Madam, You Wouldn't Want To

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Konan's injuries weren't complicated. The only difficult part was the poison that had already spread throughout her body.

Hanzo was skilled with poison, but not at curing it, so he was at a loss when it came to Konan's condition. His Medical Ninjas were even less capable of helping.

But this was no problem for Hoshino Maki. After about five minutes, he took Konan's hand and pricked her fingertip with a Silver Needle. Several streams of black blood shot out. Konan's face turned pale, then gradually took on a faint blush.

"Hmm?"

Just as Hoshino Maki was about to let go, his gaze sharpened. He lifted Konan's wrist, and her sleeve slid down, revealing a long, crooked scar that stood out on her forearm.

Hoshino Maki pushed up her sleeve. Several twisted scars crisscrossed her slender arm, forming a scene straight out of a hellscape.

Hoshino Maki looked at them for a moment, then silently pulled her sleeve back down.

His gaze shifted to Konan's unconscious face. He gave a self-deprecating smile and shook his head, then rolled up the clothes covering her limbs. Pale blue Chakra coated his palm as he pressed it against those "serpents." The scars seemed to turn into shed snake skins at his touch, peeling away piece by piece.

"Mmm..."

Konan let out a soft moan and furrowed her brows. She opened her heavy eyelids and saw a blurry figure, whose hand was resting on her thigh.

"Ah—!!"

Thud!

Hoshino Maki had no idea how she managed to kick so quickly when she'd only just recovered from a serious illness. He could have dodged, but given the mood, he decided to take the hit and fell to the ground without too much theatrics.

He rubbed the back of his head and was just about to sit up when a shadow swept over him. Konan lunged forward, pinning his arms with her knees as she straddled him. Leaning over him, she pressed a paper Kunai to his neck, her gaze icy.

"Who are you?"

"Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking me?"

Hoshino Maki seemed not to notice the Kunai at his throat. He remained perfectly composed.

"Don't try anything."

Konan pressed the Kunai against his neck as a warning.

"Is this how you treat the person who saved your life?"

"That doesn't give you the right to do that to me."

Hoshino Maki rolled his eyes. "Don't worry. I'm not interested in a skeleton."

Konan's breathing grew heavier. She bit her pink lips, her slender brows rising as she prepared to teach him a lesson.

"I wouldn't move if I were you. I understand how you feel, but please put the Kunai down."

A cool voice came from behind her. Konan's heart leaped. Someone had managed to sneak up behind her without making a sound!

She instinctively tried to sweep her Kunai backward, but halfway through the motion, she felt something cold against her neck and froze. All she could do was watch as a slender arm reached around from behind and took the Kunai from her.

"Don't bother, Pakura. That's her Ninjutsu."

Looking at the paper Kunai in Pakura's hand, Hoshino Maki smiled. "She's Jiraiya's student, after all. She has some skill."

At his words, Konan grew even more wary.

"She's Jiraiya's student?"

Pakura looked at Konan in surprise. The Konoha Sannin had rarely been active for some time, but their names were renowned. She hadn't expected to meet Jiraiya's student here.

Pakura's surprised look made Konan feel a little embarrassed. If she hadn't just woken up and still been weak, she wouldn't have been subdued so easily.

"Konan?!"

Yahiko stood in the doorway wearing a new outfit, looking delighted to see Konan already on her feet.

Only after calling out did he notice the tense atmosphere. He hurriedly bowed to Hoshino Maki and apologized. "Lord Hoshino, Konan just woke up. Please forgive her if she offended you!"

"Yahiko!"

Konan pulled down her rolled-up trouser legs. Her eyes were red, tears glistening in them.

She called out softly, her voice like a lark's, nothing like her cold tone from before. Her lips moved, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything more.

She realized this lecherous man was an important figure with considerable power. She worried that if she told him what had just happened, he might take his anger out on Akatsuki.

Hoshino Maki's gaze moved between them, and his expression turned a little strange.

Madam, you wouldn't want to... No, wasn't this plot a little too Japanese?

Heaven as his witness, Hoshino Maki had only been helping her with scar removal!

"Nothing's wrong. She's fine." As soon as he finished speaking, he felt the girl's beautiful eyes practically spitting fire, as if she wanted to pierce him with a thousand swords.

