[Hokage] Terukawa

The moment I saw that face clearly from the shadow, my mind exploded, and I reflexively hid behind Yang Yi.

ah.ah?

When I finally came to my senses, I realized that my nails had dug into the flesh of my palms, and Yoichi had already stepped out.The adult body blocked me firmly behind me.

After staring at a thread on Yang Yi's clothes for a few seconds, I opened my mouth, but no words came out.The glances from Qingyi and Yanger behind me made me feel a little worried, but... in this situation, how could such a real weak posture be part of my plan?

Who would have thought, who would have thought?

One of the nightmares that had been flashing in my nightmare of snow-capped mountains for a whole decade was actually curled up here, huddled in that dirty, damp, cold corner.

Like a lost dog.

I stared intently at the face half-hidden in shadow.The last time I saw him was ten years ago when I was huddled on a cliff and looked into the distance with cold hands and feet.

Just like in the dream, the incision on my left eye that was pulled horizontally by my father no longer bleeds; just like the memory, the water-blue hair looks like rippling blue waves even in the dim wind and snow; just like the photo, his appearance The facial features are indeed stretched and beautiful.

But spiders were building webs on his head, rats were trying to rob him of food, and if it wasn't winter, more maggots would be eating the carrion on his wounds, gnawing at his shrinking tendons, and hollowing out his exposed bones— —My hands were chopped off and I was mentally disturbed. Compared with my nightmare, the people in front of me were too embarrassed and miserable... even though I had vowed to let them die a miserable death.

He didn't know whether it was his luck or misfortune to be forced to be like this.

... It would be the greatest misfortune to have it happen in my hands.

The knife he wielded and the fire he lit ten years ago will eventually be repaid by himself.

Find an excuse to send him on his way?

My eyes were staring at that messy aqua-blue head, and my heartbeat was beating like a drum without me noticing.

My fingers haven't warmed up yet, but I feel cold blood pouring into my heart, and my throat is a little itchy. It's hard to tell whether it's a physiological reaction caused by mood swings or whether it's because I can't control the laughter that is stuck on the back of my tongue.

Am I rejoicing in this moment?

All kinds of thinking, all kinds of contemplation, just for a moment.

I shook Yoichi's finger gratefully and decisively walked out of his shelter the next moment.

The nightmare - he doesn't even deserve to be my nightmare anymore - can no longer hurt me easily. The time to recover the blood debt may be today, but... joy?I don't feel joy.

Yes, maybe I'm excited, maybe my heart beats loudly as if I'm jumping for joy, but I... don't feel happy.

Don't feel it at all.

In terms of the effect of stimulating my emotions, the real person in front of me is not even as good as the photo Orochimaru gave me.

I was confused and relieved, excited and sad.

Ah, I can only kill him like this.

The person in the cell was huddled in the corner in a posture that looked particularly uncomfortable, with his back facing out and his head facing in. The light from the brazier could only barely illuminate the left half of his face - he was unprepared, unexamined, and couldn't see anything. Desire to live.He was silent and silent, and turned a deaf ear to a few routine questions raised by Yang Yi, so I quickly realized that this man was probably determined to die, and ordinary interrogation techniques had no way to do anything with him.

His courage to face reality is not even as good as mine ten years ago, when I hid in the crevice of the cliff and looked out.

To deal with such a dead man, you need to give him strong medicine.

Hit wherever it hurts.

"I'm a medical ninja. They asked me to come and see your situation." Indifference and contempt filled every byte. I raised my chin and lowered my eyelids to introduce myself, "Although it looks like there is no hope, but In order to prevent those two pieces of flesh from rotting and smelly and polluting the dungeon, I still have to take over this crippled mess like you."

I let out a chuckle.Qing Yi, who was standing by, picked up my words very tactfully and helped open the iron door of the cell.

The speech is certainly not nonsense, and the ridicule is certainly not nonsense.Under the clues provided by Jingyi, all pain points can be traced.

A few minutes ago, Mirror Yi appeared the next moment we entered the underground area - with new clues from observation.

