[Hokage] Naruko Haze

The autumn is crisp and clear, and the green peak is dotted with flame-like red leaves. On the avenue at the foot of the mountain, which can accommodate four trucks in parallel, two travelers, one old and one young, walk slowly.At the end of the avenue is the richest land in the Land of Fire, Tianshui Town.

"The black soil in Tianshui town is very fertile, and it can be said to support half of the food demand of the Fire Kingdom." The old man said with emotion: "The last time I came, it was more than ten years ago... ..."

"No wonder the book says that the Kumamoto ramen in Tianshui Town is delicious!" The young man looked forward to it, "Mr. Jiraiya, please take me there!"

Large stretches of golden rice fields rippled in the wind, and farmers dotted them, bending over and wielding sickles, and freshly cut rice was piled up on the ridges, and the stalks were full of grains.

Naruko stood on the ridge of the field, and the air mixed with the fragrance of grass and trees and the smell of burning straw made people ecstatic.She took a deep breath, took a step, and ran, startling the birds pecking at the grain in the rice field.

The rich land makes people feel full and satisfied.

During the days in Tianshui Town, Jiraiya basically stayed in the tavern and drank.Naruko happily played with local children, picked rice ears with them, and learned how to cut rice and tie rice stacks with enthusiastic farmers.The farmers watched in amazement at the young Naruko, who immediately picked up the straw stack several meters high and ran to the barn to put it down, and they couldn't help but look at each other.

At noon, the resting farmers sat in the shade of the trees, chatting without saying a word, and Naruko sat on the nearby field ridge, biting the farmers' homemade pancakes.An elderly farmer glanced at her, smoking his pipe, and asked seemingly casually:

"Are you a ninja?"

Naruko was taken aback for a moment, and then remembered that she had seen local people wearing various colored kerchiefs on their heads when they were working. She thought it was interesting, so she did as the Romans did, and also tied an orange one on her head to cover the Konoha forehead.She pulled off the veil, brushed the rice leaves all over her body again, and said with a smile, "Yes!"

When he saw the forehead guard, the old man narrowed his eyes slightly, and asked again: "What are you doing in Tianshui Town? Do you have a mission?"

Naruko told the truth: "There is no mission, I am a ninja who came here to practice. Tianshui Town is really a good place! Even the pancakes are so delicious!"

The old man laughed, and his voice was very complacent: "That is, Tianshui Town is a blessed place from God! Our ancestors lived here for generations and depended on the sky for food. God has never abandoned us. Even in the severe drought 13 years ago, only Our Tianshui town has not stopped the flow."

"So what!" A burly man picked his teeth and scolded, "God will not disappoint us, but humans will!"

Naruko looked over suspiciously, and a woman next to the man tugged him, and said in a low voice: "Isn't the lesson enough, don't make trouble!"

The man snorted, but didn't speak.The woman glanced at the sky, and said with a little worry: "Although the harvest this year is good, but depending on the weather, it will rain in two days. Hurry up, it will be bad if you don't have time to clean up."

"What happens if it rains?" Naruko asked.

The man snorted and laughed: "As expected of being from a ninja village, I don't even know this! When it rains, the unharvested millet will rot in the ground, and the undried millet will become moldy, and you ninjas will have nothing to do." The meal is eaten!"

The woman glared at him, and the man stood up impatiently and walked towards the threshing floor: "Too lazy to talk! Work, work!"

Naruko also stood up, but found that the people who had been smiling and calling her to help in the past stopped looking at her.Even the children, looking at the adults' faces, ran away.

This... Naruko suddenly remembered his childhood experience, felt ashamed, and left silently along the ridge of the field.

Although I know that they don't hate me, but rather, they don't like ninjas, but still...

When the wind picked up and the familiar rustling sound, Naruko looked up and was surprised to find that several acres of land in front of him had not been harvested, and the rice was obviously smaller than other people's. He lowered his head, as if silently mourning for the harvest year that his master was about to lose.

The paddy fields have been cleaned up wherever they pass, and the millet is spread out to dry, just waiting to be bagged. Why is the machine here not even moving?And didn't you say that it will rain in two days, and it will be too late if you don't harvest!

Naruko looked around, there was indeed no one... wait!what is that?Naruko ran there quickly, and found a fainted woman beside a collapsed field ridge, with rice scattered around her, holding a sickle in one hand and a few stalks of rice in the other.

