79: Cold

Ninja School.

　　Tsunade, who was sorting out the lesson plan in her office, heard footsteps next to her, so she didn't have to guess who was coming.

　　"Boy, you're a little late today... What's wrong with your face? Why does it look so bad?"

　　Tsunade turned her head and saw Shiraishi's pale face, his whole body looking extremely weak, she couldn't help being startled, and quickly asked him what happened.

　　"I ate something that messed with my stomach yesterday."

　　Shiraishi made up such words without blinking his eyes.

　　"Eating something bad is not like this." Tsunade sighed, came over and patted Shiraishi's shoulder, and said earnestly: "Young men and women living under the same roof, I can understand if you shoot a gun, after all, you are both adults. But you are a medical ninja, you should understand that a ninja's body has limits, so please exercise a little restraint."

　　"..."

　　"By the way, have safety measures been taken? Before getting married, don't make the little girl's belly bigger."

　　Tsunade leaned into Shiraishi's ear and whispered to him, as if someone around them would eavesdrop.

　　But Shiraishi clearly saw the evil in Tsunade's eyes.

　　"Don't worry, Tsunade-sensei, my health has always been good."

　　"In other words, you still did it, right?"

　　"...I will complain to Hokage-sama if you spread any rumors."

　　"You really don't have a sense of humor at all, kid."

　　"I really don't have a sense of humor, but this has nothing to do with it."

　　Seeing Shiraishi's weak and decadent look, Tsunade suddenly felt bored.

　　"However, is it really okay for you to look like this? Would you like to take a break here?"

　　To be honest, Shiraishi's current appearance is indeed very worrying, it is unsure whether he will suddenly pass out on the ground while working.

　　"Thank you for your concern, but it's not a big problem. I'll go to the classroom in a while."

　　Shiraishi thought about it for a while and felt that Tsunade's worries were necessary. The sharingan he encountered yesterday after using the spiritual transformation, now he still has lingering fears when he thinks about it. His body has become fatigued.

　　"Then you have a good rest here, don't try to force yourself."

　　Tsunade didn't ask what Shiraishi did yesterday to make it like this. Everyone has secrets that they don't want to share with others, including herself.

　　Watching Tsunade leave, he was the only one left in the office.

　　Because of his physical weakness, Shiraishi lay on the chair, closed his eyes, and let his head empty.

　　After about half an hour, I felt my body was much more comfortable than when I first arrived, so I slowly got up from the seat and walked towards the experimental class for training medical ninjas.

　　——After the experimental get out of class was over, Shiraishi and Tsunade said hello and walked outside the ninja school, only to see Ruri waiting at the gate of the school.

　　Wearing that black tight-fitting ninja suit that showed her beautiful figure, Shiraishi could recognize it at a glance while standing there, so pleasing to the eye.

　　"Ruri, why are you here?"

　　Shiraishi walked over and asked, a little puzzled.

　　"Come by and take a look, don't think too much."

　　Ruri glanced at Shiraishi's slightly pale face, but her tone did not fluctuate much.

　　"That's a long detour. But did you get off work so early today?"

　　"I've asked someone else to do the shift."

　　With that said, Ruri took out a thermos cup and threw it into Shiraishi's hand.

　　Shiraishi took the thermos cup and unscrewed the lid, and as expected, there was clean, drinkable hot water inside.

　　"Thanks, I was feeling a little thirsty."

　　"Don't think about it, I just took it out from the garrison without noticing."

　　Hearing Ruri's explanation, Shiraishi just smiled understandingly.

　　After taking a sip of hot water, he asked Ruri:

　　"Do you want to go back together now?"

　　He knew that Ruri was waiting for him at the gate of the ninja school at this time, because he was thinking of his safety, and there was an indescribable warmth in his heart.

　　However, it would be a bit hard for Ruri to tell him that she cares about him.

　　Sometimes she's not very candid either.

　　If it was Ayane, she would probably be serious, pretending to be innocent and saying some unexpected provocative words.

　　"Um."

　　Ruri did not object.

　　She is indeed worried about Shiraishi's safety, because Shiraishi's mental state at the moment is really not good.

　　Even in the village, it is not always completely safe.

　　As early as two hours ago, when Shiraishi came to work at the ninja school, she had been waiting here.

