Chapter 238 After I left, you were alone again.
"Why does it seem like I'm the only one gathering information?"
Kakashi Hatake, his masked face cold, peered out from under the eaves. Instead of feeling guilty for startling Haruko Hayama inside, he looked at her with a resentful gaze.
"Kakashi?" Haruko Hayama, regaining her senses, got up and walked to the window, looking him up and down as he hung upside down. "Did you just get back?"
The moonlight shone brightly, casting a soft, silvery glow on Kakashi Hatake's embracing figure.
"You're living too comfortably. You do nothing all day but accompany Granny Chiyo fishing. Tsunade-senpai is even worse. After learning the location of the casino from me, I haven't seen her for days."
"Isn't it Kakashi who's collecting this information..." Haruko's already guilty voice trailed off under his deadpan gaze.
Kakashi Hatake sighed, inwardly reflecting on whether he should have come at all.
"Is your mission really just to gather information about the restoration of Sunagakure? I get the feeling that you two are rather distracted about this mission."
Fearing that his keen intuition might lead him astray into the truth, Haruko hurriedly cupped his head in her hands.
Kakashi Hatake: ...?
Despite his sour face, Haruko gave an awkward laugh. "Kakashi, aren't you tired of being suspended like that? Let me hold your head up for you!"
"...Do you think you won't get tired if you keep your head up?" Kakashi Hatake really wanted to send her back to graduate from the Ninja Academy again.
If Haruko Hayashi knew what he was thinking, she would probably stand with her hands on her hips and yell: She's already been to school three times!
Worried that she might do something strange again, Kakashi Hatake gestured for her to stand further away, then turned around and jumped onto the windowsill.
The sound of the wind, carrying his chill and crispness, brushed past Haruko's ears.
Against the bright moonlight, Kakashi Hatake crouched on the windowsill, his only visible deep eyes staring straight at her, an imperceptible subtle undercurrent surging in their gazes.
What are your plans?
"Um?"
Kakashi Hatake stared at her silently for a few seconds. "I want to be part of your plan."
That moment was an emotion that neither the moon nor Haruko Hayama could fathom.
He said "to become" rather than "want to become," and the young Kakashi Hatake seemed quite obsessed with understanding her secret. He didn't need to know the specifics, but he had to become a participant in her secret.
This was his thoughtfulness towards her, and also a special gift he left for himself.
Seeing the determination in his eyes, Haruko Hayama smiled helplessly.
Since he's already come along, I can't keep it from him for long. I might as well tell him; it will only make him more helpful to my plan.
"Let's wait until the Kazekage's wife gives birth."
"The Kazekage's wife?" Kakashi Hatake frowned, wondering how her plans had become involved with this unknown figure.
Haruko stepped forward, met his probing gaze, and calmly told him, word by word.
"My plan is to keep her alive."
...
The news of the wind shadow's wife's premature birth struck them like a whirlwind of sand and gravel, leaving everyone with a somber expression.
The Sand Village remained wary of the three ninjas from Konoha. Even with Chiyo, a high-ranking advisor, accompanying them, they were stopped downstairs and had to wait outside.
However, judging from the fear on the faces of everyone coming in and out, the delivery inside was not going smoothly.
Tsunade rubbed her hangover-induced head, then glanced at Haruko Hayama beside her, who looked tense and on high alert. Her nerves throbbed with pain as she turned away.
"No wonder you invited me along. I thought you really wanted to go on a girls' trip with me."
Seeing that she had been playing around for several days before finally realizing the purpose of her visit, Haruko Hayama found it somewhat amusing, but she coaxed her, "After all, Tsunade is known as the 'Medical Master'."
"No matter how skilled I am, I can't help with childbirth," Tsunade muttered.
The door was suddenly pushed open and slammed against the wall, interrupting their conversation. Chiyo, with an ugly expression, rushed out, followed by a group of high-ranking officials.
