"A woman dressed like a shrine maiden?"
Kazuki's eyes lit up.
Doctor Nake's expression turned serious as he sighed deeply.
"If that woman can cure such a difficult infant disease, it means her control over medical chakra is extremely refined. If we invite her here… she might be able to save this guy."
The Uchiha's expressions shifted.
The hope that had just been shattered began to gather again.
Everyone looked toward Kazuki.
But Jaeger's face suddenly changed. Fear flashed between his brows as he spoke hesitantly.
"She's… a little frightening."
Nanpū frowned in surprise.
"What do you mean?"
Jaeger took a deep breath and steadied himself.
"When that woman came up the mountain, her shrine maiden robe was soaked with a lot of blood. She was also carrying several missing-nin headbands."
"I guessed… she must've wiped out the rogue ninjas around here."
The Uchiha were about to ask more questions—
But Kazuki's sideways glance silenced them.
He gestured for Jaeger to continue.
Jaeger's pupils shrank slightly as he recalled the first time he saw the woman.
A chill ran down his spine.
"When she arrived at the mountain lodge, she knocked on our door very politely."
"I opened it…"
"The smell of blood was overwhelming."
"Under her white hood, she looked very beautiful. But her glasses were stained with blood. Her eyes were half-closed, and there was a gentle smile on her lips."
"In her hand… she carried several white bundles that were still dripping blood."
"She spoke softly, saying she just wanted a place to stay for the night."
"She even stuffed a lot of money into my hands and asked me to take care of her meals."
"At that moment…"
"I wanted to refuse."
"But my reason told me not to be reckless. And my instinct told me she didn't have any malice. She only wanted a place to stay."
"So I suppressed my fear and took her to the empty wooden house on the right side of my home."
"Later that night, she heard my child crying in pain and came over on her own. She cured our baby."
"So… she should be a good person."
"That's why tonight we went out hunting. I wanted to catch some game to thank her."
"Normally we wouldn't go hunting at night."
Jaeger looked at Kazuki nervously.
"Captain Kazuki… you must not tell her that I told you this."
Kazuki nodded.
"Is it the wooden house about a hundred meters to the right of the entrance, the one with the light on?"
The Uchiha's eyes trembled slightly.
They hadn't expected that Kazuki had already memorized the surrounding terrain the moment he arrived.
Even Mikoto—who was known for her carefulness—couldn't help casting Kazuki a surprised glance.
During her years as a full-time shinobi, she had never been this meticulous.
Izumi secretly clicked her tongue.
The image made her uneasy.
Dark night.
A blonde woman.
Covered in blood.
Carrying severed heads.
It sounded exactly like the beginning of a ghost story.
"Yes." Jaeger nodded solemnly, looking as if he had already made up his mind.
Kazuki gave quick orders.
"Nanpū, bring two men with me. Izumi, the rest of you stay here."
He moved decisively.
Moments later, Kazuki led his team out of the lodge. Outside, the rugged mountain road twisted through the darkness.
The paper windows of the wooden house in the distance still glowed with candlelight.
The four figures vanished into the shadows.
Soon they arrived at the door.
BANG—
Nanpū kicked the door open.
The two Uchiha behind him immediately broke into sweat, silently sighing.
Their captain was still as direct and decisive as ever.
Kazuki gave Nanpū a strange look.
"We came to invite someone."
"Sorry… sorry…" Nanpū said awkwardly, even reaching toward the door as if planning to redo the entrance properly.
But the others had already followed Kazuki inside.
In the hall stood a wooden bathing tub filled with water.
Pink flower petals floated on the surface as steam rose gently into the air.
Water droplets were scattered across the floor.
Further inside stood a bed with clean bedding.
Beside it lay a blood-stained black-and-white shrine maiden robe.
Next to the robe were two pieces of delicate purple lace undergarments embroidered with classical floral patterns.
The room smelled faintly of orchids.
Clearly, a woman had been bathing here earlier.
But after hearing the noise, she fled in a hurry—without even taking her clothes.
Kazuki scanned the room.
His gaze briefly passed over the garments.
He silently formed an evaluation.
Externally dignified.
Internally… quite passionate.