　　Walking with Shiraishi on the road, Ruri suddenly remembered something and said softly:

　　"By the way, I went to the garrison to check during the day, and re-read the information of each member of the clan, but no matter what, I couldn't find anyone who had stronger pupil power than me, as you said."

　　This sentence is not to be complacent. Her understanding of sharingan is indeed better than that of most Uchiha clansmen.

　　Even aside from sharingan, her taijutsu, ninjutsu, and illusion are all first-class, especially taijutsu and ninjutsu, but illusion is slightly worse.

　　In order to find the holder of the sharingan who is far above her, even if she deeply investigates the personnel information of the garrison, Ruri has no clue.

　　"If you can't find it, you don't have to force it. I feel that the person behind the scenes is not necessarily hidden in the village."

　　Shiraishi expresses his opinion.

　　"Not in the village?"

　　Ruri didn't quite understand what Shiraishi meant.

　　"What do you think of Sakumo-sensei's strength?"

　　Shiraishi does not answer the question

　　"Above me."

　　"What about the exact difference?"

　　"If I fight to the death, I will most likely die. Sakumo-sensei will be seriously injured."

　　This sentence Ruri did not humble himself.

　　But her strength has now reached this level.

　　Sakumo's strength lies in his swordsmanship, as well as his incomparably fast instant body technique, which can be beneficial when combined with his exquisite swordsmanship.

　　But because of this, Sakumo, who specializes in swordsmanship, lacks a lot of ways to fight the enemy.

　　Ruri might be the most difficult type for Sakumo to deal with.

　　Ninjutsu is flawless, the perfect all-around ninja.

　　With the body technique and the three tomoe sharingan, she can keep up with Sakumo's speed, but due to the bonus of swordsmanship, Ruri feels that she will suffer in close combat.

　　But she also has the advantage that Sakumo does not have, the large-scale fire release and mysterious illusion can also be used to restrict Sakumo's actions.

　　After Shiraishi heard this, he also nodded and said his opinion:

　　"The chakra revealed by that sharingan, and the great pressure it brought me, is even higher than Mr. Sakumo. And this is just the pupil power contest of sharingan, he is far better than you. I am afraid that he is only stronger than you in the rest."

　　"Really? There is indeed no such expert in today's Uchiha, but is it too hasty to judge that this person is not among Konoha?"

　　"Then think about it in another way. If there really exists such a master in the Uchiha clan in the village, our secrets may have been exposed long ago, and it is impossible to remain indifferent. After all, the other party has subordinates with strong infiltration ability, our secrets cannot be concealed at all."

　　"..."

　　Ruri frowned.

　　"Since that kind of white creature can be sensed by natural energy, it also means that before I researched the natural energy, the other party was not monitoring us. The first contact was accidentally noticed by Akatsuki's side. Immediately afterwards, this white peculiar creature came to Konoha again and sneaked into the Uchiha clan... The behind-the-scenes messenger targeted Konoha, perhaps to monitor the Uchiha clan, and the action just started recently. As for Akatsuki..."

　　It was almost a month ago that he dispatched the insect man and the others to contact Akatsuki.

　　Shiraishi had no way of knowing when the messenger behind the scenes sent someone to monitor Akatsuki.

　　But that's enough to judge.

　　Uchiha ninja not in Konoha.

　　It is related to the tailed beast, and it is related to wood release. The sharingan pupil power that surpasses Ruri, dispatches subordinates to sneak into the Uchiha clan to collect information.

　　This is the key information to interpret the correct intelligence.

　　Ruri clearly understood this.

　　But even with so many key pieces of information, it was still difficult for Ruri to determine which Uchiha ninja was the master behind the scenes.

　　"Speaking of which, did Uchiha defect or leave Konoha ninjas in the past?"

　　"For the past 30 years, Madara Uchiha has been the only one."

　　Ruri gave this answer.

　　"This answer is really nonsense. Madara Uchiha died in the hands of the first Hokage after the battle in the Valley of the End. This is a well-known thing in the world..."

　　A smile appeared on Shiraishi's face, and he shook his head.

　　But what he was thinking in his heart, only he himself knew.

　　After all, there is no such probability, isn't it?

　　Wood release, tailed beast, sharingan.

　　This is either the ninjutsu that Uchiha Madara fought against, the object he controls, or the power he holds.

　　Aren't the conditions all in place?

