"Many people have been poisoned, so we should return to Konoha as soon as possible."
"I've already developed an antidote. It can be mass-produced soon."
As Tsunade spoke, she took out the antidote the Slug Sage had discovered and handed it to him.
"How long will your detox pills last?"
Jiraiya frowned as he looked at the pale-faced Konoha shinobi behind them, worried that if they collapsed, they might never stand up again.
"As long as they don't engage in combat, they should make it back alive."
Tsunade understood the situation well. If another battle broke out, the Konoha ninjas could be in serious danger.
"Then we depart immediately."
"Shuo Mao-kun, please take care of us. We're still injured."
Orochimaru politely explained to Shuo Mao and the others.
"That's fine."
Shuo Mao nodded.
Dai, Yuhi Masakumo, and all surviving jōnin nodded in agreement as well.
"Let's go."
Kawaze glanced at Tsunade and spoke. The others followed behind the main force.
Shuo Mao and his group led at the front.
Along the way, ruins of homes, corpses of civilians, and pitiful orphans came into view.
As the victors, Konoha felt no pride at this moment. All of this was, in the end, their fault.
After resting that night, the Konoha forces set out again.
The condition of the poisoned ninjas had not worsened. As Tsunade had said, the antidote pills were working exactly as expected.
The next day, Kawaze and his three companions chewed on dry rations as they slowly trailed behind the main unit.
Rain began to fall—soon turning into a heavy downpour.
The four of them ducked under a bridge and found shelter from the rain.
"In a country like this, rain can come and go whenever it wants."
Kawaze took a sealing scroll from his pouch and unsealed Shuo Mao's custom cooking tools.
Tsunade and the other two stared wide-eyed as he lit a torch and set a pot on a makeshift table.
"Jiraiya, hand over the rabbits you caught. Or do you plan on eating alone?"
He finished setting up the cooking tools and then demanded food from Jiraiya, who he'd seen catch two plump rabbits yesterday and stash them away.
"You really notice everything… Got any alcohol?"
Jiraiya grumbled, but pulled out two cleaned rabbits from who-knows-where.
"This is enough. Let's eat before we move on."
"Dry rations are awful, and this rain won't stop anytime soon."
"You don't carry this kind of equipment on missions normally, right?"
Tsunade asked curiously. This didn't feel like something a shinobi would do.
"No… sometimes I forget to bring them."
Kawaze scratched his head, a little embarrassed.
"Haha."
Orochimaru couldn't help but laugh. Kawaze-kun really was amusing.
"Orochimaru-kun, do you have any non-poisonous snakes to eat?"
Kawaze sliced the rabbit meat into pieces with a kunai and tossed them into the pot.
Snake meat tasted great too.
"I never keep non-poisonous snakes."
Orochimaru's face instantly darkened.
"I've never seen wool trimmed this fluffy before…"
"Tsunade, will your antidote work on this kind of condition?"
She rolled her eyes and ignored the glutton.
"Rabbit meat is enough for you."
"I'm not that greedy."
Kawaze sighed in disappointment, tossed the rabbit into the pot, and added spices.
He then set out four sets of bowls, chopsticks, and four small bottles of sake, covering the pot to simmer.
If Shuo Mao saw this scene, he might collapse on the spot. Kawaze had never cooked when traveling with him.
His older brother had always done it.
"Haha, as long as there's alcohol."
Jiraiya sat cross-legged across from Kawaze, both men gathering around the pot.
Tsunade, not being shy at all, took a seat right beside Kawaze.
Orochimaru joined them shortly after, and the four sat around the steaming pot.
After a while, Kawaze opened the lid. A thick, savory aroma spread instantly, making everyone's appetite surge.
"Let's dig in."
Kawaze raised his bottle and took the first drink.
A soft hissss followed—then three more.
They were eating and chatting when, from the shadows, a small boy slowly approached.
He looked about ten, with messy orange hair, a dirty face, and a gas mask hanging on his back.
Kawaze suddenly remembered the legendary Deva Path of Pain. No matter how much he "flapped his wings like a butterfly," some things seemed destined not to change.
Yahiko walked forward nervously. He recognized the forehead protectors.
They were all Konoha shinobi—invaders.
And one of them was the man who killed Salamander Hanzō. He had seen it clearly—there was no mistaking that terrifying figure.
But he was starving, and so were his friends.
And the food they were cooking smelled incredible.
"Who are you?"
Tsunade asked first, lowering her bowl. Several others had already noticed the boy, but no one reacted aggressively.
"Could you… give us some food?"
Yahiko timidly reached out his hand, hoping to get something—anything—to eat.
"Where are your parents?"
Jiraiya frowned, studying the boy.
He had always felt the premonition that he would someday meet the Child of Prophecy foretold by the Great Toad Sage. But he didn't know whether it was this child.
"They were killed by shinobi… during the war."
When Yahiko said this, there was no sadness on his face. Clearly, he had grown used to it.
"You have two companions, don't you? Call them over."
Kawaze picked up a large bowl, filled it with half a rabbit, mixed in soaked dry rations, and set it beside him.
"Kawaze-kun… even if he's a child, he's still from Amegakure."
Orochimaru warned cautiously.
"It's fine. I know what I'm doing."
As soon as he said that, Kawaze and Orochimaru both stepped aside.
Orochimaru continued eating, watching how things developed.
Yahiko stared at the bowl of meat beside Kawaze and swallowed hard—twice.
Gathering his courage, he shouted toward the back.
"They don't seem like bad people."
Kawaze glanced toward the direction of his shout.
A red-haired boy with covered eyes and a pale blue-violet-haired girl came running over.
They stopped beside Yahiko.
"So, who gets it?"
Kawaze asked with a smile, lifting the bowl.
The three exchanged no words. Yahiko, like an older brother, stepped forward to take the food first.
"Don't run off. You need to return the bowl to me."
When Kawaze saw them trying to leave immediately, he quickly stopped them.
Tsunade looked at him suspiciously. It was just a bowl, yet Kawaze was doing something she couldn't understand.
Just like that strange moment with Maito Dai before.
"This is fine."
Yahiko remembered the terrifying sight of Kawaze killing Hanzō and gritted his teeth, sitting not far from them.
The three children devoured the food with their hands—they had clearly been starving.
"I really pity these kids."
Kawaze said while eating meat. His future plans would probably keep Madara awake at night.
"And then?"
Tsunade took a sip of sake and asked what he intended next.
"I plan to bring them back… make them my disciples."
"Consider it a way of helping Minato make some friends."
Kawaze shamelessly dragged Minato into the mess as a human shield.
At that moment, Minato and Nawaki were hiding from the rain with Shuo Mao somewhere else, pitifully eating dry rations while happily chatting together.
If Minato knew his teacher was eating hot stew, drinking sake, and using him as a scapegoat, he probably wouldn't be smiling.
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All the fanfiction is 30-chapter ahead but this "Naruto: Tsunade the Fugitive Healer" is 30 chapters ahead there