[Hokage] Terukawa

... hallucinations?Hallucinations?But how can there be anything on this big river that can lead me to hallucinate laughter?Besides, my five senses have always been sharp...

My movements froze, my heart trembled, and I subconsciously raised my eyes to look at the boatman who was holding on to the oar, but I saw that the boatman just lowered his center of gravity and stood on the bow of the boat. chance of bumps.Wearing straw sandals with open toes, he seems to be calmly adjusting his posture according to the angle of the boat.

Am I wrong?If I hear you right...who could it be?

boatman?Absolutely?I won't really recite this part, will I?

With the movement of struggling to get up, I quickly cleaned the water from my ears and eyes, and lowered my head to narrowly avoid half of the incoming waves.

The structure in the boat is so simple and simple that you can see the bottom at a glance, so my little baggage is particularly eye-catching—it is soaking in shallow stagnant water, rolling non-stop with the bumps of the boat .

"Old man!" I heard my own voice yelling, "How long will it take?"

The boatman didn't even look back: "Hurry up!"

It is indeed fast.

Passing through layers of waves and foam, I glanced at the river in front of me. The long-term experience of being with water in my childhood made it easy for me to judge the situation, and then I stopped my eyes on the rolling baggage , it still looked bulging, but it was mostly soaked by the river water that fell into the boat.

I hesitated, but in the end I didn't make any moves.

Don't worry, even if you have scruples, you can't lose your patience, not to mention that the abnormality just now is like a fleeting illusion... People can't hold the illusion, and they can't be anxious.

The rioting of the river and the jolting of the boat subsided after about 3 minutes.They came unexpectedly, and they left without leaving a trace. Everything subsided within a few thoughts, but looking back, the physical sensation just now was not like this.

"Okay. There's been a lot of rain and snow this year, so it's a little more laborious than in previous years." The boatman let out a long breath, and he stepped off the bow of the boat lightly and heavily, turned around and collapsed on the ground without any image. into the boat.I shrank back quickly with sharp eyes and hands, but the hand that was going to take the burden hesitated in mid-air, and in the end I just moved it to signal the boatman to rest on it.

"Thanks for your hard work," I said, "take a pillow and don't lie in the stagnant water."

Seeing this, the boatman was stunned for a moment, but after realizing it, he was not polite. He stretched out his hand to tuck the burden around his neck, and then relaxed again.Miraculously, the cigarette he had in his mouth before was neither lost nor bitten off, it was just being chewed at a slow speed.

"Thank you, Brother Jun, you are much more kind than I thought," he mumbled, "This is the first time someone has been like this...uh..."

"what?"

"No, it's nothing. I mean, this is the first time someone is willing to show consideration to me, an old man. You are also much kinder than I thought. I thought you were some kind of nobleman before, and you were bluffing." He explain.

"Ah...?" I showed a little confusion and a little embarrassment at the right time.

"Your demeanor, your demeanor... No, it's not right, let me think about how to say it," it can be seen that he is trying to organize the words, "the aura around you makes your every move, every word All of them are different from ordinary people.”

I:……

Does it mean playing a big failure?

Perhaps it was the burden that acted as a pillow that narrowed the distance between me and him. Even though I didn't answer, the boatman straightened out his words bit by bit without any scruples.His expression became serious and determined at the end, and he said word by word: "You have an aura that can make people calm."

"...sounds great," I asked, "do you really feel... uh, peace from me?"

"I feel it, and I haven't felt it in a long time," he said. "Thank you."

"...Although I don't know what my temperament you are talking about, or whether it exists, but I am very glad that you can regain... the feeling of peace," I said without hesitation after deliberation. Smile, "Calm brings calm, and calm brings thinking."

"Of course it is real," he still replied seriously, "Your friends who are close to you must also feel this way, haven't they told you?"

"No, no."

In fact... maybe there is indeed, but we are not aware of it.

I thought silently.

Kasunichi himself was very calm, as for Kakashi...does it count as arguing calmly and peacefully?

Let it count.

"Old man, can I ask you a question? I've been curious for a long time." I asked.

"You said."

I pointed to the cigarette in his mouth: "Are you a smoker? Why don't you light a cigarette? Is it to take care of me?"

"Take care? You think too much, do you think I don't want to light a cigarette? The main reason is that it is too easy to extinguish the fire on the river," the boatman complained and paused, then looked up at me, and then laughed. "Brother Jun, I believe you have had sufficient personal experience of this point—don't worry, the river water is not dirty, but it's not clean enough to wash your hair."

"……really."

I stretched out my hand silently, and brushed back all the black hair that had fallen down from my face by the river, exposing my poor forehead.

