Chapter 52 (Fifty-One Chapter)

Uchiha Tobi seemed to be very busy, and Lin Xue didn't see him often.

After mastering the use of chakra, he would wake up at the bedside in the room.

I could faintly sense the residual chakra aura emanating from him. What a terrifying man.

"Today's White Zeppelin knowledge lesson is open as usual—"

It was another White Zetsu that appeared out of nowhere. Lin Xue sat down in the chair.

Listening to Bai Jue's imaginative and unconventional teaching style, her mind had long since wandered off to other places.

"Little Xue, would you like to go out for a walk?" Bai Jue looked at the dazed Lin Xue, his tone carrying a hint of temptation, like the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. "I can keep it a secret for you, as long as you come back before dark."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xue immediately became interested.

Apart from that mission with Xiao Nan, she has never gone out alone before.

but……

"What if the kite finds out?" Lin Xue asked with some worry.

Bai Jue looked completely innocent: "Xiao Xue, don't you believe me?"

Lin Xue: ...It's really hard to believe, isn't it?

After she woke up, the door to her room was no longer locked. She could occasionally get some fresh air outside, but whenever she tried to go further, it was as if she had run into an invisible barrier and was firmly blocked. However, under Bai Jue's cover, Lin Xue still managed to sneak out.

Standing atop the tallest tree in the forest, Lin Xue looked out and realized that she was on an isolated island.

Thick fog enveloped the island like a heavy veil. Chakra indicated it wasn't far from the sea.

She sat on the branch and observed for a while before asking, "Where is this, White Zetsu?"

“It is the land of water,” White Zetsu replied.

Lin Xue nodded slightly. The Land of Water is surrounded by the sea, with numerous islands of varying sizes surrounding the main island, each with its own unique mountain range. In the White Zetsu mini-lesson, Kirigakure (Hidden Mist Village) of the Land of Water was described as the most mysterious ninja village, second only to Konoha (Hidden Leaf Village) and Sunagakure (Hidden Sand Village).

"I'm leaving now. We'll meet here later." Bai Jue seemed to have something urgent to attend to. After saying this hastily, he left Lin Xue alone and disappeared into the shadows.

Lin Xue wandered aimlessly around the neighborhood, and unexpectedly stumbled upon a mass grave. The pit was densely packed with corpses; from their hairstyles to their clothing, they all appeared to be members of the same clan. She stood on higher ground, watching the villagers continuously dump bodies into the pit. After observing for a while, Lin Xue finally recognized them as belonging to the Kaguya clan.

However, she wasn't interested.

She was walking down the street when two complete strangers approached her.

The man was tall and muscular, carrying a large sword on his back, and appeared to be a ninja from Kirigakure; standing beside him was a short, androgynous child.

As they passed each other, Lin Xue turned around and her eyes met those of two people who turned around at the same time.

In an instant, the man's eyes sharpened, and he suddenly swung his sword down.

Lin Xue reacted quickly, leaping high into the air and landing lightly on the tree. She didn't understand why they were attacking her.

She placed her right hand on the katana at her waist, her eyes fixed warily on the other person.

She was slightly taken aback when the child used Ice Release.

The one who inherits the limit of blood.

She instantly drew her katana, deflecting most of the incoming ice blades mixed with hidden weapons.

An ice blade, missed in a blind spot, grazed the skin beneath her eye.

A wound appeared on her beautiful face, slowly oozing blood, which only made her look strangely beautiful.

"Why are you attacking me?"

The man sneered and said sarcastically, "The head of an S-rank rogue ninja is worth quite a bit of money."

Lin Xue then realized that it was because of the bounty.

Unfortunately, she valued her life.

Otherwise, she would use her body to exchange for money for the organization that provides relief.

"I'm sorry, I can't die right now."

Lin Xue wasn't sure exactly how strong she was, but when fighting the man in front of her...

Compared to the kite, at least I am not so powerless to resist.

A fight that could go back and forth, if you ignore the occasional projectiles thrown by the child.

Should I kill these two people? Lin Xue pondered to herself.

She dodged a flying needle to the side and landed steadily.

She used her samurai sword to parry the man's large sword; the two were very close.

She could sense that the other person was momentarily dazed because of her appearance and scent.

Taking advantage of the momentum, she kicked the other person hard in the chest and abdomen.

The chakra attached to his feet amplified the power of the kick, sending his opponent flying a great distance.

Suddenly, only Lin Xue and the thin child remained on the spot.

The child didn't move; he just stood there quietly.

He stared at her with a pair of dark, calm, and expressionless eyes, as if he were frightened.

Lin Xue slowly sheathed her sword; she had no interest in killing anyone outside of her mission.

"Even the two of you combined can't beat me, so get out of here."

"I will not kill you."

After saying that, Lin Xue turned and left without looking back at them. She thought to herself that she should have known better than to turn back!

Who would just grab a knife and start attacking someone the moment they make eye contact? That's going too far.

Not long after they left, a child dressed in a manner very similar to Kaguya's clan suddenly bumped into Lin Xue's arms.

"Excuse me." The child took a few steps back, then looked up, revealing a remarkably handsome face. He had pure white hair, emerald green eyes with red paint on his eyelids, and two striking red dots between his eyebrows.

This time, to prevent a potential confrontation, Lin Xue asked directly, "What's your name?"