A person skilled at disguising herself with kindness and benevolence—yet her methods were no different from a ninja.
"Where is she?" Nanpū asked anxiously after searching the small room.
One of the Uchiha sighed.
"Even if she was here, that kick probably scared her away."
Nanpū's face turned awkward. He silently looked toward Kazuki.
Kazuki said nothing.
Instead, he brushed his right hand across the surface of the bathwater.
The petals parted instantly.
Feeling the warmth between his fingers, he reached a conclusion.
"She probably left just before we arrived."
Kazuki then placed his hand on the tub and focused intensely.
Nanpū started to speak.
"Captain Kazuki, I'll gather men and chase after—"
His voice stopped abruptly.
His eyes widened.
The other two Uchiha stared in disbelief.
The entire bathtub beside Kazuki suddenly vanished.
Without warning.
Without a trace.
The three men gasped internally.
As expected—
Captain Kazuki really did possess the most mysterious of all techniques.
Space-time ninjutsu.
"She doesn't want to meet us or get involved," Kazuki said calmly.
"Let's go. Finding a wandering shinobi in the wilderness would take too much time."
With that, he ignored the stunned expressions behind him and walked out.
Meanwhile, the bathtub—and the bathwater—rested quietly inside his storage space.
Kazuki already knew who the shrine maiden was.
He simply hadn't expected her to be here on Kikyo Mountain.
Golden hair.
Round glasses.
A shrine maiden's attire.
Exceptional appearance.
Mastery of medical ninjutsu.
There was only one person in the ninja world who matched that description—
Yakushi Nono.
The former Root member whose reputation was widely known.
At this time—around the night of the Uchiha massacre—
She was still alive.
As for why she appeared here…
When Kazuki returned to the lodge with the others, he already had a rough guess.
Seeing the four return empty-handed, Izumi, Mikoto, and the other Uchiha lowered their gazes in disappointment.
Even Jaeger looked saddened for them.
Tamayū suddenly burst out laughing.
"If I die, it'll lighten your burden a bit."
"That's a good thing. Don't be too sad."
The sorrow in the room deepened.
While Kazuki's group had been gone, Izumi had learned several bandaging techniques under Doctor Nake's guidance.
With materials provided by Jaeger, they also built a simple stretcher for Tamayū.
Kazuki walked over to Jaeger.
"We're leaving."
"Starting tomorrow, take your family and stay at an inn in Kikyo Castle for a while."
He didn't explain further.
Jaeger simply nodded solemnly.
He trusted Kazuki.
Then he hurried toward the kitchen.
The Uchiha packed up quickly. Two men lifted Tamayū on the stretcher and headed outside.
Moments later, Jaeger rushed out with an armful of food.
"Captain Kazuki, take these with you!"
Kazuki turned.
Jaeger ran over, panting heavily.
He carried ten pounds of smoked wild boar meat and several bags filled with eggs.
Warmth spread through the Uchiha's hearts.
Back in Konoha—
They had received nothing but cold stares from villagers.
Yet here, a refugee treated them sincerely because of their captain.
Jaeger shoved the food into Nanpū's hands.
Then he pulled a sheet of rough paper from his chest and handed it to Kazuki with a grin.
"Captain, I don't know what mission you're going on, but this is a map I personally surveyed of the surrounding area."
"I hope it helps."
Kazuki accepted the gesture.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Go back. Take care of your wife and child."
Jaeger nodded with a smile.
Izumi held a bag of eggs and hesitated before gently advising:
"Mr. Jaeger, we're taking your Mist Village missing-nin headbands."
"In the future, don't pretend to be rogue ninjas in the wild. Even on the border of the Land of Fire… that's very dangerous."
Jaeger scratched his head awkwardly.
"It was just meant to scare off bandits."
"But we'll try to grow stronger instead of relying on tricks like that."
Izumi nodded in satisfaction when she saw he was sincere.
Doctor Nake also came outside.
Watching the group leave, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Those disasters were finally gone.
Under the pitch-black night sky, Kazuki and the others quickly moved northwest.
After a few leaps—
Their figures merged into the darkness and vanished along the mountain path.
…
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