Morning.
As the sunlight shone down, the jungle, previously cloaked in darkness, was immediately illuminated. Amidst it, a figure constantly leaped and landed, treading on tree trunks, moving forward at high speed.
"Hmm…"
Miss Sumika slowly opened her eyes. What met her gaze was the rapidly retreating scenery. She slowly raised her head, looking at the familiar figure, and softly called out,
"Mr. Hoshigaki."
Hearing the voice from behind him, Kisame's body instantly stiffened. He then quickly reduced his speed and landed on the ground, turning his head to look behind him.
Seeing that the other party had stopped, Miss Sumika landed on her feet. After standing up, she subconsciously lowered her head and then saw the bandages wrapped around her chest.
"Are we safe now?"
"Yes."
Kisame nodded, then walked to the side and sat down, saying expressionlessly,
"We've already shaken off those Konoha Ninja. At this speed, we should be back in the Village by noon."
Upon hearing this, Miss Sumika immediately let out a sigh of relief, crossing her arms over her chest, and murmured,
"Is that so…"
She had thought she was certainly going to die, but unexpectedly, when she opened her eyes, she was already out of danger. In just half a day, Miss Sumika's mood had truly been a roller coaster.
Thinking of this, Miss Sumika turned her head to look at Kisame, who was leaning against a tree trunk, resting with his eyes closed. A gentle smile appeared on her pretty face.
"It seems Mr. Hoshigaki saved me."
After she was stabbed, she had thought she would be abandoned by him, but unexpectedly, he chose to take her with him and break through the encirclement.
"Hm?"
Kisame was startled for a moment, then lowered his head and frowned.
"I didn't save you."
It was Ren's clone who provided the assistance; Kisame did not want to take credit for it.
Miss Sumika tucked her hair behind her ear, her smile gradually fading.
"Mr. Hoshigaki, what about the others…"
"They're all dead."
Kisame did not hesitate and spoke directly.
Aside from Miss Sumika, Kisame had killed everyone else with a single blow. However, when he attacked her, he made a mistake, which resulted in her being only severely injured instead of dead.
If Kisame hadn't made a mistake, she wouldn't be sitting nearby now.
"Is that so…"
Miss Sumika also fell silent, looking at the other party, whose expression was unclear as he lowered his head, her own expression becoming complicated.
The joy of surviving a disaster was quickly dispelled by the death of her companions. Although their relationship was only casual, seeing them fall always brought a sense of gloom and discomfort.
"Let's go."
Kisame stood up, looking at the somewhat dazed Miss Sumika, and said in a deep voice,
"The Village is still waiting. Let's hurry back."
Although Hidden Mist Village had not given them a specific arrival time, they were still within the Land of Fire. To avoid complications, bringing the intelligence back sooner would bring peace of mind sooner.
Miss Sumika nodded, then supported herself on a nearby tree trunk to stand up. Just as she was about to leap onto the tree trunk, a sharp pain shot through her wound, causing her to fall back to the ground after just leaping up. She stumbled, almost losing her footing.
"Hm?"
Noticing the movement beside him, Kisame turned and jumped down from the tree trunk, looking at Miss Sumika, who had a pained expression, and frowned.
"What's wrong?"
"What do you think?"
Miss Sumika rolled her beautiful eyes, looking at Kisame in front of her, and chided him.
"Uh…"
A flicker of embarrassment crossed Kisame's eyes. After all, that wound was his doing; he might as well not have asked.
By the time Kisame reacted, he saw that Miss Sumika had already moved to his side. He subconsciously turned sideways and said,
"What are you doing?"
"What do you think?"
A hint of exasperation appeared on Miss Sumika's face. She raised her hand and patted Kisame's shoulder, her face slightly flushed.
"I can't walk. Mr. Hoshigaki, can you carry me?"
Hearing this, Kisame was stunned for a moment, standing still and staring at her. In his blinking eyes, a rare look of confusion appeared.
Carry someone?
He had carried dead people, but as for living people, he had never carried one before.
"No?"
A look of disappointment appeared on Miss Sumika's face. Just as she turned to prepare to walk, a slightly conflicted voice sounded from behind her.
"Get on."
Miss Sumika turned around and saw that he was already squatting there, revealing the large object on his back wrapped in white bandages.
"Hm?"
Miss Sumika blinked. Only then did she notice that he had been carrying such a thing on his back the whole time.
"This is…"
She took two steps forward, looking at the giant object in front of her, and a sense of déjà vu surfaced in her mind.
Noticing Miss Sumika's prolonged silence, Kisame turned around in confusion, then saw her staring blankly at his back. He subconsciously turned his head to look and quickly noticed Samehada, then gripped the hilt and took it off.
"Eh?"
When Samehada was taken off and held by Kisame, Miss Sumika's eyes widened instantly. A flash of inspiration suddenly struck her mind, and she blurted out,
"Great Sword Samehada!"
As soon as the words fell, Miss Sumika quickly looked up at Kisame, saying with a surprised expression,
"Isn't it with Hoshimi Ren of Konoha Village? How could it be…"
As expected by the two of them, someone would indeed ask about this. Kisame, who was already prepared, immediately brought out the pre-arranged explanation.
"During the retreat, I ran into that guy. While he wasn't paying attention, I snatched Samehada and then retreated."
"How… how amazing."
Although the narration was simple and a bit perfunctory, Miss Sumika still looked at him with surprise, which quickly turned into admiration. That kind of gaze made Kisame feel uncomfortable all over.
"As expected of Mr. Hoshigaki."
As Miss Sumika sighed, she walked behind Kisame. After a moment of hesitation, she still placed her hands on his shoulders, her body slowly leaning against him, then softly said,
"We can go now, Mr. Hoshigaki."
Hearing the voice by his ear, Kisame felt a bit unaccustomed, but he could only helplessly stand up, leap onto the tree trunk, and continue forward, holding Samehada.
"Oh, right!"
Suddenly, Miss Sumika seemed to remember something. She quickly leaned forward and said anxiously,
"That Hoshimi Ren has the Scroll of Summoning Ninja Blades, Mr. Hoshigaki."
Still using the same prepared explanation, Kisame said in a deep voice as he leaped through the forest,
"The scroll has already been destroyed by me. Samehada will not be summoned back by him anymore."
"Eh?"
Miss Sumika blinked, subconsciously murmuring,
"Destroyed…"
And just as she was distracted, the hand gripping Kisame's shoulder quietly slipped. When she realized something was wrong, she instinctively reached for his neck and held on tightly, her body completely pressed against his back.
"Uh…"
In mid-air, both of their bodies stiffened simultaneously.
"Sorry."
A blush appeared on Miss Sumika's face. She leaned her face against his armor and whispered.
Kisame did not respond, but from the subconsciously increased speed, one could tell that ripples had already appeared in his calm heart.