Konoha Specialty: Quantum Mechanics Apples

Konoha Specialty: Quantum Mechanics Apples

Sigh! After leaving the dim base, sunlight streamed through the holes in his mask and into his pupils. Asuka raised a hand to block the light, then looked back at the fellow recruits filing out behind him. Why were these people avoiding him??

"Hey, should we get some grilled—"

Before he could finish, the new Anbu recruits all quickened their pace and ran even faster.

When they heard the captain say that this guy's Summoning Beast was a Ninja Cat, they had guessed he might be an Uchiha. But they had not expected this Uchiha to beat up the captain right away.

Although the beating had been at the captain's request, he had hit far too hard.

As expected of an Uchiha. He was ruthless. Judging by her figure, the captain must be quite beautiful. Ruthless. From that alone, it was easy to conclude that someone who did not know how to treat women gently probably would not be very considerate of his teammates either.

Whoosh~ A light breeze passed by, and Asuka's raised arm froze in midair.

He scratched his head, then looked at the budding branches overhead, unable to stop himself from grumbling inwardly.

He had heard long ago that Anbu did not interact much, but surely it was not this little. What was wrong with having a barbecue to build some camaraderie?

"Hey, you're not going to avoid me too, are you?"

Just then, Asuka saw Yuhi Kurenai slowly walk out from inside.

He used the Body Flicker Technique to arrive beside Kurenai, walking shoulder to shoulder with her as he continued.

"Long time no see!"

"Long time no see!"

Yuhi Kurenai replied blandly.

She was three years younger than Asuka. They were neither particularly familiar nor unfamiliar. Back at the Ninja Academy, they had often run into each other, and whenever he passed by her, he would stare at her eyes for a long time.

She had often been complimented on her beautiful eyes, but in all her life, she had only once been praised for them by an Uchiha clansman who took pride in the Sharingan.

"Kurenai, which Jonin from the Sarutobi family is our Squad Leader today? Why do I feel like I've never seen her before?"

At that, Kurenai's red eyes shifted slightly to the left. After catching sight of Asuka's clear gaze and seeing none of the lecherous look he might have shown upon seeing the captain's fiery figure, she said softly, "She is Third Hokage-sama's daughter-in-law. She has been in the Anbu ever since we were at the Jonin Academy. I met her once when Third Hokage-sama invited me to his home as a guest."

Was that so?? Asuka blinked, recalling the weddings Konoha had held since he had arrived in this world.

It seemed he had indeed never attended a wedding held by the Sarutobi family.

The number of times the old Third Hokage had invited him to his office as a guest could be counted on one hand.

The favoritism was far too obvious.

Land of Fire, Konoha, Medical Department, top floor.

Asuka carried fruit in one hand and flowers in the other as he strolled leisurely from the east end of the hallway toward the west.

When he had gone to chat with those Sand Ninja earlier, he had learned something unexpected.

Pakura had not been discharged yet.

Counting on his fingers, he realized it had already been seven days since their fight.

The skills of Konoha Medical Department personnel varied, but it was only a muscle injury. With Pakura's recovery speed, she should have been mostly healed in three days.

Was she trying to scam him?

At that moment, a ninja in brown clothes blocked Asuka's path and asked, "You're here to visit Sunagakure's Pakura too, right?"

"Mm!" Asuka nodded. Looking at the Konoha forehead protector on the man's head, he asked in surprise, "How did you know?"

"Many ninjas in the village have family members or companions who died at the hands of Sunagakure. When they learned that Pakura was bedridden, they all wanted to come visit her with kunai in hand."

As he spoke, the man scratched his head, looking somewhat troubled. "Let me give you some friendly advice.

"Sunagakure and Konoha are about to form an alliance, and the village higher-ups have ordered that nothing must happen to Sunagakure's ninjas here.

"Besides, even if you do see Pakura, you'll only be throwing your life away. She is truly very strong."

"Oh~" Asuka craned his head toward the ward. At the entrance in the distance, two Sand Ninja stood with cold expressions, glaring fiercely at their surroundings like door guardians.

He now understood a little better what he might face when he went to Sunagakure.

He really might get beaten up...

Asuka patted the man on the shoulder, then pulled out a document from his pocket and handed it over. "The village has assigned me to Sunagakure for friendly exchanges. I'm here to ask Pakura about a few things."

"Ah? Is that so?"

After taking the document, the man gave it a brief inspection, then moved aside to the left and made enough room for Asuka to pass.

So he really was the ninja representing Konoha in an exchange with Sunagakure.

Watching Asuka's departing back, the ninja could not help sighing inwardly.

Far more Sunagakure people had died at Konoha's hands than Konoha people had died at Sunagakure's. His life in Sunagakure probably would not be very pleasant.

Pakura lay on her side in the hospital bed, studying the latest intelligence from the shinobi world.

Konoha held the advantage against Kirigakure.

Konoha and Kumogakure were evenly matched, but because Iwagakure had withdrawn its forces en masse, Kumogakure had pulled many ninjas from the battlefield to guard against a sneak attack by Iwagakure.

Iwagakure had withdrawn its troops to defend against a Kumogakure sneak attack and was negotiating a ceasefire agreement with Konoha...

"Konoha has stabilized the situation again!"

Pakura's wistful voice echoed through the room.

"This time, Konoha has won again. I wonder what the daimyo will do to the village next."