　　Seeing Ruri also fall into contemplation, it is estimated that she is also doubting whether the ancestor of the Uchiha clan really died.

　　Shiraishi reopened the thermos cup, took a sip of hot water and said with a smile: "Okay, don't show such a dull expression, whether the other party is dead or alive, as long as you don't have anything to do with him. You also said that instead of guessing this useless thing, it's better to spend all your time and energy on strengthening yourself, isn't it?"

　　"No, I'm thinking, if he is really alive... I really want to see the legendary mighty force that can dominate the world."

　　Ruri clenched her fists.

　　In the past, when the ninjas mentioned the Uchiha clan, the first thing that came to mind was not the sharingan, but the name Uchiha Madara.

　　Because that is a purer symbol of power than a sharingan.

　　When the current ninjas mention Uchiha, what they think of is not a certain Uchiha ninja, but a sharingan.

　　Ruri thinks this is the goal that she wants to surpass in the future.

　　"It's really like your style. It seems that I was worried for nothing."

　　"Are you looking down on me? And even if that old antique is alive, it's too old to move now."

　　"I didn't say that. Besides, this is just speculation and cannot be regarded as conclusive evidence."

　　Seeing that Ruri was arguing again, Shiraishi explained with a smile.

　　"Humph."

　　Ruri turned her head to show she didn't want to pay attention to him.

　　The sky was getting dark, and the beautiful sunset was slowly sinking at the end of the western forest.

　　Shiraishi and Ruri strolled along a road beside a river together.

　　The weather in May is already warm, the breeze is blowing, which brings people a little comfort, and at the same time, the irritability is also removed from the heart.

　　The street lights on both sides of the path have been turned on. Looking from here to the distance, there is the central area of ​​the village. There is already a prelude to the bustling night market, and the lights are lit one by one.

　　On this road, only Shiraishi and Ruri were walking.

　　But on the banks of the river, there are some ninja school children who have not yet returned home, and they are tirelessly playing ninja games.

　　Seeing this scene, Shiraishi stopped walking.

　　"What's up?"

　　Ruri also stopped and turned to look at his face.

　　"It's nothing, it's just that seeing them like this makes me miss the past."

　　Shiraishi looked at the students who were playing ninja games at the embankment with a look of emotion on his face.

　　Suddenly, Shiraishi remembered something.

　　"Speaking of which, the scene where we set off from the ninja school and then went home together was like returning to our school days."

　　After Shiraishi said these words, Ruri's memories of the past were also aroused.

　　Because her parents were out on business all year round and were often away from home, Shiraishi played an irreplaceable role in her childhood, as well as in her current girlhood.

　　When they were in Ninja School in the past, as Shiraishi said, the two of them always went to school together and finished school together, and they were almost inseparable every day.

　　"Why are you suddenly talking about such a thing?"

　　"I'm thinking...it would be nice if it stayed like this. Because we're the best partners."

　　Shiraishi looked up at the setting sun in the distance, and his face became more gentle than usual under the light of the setting sun.

　　When Ruri heard Shiraishi say this, she suddenly felt uncomfortable. She always felt a little empty in her heart, something was missing.

　　Just a partner?

　　"Let's go quickly, after we go back..."

　　Ruri was about to speed up her steps to go home, but at this time, her palm was suddenly wrapped in something.

　　As a result, the body cannot take a step forward, and it stops in place like this.

　　Ruri was stunned for a moment, turned her head, and lowered her head slightly.

　　It was a broad palm that belonged to a man.

　　Take her hand carefully and gently, so that she can't get out of it.

　　"Actually, many times, I don't know how to deal with this kind of thing. But after I said that, I thought about it carefully. If it's just a partnership relationship, maybe it can't explain everything between us. So, do you want to have a more intimate relationship than being partners?"

　　With a calm smile on Shiraishi's face, he asked Ruri for her opinion.

　　"I don't understand what you're talking about, go back."

　　Ruri's face was slightly red, and she turned her head away. Although she was talking about going back, when her palm was held, it was already left to Shiraishi's disposal.

　　"Let's go there together. We left work so early today. There should be enough time."

　　"Don't ask me about this kind of thing. You are the wounded, you can call the shots. As long as you don't catch a cold tomorrow."

　　Ruri turned her head away from looking at Shiraishi, but looked like she was letting him decide.

