From Naruto onwards, I've become a dreamer.

Chapter 92 A Milk Candy

The village where Terumi Mei lives is located right next to the mountains and forests.

In the entire village, there are almost no young and middle-aged people left, only a group of very old people living in simple wooden houses that are drafty from all sides.

When Uchiha Muneki carried Terumi Mei to the village entrance, they encountered an elderly woman, leaning on a cane, wearing even more tattered clothes, and extremely thin. She was walking shakily through the wind and snow, her face full of anxiety, constantly calling out the name 'Terumi Mei'.

"Grandma, Grandma, I'm here!"

Mei Terumi, who was on the back, waved excitedly when she saw the old man.

Uchiha Muneki squatted down and put her down from his back.

Little Mei Terumi ran over immediately and threw herself into the old woman's arms, nuzzling her head affectionately: "Grandma, I missed you so much."

"Where did you run off to, you silly child!" The old woman's anxious expression eased somewhat after seeing that the girl was safe and sound, and she breathed a sigh of relief: "Do you know how worried I was? I looked everywhere for you and couldn't find you. I thought something had happened to you!"

"I see you're sick, so I'd like to go into the woods to gather some firewood."

Mei Terumi lowered her head with a wronged expression, clutching the old man's clothes, her voice trembling with tears: "But...but I accidentally stepped into a bear trap, and it was all thanks to this kind ninja brother who saved me."

"what!"

The old woman was shocked and hugged Terumi Mei tightly, saying with heartache, "Does it still hurt? Let Grandma see how badly you're hurt?"

Mei Terumi obediently shook her head, comforting the old woman, "It's alright, Grandma. That ninja has already healed me. Look, there's not a scratch on me at all!"

Seemingly still not quite believing it, the old woman checked again carefully before finally relaxing: "It's alright, it's alright. You scared Grandma to death. You mustn't run away again, okay?"

"Mmmmm~"

Mei Terumi nodded heavily, still somewhat shaken.

At this moment, the old man looked at Uchiha Muneki, who was leaning on his cane and walking over shakily. He immediately knelt down and said, "Thank you, thank you, Ninja Master."

Uchiha Muneki reached out to stop him, and said with a gentle smile, "It's alright. Terumi Mei helped me a lot, so to be honest, I should be the one who owes her."

"This child, if he has offended you in any way, please don't take it to heart, ninja master." The old man seemed to be very afraid of the ninja and kept explaining.

“Grandma, Ninja Brother is very nice!” Mei Terumi said softly, tugging at the old woman’s sleeve and covering her mouth with her hand. “Unlike those naughty ninjas, Ninja Brother is very gentle.”

"Shut up!"

The old man's expression changed slightly. He immediately glared at her and scolded, "Don't you dare talk about the ninja behind his back! Have you forgotten how your parents died?"

Upon hearing this, Mei Terumi lowered her head silently, her eyes filled with sorrow.

Watching this scene, Uchiha Muneki frowned and sighed inwardly.

He had a rough idea of ​​why this was happening. It was simply because the Land of Water was located in a remote area, had scarce resources, and maintained a policy of secrecy, which led to the ninjas having an extremely high status. The common people living there had been oppressed for a long time, so they naturally showed fear towards the ninjas.

To some extent, all of Kirigakure's policies were designed to squeeze every last drop of blood from the common people in order to supply the ninjas in the upper echelons of the society.

This phenomenon exists not only in Kirigakure, but throughout the entire ninja world.

Even in the most prosperous Konoha, such situations exist, but they are rarely seen.

The high-ranking ninjas enjoyed the most abundant resources and did not have to worry about food, while the commoners who were deemed unqualified had to work hard to support the ninjas.

Ninjutsu was meant to be used more efficiently for construction, but it has instead become a means of fighting.

"Master Ninja, it's snowing heavily outside."

Seeing that he didn't respond at all, the old man hesitated for a moment, and then cautiously asked, "If you don't mind, you can come and sit in the hut."

“No.”

Uchiha Muneki shook his head and said calmly, "My staying here is of no benefit to you. You should have realized that, right?"

Mei Terumi is still young, so perhaps she doesn't have a clear understanding of the concept of 'ninja'.

However, the old man who had lived in Kirigakure for so many years secretly looked him up and down the moment he saw him.

He wasn't wearing the Kirigakure headband, which was absolutely impossible in Kirigakure. The old woman's heart was filled with tremendous turmoil, like a raging storm, but her survival instinct made her choose to play dumb and not expose the truth.

But now, the person in front of me has pierced through the window paper!

"No, no, no, I didn't find anything!"

The old man's expression changed drastically. He quickly pulled Mei Terumi to his knees in the snow with a thud: "Ninja-sama, we don't know anything!"

Countless possible outcomes flashed through her mind: a ninja from another village had appeared deep within Kirigakure, and their best outcome would be to be silenced!
"Please, please spare this child's life!"

The old man kowtowed repeatedly, a bruise appearing on his head. With terrified eyes, he pleaded, "She's very well-behaved, she definitely won't go around telling everyone. Please... kill me, spare Terumi Mei!"

Mei Terumi looked completely bewildered as the old man forced her to kowtow.

It wasn't until he heard the old man's words that he slowly came to his senses, a hint of fear appearing in his large, dark eyes: "Ninja...brother."

"Eh"

Uchiha Muneki sighed and helped the old man and Terumi Mei to their feet: "Don't worry, I won't kill you."

"Really?"

The old man seemed unable to believe it, holding Terumi Mei protectively in his arms.

Uchiha Muneki didn't answer her. Instead, he squatted down, reached out and patted Mei Terumi's head, handed her a piece of candy wrapped in white paper, and said gently, "From now on, don't go into the forest by yourself again. Take good care of Grandma. I'm leaving now. Don't tell anyone else that you've seen me, okay?"

Mei Terumi took the candy, her big eyes blinking: "Ninja brother, will we... meet again?"

"Will do."

Uchiha Muneki ruffled her hair, slowly stood up, and smiled, "We will meet again at some point in the future."

After saying that, his figure vanished instantly.

"Grandma, Ninja Brother is gone."

Mei Terumi gazed at the spot where he had left, a hint of longing in her emerald green eyes.

She carefully placed the candy against her heart, as if trying to feel the lingering warmth and scent on it.

"Let's go back."

The old man took Terumi Mei's hand and walked step by step toward the village.

"Grandma, when I grow up, I want to be a ninja too!"

Mei Terumi suddenly made up her mind, her eyes resolute, and said, "I also want to become a gentle and strong ninja like my ninja brother!"

"Okay, okay, then you'd better eat more rice~"

The old man chuckled and said, "To be a ninja, you can't be this thin."

As Uchiha Muneki departed, his brow suddenly twitched.

Why do I have this ominous feeling?

He was puzzled, his brows furrowed as he carefully recalled his actions, wondering if he had made any mistakes. But in the end, he found nothing and had to give up, muttering to himself, "Perhaps it's just my imagination. I've erased all traces. Even the Shadow of the Mist couldn't possibly find that village."

"Besides, I also left insurance."

"That white paper wrapping the candy is covered with 'psychological invisibility,' so Mei Terumi should be fine."

After confirming again that there were no problems, Uchiha Munetsuki cautiously returned to his original position: "Hmm, that way, there's no problem."

Having chosen another direction, he stepped out and disappeared into the snowy forest.

This time, just like before, he did not erase the traces, but deliberately left obvious footprints.

March 15th, sunny

I'm so fed up with being rude to my idiot boss every day... If I weren't poor, who would want to put up with this humiliation!
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(End of this chapter)