Madam, You Don't Want This Either

The injuries on Konan were not complicated; the only difficult part was the poison that had spread throughout her body.

Hanzo was skilled in using poison but not in detoxifying it, so he was helpless regarding Konan's condition. His subordinate medical ninjas were even less capable.

However, this was not a problem for Hoshino Maki. In about five minutes, Hoshino Maki held Konan's hand, pricking her fingertip with a silver needle. Several streams of black blood shot out. Konan's complexion turned pale, then flushed with a faint redness.

"Hm?"

Just as Hoshino Maki was about to let go, his gaze sharpened. He lifted Konan's wrist, and as her sleeve slid down, a long, winding scar on her forearm became exceptionally conspicuous.

Hoshino Maki pulled up her sleeve, revealing several twisted scars crisscrossing her slender arm, painting a picture of hell.

Hoshino Maki looked for a while, then silently pulled down her sleeve.

His gaze fell on Konan's unconscious face. He smiled self-deprecatingly and shook his head. Then, he rolled up the clothes on her limbs, covering the 'coiled snakes' with pale blue chakra. The scars seemed to shed like snake skins upon touching the chakra, falling off piece by piece.

"Mmm~"

Konan let out a soft moan, frowned, and opened her heavy eyelids. She saw a blurry figure with a hand on her thigh.

"Ah--!!"

Bang--!

Hoshino Maki didn't know how she managed to kick so fast after just waking up from a serious illness. Although he could dodge it, considering the atmosphere, he took the hit and then fell to the ground, not too dramatically.

Rubbing the back of his head, he was about to sit up when he saw shadows engulfing him. Konan lunged forward, pressing her knees against his arms and straddling him. She leaned forward, holding a paper kunai to his throat, her eyes cold.

"Who are you?"

"Before asking, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"

Hoshino Maki seemed unfazed by the kunai at his throat, maintaining a calm demeanor.

"Don't play games."

Konan pressed the kunai against his neck, warning him.

"Is this how you treat your savior?"

"That's not you, not a reason for you to treat me like that."

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

Konan's breathing grew heavier. She bit her lower lip, her delicate willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed. She intended to teach him a lesson.

"I advise you not to move. While I understand your feelings, please put down the kunai."

A clear, cold voice came from behind. Konan was startled; someone had approached her from behind without her noticing!

She instinctively tried to sweep backward with the kunai, but halfway through lifting her hand, the cold touch on her neck made her dare not make any other move. She could only watch helplessly as a slender jade arm took the kunai away from behind her.

"Useless Pakura, that's her ninjutsu."

Looking at the paper kunai in Pakura's hand, Hoshino Maki said with a smile, "As expected of Jiraiya's student, you have some skill."

Konan's eyes became even more wary upon hearing this.

"She's Jiraiya's student?"

Pakura looked at Konan with some surprise. Although the Konoha Sannin rarely appeared anymore, their names were thunderous. She hadn't expected to meet Jiraiya's student here.

Pakura's surprised gaze made Konan feel somewhat ashamed and annoyed. If she hadn't just woken up and her body was still weak, she wouldn't have been subdued so easily.

"Konan?!"

Yahiko, wearing a new set of clothes, stood at the doorway, looking at Konan, who was already standing, with surprise.

After calling out, he realized the atmosphere was a bit off. He quickly bowed to Hoshino Maki and apologized, "Lord Hoshino, Konan just woke up. Please forgive any offense she may have caused!"

"Yahiko!"

Konan pulled down her rolled-up pant legs, her eyes slightly red, with tears welling up in her eyes.

She called out softly, her voice like a lark's, completely devoid of her previous coldness. However, her lips trembled, and she couldn't utter the rest of her words.

She realized this lecherous man was a high-ranking figure. She worried that mentioning what just happened might cause him to take his anger out on the Akatsuki.

Hoshino Maki's gaze darted between the two, his expression becoming somewhat strange.

Madam, don't you want... no, isn't this plot a bit too Japanese?

Heaven knows, Hoshino Maki was just performing scar repair surgery for her!

"It's nothing, she's fine." After speaking, Hoshino Maki felt the girl's beautiful eyes could spew fire, as if wanting to pierce him with thousands of swords.

