Recruiting a Medical Ninja

Side Mission: Recruit a Medical Ninja

Options:

1. Persuade a Medical Ninja to join the team.

2. Force a Medical Ninja to join the team.

Reward: Green Medicine.

A mission prompt popped into Ingetsu's mind. His eyes lit up as he thought, This side mission is practically tailor-made for Nonō.

As he thought this,

Ingetsu looked Nonō up and down. Her red lips were slightly parted, her breath faint. She looked weak and somewhat haggard.

Behind her round-framed glasses, Nonō's brows were slightly furrowed. Her solemn black-and-white nun's robes perfectly outlined her voluptuous figure.

Beneath the hem of her robe, the snowy tops of her bare feet appeared now and then. She had left in a hurry, casually putting on a pair of black cloth shoes without having time to straighten herself up.

Should he persuade her?

Or force her?

Ingetsu had just experienced the effects of Green Medicine. It could instantly restore energy and stamina, heal internal and external injuries, and strengthen the user.

It could also grant him the ability to control plants, a trump card capable of turning around a desperate situation.

He could not abandon this mission.

Being stared at like that, even though those dark, bright eyes contained not the slightest trace of desire or impurity, Nonō's pale, pretty face still flushed.

She glanced sideways at Ingetsu's chest and stammered, "Sorry... um, I still have a mission... I..."

She had witnessed the strength of this Uchiha man firsthand. He had killed the Hokage's son without hesitation. She did not dare defy someone like him.

Ingetsu said calmly, "The reward I promised you is related to your mission, but we need to leave this place before settling it."

"My mission?"

"Mm. The mission Danzo gave you!"

"This..."

Nonō's delicate body trembled slightly. Confusion appeared on her face as she raised a hand to push up her glasses.

She crept closer to Ingetsu, signaling that she could temporarily leave with them.

She did not understand how Ingetsu knew that Danzo had assigned her mission.

Nonō felt that traveling with them for a while should not cause any problems.

At that moment, she could not remain there anyway. Besides, Ingetsu and the others were heading northwest, which happened to be on her way.

The other Uchiha had finished packing up.

The group left the area. Ingetsu personally carried Kurenai Yuhi on his back and led everyone onward toward the northwest.

Time was pressing.

No one spoke along the way.

Until the sun climbed up from the east, driving away the last trace of darkness left by the night in the Ninja World.

After daybreak,

The group arrived at the exit of Kikyo Mountain, about to leave this great mountain range along the border of the Land of Fire.

Ingetsu stood atop a towering tree, looking back at the endless mountain range and the sparsely populated area around Kikyo Castle.

He stopped, turned around, and instructed everyone to slow from full-speed travel to a walking pace so they could recover their stamina and energy.

Tamao, whose injuries had recovered by sixty percent and who could move again, stayed beside his elder brother.

After confirming that the nearby forest posed no danger,

The Uchiha gradually relaxed their taut nerves. Some began reviewing the extremely perilous pursuit battle from the night before.

First, the Konoha Jonin pursuit squad!

Then, all the monks from Fire Temple!

And finally, those hideous monsters!

Once again, everyone focused their gaze on Ingetsu's back. They could vaguely sense the burden this man carried in leading them to defect.

Without Ingetsu,

Even if they had learned of the Night of the Uchiha Massacre in advance, fleeing Leaf Village would have been nothing more than a fool's dream.

Ingetsu was not idle at the moment either.

He had Nonō use Medical Ninjutsu to wake Doctor Nakku and the others, then left the muddleheaded Nakku at the exit of Kikyo Mountain.

As for Jaeger's family,

Ingetsu left them some living expenses and travel money as compensation for disrupting their lives.

In the end, Nonō, who felt guilty toward the mountain village's hunters, truly could not bear it.

She invited Jaeger's family to live in an orphanage under her name near the border of the Land of Fire.

With nowhere else to go, Jaeger readily accepted, then parted ways with Ingetsu and the others.

After seeing off those ordinary people,

The group traveled onward for a while.