Naruko yelled several times, the other party finally moved slightly, and Naruko carefully helped her up.The woman was in her forties, with chapped lips, a sad face, and a sallow complexion. Naruko quickly untied the water bottle and handed it to her mouth. She swallowed reluctantly, and slowly opened her eyes, which were bloodshot.

"thanks……"

As he spoke, he struggled to stand up, and the hand holding the sickle shook violently. Seeing that it was full of blood bubbles, Naruko couldn't bear it, so he grabbed the sickle and said, "Sister-in-law, sit down, and I'll help you!"

The woman turned her head in surprise, and the moment her eyes slipped to Naruko's forehead, her eyes changed. She pushed desperately, and roared hoarsely:

"roll!"

Naruko didn't move, but the woman fell down, panting and sweating profusely, but her eyes were like knives, as if standing in front of her was not a thirteen or fourteen-year-old child, but a lifelong enemy.

"Go away, all ninjas! Go away!"

Naruko sighed: "If you don't want to, I won't be a ninja..." After finishing speaking, she took off her forehead protector and put it in her bosom, then took out a handkerchief and tied it on her head, making seals with both hands:

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

More than 100 Naruko waved their sickles and jumped into the rice field.There were Naruko's kettle and pancakes beside the woman, but she didn't even look at them, and stared at the figures of the girls working with complicated expressions.

As night fell, Naruko finally settled the few acres of land. All the rice was harvested and tied up, and they were neatly stacked. She wiped the sweat from her brow, looked at the woman, and asked, "Did you fight?" Grain machine? If you don’t take advantage of tonight to beat out the millet to dry, it will be too late when it rains!”

The woman said coldly: "Even if I starve to death, I don't want your ninja's stuff!"

Naruko pointed to the handkerchief on his finger, and sighed: "It's all said, I'm not helping you in the name of a ninja. My name is Uzumaki Naruko, you can just call me Naruko."

The woman lowered her head and said nothing. At this moment, a cry came from a distance: "Mom...where are you..." The voice was small and weak.The woman raised her head, her face was terrified, and she finally said, "I...I'll take you there..."

The barn was clearly aged, with bat guano and rat droppings all over the floor, and even cobwebs in the threshing machine.Naruko and the shadow clones put down the rice grains on their backs and started cleaning.

The woman watched and remained silent.Two malnourished children stood aside, their sallow and thin faces full of joy.

"Mom, those sisters are amazing, can we have dinner today?"

Seeing the expectant face of the child, the woman finally made up her mind, went up to pick up the rice, and stepped on the threshing machine swiftly.

It was almost midnight when the smell of rice finally wafted from the dilapidated wooden house.The two children gobbled it up and started eating with some salt and hot white. Finally, a smile appeared on the woman's face, diluting her sadness.

"You, eat too!" The woman brought a bowl of white rice and put it heavily in front of Naruko.

"This is a wooden bowl? It's amazing!" Naruko held it up and praised, looking carefully, it should be planed out of a whole piece of wood, with delicate workmanship and a good hand feel.

The woman glanced at her and said in a low voice, "It was done by the head of the house..."

"Is he not there?" Naruko asked.

"I'm not here anymore..." The woman's face turned cold again, "Please leave after eating! I still won't thank you for what happened today, and I don't want to keep you in the house for too long!"

"Hmm! I understand! Thank you for the rice, it's delicious!" Naruko said with a smile, dipped in some salt, and started to eat.

While eating, someone knocked on the door suddenly and asked, "Excuse me, did you see a blonde girl with six beard marks on her face?"

"Teacher!" Naruko stood up.There were so many things to do today, I forgot about Teacher Jiraiya.

The woman went to open the door, but when she saw Jiraiya's face, she trembled immediately, howled and rushed towards him, grabbed onto him desperately, and bit him hard on the arm.When the two children saw it, they were startled and burst into tears.Naruko was also taken aback, and rushed to separate the two.

"It's you! I remember you! Bring back my husband and son! Come back!" The woman cried out in extreme sorrow and misery, with tears all over her face. Seeing her grief, Naruko also shed tears unknowingly.

Jilai also slashed the back of the woman's neck lightly, and the woman fainted instantly. Naruko carried her into the inner room and carefully put her on the bed.The two children rushed over to bite Zilaiye again, Zilaiye sighed, knocked out the two children again, put them next to the woman, and covered him with a quilt.