Only then did he realize his words might have been imprecise. He quickly added, "I mean, the treatment went smoothly. She's not in any serious condition and will recover quickly with plenty of rest."

Yahiko was overjoyed upon hearing this. He stepped forward, took Konan's hand, and they knelt on the ground together. "Thank you for saving her life, my Lord!"

"Thank you."

Konan's voice was choked with sobs, as if she were holding back something.

"You're welcome, no need to thank me."

Hoshino Maki felt that continuing further was becoming dangerous, especially with someone sitting nearby, eating dessert and drinking tea, watching the show. It made him sweat.

"I'll help her fix the scar as a side job. Get this prescription filled later and apply it to the original scar. It'll be completely gone in a week."

Hoshino Maki said, writing out the prescription and handing it to Konan.

Konan's head was practically buried in her chest. Unfortunately, her "new moon" wasn't as large as a "full moon," so it couldn't hide her. Her blushing cheeks felt scorching hot.

You should have just said it was scar removal.

At this point, how could she not realize she had misunderstood? She had even kicked him and sat on him. It was utterly rude. She quickly took the prescription with both hands and thanked him sincerely.

What girl doesn't want to be beautiful? She didn't have the conditions before and was often beaten by adults. She never had the time to consider her scars; surviving was a blessing. Now...

Konan stealthily peeked up at Yahiko, then secretly pulled up her sleeve. She saw that the area on her arm where the scar used to be was now tender and pink, the best sign of new growth. She was already imagining herself with skin as fair as jade.

Hoshino Maki told the two to head to the dining hall first. He had already arranged for a lavish late-night snack to be prepared for Akatsuki and would join them shortly.

Closing the room door, Pakura couldn't wait to start mocking him. "She actually thanked you."

"Isn't it normal for a patient to thank their doctor?"

Hoshino Maki sat down next to her and poured himself a cup of tea.

"Thanking a doctor like you?"

"What's wrong with a doctor like me? Who in Sunagakure doesn't know about my Miraculous Hands Rejuvenation and Bodhisattva Heart?"

Pakura snorted. "You're just a wolf in sheep's clothing. You can't even resist touching little girls."

"I told you, I'm not interested in skeletons." Hoshino Maki leaned forward, his eyes radiating an aggressive gaze. "However, I am very interested in riding wild horses."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hoshino Maki felt a wave of tea aroma. He looked down and saw only a shallow layer of tea left in his cup.

He looked up to meet Pakura's narrowed eyes. Hoshino Maki put down his teacup and stood up as if nothing had happened. "I'll go join them for a late-night snack. Don't keep the guests waiting. Excuse me."

Pakura sat alone in the room, watching Hoshino Maki flee in a hurry. The corners of her mouth curved up almost imperceptibly, but she quickly controlled it, returning to her expressionless state as if it had been an illusion.

"Akatsuki is the dawn that will change this world! Our goal is to achieve peace through non-war methods. Countries can resolve issues and disputes through negotiation. If that doesn't work, then let Akatsuki solve it!"

Yahiko held a wine glass in one hand and slung an arm around Nagato beside him, shouting loudly.

Nagato didn't speak, just numbly nodded in agreement.

Hoshino Maki stared at the young man before him without speaking.

An orphan, pure, kind, brave, and with the legacy of a famous teacher. Whether in a passionate anime or a novel, he's the standard protagonist template.

Unfortunately, this isn't that kind of passionate anime, and this world isn't an anime either.

This world believes in bloodlines and fists. He's destined to be a supporting character, or rather, a supporting character's supporting character.

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

"Lord, do you think our ideals can be realized?"

Yahiko suddenly asked, putting down his wine glass.

He was only a year or two older than himself, but in Yahiko's eyes, the man was as mature as Lord Hanzo. The words of such a person could be of great help to him.

Hoshino Maki shook his head. "I don't know about the future, but I believe your efforts will not be in vain."

It was just ordinary words of encouragement, but Yahiko seemed greatly inspired and raised his glass to drink again.

In the courtyard separated by a wall, a pale head emerged from a pitcher plant. He stared at the figures on the sliding door, his gaze filled with contemplation.