[Side Quest]: Recruit a Medical Ninja
[Options]:
1. Persuade a medical ninja to join the team.
2. Force a medical ninja to join the team.
[Reward]: Green Medicine
The quest prompt popped up in Yu's mind, and his eyes lit up. He thought to himself, This side quest is blatantly targeted at Nono.
As that thought crossed his mind, Yu gave Nono a once-over.
The woman's red lips parted slightly as she weakly exhaled. She looked drained and a bit worn out.
Beneath her round-framed glasses, Nono's brow was faintly furrowed. Her black-and-white nun robes, solemn and dignified, still managed to highlight her curvaceous figure.
Her snow-white feet peeked out from under the hem of her robe, bare and exposed—she'd clearly rushed out in a hurry, slipping on a pair of plain black cloth shoes without bothering to adjust them properly.
Should I persuade her?
Or force her?
Yu had just experienced the effects of the Green Elixir—it could instantly restore stamina and energy, heal internal and external injuries, and even boost physical strength.
It had also granted him the ability to control plants, making it a trump card that could reverse even the direst situations.
He couldn't afford to give up on this quest.
Being stared at like that—even though Yu's black eyes were pure and void of any desire or impurity—still made Nono's pale cheeks flush with red.
She glanced sideways at Yu's chest and stammered, "S-sorry… um, I still have a mission to complete… I…"
She had witnessed firsthand how powerful this Uchiha man was. He'd killed the Hokage's son without hesitation—she couldn't afford to defy someone like that.
Yu said calmly, "The reward I promised is related to your mission. But we'll settle that after we get out of here."
"My mission?"
"Yeah. The one Danzo gave you."
"...!"
Nono's body trembled slightly. Confused, she pushed her glasses up her nose.
She tiptoed cautiously closer to Yu, signaling that—for now—she would leave with them.
What puzzled her most was how Yu knew her mission had come from Danzo.
Still, she figured traveling with them for a bit wouldn't be a big deal.
She couldn't stay here anyway—and besides, Yu's group was heading northwest, which aligned with her direction.
The rest of the Uchiha had finished preparing.
The group departed the area. Yu personally carried the unconscious Kurenai on his back and led them toward the northwest.
Time was tight.
They traveled in silence.
Until the sun finally rose from the east, dispelling the last remnants of night from the ninja world.
After dawn—
The group reached the exit of the Kikyo Mountain range, about to leave the border mountains of the Land of Fire.
Yu stood atop a tall tree, looking back at the endless mountain ranges and the sparsely populated Kikyo City in the distance.
He halted and ordered the group to switch from sprinting to walking, so they could recover their strength and stamina.
Tamao, whose injuries had recovered about sixty percent, stayed by his older brother's side.
After confirming that there were no threats in the surrounding forest—
The Uchiha slowly began to relax their nerves. Some even started reviewing and analyzing the deadly pursuit from the night before.
First it was the Konoha Jonin pursuit squad!
Then the monks from the Fire Temple!
And finally, those hideous-looking monsters!
Everyone once again focused their gazes on Uchiha Yu's back, vaguely able to sense the heavy burden he bore in leading them to defect.
Without Yu—
Even if they had known in advance about the Night of the Massacre, trying to escape from Konoha would've been nothing more than a foolish dream.
Yu wasn't idle either.
He had Nono use medical ninjutsu to wake up Dr. Nak and the others. Nak, still groggy and dazed, was left at the exit of Kikyo Mountain.
As for Yega's family—
Yu gave them some money for living expenses and travel, as compensation for disrupting their lives.
In the end, Nono, feeling deeply guilty toward the mountain village hunters, couldn't let it go.
She invited Yega's family to move to an orphanage under her name, located at the border of the Land of Fire.
With no other options, Yega readily accepted, then parted ways with Yu and the others.
After sending off these civilians—
The group continued on for a while.
They eventually stopped to rest. The Uchiha began eating ration pills they carried, replenishing their energy.
Nono, to her credit, was quite sensible.
She took the initiative to treat the wounded in the squad—mostly minor injuries, which didn't cost her much energy.
Izumi followed closely beside Nono, learning from her as she bandaged teammates with slightly more serious wounds.
Suddenly, Izumi glanced over at Kurenai, who was lying within the group, and frowned.
"Captain Yu, what are we going to do with this Konoha woman?"
Kurenai had been laid down under a cypress tree. Her delicate face was pale, red lips gently bitten, and her long, fair legs bent and resting lightly.
Her figure was graceful.
Even sitting, her posture was naturally alluring.
She had been tormented by the chanting sutras last night and was still in a dazed, disoriented state.
Though Kurenai excelled in genjutsu and had an outstanding mental capacity even among Jonin—
She lacked a Sharingan or any other means to defend against mental attacks.
As a result, her strong mental power became a glaring target. The spiritual shockwaves from the sutra chanting focused primarily on her, and without protection, her own strength had become a burden.
Kurenai ended up being the most seriously injured person among them.
"As a hostage, we'll keep her with us for now," Yu said, glancing at Kurenai before turning to Nonoyu. "How bad are her injuries?"
Nono thought for a moment, then recalled something and responded truthfully:
"Oh, last night she actively used genjutsu to take part of the spiritual pressure onto herself, shielding us from the brunt of the sutra's mental assault. As a result, her mind took serious damage. But with a week of rest, she should recover."
Nono believed that the Konoha kunoichi's actions last night might have stemmed from guilt over the crimes her comrades committed against innocent people.
When Nono finished speaking—
Izumi and the other Uchiha all turned their gazes toward the beautiful woman beneath the cypress tree, their expressions shifting.
They hadn't held any good feelings toward Kurenai initially—
But they hadn't realized...
Unknowingly, they owed her a favor.
Izumi pressed her lips together, her hostility toward Kurenai softening. After all, this Konoha kunoichi hadn't really stood on the opposing side last night.
Still, Izumi wasn't too thrilled about Yu carrying her on his back.
At the edge of the group, Mikoto withdrew her gaze from Kurenai. She looked down at the sleeve that had been roughly torn earlier by that guy, her expression a little dazed.
Soon after, Nono finished treating the wounded and quietly felt grateful she had chosen to trust Yu the night before.
She was still uneasy about the mission—
But then again—
Since Yu had said the reward was connected to her task—and more importantly, he acted like he knew the mission inside and out—
Given everything she'd seen of Yu's character, he didn't seem like the type to lie.
After about twenty minutes of rest—
Seeing that everyone had finished drinking water, eaten their ration pills, and recovered a bit—
Yu stood up and calmly ordered them to move on.
The Uchiha clenched their teeth, helping one another up, dragging their tired bodies onward.
Beneath the cypress tree—
Kurenai still couldn't move. She stared at Yu's back, trying several times to get up. But with her dazed mind and weak legs, she eventually gave up struggling.
She had only one thought now:
She wanted to speak with Yu alone.
Yu had only walked a few steps forward when he heard the faint sound behind him. He turned around immediately, walked straight to Kurenai, turned his back, crouched down, and said calmly:
"Get on."
Kurenai bit her lip hard, eyes filled with urgency. She pressed her hands to the ground, using all her strength to climb onto Yu's back.
She buried her face against his neck, cheek to cheek with him. Her pale arms wrapped tightly around him, afraid he might suddenly change his mind and leave her behind.
Yu stood up, carrying Kurenai once again—under the strange looks of the other Uchiha—walking straight to the front of the group.
"..." Izumi blinked repeatedly, eyes filled with a mix of envy and frustration.
The group resumed their journey.
°°°
A/N: Stones!
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