"Teacher, what the hell..."

Helping the family close the door, the two set foot on the way back to the hotel, the moonless night was extremely dark.

"I didn't expect that even after more than ten years, the hatred would still not dissipate..."

Zilai also slowly told what happened back then.

13 years ago, Konoha was attacked, and everything was left to be done, and the enemy countries were all staring at them, ready to move.In order to rebuild Konoha and reorganize the military force, the national treasury was suddenly emptied, and both Hokage and Daimyo were very troubled. In addition, it was either drought or flood, and the grain production was almost wiped out. Throughout the whole country, only the land in Tianshui Town still had harvest.

Raising soldiers requires food and grass, and ninjas also need food.For Tianshui Town, which refused to pay additional taxes, the daimyo sent a tax officer, and the conflict was intensified, so Konoha had to come forward.

"At that time, Konoha suffered a lot, and many ninjas died, so I was sent here." Jiraiya recalled, with a painful expression on his face, "Tianshui town set up a defense line. When we broke through, someone died... ...People in Tianshui Town are famous for their stubbornness. I tried my best not to cause casualties, but this is repression after all... Later, Tianshui Town gave in. A few years later, Konoha regained some strength and sent people to repair it. Under the influence of the daimyo, Tianshui Town accepted the apology, and most of the people received the condolence money, but there are still some people who will not forgive..."

"That woman, I remember, her son was hit on the head by the splashed stone, and her husband crushed his internal organs. Looking at the situation of that family, her husband didn't survive for a few years and left two posthumous children. ..."

Naruko thought of the woman's sad and stubborn face, and her heart ached.

No sleep for one night.

The next day, Naruko put on the veil and went to that family again.

"What are you doing here!" The woman asked angrily when she saw Mingzi, who was drying the millet.

"As a person, I always do things from the beginning to the end!" Naruko said with a smile, activated the shadow clone technique to help, and then asked: "The people in Tianshui Town, I think they are very enthusiastic, why don't you invite them to help you?" ?”

The woman sneered: "Who wants to let a group of cowards who compromise the enemy come to help!"

"But relying on you alone, the body can't take it anymore." Naruko looked into the woman's eyes seriously, "People have to rely on each other to survive."

"This is true. Without our food, what do you ninjas eat? Without our tax money, how can the daimyo win over Konoha? In the end, what did you give us? When the year is not good, you want more If you don’t listen to us, we will be suppressed!”

"appoint……"

Wait, Naruko remembered that every task Konoha received had to be paid by the person concerned, not for free.

"Konoha will protect the land of fire from being invaded by enemy countries." It is true that the daimyo pays for the defense of the country, and the daimyo's money is all taxes, um, it should be no problem.

"Really, it's a pity that Tianshui Town is not on the border at all." The woman continued to sarcastically, but her voice was a little softer, "I said you, why are you looking for trouble, and I didn't ask you for help!"

"Because you are sick." Naruko pointed to the woman's hand tied with a veil, "And you are still injured, so of course I have to take care of you."

The woman was taken aback for a moment, then laughed until tears flowed down her cheeks: "I'm sick and injured..."

Mom, you are sick, let me come!

Damn child, if you are injured, don't be brave.

Damn, I'm sorry, I might have to take a step first, you have to take care of yourself, don't push yourself...

For so many years, stubbornly and independently refusing to bow their heads, shouldering and holding back, they have forgotten their original intentions, and they have forgotten that they used to support each other with others to get through the most difficult days.

Speaking of which, this child is as old as my son back then...

"Naruko, my name is Ah Shui, and my husband's family name is Nakajima." The woman calmed down, the expression on her face changed and began to glow.

"Well, Mrs. Ah Shui!"

Ah Shui started to communicate with his neighbors again, and also went to receive Konoha's condolence money, and asked people to repair the house and barn, and help with farming.Recently, a new round of wheat has been planted.

But these are all the information from the shadow clone.Naruko decides to keep a shadow clone there until Mrs. Ah Shui's child grows up, it can be regarded as compensation for the master.

Naruko, who had embarked on a new journey, played with the small wooden bowl in her hand, feeling heavy.

In the Land of Fire, or even in the Ninja World, how many Sisters of Water will there be?

No matter how many shadow avatars you have, they are limited.

In the end, what to do...