Only then did he realize his words might have been a little unclear. He quickly added, "I mean the treatment went smoothly. She's out of danger. She'll recover soon if she gets plenty of rest."

Yahiko was overjoyed. He stepped forward and knelt on the ground with Konan. "Thank you for saving her, sir!"

"Thank you..."

Konan's voice choked, as if she were trying hard to hold something back.

"You're welcome. No need to thank me."

Hoshino Maki also felt that staying any longer might be dangerous, especially with someone nearby watching the show while sipping tea and eating sweets. That made him sweat even more.

"I also helped remove her scars. Follow this prescription and apply the medicine to the areas where the scars used to be. They'll disappear completely in a week."

As he spoke, Hoshino Maki finished writing the prescription and handed it to Konan.

Konan's head was practically buried in her chest. Unfortunately, a new moon couldn't compare to a full moon, so there was no way she could hide herself. Her flushed cheeks burned hot.

You should've said you were removing my scars!

By now, she knew she'd misunderstood. She'd even kicked him and sat on top of him. She'd been terribly rude. She hurriedly accepted the prescription with both hands and sincerely thanked him.

What girl didn't want to look beautiful? In the past, she'd had no means to take care of herself and was often beaten by adults. She'd had no time to think about the scars on her body; surviving had been enough. Now...

Konan secretly glanced up at Yahiko, then furtively rolled up her sleeve. The skin where the scars had been was now tender and pink, the clearest sign of new growth. She was already imagining herself with smooth, flawless skin all over.

Hoshino Maki told the two of them to go to the dining hall first. He'd already had someone prepare a lavish late-night meal for Akatsuki and would join them shortly.

As soon as the door closed, Pakura couldn't wait to mock him. "She even thanked you."

"Isn't it normal for patients to thank their doctors?"

Hoshino Maki sat beside her and poured himself a cup of tea.

"Doctors like you?"

"What's wrong with me? Everyone in Sunagakure knows I have Miraculous Hands Rejuvenation and a Bodhisattva Heart."

Pakura snorted. "You're nothing but a beast in human clothing. You'd even prey on a little girl like that."

"I told you, I'm not interested in a skeleton." Hoshino Maki leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with predatory intent. "But I am interested in riding a wild horse."

As soon as he finished speaking, he caught a whiff of tea. Looking down, he saw that only a shallow layer remained in his cup.

He looked up and met Pakura's narrowed eyes. Setting down the cup, Hoshino Maki stood up as if nothing had happened. "I'll go have a late-night meal with them. We shouldn't keep our guests waiting. Excuse me."

Pakura sat alone in the room and watched Hoshino Maki flee in disarray. The corner of her mouth lifted almost imperceptibly, but she quickly suppressed it and returned to her usual expressionless face, as though she hadn't smiled at all.

"Akatsuki is the dawn that will change all this! Our goal is to bring peace without war. Countries can resolve their problems through negotiation and settle their disputes with each other. If that still doesn't work... then Akatsuki will step in!"

Yahiko held a cup in one hand and an arm around Nagato with the other as he shouted.

Nagato didn't say anything, only nodding along vacantly.

Hoshino Maki watched the boy in front of him without speaking.

An orphan, pure-hearted, kind, brave, and trained by a famous teacher. In a shonen series or a novel, he'd be a textbook protagonist.

Too bad this wasn't a shonen series, and this world wasn't an anime.

This world believed in bloodlines and brute strength. Yahiko was fated to be a supporting character—or, more accurately, a supporting character's supporting character.

Hoshino Maki glanced at the somewhat shy Nagato. So... how many floors could one bag of rice carry?

"Sir, do you think our ideal can come true?"

Yahiko set down his cup and asked out of the blue.

He was only a year or two older than Hoshino Maki, but in Yahiko's eyes, Hoshino Maki seemed as mature as Lord Hanzo. Advice from someone like him could be a tremendous help.

Hoshino Maki shook his head. "I don't know what the future holds, but I believe your efforts won't be in vain."

It was just a platitude, but Yahiko seemed deeply encouraged by it and raised his cup for another long drink.

In the courtyard beyond the wall, a pale head poked out from the Pitcher Plant. It stared at the shadow behind the sliding door, a thoughtful look in its eyes.