Chapter 236 Wait for me
Haruko walked absentmindedly down the street, unsure whether Hiruko had listened to her.
Where have you been?
Haruko snapped out of her daze and looked up to find Kakashi Hatake, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, standing in front of her. "Kakashi?"
Kakashi Hatake frowned slightly and walked up to her in a few steps. "You look very strange."
"It's nothing, I just went to say goodbye to a friend."
Not wanting to worry him, Haruko gave a simple reply, but Kakashi Hatake seized on her use of the word "farewell" and pressed, "You're leaving? Where to? When?"
"I'm going to Sunagakure with Tsunade on a mission. We'll leave tomorrow morning."
Haruko looked around and realized that she had somehow ended up on the street near Kakashi Hatake's house, where she ran into Kakashi, who was out running errands.
Upon receiving her reply, Kakashi Hatake frowned even more deeply. "Why do you suddenly want to go there? The war hasn't been over for very long. Aren't you afraid of encountering danger?"
Haruko waved her hand dismissively, "With Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, around, what's there to worry about?"
"..."
Seemingly convinced by this reason, Kakashi Hatake remained silent for a moment, then looked at her again, "When are you coming back?"
"Who knows? If things end quickly, I'll come back sooner; if they end slowly, I'll come back later." Not wanting him to probe further, Haruko joked, "Why is Kakashi suddenly so concerned about me?"
Kakashi Hatake crossed his arms, justifying his statement, "As the captain, it's normal to care about the team members, right?"
"Yes."
Haruko felt that Kakashi Hatake was incredibly perceptive, both as a child and as an adult.
The next second, Kakashi Hatake's question hit her even harder: "Is it related to what you've been busy with lately?"
How did you know?
Haruko was truly amazed. She was wondering if he had some kind of mind-reading ability when she met his knowing look and realized that she had been tricked into talking.
Helplessly, he rubbed his forehead, reflecting on how he never expected to be tricked into revealing information by a child.
Seeing from her expression that she didn't want him to know, Kakashi pursed his lips, searching his mind for anything that she would deliberately hide from him.
So, "I'll go with you."
"Huh?" Haruko's eyes widened. "Why?"
"Since I've just finished my mission, wouldn't it be better to have one more person involved?"
Seeing his expression that said "there must be something fishy about you if you refuse," and considering Kakashi Hatake's unexpectedly difficult personality, Haruko reluctantly agreed verbally, planning to leave with Tsunade first thing in the morning.
"I'll wait at the village entrance the whole time." As if he could read her mind, Kakashi Hatake emphasized "the whole time."
"……OK."
Watching Kakashi Hatake leave, Haruko made up her mind that she would definitely avoid this street from now on.
However, the most confused person should be Tsunade, who was completely unaware of the situation.
As the first rays of dawn broke, Tsunade stood with her hands on her hips, staring wide-eyed at the masked brat who was about half her height.
"Isn't this supposed to be a girls' trip? Why did this kid have to join us?!"
Tsunade looked at the culprit Haruko in disbelief. Haruko, feeling very guilty, avoided her gaze and stammered, unable to give an excuse.
Seeing her troubled expression, Kakashi Hatake explained, "It was my request to join."
"So why did you have to tear us apart!" Tsunade's sharp gaze shot towards the calm and composed Kakashi Hatake.
“Break them up… This is a mission, not a date between the two of you.” Kakashi Hatake’s lips twitched.
It's as if he's the third party.
Haruko quickly pulled Tsunade back from her tantrum. Although she didn't want Kakashi Hatake to join either, she didn't expect to see Kakashi's figure in the distance when she arrived at the village entrance at four o'clock.
It's 4 a.m.!
Does Kakashi never sleep? He's completely different from the Kakashi-sensei who's always late in the future!
"Alright, alright, let's go."
Before leaving, Haruko had already said goodbye to everyone, as a precaution for her eventual departure.
She didn't even leave Orochimaru out of the picture. Although their conversation last time wasn't exactly harmonious, she still felt sorry for him, so she went to ask him for a favor.
Orochimaru's attitude towards her was no different from before, as if he had already forgotten the unpleasantness of the last time.
"Break the caged bird? You really know how to give me a difficult problem."
Upon hearing that she had come to him because of the Hyuga clan, Orochimaru chuckled, neither agreeing nor refusing, and continued fiddling with the tools on his lab table, ignoring her.
“I believe in you. No one is more likely than you to figure out the solution.” Haruko tried to make her tone sound light. “You have exceptional scientific talent. It should be your pursuit, not a blade used to stab everyone.”
Orochimaru remained unmoved, saying, "You still like to talk nonsense."
Sensing his subtle rejection, Haruko took a deep breath and finally said, "I will try my best to bring back new ninjutsu for you, so wait for me."
His feigned coldness gradually faded after she left, and Orochimaru looked at the beaker in his hand and chuckled to himself.
Did you still think he was that kid who longed to learn all the ninjutsu in the world?
Stop joking.
*
Only a few months had passed since the war ended, and the people of Sunagakure were already harboring hostility towards Tsunade and her companions' arrival. Fortunately, Haruko had sent a message to Chiyo beforehand, preventing them from being stopped.
Chiyo, who had come to take the three of them home as guests, looked at the puzzled Tsunade and snorted in annoyance.
In her early years, Chiyo was a powerful fighter in Sunagakure, using her exceptional medical and puppetry skills to fight on the battlefield. Her poisons were feared by all and no one could cure them.
However, she never expected to run into Tsunade, whose poisons she had been making for years were all countered by Tsunade, which made her furious.
"Isn't this the Slug Woman? Did she come to visit me to learn medical techniques?"
Even Kakashi Hatake, who was clueless about social etiquette, could detect the sarcasm in her words, let alone Tsunade, who had a fiery temper.
She crossed her arms and smiled, "Of course, I've already deciphered all of your poisons, senior. Aren't I eager to learn new ones?"
Chiyo narrowed her eyes. "Oh, really? Then I'll have to teach you everything I know."
Invisible sparks flew as their eyes met. Haruko couldn't bear to watch as one of them, an elderly woman, and the other, in the prime of her life, made such childish comparisons.
She looked around and asked Chiyo, "Chiyo-nee, aren't your son and daughter-in-law here?"
Frozen in shock by those words, Chiyo's arrogance subsided. She turned and went into the inner room, emerging with a photo frame in her hand.
"My stupid son... died on the battlefield."
The photo frame shows a black-haired woman and a red-haired man smiling at the camera, holding an infant in their arms.
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