The Refugees' Reaction

After a while, Minato and the other boy arrived from the other side, completely unharmed.

When he saw One-Eye's corpse, Minato let out a sigh of relief.

However, when he saw the wound on Feng Xun's chest, he immediately grew tense again. "Xun, you're hurt? How is it? Is it serious?"

Feng Xun looked at his older brother speechlessly.

It was obviously just a flesh wound. Was there any need to make such a fuss?

Before Feng Xun could reply, Uchiha Ryu beside him said sarcastically, "You're making such a big deal out of such a tiny injury? I think you should stop being a ninja and go home to farm instead."

What the hell? When did I make a big deal out of it? And even if I stopped being a ninja, I'd become a chef at Tsunade's place before I ever went farming.

(So that's the important part?)

While Feng Xun was stewing indignantly, the old man who had previously been threatened by the bandit with a blade slowly approached them from beneath the shade of a distant tree.

As soon as he reached Feng Xun and the others, the elderly man dropped to his knees, his face full of gratitude. "This old man, along with everyone behind me, thanks the three ninja lords for saving us."

Seeing this, Minato hurriedly helped the old man up. "Sir, please get up. This was only a small effort for us. You don't need to take it so seriously."

The old man did not stand. Instead, he continued, "Perhaps it was only a small effort to you ninja lords, but to all of us, it was a true life-saving kindness. Without you, this old man would have long become a wandering ghost beneath that blade."

As he spoke, the old man turned back to the other refugees cowering behind him. "Why aren't you coming over to thank our benefactors?"

The remaining refugees beneath the tree's shade looked at one another, but not a single person dared step forward.

Feng Xun and the others might have saved them, but if not for the war between ninja, they would not have been displaced from their homes and reduced to this state.

Facing these three ninja—children though they were, yet far more vicious than bandits—the refugees hesitated.

Just then, a little girl with two horn braids and a red floral padded jacket suddenly ran toward Feng Xun and the others.

"Xiao An, come back..." Seeing this, the girl's parents hurriedly tried to rush out and pull their child back, but the other refugees firmly held them down.

"Don't go over there! Are you trying to get yourselves killed? They're ninja. If you make them unhappy, your family of three will be reunited in the underworld."

"Exactly! The other two seem fine, but that ninja in the black jacket doesn't look like a good person at all."

"Pfft..."

Hearing the refugees' assessment of Uchiha Ryu, Feng Xun teased, "Oh? Our genius lord apparently looks rather fierce. You saved their lives, yet they still dislike you."

"Hmph, ignorant fools!" Uchiha Ryu turned his head away with an unpleasant expression, no longer looking at Feng Xun's irritating smile.

While Feng Xun was still bickering with Uchiha Ryu, the little girl called Xiao An ran up to Minato. Blinking her large, watery eyes, she said in a sweet childish voice, "Thank you, big brothers, for saving Xiao An and Mommy and Daddy."

Hearing that, Minato crouched down and gently placed a hand on the girl's head. "Big brother accepts Xiao An's thanks. But you should go back now. Don't make your parents worry too much."

After hearing that, the girl looked at her worried parents behind her, then at the gentle big brother before her. She nodded and ran back.

The old man watched the little girl return and sighed. "Xiao An is still the sensible one. As for the others in our village... sigh..."

"Sir, please don't say that. I understand your concerns. In the end, if not for us, you wouldn't be here now," Minato consoled him.

"But no matter what, you three are our saviors. Treating one's saviors like this is truly lacking in manners." The old man was still somewhat angry.

Minato did not try to persuade him further. Instead, he said, "Sir, we still have a mission to complete, so we won't stay any longer."

As he spoke, Feng Xun pointed to the road behind them. "Just keep heading in that direction, and I'm sure you'll see a city soon enough."

After saying that, Minato did not wait for the old man to try and keep them. He grabbed Feng Xun and the others and quickly left the area.

"Hey, brother, why are you leaving in such a hurry?" Feng Xun asked strangely.

"We've already been gone for a long time. We shouldn't make Lady Tsunade worry too much. Besides, if we stayed there any longer, those refugees would probably feel very uncomfortable."

"Tch, they're just refugees. Who needs to care what they think?" Uchiha Ryu said coldly, apparently still upset over what had happened earlier.

Is this what they call tsundere ruining one's life?

Looking at Uchiha Ryu's angry profile, Feng Xun thought maliciously.

Still, he understood that they really were unwelcome now.

When they returned to Tsunade's hiding place, they found her eagerly waiting for them to come back.

"How did it go? Was everything settled smoothly?"

"They were just a bunch of bandits. Taking care of them was no trouble at all," Feng Xun bragged shamelessly.

Yet just as Feng Xun finished speaking, Minato immediately exposed him. "Lady Tsunade, Xun was injured just now. Please take a look at him."

Damn it, I wasn't even done showing off, and you exposed me already, brother. Can't we just have fun?

"That brat got hurt?" Only then did Tsunade notice the cut across Feng Xun's chest.

However, after seeing that the wound was not serious, Tsunade sighed in relief and grabbed Feng Xun by the ear, angrily saying, "This is what you meant by no trouble at all?"

"Well, it really wasn't much trouble. There was just a little accident in the middle," Feng Xun said, lowering his head guiltily.

Tsunade shot him an annoyed glare and urged, "Take off your shirt!"

What? Taking off my clothes again? This was the wilderness!

Feng Xun instinctively pulled his clothes tighter around himself.

Seeing Feng Xun acting as though he did not want to sell his body, Tsunade's eyelid twitched. Without another word, she directly yanked open his shirt.

"What are you acting so shy about? Take off your clothes already. How am I supposed to treat you if you don't?"

So it was for treatment. Feng Xun realized that he had misunderstood.

But then his face went pale. Turning his head, he saw Uchiha Ryu barely holding back his laughter and hurriedly said, "Wait, wait! Such a minor injury doesn't need treatment. I'll be fine after a while, really, I'll be fine after a while."

Unfortunately, Feng Xun's words had no effect on Tsunade. Before long, she had stripped his upper body bare.

Fine, fine, let him laugh! With how tsundere he is, even if he wants it someday, there probably won't be any girls willing to take his clothes off for him.

Feng Xun stopped resisting and resigned himself to Tsunade's ministrations.

How did that saying go again?

Life was like rape: rather than struggle bitterly, it was better to lie back and enjoy it.