Mina Grows Suspicious, Lets Down Her Guard

Uchiha Mina stopped in her tracks, spread open her palm, and stared at the note resting there. Cold sweat drenched her back.

"How could that be? Tunan-kun had no reason to kill her." Uchiha Mina shook her head, rejecting the thought.

She quickened her pace toward Konoha, but she could not shake the feeling that a thorn had lodged itself in her heart.

She began replaying everything that had happened today over and over in her mind.

Suddenly, Uchiha Mina noticed something wrong and came to a complete stop.

After Tunan-kun and I parted ways at the training ground today, he went in a different direction than usual.

The direction he went was this way!

Judging by the traces at the scene, that bitch's head should have been scorched by a Great Fireball.

Tunan-kun knew that ninjutsu.

If someone had intended to kill her from the start, her corpse should not have been in that position. It should have been by the shore.

As a girl, the first thing she would do upon seeing a stranger would definitely be to put on clothes.

In other words, she had walked to that spot naked.

"Gulp..."

Uchiha Mina swallowed, forcing herself not to let her imagination run wild.

Just as Uchiha Mina prepared to continue on her way, a figure suddenly appeared on the road ahead.

The figure stood against the moonlight, and Uchiha Mina could not make out who it was.

She could only vaguely tell that it was a rather short man standing with his back to her, with a bird perched on his shoulder.

Uchiha Mina felt her blood turn cold in an instant. Her legs trembled, and she could no longer move.

Fear spread from her heart throughout her entire body.

At that moment, the person slowly turned his head.

A pair of blood-red eyes lit up in the darkness, Three Tomoe revolving within them.

Uchiha Mina's eyes widened in terror. Instinctively, she opened her mouth to scream, but not a single sound came out.

In the grip of extreme fear, she had lost her voice.

"Step, step..."

The man walked toward Uchiha Mina one step at a time, each step seeming to land squarely on her chest.

As the distance between them gradually closed, Uchiha Mina finally saw the newcomer's face clearly.

It was Uchiha Tunan.

Uchiha Tunan held a vegetable basket in his hand and wore a refined, easygoing smile as he said, "Mina, I didn't expect to run into you here. Did you come out for a picnic too?"

As he spoke, he lifted the basket in his hand.

It was filled with all sorts of wild ingredients.

"Y-Yes... T-Tunan-kun."

Uchiha Mina forced a stiff smile as cold sweat streamed down her forehead.

Uchiha Tunan narrowed his eyes with a smile and gently patted the white dove on his shoulder. "Little one, go find something to eat on your own."

"Coo, coo~" The white dove called out, then spread its wings and flew into the forest.

Then Uchiha Tunan reached out and gently took hold of Uchiha Mina's fist, which was clutching the note, and said warmly, "You're in luck today. You're in for a good meal."

Uchiha Mina's mind was completely blank. She had long forgotten to resist and simply let Uchiha Tunan lead her forward.

Before long, the two arrived at an open clearing.

A bonfire burned in the middle of the clearing, with an iron pot propped above it on stones.

Uchiha Tunan led Uchiha Mina to sit before the fire, then poured the ingredients from the basket into the pot to cook.

Firelight flickered across Uchiha Tunan's face, bright one moment and dim the next.

That flawless face, once so perfect in Uchiha Mina's eyes, now looked chilling and terrifying.

Yet Uchiha Tunan made no strange move. He merely gazed calmly at the bonfire and said, "When my parents went to war, I used the living expenses they left me to buy books.

When I had nothing to eat, I would often come into the forest alone to cook outdoors."

By then, Uchiha Mina had calmed down somewhat. She tested the waters, saying, "Tunan-kun, there's something I want to ask you."

"Go ahead."

"What do you think of Senrin?" Uchiha Mina's entire body was tense. If she noticed anything wrong, she was ready to run at any moment.

