"Okay."
After dealing with the three bandits, Nagato immediately turned around, squatted down, and first stopped Nonou's bleeding.
If this penetrating wound continued to bleed like this, his rescue efforts would be in vain.
"I'm so tired."
Nagato gently laid Nonou down.
Now that the danger had passed and her mind relaxed, she could barely stay conscious anymore.
"Don't sleep. Hold on a little longer."
Beneath his mask, Nagato's expression tensed. There was no prepared blood plasma here for Nonou.
If she drifted off now, she might not wake up again.
At the thought of such a possibility, a sharp pain shot through his chest.
During the time they'd spent together, Nonou had at least become one of his few friends.
"Okay, I'll try harder."
Nonou's voice became increasingly weak; her eyelids began to droop.
She looked like she'd pass out any second.
"Don't close your eyes. Don't."
After treating Nonou's wounds, Nagato's voice had already taken on an edge of fierceness.
He reached out and gently removed Nonou's mask.
That face, with its black-rimmed glasses, had gone deathly pale; her lips were waxen and colorless.
There wasn't even a trace left of her vitality.
"I'll just close my eyes for a moment. I can't really hold on much longer."
Despite the haze clouding her mind, Nonou managed a faint smile.
To Nagato, however, that smile was chilling.
Clearly, she was delirious—there was no way a medical ninja would speak like that otherwise?
After saying those words, it seemed like she had used up all her strength.
Her eyelids slowly lowered.
[Lightning Release]
In desperation, Nagato could only resort to electric shock.
Luckily, he mastered five types of elemental jutsu.
Crackling energy surged through both his hands as he pressed them firmly against Nonou's chest.
Nagato carefully controlled his chakra output to prevent worsening Nonou's condition with Lightning Release.
With each firm compression, Nonou's body trembled.
"Stay awake. Wake up."
"I haven't even told you my real name yet."
"Pain was just my alias."
While performing compressions, Nagato murmured softly.
After several cycles of compressions, Nonou finally opened her eyes again.
His efforts weren't in vain.
"What is it then?"
Nonou heard every word Nagato said and responded after opening her eyes.
As if she had simply dozed off for a second.
Hearing Nonou speak, Nagato felt a renewed sense of energy.
"My name... is Nagato."
"Chang refers to chang duan (length), and Men comes from da men (big gate)."
While talking with Nonou, Nagato continued treating another wound.
"That's such a simple name."
"Nagato, I'm so cold."
Nonou felt her body temperature dropping more and more.
Even under the sun, she felt no warmth.
"It'll be okay. I will definitely heal you."
Nagato's reply didn't quite make sense, but Nonou no longer had the energy to think about it.
"Nagato, can I see what you look like?"
All Nonou could see was Nagato; her thoughts revolved entirely around him.
"Sure."
Nagato quickly removed his mask, letting his bangs fall down over his eyes.
"I'm prettier than you, hehe."
Nonou giggled like a little kid.
Admittedly, Nagato wasn't particularly handsome. He wasn't nearly as good-looking as Yahiko.
That was just a fact of life.
"You're the prettiest, so you mustn't die, okay?"
Nagato chuckled and playfully bantered with Nonou.
Her condition seemed to be stabilizing.
Once her wounds were treated, she'd be safe.
"I already know I'm cute; no need to flatter me."
Deep down, Nonou was quite the narcissist.
Normally, she wouldn't say something like that.
"Alright, external wounds treated."
Nagato let out a long breath of relief—all the bleeding had stopped.
If not for the risk of death from excessive blood loss, he would've prioritized treating her internal injuries first.
"Why do your eyes have rings around them? Are they contacts?"
For a split second, Nonou glimpsed Nagato's Rinnegan.
But since she didn't recognize them, she mistook them for colored contacts.
"Are you the Ten Thousand Why Questions guy or something?"
Nagato used a phrase Kawaki often used to tease them, even if he didn't fully get what it meant.
"You're so mean."
Nonou pouted adorably, giving him a pitifully sad look.
"Where else hurts?"
Nagato no longer felt like joking around—treatment was reaching its end.
He was now focusing on healing Nonou's internal wounds.
"Wherever you touched feels tingly now, not painful."
"But I'm so tired. I don't have any strength left."
Nonou spoke softly, struggling to stay awake.
