"Cough cough."
Perhaps feeling his expression was too lewd, Momoshiki lightly coughed to cover his embarrassment.
Momoshiki currently didn't care whether traveling to the past to bring Haku and Kimimaro would affect the current timeline.
If it were before, he would have to consider it carefully, but as for now, heh heh.
Moreover, it had already been confirmed in Fontaine that fate itself had a certain corrective force. Even without Haku and Kimimaro, others would take their place. Even if there were no replacements, time would not deviate due to various reasons.
Thus, there was nothing to worry about.
"Momoshiki, what are you thinking?"
This book is first published on 𝚝𝚠𝚔𝚊𝚗.𝚌𝚘𝚖
Furina looked at Momoshiki in confusion, always feeling that his expression was very dangerous.
"I'm just thinking of some lower lifeforms with special abilities."
Momoshiki crossed his arms, his tone still flat and emotionless, but his eyes showed a hint of interest.
"There's nothing to do right now anyway. That Urashiki guy still has a long time before he comes over. Come with me to pick up two kids."
Furina: "???"
"What do you mean 'pick up kids'?"
Furina's gaze at Momoshiki became even stranger.
She had never thought Momoshiki had been a human trafficker before.
Momoshiki didn't explain anything, just opened a portal, pulled Furina, and left Konoha Village's vicinity, arriving at the outer forest.
Not long after they left, a one-armed young man and a bruised and swollen boy limped into the village.
...
In the forest.
Momoshiki once again pulled out the turtle, injected chakra into it, and began to observe all the chaotic timelines.
Because he forgot the exact time, he observed it little by little with his Byakugan.
After a long period of searching, he finally found a young man with a feminine appearance on a bridge.
At this time, he was sitting helplessly under the bridge's railing, hugging his knees, his eyes slightly vacant.
Heavy snow was falling around him, covering him in a thick layer of white, looking desolate.
This timeline was good. It was probably just before he met Zabuza.
Looking at the turtle floating and operating in the air, Furina was completely bewildered, not understanding what Momoshiki was up to.
"If you encountered a poor fellow who was homeless due to war, and was about to freeze or starve to death, what would you do?"
Momoshiki's voice suddenly sounded, but he didn't turn around, just continued to study the turtle with his back to Furina.
After confirming the timeline and location, he then pinpointed Zabuza's location, estimating it would take about an hour to walk there.
"Huh?!"
Completely unprepared for Momoshiki's question, Furina first froze, then said without hesitation, "Of course, I would help him."
An expected answer. It could only be said that she was indeed kind-hearted silly Furina. Putting her together with Haku and Kimimaro would directly turn into a redemption story.
Momoshiki was very satisfied with this answer. Although he didn't care about redemption or not, at least he could recruit them.
The three of them could play a game of poker in the Kamui Dimension.
"There's one right now, probably not far from death. Do you want to save him?"
"Huh?!" Furina blinked in confusion, only then understanding what Momoshiki meant by "picking up kids" earlier.
"Of course I want to save him!"
Furina nodded seriously, then looked at Momoshiki with a mischievous smile.
"You actually thought of saving a child who was homeless due to war. You're not as cold-blooded as you always claim to be."
"Don't misunderstand," Momoshiki glanced at her indifferently.
"I'm just interested in this guy's abilities."
Saying this, Momoshiki turned his head away again, putting on an indifferent expression, and opened a teleportation space using the turtle.
Tsundere Momoshiki.jpg
Seeing that they had entered a familiar time-space, Furina guessed that she and the child who needed to be saved were not on the same timeline.
Strange, why would Momoshiki suddenly want to travel through time to save someone?
A flash of insight crossed her not-so-bright little brain, as if March 7th had possessed her. Furina slapped her head.
Hiss~ Is it regret?
Momoshiki stumbled, almost losing his footing.
This space rapidly traveled through the river of time, quickly arriving at the predetermined timeline, and coincidentally, the location was the Land of Water.
...
"Achoo!"
In a familiar place, the thinly dressed young man couldn't help but sneeze. He always felt like someone was watching him, but he couldn't say who.
He had no energy to think about anything now, because he knew he was about to freeze to death.
His body began to lose temperature, his hands and feet became icy cold, and he could no longer shake off the snow.
"So hungry..."
Haku muttered to himself. He hadn't eaten for a very long time, he had forgotten how many days it had been. His abdomen was numb, only a stinging pain remained.
He didn't know how long it would take for him to die. At this moment, Haku no longer cared. He only cared for death to come quickly, so he would suffer less.
"Ha..."
He breathed a puff of air into his palm, then rubbed his hands. His fingers were almost unable to move, and the air he breathed out had almost no warmth.
He was indeed close to death.
The reason Haku was still alive now was entirely due to his special physique. An ordinary human would have become an ice sculpture long ago.
"So hungry... so hungry..."
