The Three of Us Are Really Something

Kusagakure.

Natsume had no idea where Karin and her mother were, nor did he even know what they looked like.

There was no way to find them through ordinary means.

But as mobile blood banks, whenever a ninja was injured, they would definitely be brought to Karin and her mother.

That made things simple.

Block the road.

They stood on the only road leading into Kusagakure.

Natsume, Kakuzu, and Sasori stood right in the middle of the road, looking outrageously brazen.

Before long, a Kusa Ninja squad appeared.

"Hey!"

The chunin leading them looked haughty as he barked, "This is Kusagakure! Are you blind? How dare you block my way?"

Natsume and Kakuzu did not react.

Sasori raised his left arm, revealing a cannon mechanism.

"???"

The four Kusa Ninja were utterly bewildered.

Had the times changed?

The next second, the cannon launched a cylinder.

As it neared the tops of their heads, it burst into a rain of needles.

Cold needles lashed wildly across their faces.

The four screamed and collapsed, blood gushing from every patch of exposed skin.

"Get lost!"

Natsume said arrogantly, "Don't ruin the mood for the three of us."

The four scrambled toward Kusagakure for their lives.

"Now we just need to follow them."

Natsume watched their retreating backs.

Though Kakuzu and Sasori found it troublesome, the one paying was the boss, so they could only comply.

After the Kusa Ninja squad returned to Kusagakure, they headed without hesitation for a wooden house in the village.

"Quick, let me take a bite!"

The chunin said impatiently.

He had already realized that Sasori's needles were poisoned.

In only a few minutes, half his body had gone numb.

As he spoke, he rushed toward a beautiful woman with a pale face.

But the moment he started moving, he slammed on the brakes and did not dare charge any farther.

Because he saw Natsume and the other two again.

This time, Sasori did not hold back. His tail, glinting with cold light, pierced straight through him, sending blood spraying.

The remaining three tried to flee, but they could not. They too were skewered in a row.

The beautiful woman turned deathly pale at the sight, trembling as she backed into a corner.

But she did not run.

Because her newborn daughter lay on a bed not far away.

And after seeing Sasori's strength just now, she knew running would be useless.

All she could do now was pray that they would spare her.

After all, they bore each other no grudge.

Natsume turned around, and his eyes could not help lighting up.

She was quite beautiful.

Actually, Karin alone made that obvious.

Of course, beauty was not the important part.

Having lived with Tsunade for so long, Natsume had built up some resistance to beautiful women.

What left the deepest impression on him was Karin's mother's temperament.

Four words: delicate and pitiful.

Combined with her pale face and those frightened eyes that seemed to brim with tears, that air about her became even more pronounced.

If you added her background into the mix, "miserable" hardly began to cover it.

"Where's your husband?" Natsume glanced at the baby on the bed and asked.

"He's already dead." The beautiful woman's voice trembled slightly.

It was obvious she was not grieving. Her trembling came from fear of Sasori and the others.

Come to think of it, how could she possibly have found true love in Kusagakure?

"Take your daughter and come with me." Natsume did not ask her name, mainly because he was worried she might say the word "Uzumaki" and make Kakuzu and Sasori suspicious.

The beautiful woman froze on the spot, at a complete loss.

"What? Do you like Kusagakure that much?" Natsume saw her hesitation and distrust. "You don't want your daughter to end up with the same future as you, do you?"

The woman's heart trembled.

Her life had already been unbearably bitter.

If she stayed in Kusagakure, her daughter would not escape disaster either.

Things could hardly get any worse. She might as well follow these three Mysterious People—perhaps there was still a chance for things to turn around.

"Someone's coming." Kakuzu raised his head and glanced toward the door. "Quite a few of them. They're all ninja."

Karin and her mother were extremely valuable, practically the equivalent of Medical Ninja. Naturally, people were stationed outside to watch them.

Moreover, this was the heart of Kusagakure. Any disturbance here would be easily noticed.

"Leave them to you two." Natsume was utterly unruffled.

These were Kakuzu and Sasori.

The three of us are ridiculously strong.

As long as we don't run into someone piloting a Gundam, we can swagger across the Shinobi World.

Kusagakure, please. You're so weak.

But the beautiful woman wore a panicked, pitiful expression, the kind that inspired sympathy at first sight.

Then, in the next instant, her eyes went wide.

Kakuzu kicked the door flying. His hands formed seals, and his shoulders twisted as countless black tendrils burst out.

A mask emerged from the tendrils, followed by a roaring blaze.

In an instant, savage flames engulfed the entire street outside, leaving only the wooden house where Natsume and the others stood untouched.

The many ninja the woman had seen all became familiar faces.

She stood there blankly for several seconds, then picked up Karin, turned around, and followed them.

A wise man submits to circumstances.

Any further hesitation would be disrespecting the strength of those three.

Who knew what excessive things they might do to a lone woman and child?

So it was better to obediently listen.

Natsume walked down the street.

Kakuzu and Sasori guarded both sides of him. No Kusa Ninja who approached survived longer than three seconds.

The beautiful woman held Karin in her arms, trembling as she prayed inwardly.

The four of them, plus the infant, left Kusagakure without incident.

No ninja pursued them, because Kakuzu and Sasori had slaughtered them until they lost all courage.

They died, reinforcements came; the reinforcements died, more reinforcements were sent; then those reinforcements died too.

After several waves, the Kusa Ninja all understood that the three of them were invincible.

"Do you have a more stable puppet?" Natsume glanced at Karin, who was still an infant. "I can pay extra. Two hundred thousand ryo."

Sasori's lifeless eyes shifted. With a casual motion, he tossed out another puppet.

It resembled some kind of reptile.

At the very least, it looked like a mount.

Sasori was not as obsessed with money as Kakuzu, but since he had joined the Akatsuki Organization, doing his share of the work was necessary.

Besides, making puppets cost money too.

This thing was like anime figures or Gundam models from his previous life—it was all money.

Why would he turn down free money?

The beautiful woman looked astonished.

Two hundred thousand ryo was no small sum.

Especially in impoverished Kusagakure, where it was worth even more.

Yet Natsume had tossed it out without a second thought, which showed just how wealthy he was.

"Get on."

After jumping onto the Crawling Puppet, Natsume waved to the beautiful woman.

She did not hesitate and climbed onto its back as well.

Panels rose up around them, blocking out all the wind and sand.

Natsume's eyes lit up.

Now this was service worthy of two hundred thousand ryo.

"What's your name?"

"Uzumaki Ena."

After answering, the beautiful woman asked anxiously, "My lord, what do you intend to do with us?"

"Don't worry. I won't treat you the way Kusagakure did."

Natsume waved a hand and said, "You'll find out in a couple of days."

Uzumaki Ena could not bring herself to ask further and could only wait anxiously for her fate.

She only hoped he was telling the truth.

If she could escape life in Kusagakure, that would be a blessing indeed.

A moment later, Karin suddenly began to cry.

Uzumaki Ena hurriedly said, "My lord, please do not take offense. My daughter was only just born, so she must be hungry."

As she said this, a faint blush appeared on her face. She turned around, presenting her back to Natsume.

Soon, Karin stopped crying, and at the same time, a faint fragrance drifted through the cramped space.

Everyone, considering that I basically post three updates a day, please keep following along. It's really very important.