"Old man, who are you?"
"Me? I'm the elder of this caravan, named He Yan."
"Aiyaya! It hurts!" Naruto tried to get up from the bed, only to feel excruciating pain all over his body. He then realized he was completely bandaged.
The caravan elder slowly ground the herbs and said, "Although your recovery ability is extraordinary, you still need to wait until the bandages are removed before you can move around."
Naruto glanced around the simple, temporary tent. Outside, caravan members were chatting around a bonfire. Beside him was a boy in bandages, with a handsome and delicate face, who seemed to still be asleep.
"Ah!"
Naruto remembered. During the day, he, Sakura, and Sasuke were on a mission to find a lost snow ferret. Just as they were about to deliver the snow ferret to the client's designated village, they discovered the village had already been destroyed. Fueled by a surge of justice, Naruto immediately prepared to investigate, only to be attacked by a force led by a mysterious knight.
During the battle, he and the knight both fell off a cliff.
"Right, where's the cat!" Naruto slapped his head. He remembered the backpack containing the cat was on his back. Could the cat have died along with him when they fell off the cliff?
The caravan elder had a good impression of this excitable kid and chuckled, "Are you talking about Nilugu? It's a snow ferret, not a cat."
The caravan elder beckoned, and a snow ferret with ruby-like eyes darted onto the elder's body, showing a great deal of affection.
"Old man, why is this cat so..." Naruto scratched his head in confusion. He had been scratched quite a bit while trying to catch it; its temper was notoriously fiery.
The caravan elder stroked the snow ferret's soft fur and said, "I was the client who commissioned the mission in Konoha. We travel all year round, so please send Nilugu to our hometown. But why did you come back?"
At that moment, the handsome boy beside him also slowly woke up. His red eyes were only confused for a second before they sharpened immediately.
"It's this guy! If it weren't for him suddenly ambushing us... Dammit!"
Naruto immediately wanted to punch him. Who knew how worried Sasuke would be when he saw him fall off the cliff!
The caravan elder immediately stopped their actions. In his eyes, both Naruto and this young man were still young, and even if they made mistakes, there were still opportunities for redemption.
"Fighting won't do. Our caravan survives by helping each other through hardships on our journeys."
The handsome boy's red eyes stared at Naruto for a good while before he spoke, "What is that power within you?"
"Huh? You mean chakra?" Naruto was a bit bewildered. This guy didn't know about chakra? Then where did his power come from?
"Chakra?" The handsome boy paused.
Naruto questioned loudly, "I say, you guy, why did you attack us?!"
The handsome boy didn't answer Naruto but instead said, "Join us. Your power is special. I will introduce you to Lord Hyde, and together we will achieve our ideal nation."
The handsome boy was actually Timsi, the knight Hyde had dispatched to the continent to search for traces of the Greel ore.
"Huh? You guy, are you even listening to me!"
Naruto was furious. This was the first time he had encountered someone so difficult to communicate with, even more so than Sasuke!
On the other side, Sasuke and Sakura had also spotted the massive fortress that could travel on land. Occasionally, black-armored puppets would emerge from the fortress.
"Technology I've never seen before. Where do these guys come from?"
Sasuke's expression was grim. These puppets had high defenses, and ordinary means couldn't break through their armor. They were also numerous, so frequently using ninjutsu wasn't a good strategy.
"Sasuke, what should we do?" Sakura clutched her kunai, her expression tense.
"Sakura, wait here. If I'm not back in an hour, you go back to the village and inform Teacher Kakashi."
After speaking, Sasuke's figure melted into the shadows as he moved towards the mobile fortress. If Naruto was alright, there was a high chance he was inside this fortress. As for the burden that was Sakura, who cared about her!
The sky gradually darkened. Sakura hid behind a rock, inwardly complaining: Why did such troublesome matters always happen when Teacher Kakashi wasn't around, and they were all things she couldn't handle?
Teacher Kakashi, what are you doing!
...
Konoha Shopping Street, Dessert Shop.
"Good heavens! Forget Danzo, but how come even Itachi is slacking off!"
After dinner, when having dessert, one must take their girlfriend to a dessert shop for dessert!
This was usually how a date went, but Lin Yu hadn't expected to see four loafers here.
Kakashi, Danzo, Itachi, and Shisui!
Did these four not have to work?!
Itachi and Shisui sat opposite each other, quietly eating Mitarashi dango, and Itachi casually said, "Nagato gave us a long vacation."