"Is this much better? I don't know if I can match the aesthetics of your generation, old man," I smiled and blinked at the boatman, "But in my knowledge, there are many uncles and uncles of the previous generation. Everyone will choose this hairstyle."

"Ah, yes yes yes, this hairstyle was really popular for a while," the boatman also laughed, looking very kind, "But, at that time, we would use a hairspray Things to fix the hairstyle. After applying hair gel, the hair will become very shiny in addition to not being easily deformed. Once the light shines on it, the hair will become shiny like a light bulb. Posture to make yourself more glamorous at that moment, it seems to be called... hairspray hands? Yes, hairspray hands."

"Wow—it's amazing, it's amazing," I smiled even more, and clapped my hands exaggeratedly and happily, "Then your hairstyle must have been shining for quite a long time, old man!"

"That—yes!" The boatman seemed to remember something that made him happy, and he clapped excitedly together. The vitality burst out of him at this moment seemed to be ten years younger. Old man, I am young and handsome, and I am also a well-known handsome young man in ten miles and eight villages. Every time I go out, there will be a group of little girls...Did you just say that I am bald, brat?!"

I watched him touch his forehead subconsciously—perhaps the position of the hairline, and finally couldn't help laughing out loud, followed by the old boatman's laughter.Laughter mixed with perfunctory but deliberate slaps resounded on the river surface, which even once overshadowed the sound of running water that gradually changed from violent to gentle.

When the boatman took the pole again, and when I sat up straight again after laughing enough, I happily proposed, "Old man, give me a cigarette!"

The old man standing at the bow of the boat turned his face halfway and uttered a single syllable: "Oh? You haven't smoked, have you? Smoking is not a good habit."

I smiled and explained: "When I was young, the adults in my family were very strict with me in this regard, but they couldn't restrain themselves. After going back and forth like this, I was very curious about cigarettes, and I really wanted to know what magical power it had. So many people can't live without it."

"It's okay, it's not a big deal, but don't blame me for not reminding you, I only brought matches, it's not easy to ignite on water."

I shook my head: "It's a small matter, I don't plan to light a fire, just smell something to satisfy my curiosity."

The boatman looked at me with strange eyes, and finally hesitantly took out a cigarette from the cigarette case in his arms and handed it to me.

"Thank you."

I thanked him, and started to rub the still warm cigarette in my hand a few times—it was dry to the touch.

I blinked and looked up at the back of the boatman.There were quite a few patches on his clothes, or maybe they had been worn for a long time, so that the original color became difficult to distinguish, and everything was pasted into a mess of dirty and deep heavy colors. In the turbulent waters, large pieces of his clothes are now wet, and sporadic drops of water are slowly sliding along the corners of his clothes.

The air is very pure, without the breath of Chakra, but if you can control the form of Chakra well enough, then for you, enemies other than sentient ninjas will be deaf and blind with capital letters.

This cigarette is very ordinary, the kind that can be found in any small shop, but it is not even damp.

Ah... I seem to have stumbled upon something incredible?

His purpose?I glanced at my poor bundle that had already been rolled into a ball, and the smile on my face deepened a bit, but the movement of stroking the cigarette in my hand didn't stop.

...There is something, is it really necessary to bite me so tightly?

To be honest, this is a bit unexpected, but it doesn't bother me, and judging by what I have left behind, this is actually a good thing, even if I have to change the previous arrangement a little because of it.

...not a big problem.

I silently straightened out my previous thoughts on the layout.

Well, it's not a big problem.

The only pity is that since this "boatman" came here with a mission on his back, he must also know my information well, which means that all our seemingly friendly or even heart-to-heart interactions just now are essentially two people. The ninjas with ulterior motives are playing wildly with each other, without any practical significance. Perhaps the only change in the situation is that the scene changes from "he knows my identity but I don't know his" to "I know his identity But he doesn't know that I already know his identity" - Acting?Played a lonely.

... What a disappointment.

After I figured this out, I became a little depressed and stared blankly for a while with half-opened eyes, and finally flicked the cigarette in my hand by a ghost, then lowered my head and held it between my teeth.

"Smoking is bad for your health, especially for a handsome boy like you." "Boatman" turned his head and said, "baldness and yellow teeth are indispensable."

"Is this advice from an old man? Horrible, but thank you anyway," I mumbled, "But it's just a trial, I'm really curious about how it tastes, so you see, I'm going to suck it up a little In one breath, I didn't even order it——cough cough cough cough cough!"?