　　Shiraishi felt a little strange, because it was the first time he had such an important initiative after spending so many years with Ruri.

　　I was a little moved to tears.

　　"It's already May, how could it be possible to catch a cold? No problem."

　　His body is not weak to that point, although the weather will indeed become colder than the daytime after nightfall, but as long as you pay attention, it is not a big problem.

　　Holding Ruri's palm tightly, the skin transmits each other's body heat to each other.

　　Shiraishi could clearly feel that Ruri's body became very hot.

　　Holding Ruri's palm like this, Shiraishi led her towards the night city center where the village was about to become lively.

　　Shiraishi clearly saw the obvious happy smile on Ruri's face.

　　At this moment, I don't know why, but a sense of guilt appeared in my heart.

　　In his mind, there might be another woman.

　　For myself, it may also be an extremely important 'partner'.

　　But today, I should belong to Ruri.

　　Thinking of this, the sense of guilt dissipated from the heart under the self-comfort.

　　--the next day.

　　Shiraishi caught a cold.

　　Because I came back very late last night, I got up this morning and found out that I had a cold.

　　He slept on the floor, covered with a quilt, and now his head was dizzy and his body was very cold.

　　"Really, I kept saying it was fine yesterday, but it turned out to be like this. Your physical fitness has become too bad."

　　Ruri was wearing casual clothes at home, not wearing the black ninja suit, so she knelt down beside Shiraishi's floor, and scolded Shiraishi in a tone of disgust.

　　"...I didn't expect things to become like this...Speaking of which, this is the first time I have caught a cold..."

　　Shiraishi had no choice but to eat this loss.

　　Sure enough, I shouldn't have tried to force my body last night.

　　But in that situation yesterday, if I honestly did nothing and came back, I would regret it even more.

　　Seeing that Ruri took care of herself so carefully, even today's work was overturned again, while Shiraishi felt embarrassed, he also felt that even if he had a bad cold today, it was not a bad thing.

　　"I have already sent someone to explain to Tsunade Jonin. Today, you can rest at home honestly. I will protect you here."

　　Ruri stood up from the floor, walked to the cabinet beside, and said to Shiraishi while rummaging for something there.

　　"Excuse me. In fact, I don't think the cold is that serious. In the afternoon..."

　　"I'll be resting at home today. Do you want me to say it a third time?"

　　Ruri raised her voice again with an expressionless face.

　　Shiraishi was afraid to speak again.

　　Ruri took out a medicine bottle from the cabinet, took out a few pills, and prepared a cup of hot water.

　　"This is a cold medicine that you haven't officially put into the pharmaceutical market. I didn't expect that after it was developed, you would become the first user. How do you feel about your medicine?"

　　"...If possible, I don't want to make any comments."

　　In a complicated mood, Shiraishi took the cold medicine he had developed.

　　◎

　　On the sea where the Land of Waves leads to the Land of Fire, a small boat pushed through the waves and approached the coastal port of the Land of Fire.

　　There are four people on the boat, and they are all ninjas from Konoha Village.

　　The leader was a Konoha ninja wearing a Jonin uniform, and the other three were wearing Chunin uniforms.

　　This is a team led by Jonin, and the team is composed of three Chunin members.

　　Even in Konoha Village, this belongs to the category of elite squads.

　　Most squads consist of one Jonin paired with three Genin, or a configuration of one upper ninja, one middle ninja, and two lower ninjas.

　　This time their mission is to go to the neighboring country of the country of waves, to destroy an illegal wandering ninja organization. This wandering ninja organization looted villages everywhere in the country of waves. Entrusted by the Daimyo of the country of waves, Konoha sent their team here to deal with the illegal ninja organization in the Land of Waves.

　　For this situation, Konoha has long been accustomed to it.

　　Not to mention that during the Ninja World War, even after the war, small countries lacking the power of ninjas were often violated by wandering ninja organizations. This kind of thing has long been common.

　　These wandering ninjas either became ninjas by chance, or they rebelled and engaged in various illegal profit-making activities.

　　For a big country, this kind of ninja organization does not need to be taken seriously, and only a small country without power will be troubled by this kind of thing.

　　Konoha dispatched an elite team of jonin and three chunin. After a hard fight, the team successfully wiped out the wandering ninja organization, and now they are ready to return to the country of fire by boat.