Haku kept muttering softly, his voice growing weaker and weaker. A thick layer of snow covered his body.
Perhaps it was a premonition of death, but at this moment, Haku actually had a hallucination.
He actually saw a girl with an exquisite and beautiful face appear before him, holding his hand, breathing warm air onto it, then carefully brushing the snow off his body.
"Huh...?"
Haku blinked, looking at Furina, who was looking at him with heartache, in confusion.
"Oh my god..."
Furina sighed, her pupils trembling.
After arriving in the Land of Water, she and Momoshiki flew here together. Along the way, she saw many traces of battles and corpses. The tragic sight almost made Furina throw up her meal.
"Is this war...?"
Although Furina had lived for over 500 years, she had been protected too well by Neuvillette. This was the first time she had seen such a tragic scene.
"You..." Haku's lips moved slightly, unable to form complete words.
It wasn't until his cheek was stroked, and a warm sensation came, that he realized what was in front of him wasn't a hallucination.
There really was someone in front of him.
Haku opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but because he was numb and frozen from hunger, and that single word just now had consumed all his strength, he couldn't utter a single word from his throat.
Seeing his predicament, Furina's hand, which was stroking his face, gradually exuded a gentle Hydro elemental power, extremely warm, flowing through his limbs.
Wherever it passed, his frozen flesh gradually recovered, the hunger in his stomach slowly receded, and the cold feeling also dissipated.
Momoshiki, beside them, just calmly watched Furina heal Haku, his arms crossed.
To be honest, this scene was actually quite healing, especially experiencing the cold snow falling on him firsthand.
"Huh?"
Feeling that the cold, hunger, and fatigue had all disappeared, Haku finally gained some ability to think. He looked at Furina, who was healing him, in surprise, and a feeling of gratitude and being cared for surged in his heart.
"Th-thank you..."
Haku was still trembling, his teeth chattering as he spoke.
"You're welcome."
Furina took out her handkerchief and wiped away the tiny ice crystals from his face, her movements very gentle, afraid of hurting him, and even more afraid that the ice crystals would tear his already fragile skin.
At the first sight of Haku, Furina felt as if she had fallen into a state of hunger and numbness. Even though she had just eaten, this shared pain was too difficult to resist.
Haku didn't make any movement, letting Furina wipe his face, his eyes looking at her in astonishment.
After wiping away the dust and snow from his face, Haku revealed his exquisitely beautiful face, as delicate as a girl's, his eyes innocent and pure, full of gratitude.
"Where are your family?"
Furina put away her handkerchief, asking with some heartache.
"I don't have any family."
Haku lowered his head slightly, burying his face between his fair legs again.
"Huh?"
Furina's hand trembled. Remembering the corpses she had seen along the way, her eyes filled with even more sympathy and heartache.
"Sorry..."
"It's okay." Haku shook his head, not caring at all, his innocent eyes constantly looking at Furina's eyes.
"Big sister's eyes... are very similar to mine."
Saying this, Haku tilted his innocent head.
"Big sister, are you also... very lonely, very cold, and want someone to be with you?"
"Huh?!!"
Furina's eyes widened instantly, and her body involuntarily trembled.
Her gaze met Haku's innocent eyes. Something in her heart seemed to be touched.
She involuntarily held Haku's cold little hand. She wanted to say many things, but they were stuck in her throat.
After struggling for a long time, she finally managed to squeeze out a few words.
"Do you... want a family?"
Haku froze for a moment, then nodded as if possessed.
But soon, he shook his head again.
"Why?" Furina's beautiful eyes were full of confusion, unwilling to let go of Haku's cold little hand.
"My abilities... will bring disaster... very terrifying. Everyone is afraid..."
Haku's voice was very small, but she could hear the deep grievance in it.
He didn't understand why he had suffered this disaster, why his father had killed his mother, and then chased after him with others.
He also didn't understand why he had suddenly killed his father, and killed all the kind people in the village.
He only knew that he could turn water into ice, and that was all.
Furina froze for a moment, then chuckled softly, stroking Haku's little head.
"If that's the only reason, then I insist on becoming your family, becoming your older sister to take care of you."
"?!!"
Haku's eyes widened again, looking at Furina in disbelief, his confusion evident.
"Why?"
As soon as he asked, a warm hand once again stroked his cheek, and a strong, firm voice spoke.
"Because I, your sister, believe that nothing can deprive a person of the right to pursue happiness."
A few snowflakes fell, landing on Furina's white hair. If you didn't look closely, you wouldn't even notice them.
But that was the most beautiful color.
Furina's smile was incredibly warm, melting the ice crystals in Haku's heart, turning them into tears that flowed from the corners of his eyes.
Seeing him cry, Furina once again took out her handkerchief and wiped away his tears.
"You must be starving now, my little brother."
Haku, feeling wronged and crying, nodded.
"Come with me."
Furina held his hand, pulling him up from the ground.
===
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