Winter turned to spring; the sun rose and the moon set. As days passed, more than half of Konoha's 60th year had elapsed. In the Land of Grass, adjacent to the Land of Fire, a brand-new scene unfolded.
It was now early October, with crisp autumn air. For a country like the Land of Grass, which highly valued plant growth, it was harvest season, so the residents here were exceptionally busy.
In a forest near the border with the Land of Fire, closer to the "Land of Fire," there was a small mountain village called "Kujō Village." For hundreds of years since its settlement, this village had remained largely isolated from the outside world.
However, because this mountain village was backed by mountains, had a stream in front, and was surrounded by extremely rich forest resources for foraging, this isolated village could be self-sufficient even without any contact with the outside world.
As the first rays of morning sunlight descended, not far from the entrance of "Kujō Village," a girl of about ten, dressed in coarse cloth, was already heading out of the village carrying a bamboo basket woven from vines.
Over the years, the girl always woke up a little earlier than others—especially evident in this relatively lazy mountain village.
"Today's weather is good. It rained a lot yesterday, so there must be plenty of herbs to dig up on the mountain. Better hurry."
Carrying the empty bamboo basket on her slightly thin shoulders, the girl murmured to herself.
This girl was named Kujō Renna, a mountain villager born and raised in Kujō Village. Her father, Kujō Ichirō, was the village chief, responsible for managing this village of just over a hundred residents.
Although Renna was only fourteen this year, she had black hair, a slender neck, fair skin, and a graceful figure—a beauty by any standard. Thus, in this village where all residents shared the surname "Kujō," she was a very popular figure.
Another reason for Renna's popularity was that she was the villager most knowledgeable about herbal medicine, especially after the passing of her grandmother, the renowned herbalist Kujō Hori.
This border village lived in its own world, with rice as the staple, and the villagers could be considered well-fed. Expanses of fertile farmland surrounded the village.
Renna quickly left the village and walked toward the forest outside. Having wandered these woods since childhood, this forest was as familiar to her as her own home.
Due to yesterday's rain, many plump mushrooms had sprouted on the forest floor. But upon seeing them, Renna couldn't help but shake her head.
Although these mushrooms resembled ordinary edible varieties, they were actually poisonous—something laymen couldn't distinguish.
"Haluccination Mushroom," "Stomachache Mushroom," "Paralysis Mushroom"—Renna, who had learned herbal medicine from her grandmother since childhood, naturally recognized these mushrooms and would never pick them to eat.
"Grandma used to say that if you eat these mushrooms together, your eyeballs will bleed. I wonder just how bad they are! What's that?!"
While cautiously navigating the forest, Renna accidentally spotted a figure lying on the ground in a clearing not far away!
"Hey! Over here! This guy!"
When Renna hurried over, she found the person lying on the ground was a young boy who appeared about twelve or thirteen years old. Beside the boy was a stew pot filled with what looked like very ordinary mushrooms.
The boy lying on the ground, the obvious signs of a fire, and the poisonous mushrooms in the stew pot—even an idiot could guess what had happened here.
Alright, so there really is an idiot daring enough to eat these. But fortunately, he can still be saved. Confirming the boy—whose face had turned purple—was still alive, Renna showed a relieved expression.
Semi-conscious, Hyūga Yūki felt as if someone was carrying him forward. Then, his mouth seemed to be pried open, and a bunch of sticky stuff was poured into his stomach.
No, no, no—this tastes awful.
Although Yūki really wanted to refuse whatever was being forced down his throat, he couldn't even lift a finger now and had no choice but to keep swallowing the nasty concoction.
"That should do it."
"Sister Renna, why did he need so many different herbs?"
"Because he ate twelve kinds of poisonous mushrooms. Each requires different detoxifying ingredients, so the herbal dosage was also very large."
"Twelve kinds of poisonous mushrooms? Is this guy an idiot? Hahahaha!"
You're the idiot. Who knew those were poisonous mushrooms?
Hearing the conversation beside him, Yūki could only sigh inwardly. Honestly, no one could tell those were poisonous mushrooms—they looked exactly like ordinary ones!
"Ah, the swelling on this guy's face is gone. He looks pretty good."
After a while, the antidote poured into Yūki's stomach clearly took effect. Kujō Renna's younger brother, Kujō Tarō, pointed at the young boy's face and laughed.
Indeed, the twelve-year-old Hyūga Yūki had long shed his childish appearance. His complexion was fair, his features delicate and handsome—not overly feminine but with a charming aura.
Judging by his clothing, this boy likely didn't come from an ordinary family.
After cleaning up the herbal remnants, Renna also came to the bedside and sat down, reaching out to touch Yūki's forehead.
But at that moment, a hand shot out like lightning and grabbed Renna's wrist. Simultaneously, the boy on the bed opened his eyes.
"Ah! You can move so quickly?!"
Renna was startled by the sudden movement, but what surprised her most wasn't the boy's actions but his ability to move his body so swiftly.
"Did you save me? Sorry for the trouble."
As Yūki sat up, what greeted him was a very simple wooden room and two children—a girl and a boy—sitting by the bed, looking at him with surprised eyes.
The girl was slightly older, probably around fourteen or fifteen, while the boy was only about ten. Both were staring at him in astonishment.
"Your eyes..."
However, the first thing Renna noticed after Yūki stood up wasn't what he said but his pair of pure white eyes!
"Well, it's a hereditary family condition. But it doesn't affect my vision."
Seemingly accustomed to others' intense curiosity about his eyes, Yūki explained with a smile.
But this girl is quite pretty.
It had to be said—even though Yūki had wandered around the Land of Fire over the past two years, he rarely encountered a girl as outstanding as Renna.
Perhaps it was because she was born in a border village with beautiful mountains and clear waters. The girl's eyes were as clear as lake water. With her neat features and slender figure, she truly resembled a lotus emerging from water.
Ahem, try standing up and walking around.
As if sensing Yūki's gaze—as if appreciating a work of art—Renna took his hand somewhat awkwardly, pulled him up, and pointed to the corner of the room, asking him to take a few steps.
"Walk a few steps? Why walk if I'm not sick? I'm fine, aren't I?"
But the moment Yūki smiled and stepped forward, he felt something odd about his legs.
No, not odd—what's with this sudden paralysis?!
As if something was wrong with his legs, Yūki felt an intense numbness when his left foot touched the ground!
"Just as I thought. Although most of the poison in your body is gone, the 'Paralysis Mushroom' toxin isn't so easy to eliminate. It's probably still inside you."
"What the hell! Then how long until this toxin clears?"
"Well, judging by your physique... about ten days or so."
Ten days?! But I have to return to Konoha within a week for the Ninja Academy graduation exam!
Instantly, Yūki's face turned pale.
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(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) ‹ (TL : More Chapters @patreon.com/c/Gooberilla)