Farewell!

A ninja's work efficiency far surpassed that of ordinary people.

In just half an hour, Hyuga Bin and Konan worked together to finish repairing the ruined house.

That was only because Hyuga Bin did not know Wood Release, so it took him half an hour.

If it had been a ninja who knew Wood Release, such as Hashirama Senju, a single Art of House Repair—just clap their hands together—and the house could have been restored.

"Konan-kun, do you want to go inside and take a look?" During the repairs, Hyuga Bin had noticed that Konan had not entered the room even once.

"No. I'll go in and look next time with Yahiko and Nagato." Konan smiled and shook her head.

"Alright."

"Bin-kun, let's go catch fish now." Having repaired the house, Konan was in quite a good mood and felt it was time to get down to "serious business" with Hyuga Bin.

"Sure." Hyuga Bin smiled and nodded.

"We need to prepare a few wooden sticks and sharpen their tips."

As Konan led Hyuga Bin toward the river, she searched for wooden sticks of suitable size and hardness for spearing fish.

There were many different kinds of trees in the Land of Rain, but some were too soft. They would not work for spearing fish, since they could easily fail to pierce them.

Fish had to be speared with hard wooden sticks. The harder, the better!

"How about we just use Water Release?" Watching Konan search through the sticks one by one, Hyuga Bin made a suggestion.

With his ninjutsu, he could blow up a whole pile of fish at once.

"If we use ninjutsu, wouldn't that take away the fun of catching fish?" Konan replied with a smile as she reached out and found a long, slender wooden stick.

This was the kind of stick she needed.

Konan cut off the stick with her knife, sharpened one end, then handed it to Hyuga Bin and continued searching for another.

Hyuga Bin took the stick and gave it a practice swing. It felt like hitting a fish should be easy enough.

After walking and searching for over ten minutes, Hyuga Bin and Konan arrived at the small river and began today's fishing operation.

Hyuga Bin stepped directly into the river and began catching fish.

Since no one lived nearby, there were quite a few fish in the river.

Hyuga Bin quickly spotted one and thrust the wooden stick down hard, but missed.

Without using Chakra, catching fish clearly required a certain amount of skill.

"Bin-kun, let me teach you."

Seeing Hyuga Bin miss despite putting force into it, Konan smiled and walked closer, holding the stick together with him.

"Bin-kun, first, you need to grip it tightly like this...

Then, approach slowly. You can lower it a little into the water...

When the distance is this short...

Then, while the fish isn't paying attention, thrust hard..."

As she demonstrated, Konan and Hyuga Bin stood face-to-face, less than an arm's length apart.

"I understand." Hyuga Bin grasped Konan's technique. When he raised his head, his eyes met hers.

The atmosphere became a little ambiguous.

The next moment, they both turned their heads away and stepped back.

"I'll try it first and see if it works." Pretending that nothing had happened, Hyuga Bin took the wooden stick and began looking for his next target.

With the powerful vision of the Byakugan, Hyuga Bin found another fish.

Imitating the stance and technique Konan had just taught him, Hyuga Bin thrust down.

A direct hit!

"Bin-kun, you're really good." Seeing Hyuga Bin master it immediately, Konan could not help praising him.

"How do I compare to Yahiko and Nagato?"

"You're much better than them. They were terrible at first and only managed it after several tries."

"Haha..."

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

Having had enough fun, Hyuga Bin said goodbye to Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan before setting off back to the village.

Aside from secretly leaving the three of them some Land of Fire banknotes, Hyuga Bin merely chatted with them about their ideals and future.

Although he did not like Konoha's current upper ranks very much, as a Konoha ninja, he still accepted those rules.

Besides, Jiraiya had already taught Yahiko's group the basic ninjutsu Hyuga Bin could have given them. They only needed to teach it to the members of the Akatsuki Organization.

Before his departure, Nagato Uzumaki was still busy "hauling bricks and mining," while Yahiko was tied up dealing with matters concerning the organization and the villages under its protection. Therefore, only Konan came to see Hyuga Bin off.

Hyuga Bin and Konan walked outside the settlement.

When they stopped, Konan handed Hyuga Bin a bag. "Bin-kun, I made this sushi. Eat it on the road."

"Konan-kun, thank you." Hyuga Bin accepted the bag and thanked her.

As friends, he would not reject Konan's kindness.

"And this." Konan handed Hyuga Bin a beautifully folded paper airplane and gave him a charming smile. "Bin-kun, you can only unfold it after you've left the Land of Rain."

Konan's somewhat flirtatious words made Hyuga Bin's heart skip a beat.

Then he cursed himself inwardly:

Coveting another man's wife—how am I any different from Cao Cao?

"Konan-kun, then let me give you a sentence too." After accepting the paper airplane, Hyuga Bin took out a pen and paper and began writing.

[The sky is actually very blue; after the rain, it will always clear. The sea is not so wide; this shore connects to the other. Tears can also be sweet, as long as your heart's wish is fulfilled.]

"Alright, I'm leaving, Konan-kun. I'll come play with you again when I have time." Handing the bit of comforting advice to Konan, Hyuga Bin waved to her, then turned and left with a smile.

Konan stood where she was, watching Hyuga Bin's figure gradually recede until it vanished from sight. Only then did she turn around and return to the settlement.

Hyuga Bin also followed Konan's instructions. Only after leaving the Land of Rain did he take the paper airplane from his pocket and unfold it.

[I used to occasionally hear people say that true friends are hard to find, and one is enough. Yet after having Yahiko and Nagato, I was fortunate enough to meet you as well. This fortune makes me content and happy, but I also know that no bond comes easily, so I cherish how rare it is that we met so unexpectedly. Bin-kun, no matter when, you will always be my good friend.]

After reading Konan's letter, Hyuga Bin was moved, but also somewhat worried.

He did not want the innocent trio to suffer pain and hardship like they had in the original story once again.

"You must remember what I said... Don't make me watch the original plot all over again!"