Yet Uchiha Tunan showed not the slightest sign of anything unusual. As he stirred the food in the pot with his chopsticks, he said casually, "Didn't I tell you? I've always treated her like a younger sister.

"To be honest, she is pretty cute, but my feelings aren't directed at her."

"Haa..." Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Uchiha Mina secretly let out a long breath of relief.

"Mmm, that smells so good."

Uchiha Tunan picked up the only bright green mushroom in the pot with his chopsticks and held it in front of Uchiha Mina's mouth.

"Try it."

Uchiha Mina looked at the green mushroom right before her eyes.

She suddenly recalled her teacher saying in class that the more vividly colored a mushroom was, the more poisonous it tended to be.

She immediately forced a stiff smile. "No need. I'm not hungry."

Uchiha Tunan did not press her. He put the green mushroom into his mouth and chewed it, looking thoroughly pleased as he said, "It's so delicious. These are my favorite mushrooms, but unfortunately, I only found this one today."

Then he picked up a brown mushroom and put it into his mouth as well.

After finishing it, he glanced at Uchiha Mina, then picked up another brown mushroom from the pot and blew on it in front of his mouth.

Then he held it before Uchiha Mina's mouth, his expression gentle.

"Here, these mushrooms are pretty tasty too. Open up~"

Seeing that Uchiha Tunan had eaten this kind of mushroom just now, Uchiha Mina lowered her guard and opened her mouth to eat it.

A fresh fragrance bloomed across her tongue. Uchiha Mina swore she had never eaten such a delicious mushroom before.

"Is it good?"

At Uchiha Tunan's question, Uchiha Mina nodded.

"It's good."

"Then eat some more." Uchiha Tunan picked up another brown mushroom and kept blowing on it.

By now, Uchiha Mina had let down more than half of her guard.

"Tunan-kun, there's something else I want to ask you."

"Hmm?"

"Did you see Senrin today?"

"No. Why are you asking about her again?"

"I... I was just asking."

After saying that, Uchiha Mina opened her mouth and ate the mushroom held before her.

Uchiha Tunan shook his head, looking reproachful.

"You really are something else. It's dangerous for a girl to run into the forest at night.

"I heard that quite a few girls in the village have met with accidents at night recently.

"The Security Force is investigating everywhere."

As soon as he finished speaking, Uchiha Mina cried out, "Huh? Is there a pervert?"

As though he had not noticed the shock in Uchiha Mina's voice, Uchiha Tunan casually said while picking up another mushroom, "More or less a freak, I suppose. And he's not weak either. They still haven't caught him after all this time."

Uchiha Mina nodded. After hesitating for a moment, she began her final test.

"Actually, I wasn't out having a picnic. It was too hot, so I went to the river for a bath."

Uchiha Tunan smiled and reached out to ruffle Uchiha Mina's hair, his face full of affection.

"I see. Then you'd better wash yourself with clean water when you get home. The river isn't exactly clean, after all.

"If you get sick, I'll be heartbroken."

"Mmm~"

Uchiha Mina finally put her mind completely at ease. The person before her gave her an especially strong sense of security.

Mina, how could you suspect Tunan-kun? Tunan-kun is such a good person. How could he possibly be a murderer?

And he has no reason to kill that bitch.

Even if he was overcome by lust, all he had to do was say the word. What wouldn't that bitch be willing to do for him?

I'm usually so smart. How could I be so stupid at a time like this?

At that thought, a wave of guilt rose in Uchiha Mina's heart.

She began considering whether to tell Uchiha Tunan about Hyuga Senrin.

But after hesitating, she decided not to say anything.

If Tunan-kun found out, he would definitely go to that waterfall to check things out.

What if that pervert had gone back? Tunan-kun would be in danger.

This sort of thing was better left to the Security Force.

Before long, the food in the pot had been finished between them.

Uchiha Tunan stood up and dusted off his butt. "Alright, I'll walk you home. It's late, and I'm worried about you being out alone."

With that, he took Uchiha Mina's hand and headed toward Konoha.