Chapter 104 The Promise of the Death Necklace
After Haruko closed her eyes in the morning, she felt as if she had fallen into a world where time and space were spinning and flowing by.
She kept sinking, but her memories kept soaring upwards.
Cooking with Hiruzen...
Get to know Tsunade, tie her hair in a low ponytail...
Become friends with Hiruko, and let's all play house together...
They poisoned Jiraiya's spiky hair...
Being insulted by Orochimaru always makes one want to find a way to get revenge...
Memories from childhood to adulthood kept flashing through my mind, then drifting out of my consciousness, growing ever more distant.
Haruko instinctively reached her hand upwards, to her family, her friends, her teammates…
...
hateful!
Even two against one, they can't beat him. Just who is Orochimaru?!
Haruko had exhausted all her chakra and couldn't even activate her eye techniques. She was so tired that she could only sit on the ground.
Looking at Naruto and Shizune who had fainted beside her, Haruko Hayama mentally estimated how likely it was that she could play dead to avoid the attack.
Meanwhile, the three Sannin, who were at the center of the battle, were still locked in a stalemate. Tsunade unleashed her full monstrous strength to break the Kusanagi sword, and Jiraiya also broke free from the crack in the rock and knocked Orochimaru away while he wasn't paying attention.
"Yosh! Well done, Jiraiya-san!" Haruko Hayama couldn't help but cheer.
Suddenly, the three ninjas in the midst of the battle heard this familiar voice that seemed to come from another world, and they all looked at her.
Haruko Hayama, suddenly under the gaze of three people: ...As expected, one shouldn't be too arrogant.
Seeing Haruko Hayama becoming increasingly disoriented, Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly, and he involuntarily took a step towards her.
He murmured, "You are...you are..."
Haruko was sweating profusely in the morning. Should she hide or play dead?
"Haruko... Haruko?!"
The sealed memories suddenly surged out of the black box, and every scene of the world where Haruko Hayama existed kept appearing in the minds of the three ninjas.
Ultimately, the scene ends with her death.
Strange... Orochimaru aside, why are Tsunade and Jiraiya looking at me with such strange eyes?
Haruko really wanted to learn some kind of earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic that allows one to burrow into the ground), but she subconsciously put on a smiling face when in doubt.
That identical smile...
She lay there in a pool of blood...
Tsunade trembled reflexively, her face filled with disbelief. It was true... Haruko really appeared in the future!
Jiraiya froze on the spot, looking at the familiar face, unable to utter a word for a moment.
Orochimaru was probably the first to react. His snake-like eyes narrowed, and he flashed directly in front of Haruko Hayama. As she mourned her impending death, Orochimaru simply traced her face with his gaze over and over again.
"...?"
Haruko cautiously opened one eye to see what was going on, only to be met with Orochimaru's terrifying gaze, filled with both recollection and surprise.
Compared to Orochimaru's joy at regaining what he had lost, Haruko only felt that her face had turned pale after he touched her.
How terrifying!
Orochimaru, however, remained completely oblivious and continued to mutter her name in a strange manner.
"Orochimaru, get out of my way!"
Upon seeing his sickly appearance, Tsunade knew that he, like herself, had regained his memories and would never let Haruko Hayama go again. So Tsunade immediately unleashed her final trump card.
"Yin Seal Released! Ninja Art: Creation Rebirth!"
The blue-purple mark on Tsunade's forehead disappeared, and in turn, complex black curse marks appeared on her face. Then, all the wounds on her body healed, and the black curse marks disappeared as well.
Orochimaru's attention was drawn to her for a moment, but he turned back to Haruko Hayama and uttered in a sinister tone, "Finally... I've got you."
Orochimaru grabbed her arm and tried to take her away, but Tsunade rushed over and stopped him.
Taking advantage of Orochimaru's busy battle with Tsunade and his deliberate distance from Haruko, Jiraiya quickly landed beside her.
Upon seeing it was him, Haruko breathed a sigh of relief. "Uncle Jiraiya, you're such a jerk."
"..." Jiraiya didn't say anything, just stared at her intently.
Haruko asked, puzzled, "What's wrong, Uncle Jiraiya?"
"You... don't remember anything?"
Jiraiya struggled to speak, completely unable to believe that their reunion after so many years would be like this.
She was twelve years old, and he was fifty.
He regained his memory, and she lost hers.
