After that incident, for the next several days, Tenten deliberately avoided Kirito.
Kirito understood this very well.
After all, she was still a young girl in the prime of her youth. Regardless of the circumstances, what had happened was bound to make her feel awkward.
However, after a few days passed and Tenten's foot completely recovered, the awkwardness gradually faded away.
Soon enough, things returned to normal.
Tenten went back to her usual bright and carefree personality, greeting Kirito as casually as before without any trace of embarrassment.
---
On the evening of the seventh day, Kirito's group finally arrived at the city where the Daimyo's residence was located.
Since night had already fallen and it wasn't suitable to travel further, Guy decided the team would rest there for the night.
After finishing dinner, it was time for everyone to rest.
"Guy-sensei," Tenten said, "I mentioned earlier that I have some personal matters to take care of here."
Guy nodded.
"Oh right, you mentioned it before. Something about searching for rare metals, wasn't it?"
Lee immediately sprang to his feet the moment he heard there was something to do.
"Tenten! Do you need help?"
Tenten rolled her eyes.
"You'd be doing me a favor just by not getting in the way."
"Hey! How could you say that!" Lee cried out in devastation.
Tenten waved her hand dismissively.
"Forget it, Lee. This kind of work doesn't suit you. You're too clumsy."
Neji spoke calmly from the side.
"If it's just a small matter, then my help won't be necessary. Tomorrow we'll be handling the formal handover with the Daimyo's people. I need to prepare properly tonight."
"Wait, Neji…" Guy pointed at himself and blinked.
"Isn't that kind of handover usually handled by the team's jonin leader?"
"Hmph."
Neji glanced at him but didn't answer.
Tenten sighed and said with clear disdain,
"For ordinary missions it wouldn't matter, but this mission was issued directly by the Daimyo. Guy-sensei, it's best not to embarrass Konoha."
"Tenten! How could you say that about Guy-sensei!" Lee protested passionately.
"Be quiet, Lee," Neji said coldly. "This arrangement was specifically ordered by the Hokage."
Given Guy's personality, the Hokage had every reason to worry that he might cause some kind of unexpected trouble.
This mission had been issued by the Daimyo himself.
If something went wrong, it could damage the Land of Fire's trust in Konoha.
Neji, despite his young age, was known for being calm and reliable.
Among the higher-ups in the village, he had already attracted considerable attention and trust.
"How could this happen…? Is my credibility really that low?" Guy collapsed onto the floor in despair.
Lee immediately rushed over and hugged him tightly.
"Don't worry, Guy-sensei! Lee will always believe in you!"
"Lee!"
"Guy-sensei!"
The two of them embraced each other dramatically, bursting into tears.
Neji silently turned and left.
Tenten rubbed her forehead with a headache expression.
After putting on her ninja equipment pouch, she called out to the idle Kirito.
"Kirito, let's go."
"Alright."
This had already been arranged before they left the village.
In fact, Kirito had accompanied them on this trip specifically for this task.
Not only because of Tenten's request—
but also because of the system mission to collect rare metals.
---
The two of them left the inn together.
This place was a noble's territory within the Land of Fire.
The streets weren't particularly busy, and commercial activity was sparse.
In fact, this small inn seemed to be the only lodging place nearby for traveling merchants.
Beyond it stretched endless manors and farmland.
The area wasn't exactly lively.
The moon slowly climbed into the night sky, surrounded by countless stars.
Kirito and Tenten walked quietly through the grass.
They weren't strolling leisurely.
They were simply unfamiliar with the terrain, and the location they were searching for could only be reached by following a simple map obtained through intelligence channels.
---
Tenten walked ahead while studying the map.
Her brows occasionally furrowed, then relaxed again.
After a while, she nodded slightly.
It seemed she had found the exact location of their target.
Kirito's gaze unconsciously drifted toward Tenten's left foot.
Her hollow-style ninja sandal exposed part of her pale foot.
A strip of bandage was still wrapped around it.
However, judging from her light steps, the injury clearly wasn't serious anymore.
That was only natural.
Although she had been bitten by a venomous snake, the wound itself had been tiny.
Originally, a single injection of antidote would have solved everything.
But Lee had accidentally dropped and shattered the syringe.
As a result—
Kirito had no choice but to suck the poison out himself.
In an emergency, such measures were normal.
Among ninjas, there wasn't much room for worrying about gender differences in life-or-death situations.
---
"Uh…"
Tenten suddenly stopped walking.
Kirito raised his head and saw her staring at him with wide eyes.
It was obvious she had accidentally noticed where his gaze had fallen.
Kirito awkwardly waved his hand, trying to indicate that it wasn't what she thought.
But Tenten had already turned her head away, clearly unwilling to hear any explanation.
She didn't say anything.
She didn't overreact either.
She simply acted as if she didn't care.
But if one looked closely—
the tips of her ears were slightly red.
---
The two of them continued walking in silence.
After quite some time—
"We're here," Tenten finally said.
They stopped in front of a dense patch of grass.
At first glance, the area looked like nothing more than an overgrown field.
There was nothing special about it.
But when Tenten crouched down and pushed aside a clump of weeds—
a dark underground tunnel appeared beneath them.
Kirito looked at it in surprise.
"That's pretty well hidden. I'm impressed you managed to find it."
"Hmph. Don't underestimate our intelligence network," Tenten replied proudly.
She then opened her summoning scroll and took out two chakra rods, tossing one to Kirito.
The rod felt cold in his hand.
It was difficult to tell whether it was metal or some other material.
When Kirito injected a small amount of chakra into it—
the palm-length rod immediately emitted a soft green glow.
It wasn't very bright, but it was more than enough to illuminate the darkness.
"Let's go," Tenten said.
However—
she didn't move.
Kirito looked at her slightly turned head and paused for a moment.
Then he suddenly understood.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Without saying anything, he stepped forward first and walked into the tunnel ahead.
Only after Kirito moved ahead—
did Tenten quietly follow behind him.