Chapter 127: Long Time No See
Two minutes later.
As Asuka searched for the fireball that had mysteriously disappeared, a toad suddenly hopped in front of him. It stretched out a claw and began croaking angrily.
"Croak! Croak! Croak!"
Asuka looked down at the panting toad by his feet, then exchanged a glance with Shukaku.
"What is this thing saying?"
Shukaku narrowed its eyes and stroked its chin like a sage, completely unhurried.
"I get the feeling it's cursing me."
"Ya-ha!"
Shukaku thought this wretched toad actually dared to curse it.
It took a deep breath, and its belly slowly swelled.
"Croak! Croak! Croak!"
Seeing Shukaku's bulging cheeks, the toad began croaking even faster. It glanced left and right, hurriedly picked up a branch, scratched several lines into the dirt, then turned and ran.
Asuka watched the toad disappear into the distance before looking down at the writing it had left behind.
He read aloud, "Orochimaru is too dangerous, and he's a little too clever. You can't predict his next move or what he's thinking. Leave this matter to the wise one."
???
After reading the crooked writing on the ground, Asuka fell silent for a moment before glancing at Shukaku on his shoulder.
"Jiraiya plans to melt Orochimaru's cold heart with friendship and passion and bring him back onto the right path."
"Hmm!"
Shukaku nodded meaningfully.
"He won't be brought back. I've known that stinking fox for thousands of years. He has always judged strength by the number of tails."
???
Asuka stared at the self-satisfied Shukaku, several black lines appearing on his forehead.
What does that have to do with what I just said?
"Ya-ha!"
As if sensing Asuka's confusion, Shukaku planted its hands on its hips and said proudly,
"Should we chase them? It's been a long time since I've had such a satisfying fight."
Every time it was summoned, it ended up being slammed into the sand.
It had been far, far too long since it had experienced such an exhilarating battle.
A crushing battle.
A one-sided crushing.
Even if the person being crushed was already injured, it was still crushing.
A battle should at least be a brutal battle.
"No."
Asuka looked at Pakura, who had appeared at the far end of the street, and decisively shook his head.
"Why?"
Shukaku looked at him in confusion.
"My chakra is exhausted."
As Pakura drew closer, Asuka closed his eyes and began counting silently in his mind.
1,098,321.
When he silently counted down to one, Asuka's face suddenly turned pale. Then he collapsed forward as though completely exhausted.
Thud!
Asuka felt as though he had fallen onto a soft bed.
It was like lying on the hotel bed from his previous life. His body bounced twice after the impact before sinking deeply into the softness.
The comfortable sensation spread through his body, making him feel as though he were lying on a Simmons mattress.
He had never actually slept on one in his previous life, but he imagined it would probably be this soft.
Smelling the faint fragrance lingering in the air, Asuka covered his lower abdomen with both hands, closed his eyes, and murmured,
"When did I start liking this orange scent? It smells pretty good."
"I've always liked it."
Asuka's cheek stiffened.
He reached out and touched the other person's head.
Hmm.
No dango bread.
Then he slowly raised his eyelids and looked at the person above him.
Silver hair.
"Captain!!"
Asuka immediately stood up, looking completely refreshed. He spoke solemnly.
"Captain, aren't we going after Orochimaru anymore?"
Sarutobi Nanaka stared at Asuka in surprise.
His complexion was unusually rosy now, no longer pale like before.
She spoke softly.
"I called Lord Jiraiya. He went after him."
"Next, contact the Akimichi and prepare to return to the village."
"Oh~"
Asuka nodded and waved his hand.
"Captain, wait a moment. I want to buy some local specialties to take back with me."
The next moment, Nanaka discovered that Asuka had already disappeared from where he had been standing.
"Pakura."
After saying that, she stood up and looked toward the direction where Pakura had disappeared, her expression becoming slightly serious.
A missing-nin from Sunagakure had actually appeared here.
An hour later.
Following the traces Pakura had left behind, Asuka arrived at a forested area not far from the battlefield.
After touching the final marker, he looked up at the cave ahead.
When he saw the firelight inside gradually growing brighter, Asuka walked in.
Knock. Knock.
He rapped twice on the stone wall beside the cave entrance with his knuckles.
A familiar voice came from inside.
"Are you planning to stand outside and get soaked?"
"Ahem."
Asuka lightly cleared his throat and walked inside.
As soon as he entered the cave, he discovered that Konan was there as well.
She was leaning against the stone wall, looking calm and deep in thought.
Click. Click. Click.
Hearing movement inside the cave, Konan raised her eyes warily.