"Everyone wants to kill him. Those who can touch him will punch him through the gaps in the railings. Those who can't touch him will curse and spit on him and throw the rat to death. And those who are already locked up here will call him "bitch". "The person we just threw in today will be called a "traitor,"" the man Yang Yi called "the most reliable" said calmly, "Based on the momentum this afternoon, he may be trashed again in the future." piece. 』

"'Bitch'? 'Traitor'?" After repeating softly, Yang nodded his chin, "You can't be wrong, he is the 'Ran' that the Ito kid called when he was dying. Watch him, don't let him die. "

"He has been moved to the deepest cell, and Qingyi is watching him alone.He won't be beaten anymore, but scolding is inevitable. 』

"Well done. I hope Lan's spirit won't be too fragile, at least he won't die today." Yang Yi smiled, patted Jing Yi on the shoulder, and turned to look at me with a raised eyebrow. It seems like a greeting but also like showing off - what, is it awesome?

Awesome, awesome, really awesome.I curled my lips and followed suit.

Then the biggest surprise of the past ten years hit me unexpectedly.

The physical disability and the putrid odor caused by improper wound treatment are the most superficial but also the most difficult to ignore pain points, especially since Lan was a powerful ninja - today is different from what it used to be.It turns out that the higher you fly, the harder you fall.

Of course, of course... the greater possibility is that his invisible soul is far more powerful than his tangible body. Although cutting off his hand is equivalent to cutting off his fangs, it is far from killing him... But wouldn't that be more interesting? Yet?

If physical trauma is not the main reason for his desire to die...then what is the main reason?

Trauma?But ninjas are born to die. After years of fighting with swords and swords, their spirits should have been sharpened to the point of being like a smelly and hard stone. Even if they are missing arms and legs, they are just mediocre. They will never be like this... ... half crazy.

The howling of the winter wind made my heart feel cold.

I pressed down a little more, and the long aqua hair that seemed to flow freely between my fingers forced the pitiful ninja to further tilt his head back, and the neck that should have been guarded until death was exposed without any cover. in the air.I could see him swallowing saliva, and I could see his cheeks that were burned red by the high heat.The eyes with the same color as his hair were covered with a dark fog, and the pupils in the center were gradually shrinking - he was indeed looking at me hard - I could almost pick out two things that were familiar from the reflection of his eyes. Light blue to almost light gray.

——For a moment, I almost couldn't help asking this person if he saw the look of a righteous man on my face. I eagerly wanted to know if those old things were as fresh to him as they were to me. Is the nightmare that has been wandering for ten years...

Am I the only one trapped here?

Separated by the wall is a dangerous cliff.

On the cliff, there was a strong wind.

But there are so many people with black hair and light eyes.

I tasted blood belatedly, whether it was my lips, my gums, or the tip of my tongue.The hole in my heart has never been so heavy. The weight of the emptiness made me feel dazed for a moment, until a bright little flower exploded from the brazier in the corner.

"Lan" just focused his gaze on me, and I just pulled his hair to force him to look up.At this moment, my hands are old and cold, with tiny scars wrapped around them, but the living person bound in them is as tame as a dead person.

I twirled my other drooping palm in vain, trying my best to avoid any bad imagination about the "eyeball-squeezing feeling".

Kakashi was right...all his worries and warnings, both spoken and unspoken, were right.

It's easy to let someone die a painful death, but it's difficult to have compassion for yourself in the process.

Maybe the boring scrutiny lasted for too long, or maybe the three people behind me had already gotten a glimpse of some secrets from my recent transformation from retreat to ruthlessness——

"Clang clang", Yang Yi's wrist guard gently tapped on the iron rod of the cell.The iron rods are connected to the iron rods, and the nodes are connected to the nodes. In just a moment, the crisp sound of metal hitting each other is transmitted very far in this wide underground along the countless cells that co-construct.

"Dr. Black Fox, how is he doing?"