The extremely strong choking smell of smoke mixed with the pungent and strange aroma of tobacco rushed into my throat unexpectedly, and the subtle numbness entrained in it turned into an extreme itching before I could think about it carefully. It exploded deep in my throat, like a mischievous seed, it grows fast when it sees the wind, one breath can spread to my nasal cavity and grow stronger in it, two breaths are enough to bring the pungent smell to my body The Tianling Gai made me wrinkle my facial features from coughing.

The cigarette that fell from between my teeth was caught in my hand subconsciously, but I couldn't take it or put it away, so I had to hold my hand stiffly in the air while my other hand was in a hurry Go cover your mouth, wipe your eyes vigorously from time to time, and wipe away those uncontrollable physiological tears.

"Are you okay?" In the confusion, I heard the "boatman" coming, his voice sounded from above.

"Ahem...too...too high..." I couldn't help but want to laugh, but I laughed intermittently, and in the blink of an eye, new tears overflowed from my eye sockets.I raised my hand and wiped a fresh wet mark on the back of my hand.

My "boatman" sighed leisurely: "You don't listen to persuasion, with us..."

I slowed down a little, cleared my throat, squinted at him and smiled, "What will happen with you?"

"People who don't listen to persuasion and are too stubborn will never end well." The "boatman" walked away from me and stood on the bow of the boat again, "We are about to arrive in the country of rivers, so prepare yourself."

"how long?"

"Not more than half an hour."

"That's really fast," I kneaded the cigarette in my hand—in just a few minutes, its surface has begun to become wet and sticky—and said lazily, "But it seems It's going to snow. I said, old man, when we get to the country of the river, do you want to find a place to hide with me? At most, it will delay your working hours, isn't it much more cost-effective than catching a cold, a fever and a serious illness?"

The "boatman" turned his head and looked at me, and said with a half-smile: "Young man, you are really good at talking."

"Hey, don't mind. I'm not very serious at first, but I'm a little shy. When I first got on the boat, I didn't know you well, old man. Of course, I have to pretend to be more reserved," I said with a smile, "As for now Well... I thought we were friends already?"

People at the bottom definitely have no friends.Where did they get friends from?Can I distract some of his attention by saying something like this?

I know it's impossible for him to stay.Well, after all, there are tasks to be handed in, Genbu is not as human as Anbu.

Sure enough, the "boatman" paused, and then changed the subject directly: "Please take care, but I am already old, and I don't want to waste too much time away from home. I will return to the Land of Fire along the nearby tributary, Then sleep peacefully in your own home."

"Sounds good, but what about the weather?" I pointed up with my finger.

The clear sky when I just boarded the boat faded to a dull gray at some point.I couldn't see the clouds billowing and rolling, but the pale and cold sky shone far away among the dead branches in the forest, and the icy air was evenly mixed with the moist water vapor rising above the country of rivers.

Snow is coming.

"For our kind of business, heavy rain is not good, but heavy snow is fine, but there must be no strong wind." He also looked up at the sky, "today is very lucky."

"Okay, old man, then I will pray for you that the snow will not fall too much." I leaned back casually, not bothering to continue greeting him.

Twenty minutes later, I re-stepped on the wet land on the shore - the ferry here collapsed for some reason, but fortunately, I was not on a large boat with a deep draft, so I asked the "boatman" to find a place Docking is fine.

The wind picked up slightly, and a little bit of fine snow fell from the high sky, soft and light, like the flying skirt of a young girl.

"Don't stay around here for too long, those robbers like you the most like a weak-looking noble young master, go to the city early, at night... no, don't go out from dusk, if there is anything to do, we will solve it tomorrow. Remember Take your baggage, all your wealth, here."

The "boatman" stood up straight, idly standing on the swaying boat, with a very serious expression.

"Are you the last person in your family? What a coincidence, I am too, but I failed to realize my dream when I was young. I really hope you can live well and realize my dream together!"

I took over my wet, still dripping bag, glanced at it, then threw it on my back nonchalantly, and at the same time said vigilantly: "Why are you talking like you are giving your last words? I haven't recognized you yet. Father's plan."

"Because marrying 180 wives and having 360 children to rejuvenate the family is really too difficult for an old man like me," he said calmly and solemnly, "I haven't even gotten my first wife yet. !"

I:"……"

Give me some sanity and face reality, motherfucker.

I smirked vigorously: "I hope to see you get married and have children in your lifetime. Please let me know at that time, so that I can prepare wedding gifts for you in advance."

"It's no problem at all, I will record all your gift money in the account book in advance," "Boatman" smiled brightly, and his tiny yellow teeth almost gleamed, "I wish you all the best!" Get married and have children soon~"

"Don't worry about it," I said, "I'm not yet an adult, and you want to encourage me to fall in love? Is this inappropriate? Go your way!"