Hayato Ren remained in the Summoning World for an entire week before daring to return to the real world, wanting to prevent Hanzo from waiting in ambush at the original location.
Obviously, Hayato Ren had overthought things, as Hanzo had left not long after he disappeared. As the Rain Shadow of the Rain Ninja Village, Hanzo was far busier than Hayato Ren had imagined and had no time to waste on him. Hayato Ren's encounter with Hanzo was simply due to his own bad luck—he happened to run into Hanzo who was passing by.
After carefully scouting the surroundings to confirm there were no ambushes, Hayato Ren finally let out a sigh of relief. However, he did not send Charizard back to the Summoning World. After all, Pokémon's perception abilities were much stronger than humans'. If something were to happen and Hayato Ren couldn't return to the Summoning World in time, Charizard could immediately carry him away to safety.
...
Charizard moved its tail slightly closer to a pile of firewood nearby, and the somewhat damp wood instantly burst into flames.
"Well done, Charizard!"
Hayato Ren couldn't help but praise it, then placed the freshly cleaned fish over the fire to roast. In most cases, grilling with charcoal was preferable, as open flames could easily result in a charred exterior and raw interior, making heat control extremely difficult. However, Hayato Ren was confident he could grill excellent fish over an open flame. Not for any special reason—it was simply a matter of practice. After all, as a ninja, he didn't always have charcoal available for cooking every day.
Before long, the aroma of grilled fish filled the entire cave. At that moment, Charizard, who had been lying nearby dozing, suddenly opened its eyes and gently poked Hayato Ren's shoulder with its claw.
Hayato Ren glanced back at Charizard and responded in a low voice, "It's fine, I noticed that person too."
Then, he turned toward the cave entrance and shouted loudly, "Come out, I see you."
Apart from the pitter-patter of raindrops, there was no other sound outside, as if Hayato Ren and Charizard had misperceived something.
After a moment of thought, Hayato Ren continued shouting in a somewhat threatening tone, "Come over here before I lose my patience, or I'll send you to meet your ancestors."
Under Hayato Ren's threat, it wasn't long before a little beggar in tattered clothes tremblingly emerged from the grass not far away. The little beggar quickly walked into the cave, glanced at the fish on the grill, her eyes revealing deep longing. However, she soon lowered her head and knelt deeply before Hayato Ren.
"Honorable ninja, I mean no harm. This cave was originally my dwelling, and I am immensely honored that you have chosen it. If my presence offends you, I will leave immediately."
After hearing this, an awkward expression appeared on Hayato Ren's face.
No wonder he found it so strange—how could there be a pile of relatively dry firewood in a random cave he had chosen?
Turns out, he had accidentally occupied someone else's home.
After confirming that the Little Beggar before him possessed not a trace of Chakra and posed no threat whatsoever,
Hayato Ren couldn't help but sigh.
Hearing his sigh, the Little Beggar, who had been lying on the ground, trembled uncontrollably.
Yet she dared not make any move, knowing full well that escape would be futile in the presence of a ninja.
Suddenly, the Little Beggar carefully retrieved an apple from her bosom, placed it in front of her, and said loudly:
"This... this is my most precious food. Will you accept it?"
Looking at the slightly spoiled apple not far away, Hayato Ren felt a complex emotion stir within him.
She must be one of those war orphans—left homeless and alone by the war, forced to wander, treasuring even a rotten apple as if it were a hidden gem, unable to bear taking a single bite.
Not only had he taken over her home, but he had also frightened her like this. He truly deserved to die.
Thinking this, Hayato Ren slowly walked over to the Little Beggar, gently helped her up, and said with a warm expression:
"I'm sorry, I didn't know this was your place. As an apology, would you like to join me for dinner?"
Peeking cautiously through her messy bangs, the Little Beggar studied Hayato Ren's face.
This ninja is so handsome—he probably isn't a bad person. Besides, I have nothing he could possibly want.
So, Hayato Ren carefully helped the Little Beggar over to sit by the fire.
It was then that he noticed she was surprisingly clean—she didn't have the unpleasant odor he had expected, only a faint scent of earth from being outdoors.
Though her clothes appeared tattered and worn, they weren't dirty or disheveled, clearly washed regularly.
This piqued Hayato Ren's curiosity. Even in a situation where she didn't know where her next meal would come from, she still cared so much about cleanliness?
This Little Beggar was truly peculiar.
Once the fish was grilled, Hayato Ren picked up one and handed it to the Little Beggar beside him.
Staring at the grilled fish, she swallowed hard, then looked at Hayato Ren and asked cautiously:
"Can someone like me really eat such food?"
Hayato Ren smiled, using his other hand to gently pat her head as he replied softly:
"What are you saying? Everyone is born equal. Don't look down on yourself like that."
After giving Hayato Ren a deep look, the Little Beggar took the grilled fish and began eating voraciously.
Perhaps it had been too long since she'd had a proper meal—she ate so quickly, seemingly impervious to the heat, not even sparing the fish bones, chewing them up and swallowing them whole, making Hayato Ren's teeth ache just watching.
After devouring four whole grilled fish, the Little Beggar lay back on the ground, stroking her stomach with a satisfied expression.
At this moment, the rain outside finally stopped, and Hayato Ren stood up, preparing to leave.
Originally, he had planned to spend the night in this cave, but now that the owner had returned, it wouldn't be right for him to stay any longer.
Otherwise, if word got out that a distinguished Konoha Jonin like him had taken over a little beggar's shelter, what would people think?