The boy paused for a moment, then answered honestly, "Kimimaro, my name is Kimimaro."

"Where are you going?" Lin Xue asked, glancing in the direction he had come from—the very spot where she had seen the mass grave not long ago. "Are all your people gone?"

Kimimaro nodded slightly and said, "I don't know."

Lin Xue wondered if Yuan would let her raise another child.

The Akatsuki organization doesn't seem to be particularly wealthy?

Upon reaching this point, she looked at Kimimaro and tentatively asked, "Would you like to come with me, Kimimaro?"

Kimimaro looked puzzled, giving Lin Xue the illusion that she was abducting a child.

"What is the meaning of life?" Kimimaro suddenly asked, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Lin Xue was momentarily at a loss for words. Then, Kimimaro shook his head at her.

Then he jumped past her and continued walking straight ahead.

Lin Xue stood there lost in thought, pondering the meaning of life.

It seems like someone asked her a similar question a long time ago.

What was her answer? I don't remember.

However, the meaning of life may not be found now.

As long as I'm alive, I'll find out sooner or later, right?

Thinking of this, Lin Xue quickly followed the footprints left by Kimimaro.

She wanted to tell him her thoughts.

Unexpectedly, after going around in circles, we ended up back where we started.

She looked at the man who had been kicked and was now unconscious.

And the child who always stayed by his side.

No, wait, that's not right! Did she really stomp that hard?!

The child just stared at her, without saying a word. His large, dark eyes seemed devoid of any light, exuding a chilling, eerie quality.

Lin Xue: ......

Let's deal with this matter first.

"What's your name? My name is Lin Xue." Lin Xue scratched her face, a little embarrassed, and said, "Let me take you to the village to rest. I didn't expect I to be so rough."

The child finally spoke: "My name is Shiro, and he is Zabuza."

Lin Xue laboriously took Zabuza's right arm and let him lean against her.

Lin Xue: It's so heavy... Can I say that?

Bai walked ahead, pointing out the way for them. Lin Xue realized that this was the closest route to the Land of Water and the Land of Waves.

In a village not far from the sea, Lin Xue settled them in a guesthouse.

"Nearly six ribs are broken, which is very difficult to set." The village doctor, probably a barefoot doctor, roughly felt Zabuza's chest area and concluded, "This is a pneumothorax caused by a fractured sternum. Without a medical ninja, he would have to be taken to a large hospital for surgery to set the bones. However, given a ninja's constitution, he is not so easy to kill."

Lin Xue was met with a glance from Bai.

She was immediately embarrassed: No?! Is it that serious?

Bai: "You said you wouldn't kill us."

Lin Xue fell silent; she had indeed said she wouldn't kill them.

But the key point is that they struck first, and I was just right to retaliate.

After paying the consultation fee and seeing the doctor off, Lin Xue tentatively said, "I think I know a little bit of medical ninjutsu, why don't I give it a try?"

Haku looked at Zabuza, who was unconscious, and nodded.

Under prolonged and intense concentration, Lin Xue used chakra to perform the Palm Healing Technique.

Piece by piece, the broken bones in the other person's body are pieced back together, stimulating cell activity and regeneration.

Just like before the bones were broken, they slowly recovered, and after everything was pieced together.

Lin Xue breathed a sigh of relief, because she couldn't control the blood clots in her body.

We can only hope that it can be expelled through the other person's metabolism. He should be out of danger by now.

"Is your name Bai? Have you eaten?"

Is this the Chinese greeting tradition? Lin Xue didn't know what to say for a moment, so she just picked a topic randomly.

Haku looked up at the person before him. She was beautiful, with long, slightly curled, ink-black hair tied back, and clear, bright eyes like stars in the night sky. Despite her slender frame and seemingly frail appearance, she had managed to injure Lord Zabuza. Haku had never seen such a beautiful and strong ninja before, yet her actions were ridiculously naive. After all, Haku had never seen a ninja who, after being attacked and injured, would heal the enemy, even if they were complete strangers.

Bai shook his head.

"I must be from out of town. Um, should we go out and find something to eat?"

Should? Bai tilted his head, looking like an adorable white cat, and Lin Xue was instantly charmed.

Holy crap, this is so cute! Lin Xue felt like she was about to get a nosebleed.

Bai's gaze fell on Zabuza, who had not yet woken up, and Lin Xue had a sudden idea.

She learned some basic barrier ninjutsu from the ninjutsu scrolls given to her by White Zetsu.

"Let's go, Bai."

Haku glanced at Zabuza inside the barrier, and at the ninja reaching out to him.

She was strong; Bai lowered her eyes, her long, raven-feather-like eyelashes fluttering.

He slowly reached out and placed his hand in her palm. Lin Xue smiled, inexplicably feeling overjoyed.

However, she soon returned empty-handed and disappointed, simply because the village market was pitifully small.

After wandering around for a while, Lin Xue roughly figured out that the village's dock did indeed have several shipping routes to the Land of Waves.

The two sat on wooden chairs next to the seaside market. Lin Xue had bought a lot of food and piled it up on one side.

Bai was eating a squid skewer bigger than his own face when Lin Xue frowned slightly and looked into the distance.

A gentle sea breeze blew by, carrying a salty taste. Lin Xue took a bite of the tricolor dumpling and chewed it slowly.