Chapter 3 — The Inexplicable Flying Kick
The little girl was clearly in low spirits. She didn't speak, just walked ahead gloomily.
Ryusuke had already recognized her—this girl should be the future White Tiger of Akatsuki.
He hadn't expected her childhood to be so miserable. If Tsunade hadn't been present, her father likely wouldn't have survived.
There were quite a few ninja squads patrolling the streets at this moment. Ryusuke carefully observed his surroundings. As expected, Amegakure's alert level was very high.
He casually took Konan's small hand and asked gently, "Konan, is there anything you especially like to eat? I'm actually quite good at cooking."
The little girl looked up, her amber eyes meeting Ryusuke's. A bit embarrassed, she said softly, "Gr… grilled fish is fine."
"Alright. Konan, take me to a nearby ingredient shop."
"Oh, and is there anything else you particularly like?"
...
Ryusuke smiled warmly, like a gentle breeze.
Konan's expression grew a little dazed. Aside from her father, how long had it been since someone smiled at her like this? Most of what she received in daily life were beatings and scoldings.
One big and one small figure walked together in the rain. Chatting and laughing, they looked very much like siblings.
The patrolling ninja who saw them mostly chose to ignore the pair and continued on their routes.
After all, in their minds, what kind of undercover agent would bring a child along on a mission?
Ryusuke successfully lulled the patrolling ninja into complacency. Through the brim of his rain hat, he observed their movements.
He memorized their patrol routes and listened in on the information they were exchanging.
"Another spy trying to escape the village was caught at the exit today."
"That's right. I really hope we root out all those spies."
"Damn it, are all the exits sealed?" Ryusuke's heart completely sank.
His grip unconsciously tightened. This directly cut off his option of sneaking away strategically.
"Do I have no choice but to cling to Tsunade's thigh?" Ryusuke pondered.
Feeling the pressure on her hand, Konan looked over in confusion.
Ryusuke smiled and patted her head. "A cold gust just passed. Are you cold, Konan?"
Konan shook her head, a faint smile on her lips as she continued leading him forward hand in hand.
What she didn't notice was that when they passed a fish shop, Ryusuke quickly carved a mark on a section of the wall.
By the time the two returned, an hour had already passed.
They had bought quite a bit of food and daily necessities. The little girl stubbornly insisted on helping. She was sweating from exhaustion now, but her face was glowing with a smile.
Seiichi let out a sigh of relief when he saw his daughter hopping back happily.
"Konan hasn't been this happy in a long time," he thought to himself as he looked at Ryusuke.
Ryusuke glanced at Tsunade and gave a nearly imperceptible nod, signaling that the task had been completed.
Then, using a clay pot and the stove, Ryusuke showed off his cooking skills.
Tsunade, who had long been starving, immediately transformed into a merciless eating machine, devouring the food without any semblance of elegance.
Ryusuke had no doubt that if they were in Konoha, she would be shouting, "Bring two more bottles of sake!"
"I didn't expect this kid's cooking to be so good." Hugging her rice bowl, Tsunade shot him an approving look.
Ryusuke took out a sheet of paper and wiped the grease from her face, making them look like a loving couple.
The action caused Tsunade to freeze for a moment, her cheeks turning slightly red.
In the afternoon, the rain grew heavier. Using that as an excuse, Ryusuke and Tsunade didn't go out to buy more ingredients.
Tsunade continued adjusting Seiichi's body condition. His complexion had grown much rosier, no longer as pale as before.
As evening approached, Ryusuke set up a bedding area.
In this era of the ninja world, there wasn't much in the way of entertainment. If one had to name something, it would be the nightly "making babies" routine.
Ryusuke lay beside Tsunade, waves of faint fragrance drifting over from time to time.
The cold, rainy night suddenly felt heated.
Tsunade was clearly uncomfortable as well. Her breathing grew slightly heavier, and she extended a hand between them to create some distance.
Ryusuke looked at the fist planted in front of him. He had no doubt that if he made any improper move, Tsunade would immediately greet him with a punch and give him a firsthand lesson in the taijutsu secrets of the Senju clan.
What was this? Guarding even against a gentleman?
Ryusuke reached out and took Tsunade's hand, tracing coded messages across her palm:
The meeting point is at a fish shop. But there were a lot of patrol ninja on the streets today—be careful when you act.
