Ambushed

After saying goodbye to Gaara, Hui also left Sunagakure with the caravan and headed to the meeting point. The caravan members glanced nervously at Hui Youling. Their return journey should have been exciting after earning so much money, but instead, it had become silent and tense.

Hui walked straight over to the caravan leader. Sweating nervously, he asked, "C-c-can we leave now?"

Hui's calm gaze fell on him. His lips had even turned purple. Had she really become that frightening?

What Hui didn't know was that people now considered her a monster too. She might not be as terrifying as Gaara, but anyone who dared befriend a monster was branded one as well.

Hui Youling nodded and leaped onto an empty cart, sitting down casually. The driver flinched in fright, then turned toward the leader, looking at him for help. The leader stared gravely at Hui Youling's back and shook his head. The driver's expression froze. He stiffly craned his neck to sneak a glance at Hui Youling behind him, pressed his lips together, and resigned himself to pulling the cart out of Sunagakure. The others let out a sigh of relief at the sight. At least she hadn't chosen their cart.

At the leader's direction, the caravan finally got moving. Hui slowly left the boy farther behind. She didn't look back at the place, leaving without the slightest trace of reluctance.

She had also given Gaara that scroll. Though she hadn't told him what it was, she knew he would understand what she meant. Some things were best left at that; she didn't want the people watching her to get too much evidence against her.

All around her, wheels rumbled, but no one spoke. The mood was heavy, and everyone kept their distance from Hui Youling. But since they had to rely on her strength, no one dared say anything. The ninjas who had been watching her saw Hui Youling leave One-Line Sky and went back to report.

Gaara stood on the rooftop, watching the One-Line Sky exit from Sunagakure. He couldn't see that far, though. He glanced at the scroll Hui had secretly handed him and sighed inwardly before putting it away.

He lowered his gaze to the pendant around his neck and reached out to touch the stone. It was cool, yet smooth and warm to the touch. He had noticed the character "love" engraved on it, too.

"Gaara..." he murmured, as if trying to decipher the meaning of his own name. Something came to mind, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

Hui Youling...

Gaara had never imagined that someone like her existed beyond the village. Though he was confined to the village for now, perhaps the two of them really would meet again someday. He found himself looking forward to the world beyond the village. Was it as beautiful as Hui had said?

The journey out of the village was peaceful, and they encountered no danger. Once they were clear of Sunagakure, everyone in the caravan breathed a sigh of relief.

Hui Youling sat alone on the cart, gazing up at the horizon, lost in thought. The caravan leader came over to her with a bag in his hand and said respectfully, "My lady, this is the remaining payment."

Hui turned her head toward him. The leader's hand trembled despite himself, and his eyes pleaded for her to take the money and leave at once.

Hui looked away and jumped down from the cart. She took the bag from him, opened it, and checked that none of the money was missing. Then she left without a backward glance.

The caravan leader watched Hui Youling finally leave, and the boulder on his heart lifted. At least he knew the girl wouldn't kill people for no reason. He'd never hire people like her again. One careless mistake, and he could lose his own life.

Hui resumed her aimless travels. For now, she had no desire to go looking for Orochimaru. She spent the commission she had earned last time, splurging here and there, soaking in hot springs and practicing from one of Orochimaru's scrolls. Her days drifted by in a dull haze.

Then one day, while training in the mountains, she was ambushed with a large number of Explosive Tags. She had only touched a trigger, but it set off a chain of explosions all around Hui Youling. One flash after another erupted across the mountainside, startling the birds roosting in the woods into flight.

Hui rolled in a sorry heap to the base of a tree and stared in shock at the place where the explosions had just gone off. She had no time to examine herself carefully, but she already felt the sting of numerous scrapes and burns. Fortunately, her short hair hadn't caught fire, though her clothes had been singed in several places, and she was covered in dirt.

She kept her guard up, staring straight ahead with her brows tightly knitted and her face twisted in anger.

Two ninjas emerged from the smoke, one tall and one short. The short one was rather fat, with a puffy face and keen eyes. The tall one had no distinctive features, but Hui recognized his Forehead Protector as belonging to a Grass Ninja. Only then did she notice that both wore Forehead Protectors from different villages, each slashed through with a line.

Rogue ninjas!

Hui immediately realized who they were. But when had she crossed them? She warily activated the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, meeting their gazes with a calm expression even as she felt a surge of surprise. Anyone who could become a rogue ninja and remain at large had to be quite powerful, perhaps even close to jōnin level.

"Hmph. So you really are just a kid. And you're worth a B-Rank Mission? You may have dodged my trap, but you still look like a rookie." The fat ninja spat the words at Hui Youling, looking at her like she was a corpse with nothing but disdain and impatience. He was furious that she'd escaped his carefully laid trap.

Hui stared at the two of them, her eyes cold. Ignoring the fat ninja's taunts for now, she rapidly tried to figure out who had hired them.

She had done plenty of work with Orochimaru, but it had all been carried out in secret. Hardly anyone knew she existed. And those who had seen her face had been directly persuaded by Orochimaru to become test subjects. Since these men had mentioned a B-Rank Mission, they probably hadn't come to take revenge. So what exactly was their goal?

She slowly stood, looking perfectly composed. With a cold smile, she said, "I'm surprised, too. I didn't think I'd draw an assassination attempt from rogue ninjas like you."

"But I really am curious. When did I offend the client behind you?"

"Offend them? You're not important enough, brat!" the fat ninja sneered. His narrow eyes, nearly swallowed by his fat cheeks, were full of confidence that he had already won.

Hui's mouth curled into a faint smile. "Not important enough? You must feel so put upon, having to come after me."

"Kid, if your bounty weren't so good, we wouldn't have taken this job. Just accept your fate." The other rogue ninja, a Grass Ninja, spoke slowly, his eyes cold.

"Accept my fate? I don't want to be dragged off somewhere for no reason. I'm happy where I am." Hui frowned at the two men. After sensing them for a moment, she realized they had plenty of chakra, but she had no idea how strong they were or what their fighting styles might be. In the past, she had succeeded by gathering information on her targets and attacking by surprise.

This time, she was the one who'd been ambushed. She knew nothing about the two of them, while they had apparently gotten plenty of information about her. She hadn't expected to be ambushed herself one day. It was certainly thrilling.

Hui chuckled bitterly to herself. What goes around comes around. The day she became a hunter, she should have been prepared to be hunted. Now she was getting a taste of it. She just hoped it wouldn't end badly. She still wanted to live.

"Enough talk. Let's get moving and take her in to claim the bounty!" the fat ninja cut in, already growing impatient.

Hui saw the two exchange a glance. Without another word, they rushed at her together. Shuriken flew from the Grass Ninja's hand one after another.

Hui quickly retreated, using a tree trunk to shield herself from their attacks. Shuriken kept flying at her from behind. With a series of sharp clangs, they embedded themselves in the ground where Hui Youling had just been standing.

This was really bad...