When she saw that the newcomer was the Uchiha who had fought her earlier that day, she froze for a moment before immediately turning toward Pakura beside her.
"He's Uchiha Asuka, the person I mentioned to you before."
Remembering Konan lying helplessly on the ground under his genjutsu, Pakura gestured toward Asuka with her lips and introduced him.
"Uh…"
So it's him?
Looking at Uchiha Asuka's tall and handsome appearance, Konan thought of Zetsu.
Next time, I should suggest that intelligence reports include a recent photograph.
"You don't have to keep staring at me, you know."
Asuka glanced at the silent Konan, then walked over and sat beside Pakura. He secretly pointed toward his head and whispered,
"Does she have something wrong with her?"
Two black lines appeared on Konan's forehead.
She glared at Asuka before wisely taking several steps back.
"Hiss!"
A sharp gasp escaped her.
After only a few steps, Konan saw Pakura's hand resting on Asuka's soft waist, gently twisting it.
"When we met again, you actually let another woman beat me."
"I didn't recognize you at the time. You never dressed like this before."
"And you still didn't recognize me afterward?"
"Hiss… later… gently…"
Hearing the sounds beside her, Konan hugged her knees and curled up in the corner of the cave like an abandoned puppy.
At that moment, she suddenly realized that some of Nagato's words applied to far more situations than she had once thought.
For example…
Feel pain. Experience pain. Accept pain. Understand pain. Those who do not know pain cannot know…
She had once believed those words only applied to war.
But now, Konan realized they applied to her as well.
Her thoughts gradually drifted away, and her eyes became unfocused.
Perhaps because of the genjutsu, she found herself unusually prone to recalling every detail of the past today.
She remembered a battle from many years ago.
Yahiko had been injured.
While she was bandaging his wounds, Nagato quietly walked outside and stood in the pouring rain for a long time.
By the time they remembered Nagato and went looking for him, he had already caught a large number of fish.
Although they had sincerely apologized to Nagato at the time, they had never truly considered things from his perspective.
They had ignored the pain he was experiencing.
Hmm.
Now, Konan finally understood how Nagato had felt back then.
Uchiha Asuka?
Coming back to herself, Konan remembered the masked man who called himself "Madara."
She secretly glanced in that direction and began wondering how she could obtain more information about "Madara" from Uchiha Asuka.
That man who called himself Madara gave her a very ominous feeling.
At that moment, on the other side of the cave—
Pakura tilted her head and glanced at someone who looked rather pitiful.
To avoid provoking her, she quietly moved a little farther away from Asuka before pointing toward Konan inside the cave. Her expression suddenly became serious.
"What are you doing in the Land of Rain?"
Seeing Konan's ears perk up as well, Asuka leaned against the stone wall.
"I'm here to capture Orochimaru."
"He was discovered conducting human experiments on villagers. After the matter was exposed, he defected."
"The village will issue a bounty for his capture soon."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
As he spoke, Asuka reached out and tugged at the Akatsuki cloak Pakura was wearing. He shook his head.
"This doesn't suit you. It's ugly."
Pakura's eyes curved into crescents as she nodded in agreement.
"We think alike."
Thinking about all those people who supposedly died the moment they took off their clothes, Asuka smacked his lips and hesitated.
"How about we try taking it off?"
"Take it off?"
Pakura's smile froze.
She placed both hands on Asuka's cheeks and squeezed them while gritting her teeth.
"Control the dark thoughts in your head."
"This is the second time you've wanted to take someone else's clothes off."
"What are you planning to do the third time?"
"I won't do it again."
Hearing that, Pakura raised an eyebrow.
"Then what did you just say?"
Asuka tugged on the Akatsuki cloak again and explained,
"I only wanted to take off the Akatsuki cloak to test a law."
Several black lines appeared on Pakura's forehead.
She sneered.
"What law says you have to take someone else's clothes off?"
"The law that says, 'Take off your clothes and you die!'"
"I can tell you very clearly right now that this law is extremely accurate."
"Asuka, if you dare take my clothes off today, you'll die horribly!"
Seeing Pakura glaring fiercely at him, Asuka instinctively reached his hand inside the Akatsuki cloak.
Then his expression suddenly became one of realization.
He reprimanded her righteously,
"Although you're wearing clothes underneath, there aren't enough layers. Next time, you should wear more underneath."
"You…"
Pakura's cheeks instantly flushed bright red.
The next moment, the entire cave was illuminated deep crimson by a certain fireball.
Boom!
A thin layer of dust slowly slid down from the mountaintop and landed on Konan's head.
Sigh.
Hearing the sounds of fighting outside, Konan shook her head, hugged her knees tightly, and moved farther into the cave.