"Remember what?" Haruko Hayama frowned. "Never mind that, let's hurry up and take down that villainous boss!"
"You don't remember Orochimaru either?" Jiraiya asked cautiously.
It turns out that all the rebellious things Orochimaru did over the years were indeed possible, and Jiraiya only understands the reason now.
Live on, live on, and wait for her in the future.
"I remember him, isn't he that mad scientist who defected from Konoha?" After learning that the weirdo she encountered in the Chunin Exams was Orochimaru, Haruko Hayama made a special effort to brush up on her knowledge of him.
On another note, was this weirdo's infiltration of the Chunin Exams just to bite Sasuke?
They didn't do anything else. The only major event was the Sand Village's proactive attack, which helped Gaara release Shukaku. It seemed to have nothing to do with him.
Jiraiya fell silent again, but his expression became slightly serious.
They're talking about how Haruko Hayama was sealed away and only recently had it opened, yet she clearly seems to remember nothing. Could it be a rebirth? Or perhaps a reincarnation?
Recalling the ambiguous words that had been spoken before, Jiraiya decided that he had to go and ask it again to clarify things.
Meanwhile, fearing that Haruko would be taken away, Tsunade unleashed a barrage of punches without holding back, leaving Orochimaru utterly powerless to resist.
Despite Orochimaru's grim face and his heavy injuries, he still wanted to continue the standoff, but was stopped by Kabuto Yakushi, who had been watching the battle from the sidelines since waking up.
"Get out of my way!" Orochimaru yelled at him rudely.
He absolutely... he must take Haruko away!
Only with him, only by staying by his side, will Haruko not get hurt or disappear!
He absolutely cannot lose her again!
Kabuto Yakushi keenly sensed that Orochimaru's emotions were not right, and without regard for the consequences, he formed hand seals and took Orochimaru away, disappearing from the spot.
Haruko finally met Orochimaru's stubborn gaze from afar, and felt inexplicably sad.
...
"How long is Naruto going to sleep?"
Back at the hotel, Haruko, rather speechless, squatted down and poked the lifeless Naruto Uzumaki.
Jiraiya and Tsunade, who were standing nearby, couldn't help but keep looking at her. Even Shizune, who was also standing there, noticed that the two of them were acting strangely.
Before Shizune could speak, Tsunade forced herself to look away; she had already heard the details from Jiraiya.
Haruko doesn't remember them at all...
Tsunade forced a smile, took off the necklace around her neck, and knelt down in front of Haruko Hayama.
Under Haruko's questioning gaze, Tsunade gently placed the necklace around her neck.
Watching Haruko curiously playing with the jade necklace in her hand, Tsunade smiled with a hint of bitterness.
"I've always remembered the promise."
******
The list of recipients of gratitude as of March 1, 2024:
grateful--
Shen Qingfeng's Inspiration Capsules x5
Star°时光琬 sent a reminder charm, a love letter, and a like.
The update reminder charm and flowers given for swearing through the skylight
K, the one who sent the update reminder charm
An Yu* sent a urging talisman
Rid, the bubble tea that Xuan Chun gave me.
A love letter delivered by the willow tree under the moon ×2
Fang Wu, who loves sweet potato noodles, gave a thumbs up to kfoog for the gift.
I'll go to your house if you want to insult me, Kayako; Uchiha Yuki, the flower I got while working on the construction site.
The mountains are green and the flowers are about to burn; Li Chao of Gujiang; Feng Qin who loves spicy chicken noodles; Lady Gojou; Tang Xiaoyu of the North Country; a bit of a procrastinator; Wu Zongshi who loves homemade ice cubes; love will prevail; early summer. starry sky; don't know what name to choose (ㄒ▽); bitter melon; Aning who likes poplar leaves; G's cat; Henghengte; Uchiha Xueyi; Liaoyu Caozhi; Kabula_Banxia; Gu Wuqi who likes jade; Chuchu; Haha Sen; working on the construction site; Green and blue invincible; sleeping at sunset; Lin Laoji; Anxi; Weishangshang; Yun Cheyun of Gumo Island; Ranxia Q; Jin Xiula of Nanning; Lin Weiyang of Changdao; Ten Colors Rhythm; Sanhao Squirrel; Qiyou; Jinglian's gift of love-powered electricity.
Thank you for the gifts! The author is so touched! (Shizune is hugging Ton-Ton and being adorable online.)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
