The Land of Water was Han's homeland.
And there, too, were the family she had once had.
Although the Sealed Family Letter Mission had already stated that Han's clanspeople had disappeared,
her roots were still there.
The two climbed onto the riverbank.
Looking toward Kirigakure in the distance, they exchanged a smile.
The last time they had come here, Liumu had been only six.
And, having just finished the Chunin Exams, he had been thrilled to take part in an S-rank mission straight away.
Liumu was in a different frame of mind now. He had originally been moved and stirred by the thought of proposing to Han, yet after arriving in the Land of Water, he had inexplicably grown much calmer.
"I've never told you about what happened in Kirigakure. Its current village chief is Mei Terumi. She's a very good leader."
Liumu draped his leather coat over Han and continued, "And the old Kirigakure has changed, too. The Bloody Mist Village is a thing of the past. Now it's no different from Konoha."
Though Liumu said this, his eyes remained fixed on Han.
Kirigakure had once been Han's nightmare.
Imprisoned from a young age, she had endured a savage childhood.
Blades and blood had once been her everyday life.
Only after Liumu appeared had the blood-colored sunlight finally become clear and bright.
The two wandered outside Kirigakure for a long time, immediately drawing the attention of the guards at the entrance.
When Liumu asked Han whether she wanted to look around inside the village,
Han shook her head with a bitter smile.
Her past frightened her. Even with Liumu beside her now, she did not want to, or even dare to, touch those memories.
Besides, Liumu's status was different now.
Visiting someone else's village without a reason would probably