Yang Yi's voice was lukewarm, lukewarm.He must have been troubled by the sight before him, because my overreaction to "Lan" was beyond his control.

This is understandable.No matter whether my attitude towards "Lan" is hostility, hatred or unyielding, as long as I act too radically, all the arrangements he and Yakushi Nonoyu have made in the city will have to be made all over again.

I looked up at him thoughtfully, but there was no answer for a moment.

Some "spectators" who had no sense of existence reacted positively.

"Doctor? Hahahaha! This is the first time I know that ninja bitches can also see a doctor!"

A shrill female voice.

"Hahahaha! You guys, you can treat his useless hands. I can smell his stink through several walls - I hope those maggots won't jump on you!"

"What's the name of the doctor who came here? 'Black Fox'? How could someone have such a name? Hehe... you are not a pet doctor, are you?"

An old male voice who couldn't stop laughing.

"But...hehe! Didn't the blue-haired bastard just have his claws chopped off by his master? Do you nosy people even have to discipline other dogs when their masters discipline them...? Go see that useless dog if you have time. ... Hehe, why don't you come and see my penis, old man, hehe..."

"It's useless for you to protect him inside. I will hang him at the city gate with his intestines, and then paint the lintel with his blood to celebrate the ceremony, just like they did to my father and mother."

A sinister and hoarse young voice.

"Hee...! Lan, you have today too!"

"Fuck, die, die, die... don't come here!"

"Doctor, I can give you a lot of money. Can you chop off his head and give it to me to make a urinal? Ah... I still have a title! I can also give you a title! I will give you everything..."

Like boiling water in a cauldron and oil cooking in a raging fire, dozens of thin voices burst out together in a very short period of time. They were as dense as a buzzing sea wave and sharp as if the gunpowder of the fuse had finally been lit. Overflowing with malice, fear, and Hatred and murderous intent suddenly broke out - I had been walking in the shadows for many years and could not remain calm in the public eye.

A horrifying chill silently crept up my back. I subconsciously looked down at "Lan", only to see that those glass bead-like eyes never even flickered - he was still looking at me.

Just looking at me.

Being stared at by the glass bead, I felt a chill running down my spine for a moment.

Just as my brain began to think of countermeasures reflexively, another explosion suddenly shook my ears.

"clang--"

It wasn't until the noisy curses and curses faded away together with the lingering sounds flowing through the steel that Yang Yi's voice sounded calmly and clearly.

"We are interested in the information on him, so we have kept his life until now, so... everyone, just play around at other times, but at this moment, I cannot tolerate any mistakes. Please be patient, don't do it. Disturb our doctors.”

He paused briefly.

"Jingyi, if any gentleman or lady is unwilling to cooperate, I will ask you to cut off that person's tongue - is the tongue such an inconvenient thing? It is better to leave it to me for safekeeping. It will be good for everyone."

No one responded in the shadows that seemed to have solidified, and the silence remained as before.

Probably - rather, some people will think that Yang Yi is bluffing, but... what does other people's tongues have to do with me?

Yang Yi didn't care at all. He looked at me again - at Lan who was being dragged in my hand. His face was gentle and his tone was calm: "Doctor Black Fox, how is the situation?"

"Not very optimistic. The wound section only received basic hemostasis treatment, no follow-up debridement, and no anti-infection, and the technique was very rough. Now his body temperature is very high, and he is still alive only shows that he has a short course of illness and is in poor health. His quality is good, and the time when his hand was chopped off will never be more than two days ago."

I glanced down at Lan, who was panting and breathing rapidly, and replied.

In fact, it is sepsis caused by severe wound infection.His condition is probably not serious, but considering that the course of his illness will not even exceed two days... it can only be said that Ito who cut off his hands may really want him to die.He huddled in the corner, probably not only because of subconscious defense and avoidance, but also to keep warm - septicemia always makes people afraid of cold.

But... why?

According to our previous speculation, for the Ito family, he should be something like a "guardian ninja".

Why did the Ito clan kill his guardian ninja?