The wounds regenerated by Medical Ninjutsu only brought tingles, no pain remaining.
Her drowsiness faded, replaced by sheer exhaustion.
Even moving a finger felt like a chore.
"That's exactly how it should be."
"You've basically gotten your life back."
"Here, eat this."
Nagato pulled out a pitch-black pill from his ninja tool bag and held it near Nonou's mouth.
Looking at it alone, Nagato wouldn't have dared to take it—unless it came straight from Tsunade.
"It smells terrible."
Nonou wrinkled her nose, clearly disgusted but only managing a small frown.
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"And now you're being picky?"
"This was personally made by Hokage-sama herself—I only have one."
With a grunt of annoyance, Nagato pinched Nonou's mouth shut and shoved the pill inside.
Then he held her mouth closed and gave it a gentle shake.
Of course, this pill couldn't literally bring someone back from the dead. It simply enhanced the body's natural healing abilities.
Considering how close Nonou was to death before, it would've been pointless to give it to her then.
Now that her life was safe, however, this pill could finally take effect.
That said, the pill itself remained extremely valuable.
Not only did it require Tsunade's immense effort and rare medicinal ingredients,
but its ability to drastically shorten recovery time after surviving near death made it invaluable.
There was still a remnant of the research on Hashirama's cells.
Tsunade hadn't produced many at all—it was more of a family-exclusive benefit.
Otherwise, Nagato wouldn't have been given just one.
Seeing Nonou make a swallowing motion, Nagato finally let go.
"You think I'm some kind of cat or dog?"
Nonou felt insulted—it reminded her of how she used to feed stray animals she treated.
"I think you're a Ghost Mastiff."
Nagato couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Every time his aunt gave medicine to the Ghost Mastiff, it was exactly like this.
After eating, the Ghost Mastiff would even bark wildly at his aunt for a while.
It was quite similar to how Nonou looked right now.
"Who's the Ghost Mastiff?"
Nonou had a new question.
The pill's effects began spreading through her body in the form of warm energy.
Her complexion had visibly improved since they started.
"Nobody."
"Alright, don't ask so many questions."
"You can go to sleep now."
Nagato thought explaining that Ghost Mastiff was a breed of dog might come off as rude.
He placed the mask over Nonou's face, then pulled his own into place.
Next, he slid both arms beneath her body—one supporting under her legs, the other under her shoulder blades.
With a slight push of strength, he lifted Nonou into his arms.
"Let's go back, the battle should be over."
Holding Nonou in his arms, Nagato began heading back.
"Okay."
Without hesitation, Nonou instinctively wrapped both arms around Nagato's neck and leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes.
Her warm breath brushed against Nagato's neck.
A strange feeling stirred within Nagato.
This kind of intimate contact felt completely different from when he healed Nonou.
At first, Nagato felt slightly uncomfortable with the closeness, but then quickly composed himself, quickening their pace.
Feeling the breeze against her hair, Nonou had never valued life more than she did in this moment.
Since she survived, she decided to live an even more brilliant life from now on!
"Why hasn't Nonou returned yet?"
"Could something have happened to her?"
Nawaki's battle had ended; Lion and Nonou's captain had already come back.
Both sustained minor injuries, but every escaping bandit was wiped out.
After not seeing Nonou return for a while, he couldn't help but feel worried.
"She should be fine—I saw Pain leave."
Minato observed the entire battlefield during the fight and noticed clearly when Nagato left.
"Oh, then there shouldn't be any problems."
Nawaki had full confidence in Nagato's strength.
Even without the Rinnegan, a few bandits weren't anything to worry about.
"She even went after them before we did."
"She should have returned by now."
"Should I go check on her?"
Nonou's captain still couldn't calm his worries and intended to go assist.
Nonou was the only girl—and the youngest—on their team.
Besides, he didn't fully grasp Nagato's strength, so it was hard for him to share Nawaki's confidence.
"Then why don't you go take a look?"
Nawaki didn't see much point in it, but also saw no reason to stop him.
After all, there wasn't anything else needing attention here.
"Alright."
"Put me down."
Nonou's captain was about to leave when Nagato appeared from the nearby woods, carrying Nonou in his arms.
Seeing everyone gathering around to look at her, Nonou suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
She let go of Nagato's neck and started squirming slightly.
