32 A New Path

10 advanced chapters on my Patreon: Fiction Haven

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[Uzumaki Naruto's POV]

The conclusion to Gato's reign of terror was bloody, like how most such a regime ended. The people of the Waves paraded his head around the country. The children were confused, but they cheered alongside the adults. It was quite surreal seeing how casually they reacted to death, but I wasn't surprised. Death was part of this world's routine.

Due to Kurenai's injury, we had to stay at the Waves for a couple more days; at least, until she was mobile enough to defend herself and her students. Zabuza and Haku lived. Tazuna's house hosted them, which left them under my care. It had been two days, but they hadn't woken up. They were injured quite heavily.

"Haku was lucky Sasuke was not at his top game. If he had aimed two centimeters below, his kunai would have pierced her heart," I mused aloud, tracing my finger on the wound on Haku's chest.

The futon beside Haku's shifted before I felt a murderous glare on me. I turned to face the owner of the glare and found Zabuza sitting like a Yakuza boss.

"Good morning, Princess," I greeted with a polite smile.

"Assaulting a patience is lower than the things I have done," he spat.

"I thought you didn't care about anyone but yourself," I retorted, shaking my head. "Be grateful that I am not pounding her right before you."

"This bastard!"

Zabuza was about to lunge at me when he realized he couldn't access his Chakra. I wouldn't be stupid enough to let him rest in Tazuna's house without a leash around him. He might not pose much threat to me even with Chakra, but taking care of him while he had a hostage would be tricky. Therefore, I sealed his Chakra.

"You…"

"Relax, I am just checking on her wound," I assured, making Zabuza sit back. "Do you think I can't make her let me touch her breast when she is awake? Don't underestimate my game."

"Why are you helping us?" he said gruffly, ignoring my words.

"Well…" I clothed Haku up and then covered her in a blanket. "I don't want to kill Haku. She would be devastated if I killed you and I wanted to have an amiable friendship with her. A Hyōton user is not easy to find."

"Did you fall for her?"

Zabuza looked at me weirdly as I did. It was quite unexpected to see the cold-blooded Zabuza formulate such a childish conclusion.

"It is hard not to fall for such a beautiful girl, but I won't say I have fallen for her," I shook my head. "I don't think I am that emotionally capable."

"Huh. I thought you swung for the other team," Zabuza smirked.

"You would have felt loose if I were, Zabuza."

"…disgusting."

"Indeed. Forget that I ever said that." Waving my hand, I continued, "Anyway, I have a place for Haku to utilize her Kekkei Genkai better. I happen to know someone there and I can assure you she will be excited to have her."

"You sound like you want to separate her from me," Zabuza pointed out, disgruntled.

"Dude, you almost got her killed by forcing her to follow in your footsteps. I don't want to save her just for her to die in the next battle initiated by you." I frowned lightly and stared at him somberly. "I am familiar with guys like you. I can tell you miss the battlefield, the place where you have spent most of your life. That is why you became a mercenary. But the blood you spill tastes different from the one you spilled on the battlefield, right?"

Zabuza remained quiet.

"You had a more noble reason when you killed your enemies in the war, but you have no reason other than money when you kill the people your clients ask you to kill. You can never emulate the satisfaction you got from killing the people on the battlefield. It is not because you no longer have a war to fight in, but because you no longer have a grand goal. You are only living for the sake of it, Zabuza. For that reason, I can't let Haku waste her life with you."

My only reason for saving Haku was simple: I wanted to see how she turned out to be when she was fully mature. I didn't worship female bodies like most men did, but I knew how to appreciate them. This world had lost enough beauty. Kushina and Mikoto were prime examples of those beauties. I couldn't let this world lose more.

"I will give Kubikiri Bōchō back on our last day here if you decide to stay by Haku's side while she forges a new, better path. If you deem aimlessly spilling blood is more important, you have to say goodbye to your sword and Haku."

