It hurt, and his head was dizzy, and his whole body couldn't muster any strength.
Ryoma had no doubt that in his current state, even a wild boar could probably finish him off.
Ryoma only felt that while he was unconscious, it seemed like a dozen big men had taken turns brutally beating him.
He didn't even know how long he had been unconscious.
Opening his eyes with difficulty, Ryoma finally saw a glimmer of light.
"Good, good, the side effect isn't that I can't see."
Ryoma let out a long sigh of relief.
Luckily, it was just black vision; if his eyes couldn't see anything at all, that would be harder to bear than killing him.
There was so much beauty in the world, Ryoma hadn't seen it yet.
And there were so many beautiful women...
Ahem, of course, it wasn't just for the beautiful women, but for all the beautiful things in the world~
Ryoma struggled to sit up, suddenly noticing that the wounds on his body had actually been simply bandaged.
This was something Ryoma himself hadn't done before losing consciousness.
Ryoma's mind instantly became much clearer.
"Damn, I haven't been caught, have I?!"
Ryoma quickly began to look around at his surroundings.
Upon discovering that he was still in the hidden cave he had found earlier, Ryoma finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At least it proved that the person who helped bandage Ryoma's wounds wasn't an enemy and meant him no harm.
If ninja from another village had discovered an unconscious Ryoma, whether he lived or died would be uncertain.
Even if they treated his wounds, Ryoma probably wouldn't be lying in his hidden cave by now, but would be waking up in some other village's prison.
What comes next is... the rack, spicy water, bamboo splints... get it?
Ryoma also noticed that the cave had traces of other people having lived in it, and beside him was a pile of burned-out campfire ash.
The air outside was very fresh, as if it had just rained, filled with the scent of post-clear weather.
At that moment, a woman carrying a soup bowl walked in. She had a head of full red hair and looked very gentle.
She happened to meet Ryoma's gaze as he was looking around.
The woman's expression was first startled, then she said to Ryoma with surprise:
"You're awake, little brother. Drink this soup quickly."
After speaking, she handed the bowl in her hand to Ryoma.
Ryoma dully took the hot soup the woman offered, looking at her full head of long red hair, he couldn't help but fall into thought.
"Hiss... this hair color, isn't this the red hair only people from the Uzumaki clan have?"
"Why would she appear in the Land of Grass?"
Ryoma suddenly thought of something,
"Land of Grass... Uzumaki clan... red-haired woman..."
"This woman, she couldn't be Karin's mother, right?!"
At that moment, the Uzumaki clan woman, seeing Ryoma with a dazed expression as if thinking about something, thought he was afraid she had ulterior motives.
She quickly explained to Ryoma:
"Little brother, you don't need to worry, I mean you no harm. You've been unconscious all these days, and I've been taking care of you; I also treated your wounds."
Ryoma snapped back to reality and said to the woman:
"Sorry, big sister, I just woke up and my head is still a bit dizzy; I haven't processed what happened. Thank you, sister, for taking care of me these past few days."
After speaking, Ryoma unhesitatingly began to drink the hot soup the woman had handed him.
It seemed to be made from some kind of animal, incredibly delicious.
The woman watched Ryoma wolfing down the soup and couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"Oh, big sister, how many days have I been unconscious?"
Hearing Ryoma's question, the woman squatted beside him and started counting on her fingers.
"Counting from when we found you, you've been unconscious for five days now. My husband even thought you might die at one point, but luckily, you've woken up."
Ryoma paused upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "Five days already? Asuma and the others have probably withdrawn back to the Land of Fire by now."
Ryoma looked at the woman in front of him who was staring at him and spoke gratefully:
"Thank you for taking care of me during this time, big sister. I still don't know your name."
Upon hearing this, the woman covered her mouth and smiled.
"Before asking someone else's name, you should tell your own first, little brother."
Ryoma scratched his head sheepishly.
Not little brother!
Ahem... no, not that,
"Big sister, my name is Nara Ryoma, a ninja from Konoha Village."
Kidding, the Konoha forehead protector had been tied to Ryoma's arm all along; it would be hard for others not to know.
The woman nodded upon hearing this, thinking to herself, "A Konoha ninja indeed. Does Konoha now need to send such young children on missions?"
A hint of pity also appeared in her eyes as she looked at Ryoma.
The restless great and small nations brought endless wars.
In these brutal times of war, it was almost unfortunate for everyone.
The woman said to Ryoma:
"Ryoma-kun, just call me Kōko."
At that moment, a man carrying three or four wild rabbits walked into the cave from outside.
Seeing the arrival, Kōko stood up and said to him happily:
"Rinsuke-kun, you're back. Look, the little brother has woken up."
The man looked at Ryoma, who had already sat up and was holding a soup bowl, and his eyes showed great surprise too.
Ryoma looked at the man who had entered; his hair was also strikingly red!
Ryoma became even more certain of his thoughts:
These two must definitely be Karin's parents.
Karin is originally a pure-blood descendant of the Uzumaki clan, so her parents are naturally both from the Uzumaki clan.
It's just that Karin hasn't been born yet at this time.
Moreover, you could also see clues from these two people's names.
Rinsuke asked Ryoma:
"Little brother, how are you feeling? Has your body recovered some?"
Ryoma replied gratefully:
"Thanks to you and sister Kōko taking care of me these past few days. Although my body is still very weak, at least I can move on my own now. I'm very grateful to you and sister Kōko!"
Without Kōko and Rinsuke's care over these days, Ryoma's unconscious period would definitely have been even longer.
Ryoma was naturally very grateful to people who helped him.
Rinsuke nodded and said to Kōko:
"Kōko, you chat with the little brother for a while. I'll go deal with the rabbits. We'll have roast wild rabbit tonight!"
Kōko happily ran over and hugged Rinsuke, planting a big, smacking kiss right on his cheek.
Ryoma didn't feel much about it.
In his previous life, as a seasoned veteran, he had naturally seen countless scenes.
This little situation couldn't faze Ryoma.
But it turned Rinsuke's face bright red.
Seeing Rinsuke's face turn crimson, Kōko became even happier.
She looked like she had successfully pulled off a trick, laughing while poking Rinsuke's red face with her finger.
Rinsuke hurried away like he was fleeing to deal with the wild rabbits in his hands.
Ryoma watched the happy couple and unconsciously smiled along with them.
This feeling was like, even if the world were about to be destroyed, even if it were just the two of us left, as long as I have you by my side, I would still be happy every day.
But Ryoma suddenly thought of a very serious problem.
In his previous life, based on Ryoma's familiarity with the Naruto world, Karin's father had never appeared in either the manga or the anime.
What had occurred that caused Karin's mother to flee to Kusagakure, and at the cost of having to contribute to Kusagakure using the power of the Uzumaki clan as a requirement?
Ryoma didn't understand, and he couldn't figure out the reason at all.
In the end, just to raise this daughter and support this family, Kōko was ultimately drained dry and died by Kusagakure!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━