[Hokage] Summer Festival

I stayed at Xia Zi's house for two days, and on the third day I couldn't help but go out for a walk.

Ah Duan hasn't come back yet, and I haven't moved much of the things in the house except for the necessary ones.

It's someone else's house after all.

Even if she was called "Xia Zi" "Xia Zi", she couldn't take it for granted to look at the items in her bedroom at will.But I have to know everything about Natsuko.

It's autumn and the air is crisp, and the yellow leaves are scattered all over the street, blown around by the cool wind.

I walked down a long slope, and in front of me was an endless rice field, and there were mountains far, far away, as if floating in the clouds.

This should be the outskirts of Konoha.

Walking along the sound of splashing water, passing through the trails lined with ginkgo trees, as expected, I saw a waterfall pouring down, water splashing everywhere.

There was a man standing on the big rock in front of the waterfall, holding a short knife in his hand, closing and opening his eyes, focusing on the knife in his hand, standing clankly.

But I felt a chill run up my spine, and an inexplicable fear suddenly hit my heart.

How should I put it, even though I haven't personally experienced the bloody and dangerous life of a ninja, I still know that the aura emanating from that person at that moment is called murderous aura.

He hadn't even moved yet, and it was already frightening.

This kind of aura is like the door of hell is opened in an instant, and the evil spirits are screaming and rushing out, making people feel timid and unable to control their steps and want to back away and escape.

I'm afraid it's hard to take shape without thousands of killings.

I tightened my hand holding the tree trunk, my nails scratched the rough bark, and the flesh on my fingertips was scraped so painfully, I wished I could turn around and run away immediately.

After all, he was a person who grew up in a peaceful age and was pampered by the quiet years. How could he have felt such pure naked murderous aura.

All previous knowledge about killings began and ended with books and movies.

However, for me now, these things have to be faced sooner or later.

As Kato Natsuko, one day, she will face the person she wants to kill and the person who wants to kill herself.Then there would be no chance to back down.

I bit my lower lip and forced myself to stand still, staring at the person in front of me.

He had already waved the knife in his hand, stepped on the water and leaped, every move was strewn and sharp, and the blade cut through the air with a whistling sound.

Even a person like me who doesn't know anything about swordsmanship can see that the style of the swordsmanship is terrifying, completely different from the flashy swordsmanship performances at the Wushu World Championships broadcast on TV in the past.

I don't know how many people's blood has been stained with his knife, and how many people's lives have been ended.

The water was rippling, and the reflection in the water was hazy and unclear. His figure flickered like lightning out of thin air, making people dazzled and dizzy.

All of a sudden, he jumped up, raised the knife in his hand, and cut the hanging water curtain from mid-air!

My eyes widened, and I couldn't hide my astonishment.

Withdraw the knife and cut off the water.

It turns out that someone can cut off the water with a knife.

Only then did I see clearly that there was a layer of white light on the blade, which made people feel chills.

It's chakra, the source of energy for ninjas.

How many unknown surprises are there in this world?I suddenly had some expectations.

Looking forward to and apprehensive.

Having exhausted his set of saber skills, he put away the dagger, held his chest to adjust his breath, his face without a mask was sickly pale, and his lips were purple.

That body with recurring old injuries, after all, is too reluctant.

Xinyi said that he should prohibit the use of chakra. It seems that the doctor's order is nothing but a cool breeze to his ears. He really hides and practices secretly.

I remembered that my body used ninjutsu on its own to cause the wound to open, and the pain was excruciating. I wonder if he will repeat my mistake.

After adjusting his breath, he jumped back to the shore after a few jumps.His footsteps were a little vain, but his complexion improved a lot.

"Morning," he said.

The oppressive aura just now had faded away, and at this moment, his expression was indifferent, and his demeanor was modest and gentle.

Completely different.

I secretly breathed a sigh of relief, only to find that my fingertips were scratched by the bark with tiny bloodstains, and the blood slowly oozing mixed with the fine debris of the trees made me feel a dull pain.

"Morning." I replied.

Remembering that I didn't bring a handkerchief, but the dirt on the wound couldn't be ignored, so I went to the river under the waterfall and scooped up water to wash it.

The cold river water soaked the wound, and the pain seemed to be slowly weakening.

A clean handkerchief was handed to me, I was stunned for a moment, turned my head and saw him squatting beside me, with a bit of apology in his eyes, he said:

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were there at first."

He probably also guessed that I was taken aback by his murderous aura when he wielded the knife.

This is the second time.

The second time he apologized to me, and I only saw him four times in total.

It wasn't really his fault at all.

For the first time, Xia Zi's body was too vigilant and tense.This time, it was my own problem. I was still not ready to step into the world of ninjas, and I still relied on the rules and habits of the previous peaceful world.

One day in the future, in the face of such cruel murderous intent, I can't just be a bystander like I was just now.

I'm afraid I will be dead in the blink of an eye, and no one will apologize to me then.

I took his handkerchief, carefully dried the water around the wound, and said:

"I should say sorry."

"It disturbed your practice."

He smiled indifferently, and turned his eyes to the water.After being silent for a while, I asked about my practice.

I have been practicing according to the method on the scroll he gave me these days. I don’t know if it works, but of course I won’t tell him that I fell asleep frequently during the practice at the beginning.

After answering a few words selectively, I changed the topic to his injury.

