear. And back then, the village wasn't yet like it is now—perpetually drenched in rain."
From what Nagato remembered, the Land of Rain hadn't always been like this—it used to have sunny days. This leads us to speculate that the ceaseless rainfall covering the Land of Rain nowadays is probably due to Nagato's [Rain Tiger at Will Jutsu].
"However, the villagers still held onto strong hopes. Because the entire village pooled all their money into two individuals who were greatly trusted by the village, sending them away to study under masters from various small ninja villages across the lands. We believed things would finally turn around once they came back."
After hearing this, Shiki Uzumaki understood part of the story. Now he could guess that the unexplained wealth suddenly appearing in Nikamura Village must be related to these two individuals.
"One of them was Harada—the one who assigned us that previous mission, right?"
Shiki Uzumaki asked. Before, Harada's name alone held tremendous weight in Nikamura Village, which really amazed him.
It was just like how the Hokage was revered in Konoha.
"Just saying his name seemed to bring hope back into their hearts."
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