Chapter 128: Shizune's Background, Taking Her Away
"Kato Shizune?"
Hearing this familiar name, Ling Yu's expression froze for a moment. He instantly understood why she had felt so familiar when he first saw her.
So she was the girl from the original story—the one who would later be taken as Tsunade's disciple, travel the ninja world with her, and always take care of Tsunade. No wonder she felt so recognizable.
Recalling the grown-up Shizune—a beauty no less stunning than Mikoto—Ling Yu knew he couldn't possibly miss out on her. He was far from a saint.
"Then why are you here all alone? Are you paying respects to your family?"
Ling Yu glanced at the gravestones behind Shizune. Two unfamiliar names were engraved there, both bearing the surname Kato. Combined with Shizune's current behavior, he immediately guessed why she had come.
"Mm… my parents died in this ninja war. Even my only remaining relative—my uncle, Kato Dan—was killed while on a mission."
"Now I'm the only one left in my family. I'm scared of going back to that dark, quiet house, so I can only come here."
Remembering her tragic situation, sorrow once again surfaced on Shizune's small face. Two clear lines of tears slid down her cheeks uncontrollably.
But realizing Ling Yu was still standing in front of her, she tried to wipe the tears away with her hand. Yet the tears kept flowing like a faucet that had been turned on full blast—she couldn't stop them.
"It's okay… it's okay."
Ling Yu gently pulled the crying Shizune into his arms and comforted her softly. His eyes narrowed slightly as he thought hard about what to do with her.
"Shizune, would you like to come with me? My big sister happens to be looking for a disciple. I think you'd be a perfect fit."
Since she had already lost her family and her clan was so cold and indifferent, why not take her directly and let her become Tsunade's student ahead of schedule? With that thought, Ling Yu began his "abduction" plan.
"R-really…? Is this a dream? Lord Ling Yu…"
Shizune suddenly lifted her head from his chest. Tears still in her eyes, she stared at him in stunned disbelief.
Who was Ling Yu? The currently recognized strongest person in the ninja world. Though young, he possessed a maturity far beyond his years. In front of his strength, no one dared defy him—not even the Third Hokage could speak against him without caution.
If he said something like this, it must be true. Yet Shizune still felt like she was dreaming. The words slipped out unconsciously.
"Of course it's not a dream. From now on, just call me Big Brother."
Seeing that Shizune had no resistance at all—and in fact seemed very tempted—Ling Yu knew his plan had succeeded. He continued coaxing her:
"As long as you agree, you can pack your things today. I'll go with you to speak with your clan head. After that, you can come live at my house and become my sister's disciple."
"Mm… I believe Big Brother Ling Yu."
After thinking carefully for a moment, Shizune finally accepted Ling Yu's proposal. She took his hand and walked with him toward the Kato clan's residence.
The rest was very simple. Ling Yu brought Shizune straight to the clan head's house.
The Kato clan head was an old man well past fifty, already half in the grave. When he saw Ling Yu personally visiting, he was genuinely frightened. Only after learning the reason for the visit did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Realizing Ling Yu only wanted one little girl from their clan, he assumed Ling Yu had taken a liking to her and immediately offered to give her away for free—no compensation needed.
But Ling Yu didn't want to take her completely empty-handed. He tossed down a large sum of money and promised that the Senju clan would support the Kato family in the future. With that, he smoothly took little Shizune away.
While Shizune was packing her belongings, Ling Yu grew bored and chatted idly with the Kato clan head. From him, he learned the full details of Shizune's background and the circumstances of her relatives' deaths.
Shizune's parents were ordinary Konoha ninja without any special techniques or outstanding strength. They had died on the battlefield against Amegakure ninja even before Ling Yu entered the war.
Her uncle, Kato Dan, had been the most talented ninja in their family—always held in high regard by the clan.
But after returning from one mission, he changed completely. He locked himself in his room every day, occasionally crying out loud. Only when he returned to the battlefield did his symptoms ease somewhat.
Unfortunately, his luck ran out. During his next mission—right when the three-nation alliance had just formed—he was sent to scout enemy movements because of his unique ninjutsu.
No one expected that Kato Dan would never come back. The moment he approached the enemy camp, he was discovered by Kage-level experts from all three villages. He was surrounded and killed on the spot by the three Kage.
After that, Shizune was truly the only one left in her family.
Hearing how tragically Kato Dan had died, Ling Yu couldn't help but click his tongue in surprise. He never expected that after being castrated by him, Kato Dan would later be killed by three Kage. In a way, dying like that could almost be considered a satisfying end.
"Big Brother Ling Yu, I'm all packed."
Just as Ling Yu was getting a little impatient waiting outside and thinking about going in to check, Shizune finished packing and walked out of the house.
"Mm, let's go."
Taking Shizune's hand, Ling Yu led her out of the Kato clan that had brought her only sorrow.
............…
Senju Compound
Ling Yu brought the beaming Shizune straight home from the Kato clan.
"Big Brother Ling Yu! You're back!"
The moment the door opened, Konan pounced on him like a baby bird returning to the nest—full of excitement.
As usual, Konan was the first to sense Ling Yu's return. She had come to the entrance early to wait for him.
"I'm back. This is Kato Shizune. From now on, she's part of our family. Konan, you have to get along well with her, okay?"
After catching Konan, Ling Yu set her down, took her hand, and led her to the living room. Then he pulled Shizune forward from behind him and introduced her to Konan and the women watching TV on the sofa.
"Mm, I will!"
Seeing a girl about the same age as herself, Konan's eyes lit up. She took the initiative to hold Shizune's slightly nervous hand and ran off to one side to play.
All this time, Konan had been the youngest in Ling Yu's household. Now having a playmate her own age filled her with both surprise and joy.
"Ling Yu! You scumbag! You still haven't apologized for tickling me until I made a fool of myself, and now you've brought home another little girl from who-knows-where?!"
An enraged voice rang out. Kushina jumped up from the sofa like an angry lioness and pounced on him, hitting and biting wildly.
After taking a bath and changing clothes, Kushina had originally planned to forgive Ling Yu. But seeing him bring back yet another pretty little girl from somewhere, the fire she had just managed to extinguish flared up again.
"Shizune isn't someone I abducted. I saw that she and my big sister are fated to meet, so I wanted her to become my sister's disciple. There's nothing dirty about it."
Seeing Mikoto's expression gradually darken as well, Ling Yu straightened his back and pointed at Tsunade—who was watching the show from the sofa—with a righteous look.
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