　　The leader of the team, Konoha Jonin, who was sitting on the bow, had long black hair draped down to his waist.

　　Wearing a forehead guard on the forehead, the eyes are pure white.

　　He is a Jōnin from a branch of the Hyuga clan.

　　The name is Hyuga Shingo, even in the Hyuga branch, he is a superior Jōnin.

　　Because the waters of the Land of Waves are shrouded in thick fog all the year round, Shingo Hyuga opens his eyes from time to time to observe the surrounding waters and prevent some emergencies.

　　In his white-eyed vision, five people were approaching here by boat, two kilometers ahead.

　　The content of chakra in these people is very small, and they can basically be judged as ordinary civilians, and there is nothing to fear.

　　And these people did not have any weapons on their bodies, and only carried a small amount of money.

　　Undoubtedly, they were ordinary civilians who went to the Land of Waves.

　　After a while, the hull of the boat with five civilians approached.

　　Shingo Hyuga and the other three Konoha Chunin just glanced at them and stopped paying attention.

　　When the hull of the ship passed by accurately, suddenly the five people on the ship rushed at a rapid speed.

　　Almost only afterimages could be seen, the three Konoha Chunin screamed in pain, and fell into the sea without knowing life or death and lost their traces.

　　Shingo Hyuga's face suddenly changed, and the scene in front of him broke his worldview. These guys don't have much chakra in their bodies, but what is going on with this terrifying speed and power?

　　He hurriedly jumped away from the hull, gathered the chakra on the soles of his feet, stood on the undulating sea, and put on a soft fist stance.

　　He can no longer take into account the situation of the three companions, and none of the five people who surround him are mediocre.

　　Just relying on the speed and strength of the move just now, combined, even if it is him, he would not dare to say that he has an absolute chance of winning.

　　"Who are you? Why are you attacking our Konoha Ninjas?"

　　While mobilizing the Chakra in his body, Hyuga Shingo wants to use conversation to find a breakthrough, at least to figure out the identities of these guys.

　　Unexpectedly, the expressions of these five people have not changed from the beginning to the end. They kept silent, but they showed very strong hostility and launched kunai.

　　"Let's start."

　　With just a simple command, the five of them tacitly moved towards Shingo Hyuga and besieged him.

　　Hyuga Shingo was deeply trapped in the enemy's line, but he didn't panic at all. His rich combat experience, as well as white eyes and soft fists, were the source of his confidence in fighting the enemy.

　　However, after the fight, he discovered that the strength of these five people is very huge, and if his acupuncture ability can't hit their chests, it will have no effect on them.

　　Although it is incredible, these guys use powerful physical skills, and it is not activated by Chakra at all.

　　But by virtue of their own physical fitness.

　　After performing missions for many years, it was the first time Hyuga Shingo saw this type of opponent.

　　Hateful! Shingo Hyuga couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat.

　　In this way, his soft fists have little effect on these guys.

　　And most of the strength of the Hyuga clan's ninjas is reflected in soft boxing and acupuncture.

　　This is a very bad opponent for their Hyuga clan.

　　If he knew the special soft boxing technique of Eight Trigrams Palms · Revolving Heaven, he might have a chance of winning. After all, it was an absolute defense with no dead ends, and he could also shock the enemy and tear open a hole for escape.

　　But as a member of the branch, even if he is Jonin, he is not qualified to learn this trick.

　　It was a top-secret move that only the main clan and a few branch ninjas were qualified to learn.

　　Now he can only take a little precaution against the enemy's sneak attack, but if it lasts for a long time, the situation is still unfavorable to him.

　　"Attack!"

　　Ignoring the acupuncture skills contained in his soft fist, the opponent traded injury for injury, swiped their fist in his face, and knocked him away.

　　Then the other two quickly circled to the position where he was about to fall, one threw a fist, the other raised his leg, and attacked him fiercely.

　　Shingo Hyuga rolled on the sea, and the salty and bitter seawater accidentally poured into his mouth and mixed with the blood in his mouth.

　　His rather refined image was destroyed, and despair arose in his heart.

　　"Who... who are you?"

　　He asked again reluctantly, wanting to know the identities of these five people and why they attacked Konoha Ninja.

　　The five did not say a word, and there was absolute silence lingering on the sea.