He almost forgot that Itachi was a triple agent, and one who was on paid leave. As for why Nagato had given him leave, heh, it could only be because he was on his honeymoon with Yahiko.
Lin Yu pulled Kaguya to a couple's booth next door and squinted at Shisui, "Then Shisui, what about you?"
Seeing Lin Yu's ill-intentioned gaze, Shisui felt a slight tremor in his heart, but he had his reasons!
"Teacher Lin Yu, I took four bounty missions today and earned three thousand silver taels for the organization."
"Oh? Not bad. Tomorrow, strive to take four more."
"Yes..." Shisui immediately put on a sour face. High-level bounty missions were not easy to complete; they either took too long or were too far away. This way, how could he see his younger brother Itachi often?
However, although Lin Yu had a tendency to exploit his employees, he didn't have an overbearing aura. The four of them also didn't feel constrained by Lin Yu's arrival; they continued doing what they were doing.
The five of them felt more like a harmonious teacher-student relationship.
Kaguya didn't understand what Lin Yu was talking about. Her eyes curiously scanned the exquisite and cute desserts on the surrounding tables, her eyes slightly upturned.
The food here seemed to look good...
"This, and this... I want everything on here!"
Kaguya, mimicking the way other customers ordered, picked up the dessert menu on the table and pointed at various items for the waitress. Finally, she declared she wanted everything, nearly overwhelming the waitress.
However, thanks to her excellent professional demeanor, she smiled and said to Kaguya, "Please wait a moment," before quickly rushing to the kitchen.
"Lin Yu, is my ordering like this correct?"
Kaguya sat elegantly in her chair, but her delicate face showed a hint of nervousness, as if she was afraid her behavior was somehow improper.
"Ahem, it's correct, but Kaguya, can you finish it?"
Lin Yu broke out in a cold sweat. Kaguya had just finished sixty to seventy bowls of ramen and then ordered a whole set of desserts. This woman was a total glutton!
A gluttonous Kaguya, confirmed!
Given Kaguya's physique, digesting such a large amount of food wouldn't take too long. If she wanted to, she could digest it immediately after swallowing.
But there was one problem: where did the food residue go?
Did little fairies really not need to poop?
Lin Yu lowered his head and looked at Kaguya's flat stomach, his eyes filled with curiosity.
It wasn't long before, as the desserts were served one after another, Kaguya once again entered her gluttonous mode, her eyes curved into crescents, no longer furrowed.
How had she never realized before that human food was so delicious!
Delicious, delicious!
Although Kakashi and the other three were shocked by Kaguya's stomach capacity, when they thought of her being the progenitor of chakra, capable of almost draining Lin Yu, they weren't overly surprised.
"Teacher Lin Yu, we have a gathering later. Asuma and Guy will be coming. I heard Asuma is bringing a few friends too. Teacher, are you coming?"
"No! No, no, no... I have plans tonight."
Lin Yu glanced at Kaguya, indicating he was truly unable to get away, his expression filled with regret!
Asuma's friends? Could it be Raido, and the newly acquainted Hayate Gekko and Ebisu?
With this lineup... honestly, who would dare to go!
He would rather be drained by baby Kaguya for the entire night than attend this "meet and greet"!
"Is that so? What a shame."
Kakashi showed a hint of regret. It was rare for them to get together. Some of their peers were gone, and some couldn't get away. Opportunities to gather together were becoming fewer and fewer. If Teacher Lin Yu could also go, it would be perfect.
"Well, maybe next time... By the way, where are Naruto and the others?"
"Oh, they're out of the village on a mission. It was just a D-rank mission to find a snow ferret, so they should be back soon."
"Is that so?"
...
Twenty miles outside Konoha Village, Sakura was darting through the forest with a pale face, her small face smudged with dirt and her clothes torn. She had been discovered by a black-armored puppet, and Sasuke hadn't come out on time. She had no choice but to return to the village for help.
However, her chakra was almost depleted, and she was carrying significant injuries from a female knight named Rank. She was no match for her.
"Must hurry... back to the village..."
Thump!
Her foot slipped, and Sakura's vision went black as she fainted.
After an unknown period, a female ninja with purple hair and brown eyes streaked across the treetops. She was dressed provocatively and muttered to herself, "It's been a while since I had glutinous rice balls and red bean paste. After this mission, I'll definitely eat my fill!"