You're Trying to Get the Konoha Military Police Force to Arrest Me?

"Aha, so that's how it is."

Shimizu's gaze held a hint of intensity that made Nohara Rin feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Where had she seen this kind of look before?

It seemed to be the way some men in the village looked at beautiful women—it was definitely not appreciation, but something much darker.

Nohara Rin quickened her movements in treating the pork, wanting to finish today's tutoring session quickly so she could go home.

She had already learned most of the prerequisites.

Unfortunately, there were still some key pieces of knowledge and specific meridian system execution routes that Shimizu had never taught her.

Whenever Nohara Rin asked, Shimizu would refuse her, using the excuse that her foundation was not yet solid enough.

Only by fully mastering these things could one truly be called a medical ninja.

A medical ninja treated people; a single moment of carelessness could cost a life, so when it came to knowledge, one had to be extremely cautious.

Therefore, Nohara Rin had been staying with Shimizu, hoping that one day he would see her foundation was sufficient and finally teach her.

"Student Nohara Rin."

Shimizu suddenly spoke.

"Hm?"

Nohara Rin turned her head, her eyes filled with confusion.

"Are you aware that Kakashi's reputation has been very poor lately?"

Hearing the name Kakashi, Nohara Rin immediately focused her attention.

Nohara Rin had only wanted to be in the same class as Kakashi, but since he had graduated so early, she had been in a state of semi-resignation, continuing to study here only to research medical ninjutsu.

"Kakashi... what happened to him?"

Nohara Rin had not yet graduated from the Ninja Academy and did not know much about the affairs of real ninjas.

"In order to complete his missions, Kakashi often ignores his companions, so the others in his squad have complaints about him."

Nohara Rin's heart tightened. Was Kakashi actually suffering so much?

Being ostracized by his companions must have made Kakashi feel terrible.

Nohara Rin's thoughts drifted, wishing she had known about this sooner so she could have gone to comfort him.

"Student Nohara Rin, do you know what this means?"

Shimizu tapped his fingers on the desk, creating a rhythmic sound.

"What... does it mean?"

Nohara Rin raised her eyes to meet his deep gaze, and suddenly, a sense of unease washed over her.

It felt as if she were about to lose something...

"It means you have a chance to be on the same team as Kakashi. As long as you make a major breakthrough in medical ninjutsu now and apply for early graduation, given your specialty, it will be very easy to be assigned with him."

"Kakashi's teammates happen to not want to be with him, and you do—isn't that a perfect match?"

Shimizu spoke slowly, his voice filled with temptation, as if he were saying that this was an opportunity not to be missed.

Shimizu walked over to Nohara Rin's side, the distance between them less than a fist's width.

Nohara Rin instinctively wanted to step back, but Shimizu grabbed her.

"Shimizu... you?"

Accompanied by a warm, delicate touch, Nohara Rin's face flushed with anger. Shimizu was actually holding her hand, openly taking advantage of her.

The trust she had built in Shimizu over the past two years collapsed in an instant.

Shimizu had been approaching her with an agenda!

Nohara Rin suddenly realized the crux of the matter.

No wonder Shimizu had provided her with the best medical tools without regard for the cost, and spent his time guiding her in medical ninjutsu—everything had been done with a purpose.

However, no matter how hard she pulled, she could not withdraw her hand from his palm.

This made Nohara Rin's heart sink; with Shimizu's strength, if he wanted to do something, she would be unable to resist.

"Student Shimizu, is there perhaps some misunderstanding here?"

Nohara Rin took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm.

But looking at his gaze, which was completely different from usual and filled with that burning intensity, she felt as if she were being pricked by needles.

"There is no misunderstanding. This is actually my true self. What, are you disappointed?"

Shimizu felt the smooth, small hand in his, which felt boneless and soft.

"Student Shimizu, I believe this is just a momentary impulse. There are quite a few prisoners in the Konoha prison, and I don't think you want to pay a visit to the Konoha Military Police Force."

Nohara Rin analyzed the situation calmly.

Having been willing to let Kakashi kill her without hesitation, she possessed the excellent quality of being able to face danger head-on.

Unfortunately, these tactics had no effect on Uchiha Shimizu. His expression remained unchanged, his smile undiminished, as he spoke:

"The Konoha Military Police Force is run by my Uchiha Clan. You intend to have the Konoha Military Police Force arrest me?"

"You!"

Nohara Rin was stunned. Uchiha Shimizu's words were so brazen that she couldn't tell what was true and what was false.

She knew the Konoha Military Police Force was run by the Uchiha, but she didn't know if they would abuse their power when judging one of their own.

She had only brought it up to warn Uchiha Shimizu not to go too far, yet he responded with such indifference.

Nohara Rin couldn't tell if Uchiha Shimizu was bluffing or if the Konoha Military Police Force had truly rotted to such an extent.

"Let's get straight to the point, classmate Nohara Rin. If you leave me, you won't be able to make up for the knowledge you're currently lacking anywhere else. No one will teach you. You also know that my teacher was Nonou Yakushi, and she has some connections at Konoha Hospital. Many people give me face because of my teacher."

Uchiha Shimizu released Nohara Rin's hand and sat leisurely in his chair.

He wasn't the least bit worried that Nohara Rin would run out now to report his crimes.

Upon hearing this, Nohara Rin, whose feet were poised to dash out, stopped dead in her tracks.

Born a commoner, she understood the importance of channels all too well!

The ninjutsu a commoner ninja could learn was extremely limited.

To improve one's strength, one had to learn high-level ninjutsu.

High-level ninjutsu required completing high-difficulty missions, grinding out seniority, or having the Konoha administration notice your potential and invest in you by granting access to those techniques.

But without learning high-level ninjutsu, how could one complete high-difficulty missions? How could one demonstrate potential?

This created a death loop, a predicament that commoners could not escape.

For those whose natural talent was insufficient, even having access to these techniques wouldn't help them learn, and this group made up the vast majority of commoners; they felt better, at least, since they couldn't learn them anyway.

But there was a small minority whose talent was sufficient, yet they lacked these very channels; these commoner ninjas were the most desperate.

Many would go to extremes, betraying Konoha to become rogue ninjas.

"Classmate Qingshui, why must it be me?"

Nohara Rin asked bitterly.

Uchiha Shimizu was handsome, and many girls at the Ninja Academy liked him.

It was just that her heart already belonged to Kakashi, so she felt nothing for Uchiha Shimizu.

She wasn't exactly a world-shattering beauty either; if Uchiha Shimizu wanted a girl, he could grab a handful of them at will, so why bother fixating on her?

"Of course, it's because..."

Because you can serve as the best tool for me to deal with Obito.

That was what Uchiha Shimizu thought, but what he said was:

"I was attracted to classmate Nohara Rin the moment I saw you. Love is just that unreasonable."

Nohara Rin stared intently at Uchiha Shimizu; she didn't believe his nonsense for a second.