Upon spotting their location, Chiyo hurried over, calling out, "Slug Woman! Come here!"
Tsunade straightened up from her lazy stance. "What is it?"
"Karuta is having a difficult labor and is now bleeding heavily!" Realizing that she was being too panicked, Chiyo quickly took a few breaths and looked at her seriously. "We need Konoha's help."
Tsunade's gaze swept past her, then swept over the group of people behind her who looked displeased but did not object, and she did not immediately agree.
Following her gaze, Chiyo also noticed the frowning faces of the people behind her, and in her mind, she cursed these stubborn executives.
Receiving a resentful glare from Chiyo, the higher-ups guiltily looked away, no longer displaying their arrogant demeanor towards them.
Chiyo softened her voice and pleaded again, "We need your help, Healing Princess."
Seeing that Tsunade still seemed indifferent, Haruko sighed and patted her hand, "Tsunade."
Tsunade snorted and lowered her arms. "I can help you, but I need to bring Haruko with me."
"What's a little brat doing going in there!" One of the higher-ups immediately became dissatisfied upon hearing her request.
Tsunade glared at the man with a sharp look until his face paled under the watchful eyes of the crowd, and he bowed to Haruko Hayama in a low voice amidst Chiyo's reprimands.
Watching the crowd rush out and rush back in a flurry, taking two of their teammates with them, Kakashi Hatake was left alone and forgotten in the same spot. He silently turned around and straightened his back.
This is not loneliness, this is arrogance.
Karura's condition was very bad. She was already physically weak, and after giving birth to two children, she was now barely breathing after giving birth to her third child.
The moment she stepped into the room, Tsunade shed her carefree demeanor, her brown eyes filled with solemnity.
After dismissing the others from the room, Tsunade and Haruko Hayama exchanged glances and began to perform medical jutsu, while Haruko Hayama assisted from the side, ready to use her eye techniques at any time.
Time passed second by second, like fine needles pricking the hearts of everyone waiting outside.
Finally, the door opened.
Exhausted, Tsunade insisted on going for a drink to replenish her depleted energy. The Kazekage, thinking only of his wife, gratefully ordered his subordinates to provide the medical princess with free treatment, and then strode into the ward.
Suddenly transformed into the savior of the Kazekage's wife, everyone was stunned for a moment before immediately agreeing to Haruko Hayama's request to see the child.
Following Chiyo to the room where the baby was temporarily placed, Haruko gently touched the red-haired child.
He was still fast asleep and didn't react when touched. He seemed like a well-behaved and easy-going child. This was Gaara, Gaara whose fate had been rewritten.
Chiyo, standing next to him, looked him over carefully and muttered, "He's barely comparable to Sasori in looks."
Hearing her childishly defiant words, Haruko Hayama laughed, "If you like him, you can come to see him anytime, right? With your seniority, you could be considered his mother-in-law, wouldn't you?"
“I retired a long time ago, I don’t have the time to take care of children,” Chiyo snorted.
Haruko withdrew her hand from the baby, and under Chiyo's puzzled expression, stepped forward and hugged her aged yet warm body, like a child showing respect and love to an elderly person.
"Can't you come and see him more often? After I leave... you'll be all alone again."
“Although his mother survived, as a Jinchūriki, his future is not easy. I worry about him and I can’t let you go. Can’t you try to treat him like a second grandson?”
Unconsciously, the tangled hands caressed the back of the young girl forgotten by time. Chiyo lowered her eyes, concealing all the sorrow and grief she kept hidden from others.
After a while, Chiyo pulled away from her embrace; she was still the same grumpy old woman.
“My grandson, it’s not that easy to be one.”
Knowing that she was being hypocritical again, Haruko chuckled in the morning and was about to coax her when she was interrupted by her actions.
Chiyo patted her shoulder gently, looking at her outstanding apprentice with great satisfaction.
"He'd better step up his game and work harder than you."
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