"Ah, it's okay. On the way back, I met someone from Yan Yin, and I accidentally got involved in the previous injury."

He downplayed the past with one sentence and didn't mention anything else.

In the Ninja Village of Iwagakure in the land of earth, it seems that Natsuko's information is not wrong.

I immediately felt relieved.

Then he talked about the war outside the village, the situation of Konoha and the recent situation.

I listened on the sidelines, and if I heard about it from A Liang and Hui, I responded with a few words.If you don't know him well, just keep silent and listen to him.

When he spoke, his eyes still fell on the water not far away. The focus of his words was obvious. He basically didn’t use redundant words. Still water.

Unlike Ah Liang, who often has a playful smile on his face, and his tone of voice fluctuates with the content when he speaks, even ordinary things are more interesting when he says them.

I looked at Xia Zi's face reflected in the water, and my mind was full of mixed thoughts.

It's not that they are not good-looking, both Ah Duan and Xia Zi are not bad looking, but they don't have the youth and vigor unique to teenage girls at all.

I can't feel the youthful vigor of Miki from this face.

People say that love comes from the heart, probably because I am far, far away from the age of a little girl.

"Senior Shuo Mao."

I cried out suddenly.

He turned his head to look at me, and I looked up into his eyes and said:

"How long do you think this war will last?"

He was startled for a while, then turned his eyes back to look ahead, and answered after a while:

"Who knows."

Then there was a silence, and I followed his gaze to the sparkling water.The water in the river is very clear, but it's just that you can't see if there are any fish from this angle.

After a while, seeing that he had no intention of speaking again, I stood up and said goodbye.

After walking a few steps, he heard him call "Xia Zi" behind him.

I turned around and saw that he looked hesitant, coughed twice before saying:

"Don't tell Xinyi about my practice..."

I was taken aback for a moment, remembering the helplessness when Xin mentioned him, so I smiled and nodded as a promise.

Even if I don't tell you, Yixin has already guessed his understanding of him.

After walking a long way, I raised my hand to put my hair that was blown by the wind behind my ear, and suddenly found that I was still holding his handkerchief in my hand.

Anyway, it's all dirty, so I'll return it to him after I wash it.

***

The day Ah Duan came back, the sky was gloomy like a rainstorm was coming. I put away the clothes to dry in the backyard, and when I turned around, I saw him leaning on the wooden pillars in the corridor, looking at the ropes for drying clothes in the yard, his eyes full of nostalgia .

"In the past, on the eve of the rain, we would rush to help my mother collect clothes, and my father would sit on the corridor and watch us busy, playing chess with himself."

He suddenly smiled and talked about the past that I didn't know.Even though it was just a very common and unremarkable family matter, his appearance seemed to be telling the most precious and warmest memory.

After I walked over, he rubbed the top of my hair with his big hand and said:

"It's just the two of us now."

"In a blink of an eye, Xia Zi, you have grown into a good girl. If my parents can see it with their own eyes, they will be very happy."

There was obvious regret in his tone, I didn't know what to say for a while, or maybe I was guilty, so I lowered my eyes and looked away from him.

You are the only one left, and Xia Zi may have reunited with your parents.

I said this silently in my heart.

In this huge house, if he was the only one guarding the memories of the past, he would definitely be very lonely.

We had dinner together later, and from his casual words, I realized that it was their mother's birthday that day.

***

Ah Duan is at home, and from time to time he will give me pointers on my practice.Originally, he was worried that he would find something strange with his sensitivity to his close relatives, but after seeing the scroll that Hatake Sakumo gave me, he pondered for a moment and said:

"Although it's very different from your usual practice, I also think Sakumo-kun's method is more suitable for you, Natsuko, who can't use chakra now."

I tentatively asked a few more questions, and learned that the method on this scroll was tailored for ninjas who were forbidden to use chakra during their injuries. In this way, even when ninjas are resting, their practice will not be delayed too much. .

"The only people in the village who are familiar with the scrolls that can catch up to the third generation are Orochimaru and Sakumo-kun."

Ah Duan said with a smile.

Orochimaru and Hatake Sakumo.

I have heard people around me compare the two of them more than once.Both are geniuses among geniuses, and they are also talented at a young age.The former is a master apprentice of a famous teacher, and although I don't know where he studied the latter, I feel terrified when I think of his murderous aura when he wielded the sword that day.

Hokage's three students, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade.I have an exact impression of the latter two, so Orochimaru should be the man with black hair and golden eyes I saw on the first day.

"Even if you are not used to it, you should practice according to the scroll, Xia Zi."

"Don't waste Shuo Maojun's kindness."

Ah Duan patted my head and said.

From his words, I also learned that Hatake Sakumo often takes good care of his companions, whether it is in missions or in daily practice.

I once read the ninja experience book on Natsuko's bedside, more than 100 rules are clearly and clearly displayed - no matter what happens, the ninja vows to put the mission first, and those who violate it will be regarded as waste.

I will be distracted to take care of my companions during the mission, is this really okay?

I thought of Sakumo Hatake secretly disobeying the doctor's order to practice cultivation that day before he recovered from his injury. Maybe he was the kind of short-lived hero in the history books I learned who was not stingy with taking care of his companions, but stingy with taking care of himself.

I'm not cursing him, I hope his hero doesn't die short.