Mizukage's Pokémon Ninja Scroll

Chapter 37 Mei Terumi's Thoughts

Tachibana Kenkawa, who was being stared at by Mei Terumi with a complicated expression, was completely bewildered.

"Envious of me? And Zabuza?"

"Yes."

Tachibana put down her chopsticks and looked at Mei Terumi with a puzzled expression. This child wasn't usually a sentimental person. Besides, she and Zabuza Momochi were both orphans, so what was there to envy about Mei Terumi, who had both parents?

"You want to be an orphan too?"

Mei Terumi almost choked on her words, her emotions momentarily becoming disjointed.

She rolled her eyes at Jianchuan Ju with annoyance.

"What are you thinking! I'm just envious of the way you became a genin."

Distracted by Tachibana Kanagawa, Mei Terumi's mood recovered slightly, and she began to explain why she was envious.

"You know what? When I graduated last year, Jonin Karatachi contacted me."

"Looking for you? Could it be..." With such a shocking revelation, Jianchuan Ju was momentarily unable to believe her own guess.

"Yes, he asked me to do what Zabuza did this year. Because I was the top student that year, he had no other choice but to ask me."

"Given your father's connections, why would Yagura Karatachi allow you to do something like this?"

As a veteran Jonin, his relationships within the village obviously extend beyond just Ao. If a junior like Yagura Karatachi dares to underestimate him just because he left the ninja ranks, he'll definitely suffer the consequences.

"He went to see my father first. My father told me to choose for myself." Mei Terumi paused slightly, seemingly at a loss, and looked down at her bowl of noodles before saying, "I refused."

"At the time, I didn't know if doing this could really change the village's policies. If it failed, my hands would be stained with the blood of my comrades." As she said this, Mei Terumi glanced at her hands, seemingly lost in thought.

Without waiting for Tachibana Kanagawa's comfort, she continued in a trembling voice, "Even so, I still got blood on my hands during my graduation exam. I only wanted to steal her badge, but I ended up killing her by accident."

As someone who had skipped exams, Tachibana Kanagawa didn't know how to offer comfort.

However, Mei Terumi at this point probably just wanted someone to confide in.

"I thought this was the fate of the Blood Mist Ninja, until I met you. You were promoted to genin through medical ninja, and you haven't stained yourselves with the blood of your fellow villagers."

Kanagawa Tachibana thought to herself, those ninjas from big clans have never shed the blood of their comrades, so they don't need to go to ninja academy at all.

However, he was not Zabuza Momochi after all, and he did not say anything to explain at this time.

"Later, during this year's graduation exam, Zabuza did something that I didn't dare to do back then, and he succeeded in the end."

"So when you two became my teammates, I was actually quite envious of you. I kept thinking, does someone like me, who lacks the courage to shoulder all of this and has stained my comrades' blood, really deserve to be the village's Shadow?"

"Of course you can become the Mizukage. That's my judgment based on reading my original work." Looking at this ten-year-old girl with such heavy thoughts, Tachibana Kenkawa silently cheered her on.

At the same time, he reached out and placed his hand on Mei Terumi's reddish-brown hair. Seeing his owner doing this, Blue, who was busy cooking nearby, also placed his little hand on Mei Terumi's hand.

"Just believe in the path you've chosen and stride forward. Mei, I also believe you will become the best Mizukage."

The Hidden Mist Village, which is usually shrouded in fog, was unusually sunny today. The midday sun shone through the ramen shop's awning onto the two people inside, as if trying to dispel the gloom in their hearts.

"Snap!"

With a crisp sound, Mei Terumi blushed and gently slapped away the hand that Tachibana Kenkawa had placed on her head.

"Your pig's trotters are covered in grease, don't touch my hair!"

Mei Terumi feigned anger, but the hand she used to slap away Tachibana Kenkawa was not the one that Ran had been holding down.

Jianchuan Ju awkwardly withdrew her hand and rubbed Lanzai's head, signaling it to continue eating.

