[Side Quest]: Recruit a Medical Ninja
Options:
• Persuade a medical ninja to join the team
• Force a medical ninja to join the team
Reward: Green Medicine
A mission prompt appeared in Uchiha Kazuki's mind.
His eyes lit up slightly.
This side quest was clearly targeting Yakushi Nono.
Thinking about it, Kazuki quietly looked her up and down.
The woman's lips were slightly parted as she breathed weakly. She looked exhausted and pale.
Behind her round glasses, Nono's brows were faintly furrowed. The simple black-and-white nun's robe outlined her mature figure.
At the hem of the robe, the pale tops of her bare feet were faintly visible—she had not even had time to put on socks. In her haste, she had only slipped into a pair of black cloth shoes.
Should he persuade her?
Or force her?
Kazuki had just experienced the effects of the Green Medicine.
It could instantly restore stamina and chakra, heal both internal and external injuries, and even strengthen the body.
It had also granted him the ability to control plants—an ultimate trump card capable of turning a desperate situation around.
He could not afford to ignore this mission.
Being stared at so directly—
Even though Kazuki's eyes were calm and clear, completely free of any improper intent—
Nono's pale face still flushed slightly.
She glanced nervously at Kazuki's chest and stammered:
"Sorry… um… I still have a mission to complete… I…"
She had personally witnessed the strength of this Uchiha man.
He had killed the Hokage's son without hesitation.
She did not dare openly refuse someone like him.
Kazuki spoke calmly.
"The reward I promised you is related to your mission. But we need to leave this place first before discussing it."
"My mission?"
"Yes. The mission Danzo gave you."
"…!"
Nono's body trembled slightly.
Her face showed confusion as she pushed her glasses up her nose.
She cautiously stepped closer to Kazuki, signaling that she was willing to temporarily travel with them.
She simply could not understand how Kazuki knew that Danzo had assigned her mission.
Still, traveling with them for a short time probably would not cause any problems.
Besides, Kazuki's group was heading northwest—the same direction she needed to go.
The other Uchiha finished gathering supplies.
The group left the area.
Kazuki personally carried Kurenai Yuhi on his back as they continued heading northwest.
Time was critical.
They traveled in silence.
Only when the sun began rising in the east—dispersing the last remnants of darkness across the shinobi world—did the situation begin to relax slightly.
At dawn, the group reached the exit of Kikyo Mountain, preparing to leave the mountainous border region of the Land of Fire.
Kazuki stood atop a tall tree, looking back at the endless mountain range and the sparsely populated land surrounding Kikyo City.
He ordered the team to slow down from full-speed movement to a walking pace so everyone could recover their stamina.
Tamao, whose injuries had recovered to about sixty percent, stayed close beside his older brother.
After confirming that there were no enemies nearby, the Uchiha finally relaxed slightly.
Some of them began reviewing the extremely dangerous battle from the previous night.
First: the Konoha jonin pursuit squad.
Then: the entire Fire Temple monk force.
Finally: those grotesque monsters.
Once again, their gazes fell upon Kazuki's back.
Only now did they begin to understand the burden this man had been carrying since leading them to defect.
Without Kazuki—
Even if they had known about the future Night of the Uchiha Massacre in advance, escaping Konoha would have been nothing more than a foolish fantasy.
Kazuki himself was not idle.
He asked Nono to wake Doctor Nake and the others using medical ninjutsu.
The still-dazed doctor was left behind at the exit of Kikyo Mountain.
As for Jaeger's family, Kazuki gave them a sum of money to cover their living expenses and travel costs as compensation for destroying their peaceful life.
Finally, Nono—who felt deeply guilty toward the hunter family—could no longer bear it.
She invited Jaeger's family to move to the orphanage she ran near the border of the Land of Fire.
Having no better options, Jaeger readily accepted.
After that, they parted ways with Kazuki's group.
After sending the civilians away, the team continued forward for some distance before stopping to rest.
The Uchiha consumed soldier pills to replenish their energy.
Nono proved quite sensible.
She voluntarily treated the wounded members of the Uchiha squad.
Most of the injuries were minor and required little effort.
Izumi remained beside Nono to observe, helping bandage teammates with slightly more serious wounds.
Suddenly, Izumi glanced toward Kurenai Yuhi sitting nearby and frowned.
"Captain Kazuki, what should we do with that Konoha woman?"
Kurenai was sitting beneath a cypress tree.
Her delicate face was pale, and her red lips were lightly bitten.
Her slender white legs were folded together beneath her.
Her posture was graceful.
Her figure alluring.
The Buddhist chanting from the previous night had severely tortured her mind, leaving her consciousness hazy.
Kurenai was extremely skilled in genjutsu, and her mental strength was exceptional among jonin.
But she did not possess the Sharingan or any other method to defend against mental attacks.
As a result, her powerful mental strength had made her an even greater target.
Most of the chanting chakra had focused on her.
Without proper defenses, her mental power had become a burden.
She had ended up suffering the most severe injuries of anyone present.
Kazuki glanced at her and said calmly,
"We'll keep her as a hostage for now."
He then turned to Nono.
"Are her injuries serious?"
Nono thought for a moment before remembering something.
"Oh… last night she used genjutsu to share part of the mental burden with us. She helped block some of the chanting attacks. Because of that, her mind suffered severe strain."
"But she should recover after about a week of rest."
In Nono's view, Kurenai's actions had likely been motivated by guilt over her comrades harming innocent civilians.
After hearing this—
Izumi and the other Uchiha looked at the beautiful kunoichi sitting beneath the cypress tree with complicated expressions.
Originally, none of them had held a favorable opinion of Kurenai.
But they had not realized they had unknowingly received her help.
Izumi pressed her lips together, slightly easing her hostility.
At least during the battle, the Konoha kunoichi had not opposed them.
Still—
Izumi did not particularly like the idea of Kazuki carrying this woman on his back.
At the edge of the Uchiha group, Uchiha Mikoto lowered her gaze toward the sleeve Kazuki had torn open earlier.
She seemed lost in thought.
Soon after, Nono finished treating the injured.
She silently felt grateful that she had chosen to trust Kazuki the previous night.
Even so, she remained worried about her mission.
But then she remembered Kazuki's words—that the reward he mentioned was related to her mission.
And Kazuki seemed extremely familiar with that mission.
Based on everything she had seen so far, he did not seem like someone who would lie.
After twenty minutes of rest, Kazuki stood up.
Seeing that everyone had eaten and recovered some energy, he ordered the team to continue moving.
The Uchiha gritted their teeth and stood up, supporting each other despite their exhaustion.
Beneath the cypress tree, Kurenai still could not stand.
She watched Kazuki's back.
Several times she tried to rise, but her weakened legs and hazy mind forced her to stop.
At this moment, she had only one thought.
She wanted to speak with Kazuki alone.
Kazuki had only taken a few steps when he heard movement behind him.
He turned around.
Then he walked directly to Kurenai.
He turned his back toward her, crouched down, and calmly said:
"Get on."
Kurenai bit her lip.
With a desperate expression, she pushed herself off the ground with the last of her strength and climbed onto Kazuki's back.
She buried her face against his neck, her cheek pressed close to his.
Her pale arms wrapped tightly around him, afraid he might suddenly leave her behind.
Kazuki stood up.
Carrying Kurenai on his back once again, he walked to the front of the team under the strange gazes of the Uchiha.
"…."
Izumi blinked repeatedly.
A mixture of envy and annoyance flickered across her face.
The team continued their escape.
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