[Side Mission]: Supplementary Medical Ninja
[Options]:
Persuade a medical ninja to join the team. Force a medical ninja to join the team.
**[Reward]: Green Potion.
Kuroki 's mind popped up with a mission prompt, his eyes lit up, and he thought to himself, "This side mission is blatantly aimed at Nonou."
As he thought about it, Kuroki looked Nonou up and down. The woman's lips were slightly parted, her breath weak, her body somewhat frail, and she appeared slightly worn out.
Under her round-framed glasses, Nonou's eyebrows were slightly furrowed. Her black-and-white nun's robe looked solemn, yet it perfectly outlined her curvaceous figure.
Her pale feet peeked from under the robe, revealing she wasn't wearing socks. She had hastily put on a pair of black cloth shoes, not having had time to properly dress.
Should I persuade her?
Or force her?
The effects of the Green Potion, which Kuroki had just experienced, instantly restored energy, stamina, and healed both internal and external injuries, while also enhancing his strength.
It also granted him the ability to manipulate plants, a trump card that could turn any desperate situation around.
He couldn't pass up this mission.
Despite Kuroki 's gaze, which was devoid of any desire or impurity, Nonou's pale face still flushed red under the intensity of his stare.
She glanced at his chest, stammering, "Sorry... um, I still have a mission to complete... I..."
The power of this Uchiha man before her, she had witnessed firsthand. He had killed the Hokage's son without hesitation. She dared not defy someone like him.
Kuroki calmly said, "The reward I promised is related to your mission, but we need to leave here first before settling it."
"My mission?"
"Yes, the one Danzo gave you."
"This..."
Nonou's body trembled slightly, her face showing confusion as she raised her hand to push her glasses up.
She quietly inched closer to Kuroki , signaling that for now, she could leave with his group.
She didn't understand how Kuroki knew her mission was given by Danzo.
Nonou figured that walking with them for a while shouldn't be an issue.
At the moment, she couldn't stay here anyway. Besides, Kuroki and the others were heading northwest, which coincidentally was on her way.
The other Uchiha members finished packing up.
The team left the area, with Kuroki personally carrying Kurenai Yuhi on his back, continuing their journey northwest.
Time was running out.
The group remained silent as they traveled.
It wasn't until the sun began to rise in the east, dispelling the last vestiges of the night's darkness from the ninja world.
After dawn, the group arrived at the exit of Mount Kikyo, on the verge of leaving this great mountain at the border of the Land of Fire.
Kuroki stood atop a tall tree, looking back at the endless mountain range and the sparsely populated area near Kikyo Town.
He paused and ordered the group to slow down, shifting from a sprint to a casual walk to recover their strength and stamina.
Tamaki, whose injuries had healed about sixty percent, now stood beside his elder brother, keeping watch over the nearby forest to ensure no danger was present.
The tense nerves of the Uchiha members gradually relaxed. Some began reviewing the perilous chase they had barely survived the previous night.
First, the pursuit squad of Konoha Jonin!
Then, all the monks of the Fire Temple!
And finally, those hideous monsters!
Once again, all eyes turned to Kuroki . They could vaguely sense the enormous burden this man bore in leading them into rebellion.
Without Kuroki , even if they had known about the Uchiha Massacre in advance, thinking of escaping from Konoha would have been nothing more than a pipe dream.
At this time, Kuroki wasn't idle either.
He instructed Nonou to use medical ninjutsu to revive Dr. Nak and the others, leaving the still-groggy Nak at the exit of Mount Kikyo.
As for Jaeger's family, Kuroki left them some living expenses and travel funds as compensation for disrupting their lives.
In the end, Nonou, who felt deeply guilty towards the mountain village hunters, couldn't stand it anymore.
She invited Jaeger's family to move to an orphanage at the border of the Land of Fire that was under her name.
With nowhere else to turn, Jaeger gladly accepted, parting ways with Kuroki and the others afterward.
After seeing off the civilians, the group traveled a little further.
They stopped for a rest, and the Uchiha members ate ration pills they carried with them to replenish their energy.
Nonou, being considerate, took the initiative to treat the injured members of the Uchiha squad. These were mostly minor injuries and didn't cost her much effort.
Izumi, meanwhile, stayed by Nonou's side, learning how to bandage the more severely wounded comrades.
Suddenly, Izumi looked at Kurenai Yuhi, who was part of the team, and frowned, asking, "Captain Kuroki , how should we handle this Konoha woman?"
Kurenai had been placed by Kuroki under a cypress tree. Her delicate face was pale, her red lips lightly bitten, and her long, slender legs bent beneath her.
Her posture was graceful, and her sitting position seductive.
She had been tormented by the chanting sutras the previous night, leaving her spirit still in disarray.
Kurenai Yuhi was a master of genjutsu, with spiritual strength that was exceptional even among Jonin.
But she didn't have the Sharingan or any other means to resist mental attacks.
This resulted in her exceptional mental strength becoming a massive target. Most of the spiritual attacks from the Brahma Sound Chakra were directed at her, and her unprotected mental strength became a burden instead.
Kurenai Yūhi ended up being the most severely injured.
"As a hostage, we'll take her along for now." Kuroki glanced at Kurenai and asked Nonō, "Is she seriously injured?"
Nonō thought for a moment and then answered truthfully:
"Oh, last night she voluntarily used genjutsu to shield some of her mental strength onto us, blocking part of the Brahma Sound attack. As a result, her spirit was severely damaged, but a week of rest should suffice."
Nonō suspected that this Konoha kunoichi's actions last night were likely out of guilt for the crimes her comrades had committed against innocent people.
After Nonō finished speaking, Izumi and the other Uchiha members gave the beautiful woman under the cypress tree a different look.
Originally, they had no favorable impression of Kurenai.
But they hadn't realized…
They had, unknowingly, been in her debt.
Izumi pursed her lips, letting go of some of her resentment towards Kurenai. Last night, this Konoha kunoichi truly hadn't stood on the opposing side.
Izumi, however, still didn't like Kuroki carrying the woman.
On the edge of the Uchiha group, Mikoto withdrew her gaze from Kurenai and looked down at her sleeve, which had been roughly torn by that guy, feeling a bit lost.
After a while, Nonō finished treating the wounded in the group, secretly relieved that she had chosen to trust Kuroki the night before.
Still, Nonō was worried about the mission.
But on second thought…
Since Kuroki had said the reward was tied to the mission, and considering he seemed very familiar with it, given how he was acting now, he probably wasn't lying.
After resting for twenty minutes, Kuroki saw that everyone had finished drinking water, eating their military rations, and had almost recovered.
He got up voluntarily and ordered them to move forward.
The Uchiha gritted their teeth, dragging their weary bodies up with each other's help.
Under the cypress tree…
Kurenai couldn't move. She stared at Kuroki 's back, trying several times to get up, but her muddled mind and weakened legs made her give up struggling.
She had only one thought now.
She wanted to talk to Kuroki alone.
Kuroki walked a few steps forward, heard the sound behind him, and immediately turned around. He walked straight to Kurenai, turned his back, squatted down, and calmly said:
"Get on."
Kurenai bit her lip hard, looking anxious. She pressed her hands to the ground, using all her strength to climb onto Kuroki 's back.
She buried her head against Kuroki 's neck, her face close to his, wrapping her snow-white arms tightly around him, fearing he might suddenly change his mind and leave her behind.
Kuroki stood up, carrying Kurenai on his back, and once again walked to the front of the group under the strange gazes of the Uchiha.
"..." Izumi blinked repeatedly, showing a mix of envy and frustration.
The group continued their escape.