Ambushed

After bidding farewell to Gaara, Hui prepared to leave Sunagakure with the merchant caravan. Upon arriving at the assembly point, she noticed the caravan members flickering their eyes toward her; the journey home, which should have been filled with excitement over their substantial earnings, had turned silent and heavy.

Hui walked toward the caravan leader without averting her gaze. He asked with cold sweat beading on his forehead, "C...can we leave now?"

Hui looked at him with indifferent eyes. Seeing his lips had turned purple, she wondered, when had she become so terrifying?

What Hui did not know was that she was now also considered a monster. While she hadn't reached the level of terror associated with Gaara, anyone who dared to befriend a monster was similarly branded with the same label.

Hui Youling nodded and leaped onto an empty cargo wagon to sit casually. The driver flinched in fear, tilting his head toward the leader with a pleading look. The leader stared solemnly at Hui Youling's back and shook his head. The driver's expression stiffened; with a rigid neck, he stole a glance at Hui Youling behind him, pursed his lips, and resigned himself to pulling the cart out of Sunagakure. The others, seeing this, breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she hadn't chosen their wagons.

Under the leader's arrangement, the caravan finally began to move. Hui slowly distanced herself from that boy. She did not look back at this place, leaving as if she had not a shred of attachment.

She had handed that scroll to Gaara. Although she didn't say what it was, she understood that Gaara would grasp her meaning. Some things were best left at a hint; she didn't want to give those watching them too much leverage.

The surroundings were filled with the sound of rolling wheels. No one spoke, and the atmosphere was heavy. Everyone spontaneously kept their distance from Hui Youling, yet because they relied on her strength, no one dared to say anything. The ninjas watching from the periphery saw Hui Youling leave the One-Line Sky and returned to report.

Gaara stood on the rooftop, watching the One-Line Sky exit of Sunagakure, though he couldn't see that far. He looked at the scroll Hui had secretly slipped him, sighed inwardly, and tucked it away.

He lowered his head to look at the pendant around his neck, reaching out to touch the jade. It was cool, yet warm and smooth. He had also noticed the character for "Love" carved into it.

"Gaara..." he murmured his own name, as if trying to decipher its meaning. Not knowing what he thought of, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

Hui Youling...

Gaara had never imagined that such a person existed outside the village. Although he was currently confined to the village, perhaps one day they would truly meet. He felt a flicker of anticipation for the world outside, wondering if it was as beautiful as Hui had described.

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

Hui Youling sat alone on the wagon, head tilted toward the horizon, lost in thought. The caravan leader approached her, holding a bag, and said respectfully, "My lady, this is the remaining commission."

Hui turned her head to look at him. The leader's hand trembled involuntarily, his eyes conveying a desperate plea for Hui to take the payment and leave.

Hui withdrew her gaze, leaped off the wagon, took the bag from his hand, and checked it. Satisfied that the money was correct, she left without a hint of reluctance.

The caravan leader watched Hui Youling finally depart, the heavy stone in his heart dropping. At least he knew this person wouldn't kill without reason, but he wouldn't dare hire such people again; one slip-up and he could lose his own life.

Hui began her aimless wandering again. She had no desire to seek out Orochimaru for the time being, spending the commission she had just earned on luxuries, soaking in hot springs, and studying Orochimaru's scrolls. She drifted through life, feeling somewhat bored.

One day, while training in the mountains, she was ambushed by someone using a barrage of Explosive Tags. Merely by triggering a mechanism, a chain reaction of explosions erupted around Hui Youling. The flashes of light lit up the mountain peaks one after another, startling the birds nesting in the forest.

Hui rolled toward a tree in a disheveled state, looking back in shock at the site of the blast. She had no time to assess her own condition, though she felt the stinging pain of numerous scrapes and blast burns. Fortunately, her hair was short and hadn't caught fire, but her clothes were singed in several places, and she was covered in dirt.

She watched her front with vigilance, her brows furrowed, her expression one of gnashing teeth.

Two ninjas emerged with calm, unhurried steps—one tall, one short. The shorter one was somewhat fat, his face appearing bloated, yet his eyes shone with a sharp, predatory glint. The tall one had no distinguishing features, but Hui recognized his headband as that of a Grass Ninja. Only then did she notice that both men wore headbands from different villages, but each had a line scratched through the symbol.

Missing-nin!

Hui immediately realized their identity, yet she wondered when she had provoked such people. She guardedly activated her Mind's Eye of the Kagura, meeting their gazes with indifferent eyes, though she was inwardly astonished. To be a missing-nin and still roam free, their strength had to be formidable, perhaps even approaching that of a jonin.

"Hmph, I didn't expect it to be a mere child. To think this became a B-rank mission. Even if you dodged my trap, you look like a total rookie," the fat ninja spat, looking at Hui Youling with the disdain and impatience one might reserve for a corpse. He was clearly displeased that his meticulously laid trap had been evaded.

Hui stared at the two with cold, piercing eyes. Ignoring the fat ninja's provocation, she quickly pondered who might have ordered them.

Although she had done many things for Orochimaru, they were always conducted in secret. Few knew of her existence, and those who had seen her face were usually people Orochimaru had directly persuaded to become test subjects. Since they mentioned a B-rank mission, they likely weren't here for revenge. What, then, was their true objective?

She stood up slowly, maintaining a calm and composed air, and sneered, "I'm surprised as well. I didn't think I could attract the pursuit of such missing-nin."

"But I am truly curious: when did I offend the employer behind you?"

"Offend? You aren't even qualified for that, brat!" the fat ninja said with a look of contempt, his narrow, bloated eyes filled with the certainty of victory.

Hui tilted her head slightly, teasing, "Not qualified? It must be a grievance for you to be sent to capture me."

"Kid, if it weren't for the decent bounty on your head, we wouldn't have even looked at this mission. You should just obediently accept your fate," the other Grass Ninja said slowly, his eyes cold and detached.

"Accept my fate? I have no intention of being dragged off to some inexplicable place. I think things are just fine as they are." Hui frowned at the two. After sensing them for a moment, she realized they possessed a significant amount of chakra. She didn't know the extent of their strength or their combat style. Previously, she had relied on gathering information and ambushing her targets to succeed.

This time, she was the one being ambushed. She knew nothing about these two, yet they clearly possessed a wealth of data on her. She hadn't expected to be ambushed herself; it was quite the thrill.

Hui laughed at herself inwardly. The cycle of karma—the day she became a hunter, she should have been prepared to be hunted. Now, she was simply experiencing it for herself. She just hoped it wouldn't end in a bad outcome; she still wanted to live.

"Enough chatter. Let's finish this and take her to collect the bounty!" the fat ninja interrupted, clearly losing patience.

Seeing the two exchange a glance, Hui knew they were done talking. They attacked in unison, and shuriken began flying from the Grass Ninja's hand in rapid succession.

Hui retreated quickly, using the tree trunks to dodge their attacks. Shuriken whistled past her, embedding themselves into the ground where she had just been standing with a series of sharp clangs.

This situation today... it really was quite unfavorable.