"Master, I don't want to go back to Konoha."
Shisui Uchiha rose to his feet, gently patted Misa on the shoulder, then stepped in front of her and addressed the red-haired young man.
Uzumaki Kuming's arrival had caught Shisui completely by surprise. He'd known Konoha would send ninja to search for his squad, but he hadn't expected his master to come looking for him.
Now that he was facing Kuming, Shisui felt deeply guilty. His actions had practically amounted to deserting the village.
After losing contact with the village while on a mission, his squad hadn't tried to get in touch as soon as possible. Instead, they'd hidden in a small village.
Claiming that he'd been too badly injured to contact the village would only fool someone who didn't know the truth. Though Shisui was blind, he could still use Chakra. As Kuming's disciple, he could have easily contacted Konoha by summoning a toad from Mount Myoboku.
And now, he'd even told Kuming he didn't want to return to the village. That was going too far.
Sure enough, Kuming's brow furrowed at Shisui's words. Mei Terumi and the other Mist Ninja stared at Shisui in astonishment. His way of addressing Kuming had given them a clue about his identity, but they hadn't expected him to say something like that, not when he was Kuming's disciple.
"Your eyes—I'll find a way to heal them. You don't need to worry."
"If you don't want to go back to Konoha right now, then you don't have to. Stay here for a while. Whenever you feel ready to return, you can go back."
Kuming fell silent for a long moment, then looked at Misa, who stood behind Shisui. He was a little surprised, but unlike the Mist Ninja, he didn't take the rules and