Then they rested in place. The Uchiha ate the Soldier Pills they carried with them to replenish their energy.

Nonō was rather tactful.

She took the initiative to treat the wounded members of the Uchiha Squad. Their injuries were minor, so it did not consume much of her energy.

Izumi stayed beside Nonō to learn from her, bandaging comrades with somewhat more serious injuries.

Izumi suddenly looked toward Kurenai Yuhi in the group and frowned. "Captain Ingetsu, what should we do with this woman from Leaf Village?"

Ingetsu had placed Kurenai Yuhi beneath a cypress tree. Her delicate face was pale, her red lips lightly bitten, and her fair, slender legs bent and laid together.

Her figure was graceful.

Her sitting posture was seductive.

She had been tormented terribly by the Brahma Sound chanting the previous night, and her mind was still hazy.

Kurenai Yuhi was proficient in Genjutsu, and her mental strength was exceptional even among jonin.

But she did not have the Sharingan or any other means to resist mental attacks.

As a result, her outstanding mental strength became like a huge target. Most of the Brahma Sound Chakra's mental assault landed on her, and without any defensive protection, that mental strength became a burden instead.

Kurenai Yuhi had also become the most severely injured person.

"Keep her with us as a hostage for now." Ingetsu glanced at Kurenai Yuhi, then looked at Nonō. "Are her injuries serious?"

Nonō thought for a moment before recalling something. She answered truthfully:

"Oh, last night, she voluntarily used Genjutsu to place part of her consciousness on us and block some of the Brahma Sound attacks for us. That caused severe damage to her mind, but she will recover after resting for a week."

Nonō believed that this Leaf Village kunoichi's actions the previous night might have stemmed from guilt over her companions' crimes against innocent people.

After Nonō finished speaking,

Izumi and the other Uchiha looked strangely at the beautiful woman beneath the cypress tree.

They had not held much goodwill toward Kurenai Yuhi.

Yet they had not expected

That they had unknowingly accepted a favor from her.

Izumi pursed her lips, easing her resentment toward Kurenai Yuhi slightly. This Leaf Village kunoichi had indeed not stood against them the previous night.

Izumi simply did not like Ingetsu carrying that woman on his back.

At the edge of the Uchiha group, Mikoto withdrew her gaze from Kurenai Yuhi and lowered her head to look at the sleeve that that man had roughly torn apart, looking slightly lost.

Before long, Nonō finished treating the group's wounded. She silently rejoiced that she had chosen to trust Ingetsu the previous night.

Nonō still felt worried about her mission.

But on second thought,

Since Ingetsu had said the reward was related to her mission, and he seemed so familiar with it,

Judging by the character Ingetsu had shown so far, he was not likely to be lying.

After resting for twenty minutes,

Ingetsu saw that everyone had finished drinking water and eating Soldier Pills and had rested enough.

He rose to his feet and ordered them to continue onward.

The Uchiha gritted their teeth, supporting one another as they dragged their exhausted bodies to their feet.

Beneath the cypress tree,

Kurenai Yuhi could not move. She watched Ingetsu's retreating back and tried several times to get up, but her muddled mind and weak legs made her abandon the struggle.

She had only one thought now.

She wanted to speak with Ingetsu alone.

Ingetsu took a few steps forward, heard movement behind him, then turned around and walked straight to Kurenai Yuhi. He turned his back to her, crouched down, and said calmly:

"Get on."

Kurenai Yuhi bit her red lips tightly, anxiety on her face. Bracing her hands against the ground, she used all her strength to climb onto Ingetsu's back.

Kurenai Yuhi buried her head against Ingetsu's neck, cheek pressed to his. Her snow-white arms tightly wrapped around him, afraid he might suddenly change his mind and leave her there alone.

Ingetsu stood up with Kurenai Yuhi on his back and once again walked to the front of the group amid the strange looks from the Uchiha.

"..." Izumi blinked repeatedly, her eyes revealing envy and regret.

The group continued its escape.