"Is this okay with you?"
Nagato didn't mind much. She was injured, so everyone would understand. Besides, she felt soft in his arms—actually kind of nice.
"I'm fine." Nonou nodded firmly, having already regained some strength. She wasn't ready to fight yet, but she could at least stand and walk now.
Hokage-sama truly lived up to her title as Konoha's top medical ninja—the pill had definitely done its job.
Still, Nonou couldn't shake a lingering sense of guilt—how could she ever repay Nagato for such a rare medicine?
"Alright then."
Seeing how insistent she was, Nagato went along with her wishes. He gently lowered her to the ground. But he kept a steady grip on her arm, still supporting her.
"What happened?"
"Did you get hurt? Is it serious?"
"Are you okay?"
As soon as the group gathered around, everyone bombarded her with questions at once.
Nonou looked pale, and there were obvious bloodstains covering her body. Anyone looking at her would have thought she was critically injured.
"I'm fine, really." Nonou struggled to answer everyone all at once. She hurriedly waved her hands to reassure them.
"How can you possibly be fine? Don't try to hide it from us."
Her captain's eyes clearly showed disbelief.
Oh right…
Her clothes were torn beyond recognition, soaked in blood like she'd just been pulled out of a river.
"No, seriously, I'm fine now."
"Luckily, Pain showed up in time."
Wanting to prove she was fine, Nonou even did a few jumps on the spot.
"Are you a rabbit or something?" Nagato immediately put a hand on her shoulder. Did she really think she was completely healed?
"I'm sorry." Nonou didn't argue back, quietly admitting she was wrong. Like a child who had made a mistake, she looked so pitiful that no one had the heart to scold her any further.
This small interaction between them made everyone present realize there was something different going on between the two.
"She's so obedient." Konan murmured softly to Yahiko beside her.
"You're the most obedient." Yahiko perfectly embodied what it meant to have 'spoiling' etched into his heart.
"It's probably not true, but it still feels nice to hear." Konan had a fair understanding of herself—she was probably somewhat cute. But putting "obedient" on herself didn't seem quite appropriate. That just wasn't who she was.
Never would you guess you'd have matchmaking potential," Minato teased, nudging Nawaki with his shoulder.
"Oh, so you've finally caught on?" Nawaki lifted his head proudly, practically floating on cloud nine. If only his bangs were longer—he'd totally flip them now.
"Getting a big head there, aren't you?" Minato rolled his eyes. Who even *was* this guy?
"Hehe~"
Nawaki smirked, not bothering to argue.
"I'm glad you're okay."
"What exactly happened?"
Captain Nonou finally felt relieved seeing her back on her feet and asked for the details.
Everyone fell silent, waiting for Nonou to begin.
"Everything was fine at first. I was just too careless."
"There were three remaining bandits left, and I didn't want to lose them."
"So I pursued a bit too closely, probably putting pressure on them."
"They decided to kill me first."
"Fortunately, Pain arrived in time. Otherwise, I wouldn't have seen any of you again."
Nonou briefly explained what had occurred, downplaying the life-threatening danger.
Thinking back to it now still made her heart race.
She should've known better than to press so hard once she realized she couldn't take on the three by herself.
She had walked through the gates of death, only to be pulled back by Nagato's efforts.
If someone who didn't know Medical Ninjutsu had been there instead, they would have been powerless to stop her death.
Thankfully, she was mostly recovered now, and she didn't want everyone worrying too much.
All she needed next was some rest and recuperation.
"I see. Then you should properly thank Pain."
Unaware of the true danger, Captain Nonou spoke lightly, almost playfully.
"Come to think of it, this is the second time Pain's saved you, right?"
Nawaki didn't give it much thought either, counting the incident from the Anbu training grounds.
"Umm...I guess so."
The last time at the Anbu training grounds wasn't a big deal, even without Nagato stepping in.
Compared to how close to death she came this time, it wasn't worth mentioning at all.
Still, Nonou wasn't denying it either.
"Alright, but she needs more rest now."
"You shouldn't keep talking about it anymore."
Nagato interrupted their conversation before anyone could continue.
"Oh? Now you're sticking up for her?"
Nawaki teased lightheartedly.
Nagato didn't react much, but Nonou ended up blushing deeply.
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