Tsunade had thought the brat was letting his instincts take over and had been about to teach him a lesson. Then she received the message.
She replied: Got it.
Ryusuke: These are the patrol routes I observed in Amegakure. You can use them as reference.
He then traced the patrol paths he remembered onto her palm.
But neither of them noticed that while exchanging coded messages, the distance between them had been steadily shrinking.
Suddenly Tsunade sensed something. She felt something stirring restlessly.
Her face flushed red as she sent another message across his palm: Bastard, keep your weapon under control. Believe it or not, I'll rip it off!
Only then did Ryusuke realize that during the information exchange, they had unconsciously moved closer—now less than two fists apart.
He silently muttered a prayer. His long-sealed weapon had almost accidentally injured an ally.
He let out a breath and curled his body slightly, thinking, What a tigress of a woman!
His warm breath brushed against Tsunade's ear, making her shiver. She shot Ryusuke a resentful glare before pretending to sleep.
Ryusuke felt a sudden sense of sweet revenge and couldn't help the smile tugging at his lips.
Time slipped by quietly. One or two in the morning was when people slept the deepest. A masked figure slipped out of the shabby house and merged into the curtain of rain.
Seiichi, lying on the bed, squinted faintly at Ryusuke's bedding.
As someone who had survived at the bottom rung of Amegakure for years, he slept lightly, always needing to guard against nighttime thieves.
During the day, he had vaguely sensed something off about the two of them. Now he was certain—they had to be spies from another country.
But Seiichi turned to look at his sleeping daughter. His eyes flickered, as if weighing something in his mind.
Tsunade didn't return until three or four in the morning. Only then did Ryusuke relax.
To avoid exposure and implicating others, teams communicated only with their leader.
So after Tsunade came back, she didn't tell Ryusuke the specifics.
Feeling an icy lump squeeze into the warm bedding, Ryusuke reached out and held Tsunade's small hand.
Perhaps because they had been overly intimate today, Tsunade didn't pull away.
Without another word, the two quickly fell asleep.
---
The next morning, heavy clouds blanketed the sky, but it wasn't raining.
Tsunade felt like she was lying in something warm. The sensation made her feel secure, and she instinctively curled her body closer.
However, her muddled consciousness quickly cleared. Instinctively, she lashed out with a powerful flying kick at the man in front of her.
"Ow!"
A cry of pain rang out, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the ground.
Ryusuke lay sprawled on the floor, his mind still stuck on the philosophical questions of "Who am I?" and "Where am I?"
Tsunade, who had slept fully clothed, angrily sat up. "You—"
But when she glanced at the position she had occupied on the bed, she suddenly felt a little guilty, and the rest of her words died in her throat.
She admitted that her voice had been a bit loud just now.
Blushing, Tsunade said somewhat awkwardly, "I… had a nightmare."
However, seeing her guilty expression, Ryusuke knew this tigress had definitely done it on purpose.
At breakfast, Ryusuke kept a sullen face the entire time.
Tsunade also lacked her bold eating style from yesterday. Looking guilty, she took small bites, more like a wronged little wife.
"Last night you clearly crossed the line and crawled into my arms. And this morning you kicked me."
"Very well, Tsunade. Just you wait." Ryusuke recorded her crimes in his little notebook.
Using the excuse of buying local specialties, Ryusuke left the house in the morning to gather intelligence.
Meanwhile, Tsunade used the excuse of continuing Seiichi's treatment to stay behind in the wooden house and watch over the two.
The streets were unusually deserted today, and there were noticeably fewer patrolling ninja.
"The atmosphere today feels strange," Ryusuke thought to himself.
He pretended to be casual and entered a busy shop to purchase goods.
At the same time, he pricked up his ears, listening to the conversations around him.
"Damn those ninja from the great nations. They don't treat us Amegakure people as human at all. There was a fight in the western district last night—quite a few people died."
"Damn it. How much longer is Hanzo-sama going to endure this?"
"Shh! You want to die, talking about Hanzo-sama like that?"
...
Ryusuke frowned. Something was wrong—very wrong.
If unrest had broken out, security should have tightened even further, not loosened like this morning, with fewer patrol ninja.
So where had the ninja who were pulled away gone?
Having heard no additional useful information, Ryusuke quietly left.
But just as he stepped out of the shop, he ran into a lone Amegakure ninja.