"Grandma Shanping, I'm leaving Zeyu in your hands. If we don't come back... I'm sorry to trouble you with everything from now on, too." After Yangmei left, Meiling came over to Grandma Shanping and handed her the Zeyu she was holding.
Looking down at the child in her arms, Grandma Shanping felt conflicted.
"Meiling, are you going too? Are you going to bring Yangmei back?" Shanping asked anxiously.
"Yes, Grandma. I'm going after Yangmei. I've had some training, too, so I can protect her on the way." Meiling forced a smile and raised her arm, showing off the little bit of muscle on it.
But honest, kind people weren't good at lying. Meiling's act was seen through at once.
"Grandma knows what you're planning, and I won't stop you. This is your choice. If I interfered, I suppose you'd hate this old woman for the rest of your lives."
Meiling knew she'd been seen through. She could only lower her head, rest her left hand on her right arm, and remain silent.
"Leave Zeyu with me. Don't worry. If possible, I hope all three of you come back safe and sound. You're all good children."
Shanping stepped in front of Meiling, helped straighten her hair, then placed a hand on her cheek and said,
"Go on. Bring those two back, and be careful."
Meiling lifted her head, her eyes shining. She clasped Shanping's hand and said,
"Thank you, Grandma. I'm leaving little Zeyu in your care. I'm off."
Then she turned and ran after Yangmei.
She knew why Yangmei had made this decision. Her love for her husband was one reason, and Grandma Shanping's appearance was another. When Yangmei had been at a loss over what to do because of Zeyu,
Grandma Shanping's arrival had strengthened her resolve to find Aihua.
She didn't want to live with regrets.
She didn't want to end up like Grandma Shanping, who hadn't even gotten to see her husband one last time.
If she just went to the shelter now and struggled to survive, she wouldn't be able to accept it. Even if all she found was a body, she still had to search.
If she searched, then at least she wouldn't have any regrets, because she would have tried.
If—just if—he was still alive, but she missed her chance because she hadn't gone looking, she would hate herself for the rest of her life.
Yangmei was usually gentle, considerate, and capable, but she could be stubborn, too. Once she made up her mind, she wouldn't change it easily.
As for Zeyu, Grandma Shanping was there. She had always been good to Yangmei, treating her like her own daughter, and she was just as kind to Zeyu. Yangmei had no worries about Zeyu being mistreated, especially with Meiling there too.
Watching Meiling leave, Shanping shook her head with a sigh. Then she glanced at Zeyu in her arms and hurried off in the opposite direction.
Meanwhile, Yangmei was running toward her family's shop on Central Street. Since it was close to the village center, the rent there was very expensive, and the farther in you went, the higher it got. Back when they rented the shop, the couple had spent nearly all their savings so they could set up farther inside and make more money.
Now, that whole area had been almost completely flattened. Even the Nine-Tails had lost interest and moved elsewhere.
Groups of ninja were fighting around it, trying to drive it out of Konoha.
When Yangmei arrived, she saw that the buildings had almost all collapsed. Only rows of tall wooden beams remained, crackling as they burned. As she made her way through, she saw bodies here and there. Occasionally, a burning beam snapped and crashed to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
Yangmei felt as if the sky had fallen. Her eyes went vacant as she murmured her husband's name.
She froze for a moment, then hurried to the spot where their shop had stood.
She began shouting her husband's name and digging through the mountain of wooden boards.
Meiling, who had hurried to Central Street, heard Yangmei calling out. She pinpointed her location and soon reached her side.
"Yangmei, I'm here to help." Meiling didn't waste time. She immediately joined in, moving some of the larger beams.
"Meiling!" Yangmei was startled, but she knew her friend well and didn't ask questions. Her heart was full of gratitude.
"Don't mention it. Hurry. It's still dangerous here."
"Mm." Yangmei felt a little more at ease. With help, she'd find Aihua faster.
Her longing to find her husband grew stronger. She knew that with two of them working together, they'd find him soon.
Her desperate longing awakened a dormant power.
Yangmei suddenly felt her heart stir. She pressed a hand to her chest and closed her eyes.
"What's wrong, Yangmei?" Meiling noticed something was off and asked.
As the Mind's Eye of the Kagura activated, Yangmei sensed Aihua's location and learned what condition he was in.
Tears immediately streamed down her face. She ran forward a short distance, then began digging through the rubble with even greater urgency.