"To be honest, I don't think now is a good time to interrogate him." I tapped Lan's temple. "His brain is almost cooked. If the fever doesn't go down..."

Yang Yi frowned: "Are you stupid?"

"He might even die. Complications are always hard to predict."

"..." Yang Yi's face was gloomy and uncertain. He stared at Lan's pale face for a few seconds, and then looked at me questioningly - I probably knew what he was thinking - he had firmly grasped the power in the city. With this in hand, and based on this premise, the matters related to Ito and Ran appear important but unnecessary.So, do we still need to spend more time and energy on this useless person who has only a few days to live?

"..."

I caught his gaze steadily.

After a few seconds, I lowered my eyes and turned to stare at the face with a faint look of death.

"...Please give me a few days. I want to stay here and observe his condition. There is no need to recover, but at least let his body temperature drop so that he can be awake enough to accept the interrogation."

After a few long seconds of silence, I heard a long sigh.

"I understand," Yang Yi said, "I will arrange a cell with better conditions for him, and the interrogation room will be cleaned again. As for treatment... we don't have enough time, so it is enough to prevent him from talking nonsense."

I nodded, told them to bring some necessary things, and then watched them leave - or maybe they just disappeared into the darkness?

It doesn't matter, I don't care.There is no need to hide what I am going to do from anyone.

Perhaps because they were afraid that the prisoners would not survive the rainy, snowy and frosty winter here, even though they were located in the hollowed-out mountain, there were still piles of hay in the cells for them to keep warm.

Hay, rags, rice bowl, toilet.Besides, there was nothing in the cell.

My eyes stayed on the unknown substance that looked like vomit in the corner for a few seconds, and finally I chose to drag the half-dead cripple to the farthest and relatively clean opposite corner.

He kicked away the mouse droppings scattered on the ground, then flattened the cloth and spread out the hay... Well, the hay was fairly clean, but the person dragging it on his hands was a little too much in the way.

I crossed my legs on the hay, took off my cloak and spread it flat on my legs as a partition, and finally gently rested "Lan"'s head on it.

"So, your name is 'Lan'?"

Gently tucking the scattered aqua blue hair behind my ears, I lowered my head and looked at him, looking at him with a half-smile.

"It summarizes the characteristics of your hair and eyes very accurately, and it also contains the meaning of vanilla and orchid... The person who gave you this name must love you very much.

"...but I know that's not the name you've used the longest.

"Compared to the loving 'Lan', you must be more accustomed to that one."

As if out of some mysterious instinct, he gasped a few times.Between the trembling and flickering of his eyelashes, his Adam's apple moved, and his eyes slowly and stiffly turned to the side.

"You have not forgotten, you must not have forgotten, because the 'past' never really passes. There are always people who think that they have stepped on the 'past' under their feet, but that is only because the 'past' is the soil where they are rooted."

I raised my eyebrows - I have a complete understanding of my appearance.If I want to try to persuade, cajole, or cajole, this mobilization of facial muscles and false intimacy and gentleness usually makes things much easier.

"Tell me, what is that name? Is it Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, or Zichou Yinmao? Please tell me, please, please tell me."

He began to turn his head to avoid my eyes.

If he had more strength, I have no doubt that he would roll and crawl away from me, and even fly up and kick my head off.

It's a pity that he didn't, and I could reach out my hands without any scruples and straighten this disobedient head.

What could he do?He could do nothing but close his eyes as if to deceive himself.

I let out a short laugh.

The water transformed into chakra washed my hands, and I twisted my fingertips again, and then - with an irresistible force - firmly opened "Lan"'s closed left eye.

Confused.frightened.Frightened.angry.A strong but extremely weak murderous intention.

Lan Huodi's eyes widened, his chest and abdomen heaved and his limbs trembled as he tried to stand up and struggle.

I suppressed his resistance with one hand, while the other hand that opened his left eye didn't even tremble at all.

I smiled close to his face until his hot breath almost sprayed on my face.

"Hey, I'm asking you something."