Kurenai Yuhi's resolve

[Editor's note: This chapter has been edited to remove content that breaks our content rules.]

“No.” Kurenai Yuhi looked perfectly serious. “Yangxing, are you going back to the Leaf Village?”

“This kid ran away from the Leaf?” Tsunade froze, then turned to stare at Yangxing with a deep frown. “Brat, why aren’t you staying in the village and studying like you should? What are you doing out here? Don’t you know how dangerous it is?”

“Yangxing didn’t run away. He’s someone the Fourth Hokage acknowledged—”

“Ah! Kurenai, I really never expected you to find me so quickly. I’m so touched!” Yangxing rushed forward and clasped her hands. His pointed wink made her stop talking.

“Acknowledged by the Fourth? What does that mean?”

“N-nothing.” Kurenai lowered her head and obediently fell silent.

That only made Tsunade more suspicious. Her expression grew increasingly grave as she looked between the two of them.

Kurenai was thrilled to see Yangxing again, her face flushed with excitement.

She had hurried over as though she had a thousand things to say, yet in the end she managed only one question.

“Yangxing, is it really impossible for you to return to the Leaf?”

Her reddened eyes held a trace of hope.

But Yangxing’s resolve would not change.

“Yes. You should already know about that.”

“I understand.” Her expression dimmed slightly. Then she looked up and said simply, “But there’s something I want to tell you, too.”

“No matter how long it takes, I’ll wait for you.”

This was the answer she had arrived at after several days of thought, the only thing she felt she could offer him in return.

However long it took—even ten or twenty years—she would wait.

That was Kurenai’s resolve.

Still easily embarrassed, she turned and ran off with a red face as