"Aihua... Aihua is dying!" Yangmei cried as she clawed through the debris.
Meiling understood at once and rushed over to help. She didn't know how Yangmei had figured out that Aihua was here,
but seeing Yangmei like that made her heart tighten. Before she knew it, she was digging alongside her.
The two of them worked for a little while before they spotted Aihua trapped underneath. After struggling for a while longer, they finally dug him out.
Aihua's face was pale, and his hair was covered in white dust. His body was bloody, and beneath the ashes, the blood had partly dried and caked with the grime. A wooden beam had pierced his right shoulder, leaving a ghastly wound. Aihua was unconscious, and only his faint heartbeat showed that he was still alive.
"Aihua, Aihua, wake up! Don't die!" Yangmei had laid him across her lap and kept calling to him, hoping for some response. Tears pattered down onto his head.
Meiling watched with knitted brows. She had graduated from the Ninja Academy, so she could tell that Aihua was gravely wounded and close to death, barely clinging to life. Yangmei must have known that when she sensed him.
So Meiling couldn't bear to interrupt. She stood quietly to the side, watching the young couple reunite. Her heart ached, and she turned away as tears fell.
"Aihua, wake up! Open your eyes and look at me! I came to find you."
"Don't you dare leave me! Get up! Stop sleeping!"
Crying, Yangmei tried to wake Aihua. She knew he was dying. If he didn't wake up soon, he might die just like that, without saying a word.
After slapping his face, shaking him, and pinching him, Aihua finally woke up.
"Yangmei, that pinch really hurt," Aihua said weakly, a faint smile on his face.
When Yangmei heard that Aihua had finally woken up, she was so overcome with emotion that she threw her arms around him and cried even harder.
"All right, all right. It's okay. I'm here." Aihua weakly lifted his left hand and patted Yangmei on the back.
Yangmei didn't say anything. She let go and looked at Aihua's face, then kissed him without hesitation, tears still streaming from her eyes.
Meiling was stunned by the sight, and a blush spread across her face. She was about to remind them to get somewhere safe first when
the Nine-Tails roared in the distance, interrupting all three of them.
"Scatter! Get away from the Nine-Tails!"
The ninja near the Nine-Tails sensed something was wrong and immediately began moving away, gathering off to one side.
The Third, Sarutobi Hiruzen, arrived and gave an order.
"Don't panic. Fall back to the side, form up, and wait for my command to counterattack."
"Damn you, Nine-Tails," Sarutobi Hiruzen thought.
Then he looked toward the blond young man standing atop Kage Rock. It was the Fourth Hokage—Namikaze Minato.
The Nine-Tails' eyes widened, revealing pupils covered by the Sharingan. Its face was full of rage.
It rose to its feet and pointed its mouth toward the sky. Its nine tails gathered above its mouth, and soon a massive chakra sphere formed, ready to launch.
At the same time, the three people in the ruins realized that something major was about to happen. If they didn't leave, they might not get another chance.
Ninja had been passing by along the street, fleeing in a steady stream.
They were probably trying to escape the Nine-Tails.
Meiling warned them, "Yangmei, Aihua, we have to hurry. It's too dangerous here. Come on!"
"Come on, Aihua. Let's go." Yangmei came to her senses and immediately tried to pick him up, reaching beneath him.
Aihua pressed down on Yangmei's hand and looked at her, gently shaking his head.
Yangmei understood what he meant, and her eyes grew wet again. She gritted her teeth, made up her mind, and said to Meiling,
"Meiling, you should go on your own."
"Yangmei, you..." Aihua started to say, but Yangmei pressed a finger to his lips.
"Shut up, you idiot. You want to leave me behind? No way. If you do that, I'll never speak to you again." Yangmei pouted, pretending to be furious.
Then she looked up at Meiling with a smile and said, "I'm sorry, Meiling. I'm leaving Zeyu in your care."
Meiling sighed helplessly. "Yangmei, you stubborn fool. Don't worry about Zeyu."
"Goodbye, Yangmei. Aihua." She managed a smile and waved to them, then turned and ran.
She knew danger was coming. Trying to talk them out of it would be pointless now. She might as well do what she could and leave them the little time they had, so they wouldn't be left with regrets.
Meiling ran on, tears streaming down her face. She gritted her teeth and picked up speed.
"You two idiots."