Han's choice

"They won't give you what you want to know. Or rather... they can't."

"What do you mean?" Han shouted hoarsely at Liumu.

"Because..." Watching Han's emotions gradually unravel, Liumu walked over, crouched beside her, and said, "Why do you need to hear the answer from me? You already know it yourself."

After taking away children with Kekkei Genkai bloodlines, Kirigakure's ninja would also kill every one of their relatives.

What Han wanted to know was not the answer from that unfamiliar woman, but an answer that would make him give up hope.

Having grown up in such an environment, how could Han not know the secrets behind it?

She merely needed a definite answer.

That answer meant both giving up hope and despair.

Despair toward this village.

Despair over what she had always hoped for in her heart.

Even despair toward herself.

Yet even so, Han could not get what she wanted.

Even after abandoning her, they still intended to squeeze out the last of her value.

A Kekkei Genkai should have been something ordinary ninja envied, but in Kirigakure, Han's Ice Release had instead brought ruin upon her family.

"Why I appeared here... forgive me, but I can't tell you."

As he spoke, Liumu suddenly gave a helpless smile. He raised his head and continued, "As for why I brought you here... perhaps it was out of selfishness on my part."

"You should understand Kirigakure's current situation better than I do. So, if you want to stay, I'll let you go back. But if you want to live..." Liumu clenched his fists and told her firmly, "I'll take you away. No one will stop me."

Han needed time to think-not to negotiate between life and death, but for hope and despair to contend.

Liumu gave her that time. Before the Konoha group left Kirigakure, she had plenty of time to decide her own future.

However, to prevent any information from leaking, Liumu decided it would be better to keep her confined in the Time House.

Days of fruitless searches left not only Liumu suspecting that the Three-Tails might already have been captured, but even Orochimaru and the others beginning to question whether their intelligence was truly accurate.

Their investigation of Kirigakure had now lasted nearly two months, yet apart from that underground chamber, they had not seen so much as a trace of the Three-Tails.

That day, after Orochimaru returned from Kirigakure to their meeting point, Minato used the Summoning Technique to summon a pale blue-green toad.

"Little Jiraiya asked me to tell you that the Third Hokage has given orders: if your prolonged search for the Three-Tails remains fruitless, you can return directly to the village in the next few days."

Orochimaru nodded at this. "I agree. We've investigated Kirigakure for so long without any results. Besides, there's been a lot of activity in Kirigakure lately. Their leadership may have noticed something. Continuing the investigation would be futile, and extremely dangerous."

"But the mission!" Tsunade hesitated.

Minato said, "Since the Third Hokage has given the order, it means there may still be some doubt about the intelligence on the Three-Tails. And Lord Orochimaru is right. Kirigakure has increased its patrols and guards lately. I imagine they may already have noticed someone spying inside the village."

"Then... let's return to the village!"

After asking everyone's opinion, Orochimaru gave the final order.

Liumu, who had been sitting to one side, had said nothing all this time. Once everyone had packed their belongings and arrived at the ferry, he suddenly stopped and said to the others before him, "I..."

"What's wrong, Liumu? Did you forget something?" Minato turned and asked with concern.

"It's all right. We can get you a replacement once we're back in the village." Through his months with Liumu, Orochimaru had come to acknowledge his abilities considerably more.

"This was an S-rank mission. Although we didn't complete it, we'll still receive a generous reward. When the time comes, you can splurge on whatever you want."

Hearing this, Liumu shook his head. He looked up at them and said, "I have something to take care of. I'd like you to give me three days."

Minato: ...

Tsunade: ...

Orochimaru: ...

Acting alone was a major taboo for a ninja squad on a mission, because no matter how powerful a ninja was, they could not possibly watch and listen in every direction at once.

Now that Liumu was proposing to act alone, and needed three days at that, Orochimaru, as the squad leader, would absolutely never agree.

Liumu knew his actions were asking a bit too much of them, so he ultimately told Minato and the others about Han as well.

After hearing Liumu's account, Orochimaru's expression suddenly turned cold, his pupils contracted, and he snapped quietly, "No!"

"Exactly!" Minato picked up where he left off and told Liumu, "She's a ninja from Kirigakure. Even if her background really is moving, no one can say whether, after she follows you back to Konoha, she might..."

Before Minato could finish, Tsunade pulled Liumu aside, crouched down, and looked into his eyes. "I know you're even more mature than we imagined, and you wouldn't do anything foolish. So... go. We'll wait here for you for three days."

"Then, the village..."

"I'll speak up for you." As she spoke, Tsunade patted Liumu's shoulder and gestured at him with her lips, smiling.

"Mwah!"

Tsunade: ???

Touching her cheek, Tsunade watched Liumu's retreating figure as he dashed away, then reached out to stop Minato and Orochimaru.

Inside the Time House, Han had seen Liumu's recent actions clearly. Whether it was Kirigakure's rule of snow and mist or the scene of Liumu persuading the Konoha group, she had witnessed it all.

Liumu arrived at a spot not far from Kirigakure, let Han out of the Time House, and told her, "There are two paths before you now. One is to return to the village. The other is to come with me."

"Although Konoha isn't the ideal paradise lost, and corruption and scheming are common there too, believe me-with me around, you'll be able to do everything you want."

Looking toward Kirigakure's distant entrance, Liumu spoke again. "As for what will happen to you if you return to Kirigakure, you should already know, so I won't go on about it. Now, choose!"

Kirigakure was the home where Han had been born and raised, but despair and misery lived here too. Han did not doubt Liumu's words, but leaving home for an entirely new environment required courage and perseverance.

Han was still only a young child. For her, this choice might determine the rest of her life.

Liumu stood to one side without another word, leaving the choice entirely to her.

At last...

As the sky grew darker, Kirigakure's candlelight appeared once more. Beneath the flickering candlelight, the silhouettes of a family gathered around a table were cast.

With the white snow covering her past her knees, Han slowly turned to look at Liumu.

"I'll go with you, but..."