Meeting Konan

The two of them walked down a relatively bustling street when a small, thin figure suddenly dashed out in front of them.

She ran rather unsteadily, and while looking back at the people chasing her, she crashed into Yusuke.

"S-sorry." The girl's voice was very young, and judging by her size, she was only five or six.

She glanced back in a panic. Before Yusuke could reply, she slipped around him and ran straight past him.

Only a lock of blue-purple hair flew out from beneath her rain hat.

"Damn little thief! Just you wait till I catch you!"

The shopkeeper came running out after her. He was a little chubby, and after only a few steps, he was already gasping for breath. All he could do was angrily wave his fist.

"That child stole your things," Tsunade said, her brown eyes turning to Yusuke.

"Mm, I know. It was only a few coins, though," Yusuke replied casually.

For people in war-torn countries like these, especially children, he helped whenever he could.

Tsunade didn't say anything more, only thinking to herself, He really is a kind, gentle person.

Yusuke had no idea that Tsunade had inexplicably given him her seal of approval.

The two continued down the street. Their immediate priority was to find somewhere to settle down.

Judging from the patrol they had just seen in Amegakure, it was common for people staying at inns to be questioned several times a day.

So for Yusuke and Tsunade, the best option was to find somewhere secluded and ask a family if they could stay with them.

They wound their way through the streets and alleys, gradually heading toward a quieter area.

A dilapidated house up ahead caught their attention.

It looked very crude, and it was clear that it hadn't been repaired in a long time.

Suddenly, a man inside the house cried out for mercy.

"This is all the food we have left. Please... cough, please don't..."

"Thud!" Another heavy impact sounded from inside the house.

Before long, two ninjas came out, grumbling angrily. "It's only half a sack of rice. What the hell are you protecting it for?"

The two of them spotted Yusuke and Tsunade outside and froze. They seemed to have no desire to invite trouble.

They glared at Yusuke and Tsunade, warning them not to interfere, then quickly vanished into the rain.

Yusuke and Tsunade exchanged a glance. Tsunade nodded to him, and the two went straight inside.

There was hardly any furniture in the house, just a worn-out quilt and a few clay jars.

A thin man lay unconscious on his back. Blood stained the corner of his mouth, and his face was very pale.

Tsunade went over and quickly examined the man's injuries.

"Good. They're only minor."

She poured a bottle of medicine into the man's mouth, then channeled chakra through her hands to repair his injured internal organs.

Yusuke kept watch at the doorway, guarding against any other trouble.

Just then, a figure came staggering toward the house.

The rain was so heavy that she could only make out a blurry figure by the entrance.

Thinking it was her father, she waved happily, her steps growing lighter.

But as she got closer and saw how the person was dressed, she stopped dead. Her small body visibly stiffened.

In the end, she gritted her teeth and resolutely walked toward Yusuke.

Yusuke recognized her. She was the girl who had stolen his money earlier.

The little girl trembled as she approached Yusuke. She clutched some medicinal herbs she had bought somewhere in her right hand, then held out the money she had left with her left.

"I-I'm sorry. I-I won't do it again. Please, spare my father."

She didn't ask Yusuke to forgive her. Her small body trembled nonstop, whether from the cold or from fear, he couldn't tell.

The girl turned to look inside the house and saw her father lying on the ground, with fresh blood beside him.

She trembled even harder, but from her clenched fists, Yusuke could tell she wasn't just afraid this time. She was even angrier.

"We didn't hurt your father. In fact, it's the opposite—my wife is treating him."

Yusuke explained. The little girl nodded, though it was hard to tell whether she believed him.

Once the treatment was over, she silently walked over to her father and tried to help him onto the bed.

But she was too weak, and after trying several times, she still couldn't move him.

Yusuke came over, picked the man up, and laid him on the bed.

The man was extremely thin, weighing barely over eighty pounds. He didn't look like a grown man at all.

Silence settled over the room, broken only by breathing.

Yusuke walked over to Tsunade and put an arm around her slender waist.

Tsunade's face flushed. This guy's got some nerve, trying to cop a feel at a time like this.

Then she felt a coded message against her waist: Should we find somewhere else?

The touch tickled, raising goosebumps on Tsunade's back and making her shiver involuntarily.

Pretending to be husband and wife allowed the two of them to exchange information through coded messages whenever they were around other people.

That had been Tsunade's reason for pretending to be married, but was this really what she meant for the code to be used for?

Relying on her excellent training as a ninja, she held herself back and sent a coded message against the back of Yusuke's hand: Wait a little longer.

Then, with a perfectly pleasant smile, she grabbed the hand around her waist. Yusuke immediately felt a surge of strength.

What a tigress! He kept smiling, but a thin sheen of sweat had appeared on his forehead.

"Cough, cough..."

A voice broke the dead silence, and Yusuke was spared.

He quickly pulled his hand away and hid it behind his back, hurriedly rubbing the hand that had gone numb from her squeeze.

The man opened his eyes and stared dazedly at the ceiling above him.

Then he let out a long breath, thinking, Thank goodness I didn't die. What would happen to my daughter if I did?

When the little girl saw that her father was all right, the knot in her heart finally loosened, and she threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

She couldn't imagine how she would survive without her father.

The man stiffened slightly before coming back to himself. He looked gently at his daughter, whose eyes were red and swollen from crying, and rubbed her head.

"It's all right, Konan," he said gently.

"Ahem. I'm sorry to interrupt this tender moment between father and daughter, but there's something we'd like to ask you for help with," Yusuke said, stepping forward somewhat awkwardly.

The man looked at Yusuke and Tsunade in terror. He sat up at once and pulled Konan protectively into his arms.

"My lords, we really don't have any food left. Please, let us go," he pleaded weakly.

Yusuke waved his hands, signaling for them not to be so nervous.

"You were injured by those two just now. My wife treated you."

"We're merchants who came to the Land of Rain to buy local products, but someone stole our documents on the way, so we can't stay at an inn."

"We hope we can stay here for a while. My wife also knows some medicine and can continue treating you," Yusuke explained.

The man was stunned when he heard this, then managed a faint smile despite his pale face. "Thank you for treating me, my lord. My name is Seiichi, and this is my daughter, Konan."

"You saved my life. Of course you can stay here."

Yusuke smiled at the father and daughter. "Thank you. You don't have to call us 'my lord.' We're just merchants."

"Just call me Yusuke. This is my wife, Tsunade."

Tsunade linked her arm through Yusuke's and smiled gently at the two of them as well. "Sorry to impose."

Yusuke was startled. Again?

Then he felt a coded message against his arm: I'll keep an eye on this man. Go tell the other two teams that we've arrived safely, and arrange to meet them at two tonight.

Yusuke understood. Smiling, he asked, "It's almost noon. I'm going to buy some food. What would you like?"

The man shook his head. "Whatever you think is best, my lord."

Tsunade was even more succinct. "Anything's fine."

Yusuke immediately made a face like an old man staring at his phone on the subway. "All right, all right. You're going straight for the highest difficulty, huh?"

He smiled at the little girl. "Konan, could you show me where to buy some things?"

The man furrowed his brow, then smiled and patted his daughter on the shoulder, nudging her toward the door. "Go on, show him the way."

Konan nodded and handed her father the few apples and herbs she had stolen that day.

The two put on their rain hats and disappeared into the curtain of rain.