Karin opened her eyes and cheerfully slapped a tree branch.
In an instant.
A wooden slide appeared on the branch.
Karin simply sat on the slide and slid down.
"Hello~
I'm Karin~"
"Wood Release?"
Izumi glanced at Karin in surprise.
Only then did she smile and say, "I'm Violet."
Once she smiled, her large eyes immediately curved into crescent moons.
Making her look extremely gentle and adorable.
"Please take care of me from now on!"
"Please take care of me too~"
After the two girls briefly introduced themselves, they headed straight for Kirigakure.
Their mission this time was to go to Kirigakure and abduct... rescue a little girl!
Since they belonged to the same organization.
And were both girls around twelve years old.
There was no generation gap between them.
Moreover, both were kind by nature.
So before long, the two became familiar with each other.
Their conversation gradually became more "girlish" too.
"Violet, do you have someone you like?
I remember that the flower language of purple violets is 'falling in love with you in a dream'!
Who have you loved in your dreams?"
"Uh..."
Izumi's face reddened at that.
"For me, it was just a dream~
It's impossible between us!"
"Huh?
There's something going on?"
Karin leaned her face over. "Tell me!
Tell me!"
"I can't!"
"You have to!"
Karin reached out to tickle Izumi's armpits.
The two girls began fooling around like that.
Although, considering their strength.
Such behavior was extremely childish.
But.
Karin had been lonely since childhood and had never experienced friendship.
Izumi had suffered the destruction of her clan and was filled with immense sorrow.
Therefore, at that moment, both of them were enjoying the warmth of friendship.
"Hahaha...
All right, all right, I surrender!"
After fooling around for a while.
Izumi laughingly pushed Karin away.
Then she revealed a secret, forcibly changing the subject.
"I can't tell you about that person.
But I can tell you about someone else!
Hmm~
My first love."
"Your first love?"
Karin was somewhat curious. "Why don't you like him anymore?"
"Because he killed my entire family."
"Uh..."
Seeing Izumi, whose entire body seemed to radiate chill, Karin couldn't help but shudder inwardly.
"If he had only killed me.
I could have forgiven him and understood his difficulties.
I might even have forgiven him.
But he killed my entire family.
For his younger brother, and for the so-called peace of the village.
He treated the entire clan as a sacrifice.
He slaughtered the whole clan.
Unforgivable.
No matter what difficulties he had, he was unforgivable!
Back then, I watched helplessly as my family died before my eyes.
Such a deep hatred.
I wanted nothing more than to cut him down with a single slash.
Those hazy feelings I once had all vanished that night.
They turned into hatred."
Looking at Izumi as she calmly described such a shocking event, Karin couldn't help feeling a little afraid.
"Y-You couldn't possibly be planning to kill him, right?!"
"Kill him?"
Izumi shook her head with a smile. "After the Holy Lord opened my eyes, I decided to sever my ties with the past.
Because when I thought about it carefully.
Killing him would be letting him off far too easily.
It would be better to let him live in good health.
Let him live in eternal pain.
How many floors can one sack of rice be carried up? A sack of rice can be carried up to the second floor!"
"Uh..."
Karin's eyes immediately turned into blank white circles.
"H-How terrifying..."
"Don't worry~"
Izumi's eyes curved into crescents as she looked at Karin.
"The mission comes first!
I won't disobey the Holy Lord's orders.
Whatever the Holy Lord tells me to do, I'll do~"
At that moment.
Her cheeks flushed slightly.
Because she had thought of that dream again...
Back then, after Bai Hao revived her.
Although Bai Hao's power had constantly restrained her, leaving her unconscious.
She had a hazy memory of everything that had happened at the time.
For example, Bai Hao gently feeding her food and water, gently tucking her in, gently easing her muscles, and gently helping her use the toilet...
Although it was somewhat embarrassing.
Since it was a dream, her mind naturally added some beautiful imaginings.
For example...
The two of them greeting each other beneath the cherry trees in the morning, leisurely strolling along streets covered in golden ginkgo leaves at dusk.
Sometimes teasing cats, sometimes standing atop the Hokage Rock and talking about love, and sometimes chatting about romance in a dango shop.
Later, she suffered severe injuries and became disabled.
Bai Hao still never left her.
He took care of her with great gentleness.
Such a beautiful dream.
A beautiful dream completely opposite to that unforgettable, terrifying nightmare.
Made her utterly infatuated.
After waking up, she was surprised to discover.
Her dream lover had actually become the Holy Lord!
This shocked her, but also left her somewhat disappointed.
So she prepared to bury this impossible love deep in her heart.
The name Violet had also come from this dream.
However.
Bai Hao, who did not know the truth, had misunderstood.
He thought she was still thinking about Itachi Uchiha.
He had even added at the end, "I hope you wake from your dream soon."
"Hehehe..."
Karin pushed up her glasses and let out two dry laughs.
"That's good~"
With that, she began changing the subject.
"By the way!
Before you continue