She tossed the upsetting intelligence aside, folded her hands over her stomach, and closed her eyes to regulate her breathing.

It was a rare moment of peace. Other than sleeping, she did not know what else to do.

There was no need for her to personally gather intelligence.

There was no need for her to bargain with the daimyo either.

With the war ending, she suddenly realized that she had become incredibly, incredibly idle. Creak!

Pakura had only just closed her eyes when she heard the door suddenly open. Then came soft footsteps and the cautious sound of a chair being moved.

What were those people doing coming in? Hadn't they agreed not to disturb her, not even at mealtime?

They had already paid Konoha so much compensation that the village might suffer a famine later. How could she have any appetite now?

Hearing faint rustling beside her, Pakura opened her eyes in displeasure.

Turning her head, she saw a familiar figure sitting in a chair not far from the bed with one leg crossed over the other. A small knife rested in his right hand as he focused intently on peeling an apple.

Sunlight shone through the window onto the black-haired youth, seeming to gild him with a faint golden edge. Paired with his handsome face, it was difficult to look away.

At that moment, the ward, filled with a faint fragrance, was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard. Only the sound of fruit being peeled came from nearby, bringing an inexplicable calm.

Uchiha people really were beautiful when they were beautiful.

Pakura silently watched Asuka's face for a long time before finally asking, "What are you doing here?"

"You're awake?"

Asuka looked at Pakura in surprise, then lowered his gaze to the half-peeled apple in his hand. As he continued peeling, he said, "You haven't been discharged after all this time, so I came to visit."

At that, Pakura turned her head away and sneered. "What would I be discharged for? To go out and endure the insults and cold stares of your Konoha villagers?"

"That's true!" Asuka took a bite of the apple, stood up, and walked to Pakura's bedside. "Quite a lot of people died at the hands of you Sunagakure people.

"Unfortunately, I was on another battlefield during the Third Shinobi World War, so I never had the chance to fight you."

"You have the chance now!"

Seeing the intense Battle Intent in her eyes as she kept staring at him, Asuka suddenly felt that the apple in his mouth had become less sweet.

Not very sweet. That dishonest vendor fooled me again. "My body healed long ago—"

Halfway through her sentence, Pakura's lips curled up. Seeing Asuka's stunned expression, she extended her fair, slender right hand from beneath the blanket toward the Ninja Tool pouch on the cabinet, provoking him. "Now that you know I'm healed, are you afraid?"

Hm? Her arm had only just reached halfway when she sensed something suddenly appear in her palm. She gave it a light squeeze, then stared at the fully peeled apple in her hand, stunned for a long while.

"Pakura, this may be the final great melee between our major shinobi villages. For the time ahead, we should enjoy this brief peace."

Looking down at the astonishment on Pakura's face, Asuka's gaze slowly moved upward to the Sunagakure forehead protector on her brow. The corner of his mouth twitched.

He had nearly forgotten. In the future, Sunagakure would join forces with Orochimaru and kill the old Third Hokage.

Sigh! Still, the future shinobi world would be peaceful overall.

Crunch!

A crisp bite of apple pulled Asuka back from his thoughts. Watching Pakura take small bites from the apple, he told her what he had learned that morning.

"In the future, I'll be going to your Sunagakure as Konoha's medical representative for a while. I'll exchange medical ninjutsu insights with your Medical Department and learn some medical knowledge from Chiyo-sama."

"Heh~"

Pakura looked at Asuka with a half-smile and said slowly, "Did you know? Your village has sent representatives to exchange insights before, but those people often had accidents.

"For example, a tailed beast might go berserk, a ninjutsu might miss its target, an Exploding Tag might accidentally land in your home, or even drinking a mouthful of well water might poison you."

Hearing that, Asuka rubbed his chin with one hand and frowned. "By your account, wouldn't my days in Sunagakure be very difficult?"

Seeing the bitter look on Asuka's face, Pakura took a bite of her apple and said casually, "Not necessarily. If you become my slave, you won't have to worry about any threats from the village."

The moment she finished speaking, Pakura's chewing stopped. Her eyes shifted slightly as she looked at the hand suddenly pinching her cheek, then glared at Asuka with an unfriendly expression and demanded, "What are you doing?"

"I'm seeing how thick your skin is, for you to say something like that without changing expression."

Seeing the dangerous look in her eyes, Asuka ignored it and placed the flowers he had brought into the vase beside her. Then he said seriously, "The last time you came to Konoha, I sent you straight to the hospital. Although I carried you for a long time afterward, you probably weren't in the mood to appreciate Konoha's scenery then.

"It's rare for you to come here. It would be such a waste to stay in the hospital room all day. This afternoon, I'll take you around Konoha.

"In return, you can show me around Sunagakure when I get there."

At that moment, a breeze rose outside the window, making the white curtains rustle softly.

As she looked at Asuka's serious expression and remembered how he had carried her for a very long way, repeatedly stopping the civilians throwing things at her and the Konoha Ninja trying to harm her, she no longer felt like continuing the conversation.

After she slowly finished the apple bite by bite, he took the core from her hand and tossed it into the trash.

Pakura accepted a damp towel and wiped her hands. Then she turned to look out the window. Listening to the laughter drifting in from the street, her thoughts drifted back to her village.

Her student, "Maki," would probably like Konoha's apples.

They were quite sweet.