I stood up and left Zabuza thinking to himself. For a cold-blooded person, he seemed very unwilling to separate from his puppet. Humming an Elvis Presley song like I just didn't mindfuck someone, I headed to Kurenai's room. Her wound had mostly closed, but I still needed to check on her from time to time.

Upon entering, Kurenai greeted me. She had considerably warmed up to me for the last two days. I had initially expected her to be ashamed of herself whenever she saw me since I had saved her life twice. She was a prideful woman, after all. I guessed I could never figure out women.

"How are feeling?" I asked as I knelt beside her.

"I think I can be back on duty in two days at the latest," she answered as she took off her shirt.

"That is good to hear, but I am the one to decide that."

Running my hand to the bandages covering her stomach, I cut them with a small Chakra scalpel. As the wound was exposed, I observed its state and then used Shōsen Jutsu on it. I poured as little Chakra as I could into the Jutsu, so I didn't burn Kurenai with my Chakra. The wound visibly closed, bringing a small smile to my face. I had finally mastered Shōsen Jutsu.

When I was done, the wound on Kurenai's stomach was reduced into a red line. Given her body's natural regeneration, it would disappear completely in two weeks the longest. As I got up, Kurenai sat up. I quirked an eyebrow as she carefully stood up. She had to realize that she was in her underwear. I guessed she became too comfortable around me because I had been acting as her daughter for the last two days.

"Naruto-san, thank you for what you have done for me," she bowed sincerely. "I will repay this debt. Please, don't hesitate to ask for my help whenever you need help. Even if the debt has been repaid, don't hesitate to come to me. I will be there for you even if you only need someone to talk to."

I quirked an eyebrow, intrigued. "How many kisses can I get from you for what I have done?"

"Huh?" Kurenai said dumbly before sporting a blush. "T- That is… seven," she muttered.

I smirked and closed the gap between us. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I put my lips on her neck and kissed it while counting. I kissed the left part of her neck and then the right part. I kissed her throat and then went up to her chin. I didn't know if she was doing it consciously, but she had her arms wrapped around my neck.

Her body trembled as I kissed her on each side of her mouth. When I captured her lips, she reciprocated quite eagerly. I idly thought it was quite degenerate of her to get so passionate with a 14-year-old, but it didn't matter. I was more comfortable kissing someone her age. When my tongue prodded her teeth, she immediately opened her mouth. I could tell she liked French kisses from the way her tongue danced with mine.

Our kiss lasted for around three minutes. As we separated, Kurenai was beet red. Her pale skin made her blood more noticeable. I grinned lightly, causing her to look away. When I unwrapped my arms from her waist, she did the same to my neck. She still had a healthy blush on her cheeks, but she could already properly face me.

"The debt is settled, Kurenai-chan."

"I… see." She nodded her head a bit absentmindedly. "You can still come to me if you need anything. Don't hesitate to ask."

"Do you happen to be close to my parents?" I asked, curious. It was the only thing I could think of. "Don't worry. I know who my parents were."

Kurenai nodded; a bit surprised. "I owed a lot to your mother. She used to be my Jōnin Sensei."

"Why do you care now?"

Kurenai smiled bitterly. "Hokage-sama hides every information about you."

"I see…" I turned around and waved my hand dismissively. "Your debt is with my late mom. You don't have to feel obligated to make it up to me."

Before Kurenai could say anything, I exited her room. I didn't mind being helped, but if someone wanted to help me because they wanted to make up for something, I would rather not receive it. It was the reason why I had refused Jiraiya's offer to train me. He had only offered me because Minato used to be his student. On the other hand, Sarutobi wanted to train me because he wanted to prepare me for Akatsuki. That was why I had chosen Sarutobi over him.

I didn't need sympathy.

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Honorary Mention:

B0mbaCl0ckBob

Daoist Mufasa

Deividas Seputis

Florin Durbaca

Jamaul Pryor

Joseph Hollon

Luck George

Luis Fabiano

Zion X