Little Girl, Don't Mess Around

Lost in consciousness, Shunren didn't know how much time had passed. He felt his mouth was dry and instinctively opened it, letting out a hoarse murmur, "Water... water..."

After a while, Shunren felt something pry open his lips, and then a cool sensation filled his mouth, causing him to swallow instinctively.

"Gulp! Cough cough cough~"

After being choked by the water, Shunren gradually regained consciousness.

His mind was still a little foggy, and he glanced around.

"Uh..." Pakura looked embarrassed and said awkwardly, "This young lady isn't good at taking care of others."

Shunren patted his face, clearing his head slightly.

"Oh, I see. Looks like we all survived..." She looked Pakura up and down, noticing that the only thing left on his body was his thin, tattered clothing, revealing a lot of pale skin, mostly hastily bandaged with torn pieces of cloth. "Pakura, you're in such a sorry state."

Pakura looked at him speechlessly, "Uchiha Shunren, you don't seem to be much better, do you?"

Shunren's upper body was almost entirely wrapped in bandages, including his right palm, elbow, shoulder, and chest. Strangely, Shunren seemed to be wearing only a pair of torn underpants; his shirt and trousers were nowhere to be seen.

Pakura explained, "I lost both of our ninja Forehead Protector, and your clothes have the Uchiha Clan crest embroidered on them, so I had to destroy them."

"I see." Shunren didn't mind. For a man, all he needed was a pair of underpants. In a life-or-death situation, there wasn't much to worry about.

Pakura seemed surprised by Shunren's psychological acceptance, which seemed far beyond what a ten-year-old boy should possess. Furthermore, Pakura thought back to how they had fought each other on the battlefield not long ago, yet she never imagined that he would save her when she was in danger.

"Uchiha Shunren, thank you..." Although Pakura was strong-willed, she was also a person who clearly distinguished between gratitude and resentment, and said earnestly.

"Just a mission," Shunren said calmly. For the sake of the "White Fang Blade Technique."

"I know."

Of course, by now, Pakura could roughly guess why Shunren had come to save her, but whatever the reason, the fact that she had been saved was undeniable. And thinking about how the village she had dedicated her life to protecting had ultimately been sold out, it was truly heartbreaking.

Shunren carefully sensed the Chakra within his body and couldn't help but frown.

Pakura's expression was also gloomy.

The nature of their relationship is self-evident.

"Phew~" Pakura sighed and said, "After all, our opponents were the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. We're already quite lucky to have survived this long."

Shunren nodded. He was not a person who easily became depressed. No matter what dire situation he was in, he always had a calm and composed mind.

"Let's find a place to settle down first and recover our Chakra."

A hint of appreciation flashed in Pakura's eyes. She had a strong liking for men with calm temperaments and mature thoughts; they were reliable...

But soon she sensed something strange. After all, Shunren wasn't even a teenager; he was just a boy...

"What?" Shunren looked at the other person.

"Uh... it's nothing." Pakura felt deeply ashamed of her misconception. As a dignified Scorch Release user, she had actually developed a sense of dependence on a ten-year-old boy. Wouldn't people laugh at her if they found out?

"Then let's go." Shunren slowly stood up. His injuries were mainly concentrated on his upper body and did not impair his mobility.

"Hiss~" Pakura pressed one hand against the wound on her thigh.

Her body trembled uncontrollably, and she gritted her teeth to suppress a groan as she struggled to stand. This was an injury inflicted by Raiga Kurosuki's lightning blade; it wasn't just a physical wound, but also damage to the nerves in her leg from the Lightning Release technique. The numbness hadn't completely subsided. This nerve damage had nothing to do with willpower, because no matter how much Pakura endured, she couldn't allow the nerves damaged by the Lightning Release to recover.

Just as Pakura was about to collapse from exhaustion, Shunren reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Let me help you up," Shunren said calmly.

"I can manage on my own..." Pakura, who was strong-willed, did not want to show such a weak side in front of a junior, but before she could finish speaking, she felt flustered when Shunren stared at her.

That look in his eyes was just like an elder looking at a young girl throwing a tantrum.

"Okay..." Pakura lowered his head in shame and put his arm around Shunren's shoulder.

Shunren's body stiffened slightly, but he quickly recovered and helped her leave the riverbank.

Pakura had never been in such close contact with a man before, so she was a little uncomfortable. Fortunately, since the other person was a boy, she wasn't too resistant. However, she had clearly felt Shunren's stiffness just now, which made her have all sorts of wild thoughts.

Because of the height difference, Pakura was now standing very close to Shunren, and as they walked, her overly full breasts inevitably touched Shunren's body repeatedly.

Pakura subconsciously turned her head to look at Shunren, and to her surprise, she saw that the latter's face was tense and his forehead was covered in sweat. She felt a little amused and exasperated. At a time like this, he still had the mind to think about that. She thought to herself that although this kid was not old, he seemed to have a big heart!

Perhaps it was the first time Pakura had seen Shunren in such a state, and he was immediately intrigued. So he deliberately moved closer, as if he wanted to tease this boy who looked serious on the outside but was actually a little mischievous on the inside.

"Hoo~" With his breathing slightly rapid, Shunren suddenly stopped.

"Pakura."

"What... what are you doing?" Pakura pretended not to know.

Shunren didn't turn around, but simply said, "The wound on my shoulder has reopened."

"Huh?" Pakura was taken aback by what she heard, not quite understanding the meaning of Shunren's seemingly random question. However, when she looked down, she noticed a few drops of bright red blood on her chest.

It turns out that... Shunren's unusual expression throughout the journey was indeed because he had touched upon Pakura's greatness, but it wasn't out of shyness towards the opposite sex, but because his wound had been reopened!

That would be very awkward.

In an instant, Pakura's neck and cheeks flushed bright red.

Shunren turned his head and glanced at her with a rather speechless expression. "Little girl, don't tease me."