"Haha, let's eat, let's eat."

Perhaps because she had finally spoken her mind, Mei Terumi quickly returned to normal and quietly ate the ramen in her bowl.

However, the atmosphere between the two seemed much more harmonious than before.

The two finished their lunches quietly, and Tachibana Kenkawa didn't mention training together that afternoon again.

After saying goodbye to Mei Terumi at the entrance of the ramen shop, they went their separate ways.

Instead of going home, Tachibana Kanagawa went directly to the Kirigakure Hospital.

"Aunt Huizi, it's been a long time!"

"It'll only be a few days, I've been quite busy with things in the village lately." When Saigyouji Keiko saw Kenkawa Tachibana greeting her, the weariness on her face lessened somewhat.

Recently, Jianchuan Ju has been frequently coming to the hospital to improve her clinical experience, but the timing is uncertain.

Keiko Saigyouji, on the other hand, had been busy with the village's pre-war preparations, and the two hadn't seen each other for some time.

"Tachibana, have you grown taller recently?" Saigyouji Keiko said, gesturing between Tachibana's head and her own.

"Haha, really? I didn't even notice myself." Jianchuan Ju said he didn't care, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

As an adult who transmigrates into a child, how could Tachibana Kenkawa not care about her height? Besides, Zabuza is 183cm tall when he grows up, and he doesn't want to be surpassed by a little brat.

When Saigyouji Keiko saw Tachibana Kenkawa like this, her smile softened even more.

"That means Ju has been eating well lately."

Perhaps due to hormonal changes after transmigrating, Jianchuan Ju felt her mindset was becoming younger and younger, and she was no longer averse to this way of speaking to coax children.

As they spoke, the two entered the ward and toned down their smiles, as they needed to appear professional when dealing with the injured.

The ninja lying in the hospital bed is from the Yuki clan. Ninjas from large clans like this, especially those with bloodline limits, are generally not sent to the hospital.

However, this ordinary Chunin, who is not young, does not seem to have inherited the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, and is probably one of the people who are not valued within the clan.

However, although this person is from a collateral branch of the Snow Clan, he is extremely arrogant.

The excellent treatment given by Tachibana Kenkawa the day before yesterday saved his life, but the two didn't have much interaction. Today, he just came over as usual to check on the other's recovery.

After briefly inquiring about the patient's health and conducting some routine examinations, Jianchuan Ju prepared to leave the ward.

Just as he was about to leave the ward, a young girl walked in. Well, perhaps it's inappropriate to call her a girl given Jianchuan Ju's age.

The girl who entered looked to be 16 or 7 years old, which would be considered an adult in the Naruto world. She had long, jet-black hair and delicate, gentle features, giving off a kind and gentle vibe.

However, judging from his figure and movements, he should just be an ordinary person, so Tachibana Kenkawa didn't pay much attention to him.

"Sorry, little brother, I didn't notice you."

Just as Jianchuan Ju was about to correct her form of address, her face full of black lines, the middle-aged man on the hospital bed spoke first and reprimanded her.

"Nanako! This medical ninja is my attending physician. Where is your refinement as a member of the Snow Clan?!"

"I'm sorry, Father. Ninja Master, it was my rudeness!" After saying this, the girl named Nanako quickly bowed to Tachibana Kenkawa.

Tachibana Kanakawa was also caught off guard by this situation. She simply said that she didn't mind and hurriedly left the ward.

Only after leaving the ward did I belatedly realize that the girl's appearance seemed somewhat familiar.

However, the other person was quite good-looking, so if they had seen me before, they probably wouldn't have forgotten me.

Besides, this girl wasn't a ninja, and he didn't know many ordinary civilians. Since he couldn't figure it out, he simply gave up on investigating further.

"But Nanako? The Yuki clan? Her full name isn't Yukina, is it?"

Jianchuan Ju felt that his understanding of naming conventions in the ninja world had been refreshed once again.

(End of this chapter)