Gold rush

"I told you it couldn't be that simple!" Pakura complained as we quickly left Iwagakure the next morning after fulfilling the promise with Kurotsuchi. "We're lucky that Onoki isn't personally chasing us because I'm sure he wouldn't lack the desire!"

"How was I supposed to anticipate this?" I responded helplessly as we were pursued by thirty ninjas with a look that promised pain. "I was just kind to the girl; I didn't expect her to be so lacking in affection and family contact to confuse my kindness in this way."

"So, seducing Onoki's granddaughter wasn't part of your plan?"

"Hey, what you just said is wrong on so many levels! Did you not see how young she is?" I complained, not happy with the question and its implications. "I'm telling you, she's just confused. She doesn't even know what love is!"

I really didn't expect that a misinterpretation on Kurotsuchi's part would result in this. In the series, the girl was a bit mischievous, but she had the trust of people, indicating that at some point, she must have overcome the political isolation she is currently in to start making friends.

It's just that our interaction seems to have happened before that point.

I blame her family for not correctly understanding her priorities!

"So... what do we do with the ones chasing us?" Pakura asked, turning around while sitting on the Kinton cloud. "Do we kill them or not?"

With the speed of the Kinton cloud and my own speed, we could have left them behind long ago, but I hoped that keeping them close enough to hear our conversation could clear my reputation.

Although from their expressions, they don't seem to believe a single word of what we've said.

I think I'll avoid visiting Iwagakure again; they really don't have good places for tourism, and the possibility of being ambushed by Onoki's jutsu is discouraging.

Will my Logia body reform if he hits me with his technique?

I mean, it's supposed to reach the molecular level of destruction.

Hmm, I don't think I should worry; the release is not instantaneous, and with my speed, it wouldn't be a problem to dodge it. Plus, with my Mantra, I'll be able to know if someone is secretly aiming at me.

"Let's just accelerate," I shook my head, exasperated because I could already imagine that Onoki would be searching for information about the village like crazy. Now I regret having sold him those things; I should have put some kind of detonation device on them.

Anyway, I sat on the cloud next to Pakura and, holding her by the shoulder, made the Kinton cloud accelerate abruptly.

I could have used my power to accelerate and chase her, but wouldn't that be exhausting?

It's better to sit together, very close to each other, and enjoy the high-speed scenery around us.

... Some time later...

"So, there was supposed to be a place with gold in the Land of Wind?"

"Yes, publicly, it was announced that the mines were depleted overnight, but the truth is that a large number of scorpions started appearing in the area and made it impossible to continue with the extraction," Pakura affirmed as she unconsciously leaned on my arm. "The overseers claimed at that time that they had really dug almost everything, so leaving behind some gold nuggets was not a problem. It was too dangerous to offset the meager gains."

"Well, we'll take a look before heading to Sunagakure," I confirmed, feeling the tension in her shoulder decrease.

Now I'm doubting if leaning on me was really unconscious or if it was actually a subtle move of hers; it's hard to see some intentions.

Anyway, this was a moment of tranquility that both of us appreciated in silence as we continued traveling.

The only... I could feel something large, warm, and soft on my side, causing me to concentrate to avoid certain natural physiological reactions. The fact that she was humming happily and causing vibrations in my torso didn't help much.

So, I really appreciated it when we arrived at the place indicated by Pakura, where we had to ask people living in the surrounding villages.

Yes, there were still people near the mines, refusing to move their lives to a safer place for some reason.

Apparently, they were the descendants of the miners who were left without work overnight, and the mine area was now a breeding ground for scorpions, so no one was willing to be our guide.

We had to improvise with a map whose quality was quite questionable for its price, but when a five-year-old girl who is so thin that you can see her bones approaches to offer it with a hopeful look, I simply can't refuse.

I suspect that the map was probably made by her, and I don't think the dark red lines with which it was drawn are colored ink, which is actually even sadder because it means she had to approach that dangerous area despite her condition.

"Were you thinking of taking the girl to the village?" Pakura brought me out of my thoughts, and I turned to look at her, doubting whether she was asking me a mocking question after what happened with Kurotsuchi or asking me seriously. "You can't take every orphan or person who has hit rock bottom in their life, you know?" She sighed with a bitter smile.

"I wasn't thinking that," I refuted.

"Haku, Kimimaro, Karin, Mariko, me, Ameyuri, Anko..."

"I get your point, but seriously, I wasn't thinking about that," I assured her several times, although my tone was no longer as confident.

As much as I got annoyed, I've seen in my previous life how people who try to help everyone non-stop end up. It's a pretty miserable and mostly thankless path that I have no intention of ever walking.

But that doesn't stop me from helping some people live a better life; the reasons are irrelevant.

Just compare Haku's life now that he encountered me with what it would have been. A child who didn't want to take any lives, trained as a tool and assassin, all to end up being killed by Kakashi to protect someone else.

And then Kakashi... did he seem to pass on his secret to getting to a woman's heart to Sasuke?

Seriously, it seems that this man's teaching skills suck.

I'm getting off track.

"It's good that you're clear about it," Pakura sighed in relief as she patted me on the back; I'll guess and say it was as consolation. "I know it's not pleasant, but we should only act within our capabilities, even if that makes us look selfish."

"Actually, I was just thinking about why the girl made a map with so much effort," I told her honestly. "I mean, this place is remote, and the locals must know where to go and where not. So, what's the point of doing this?"

Pakura pointed her thumb to the side, and following the direction, I saw a couple of young people with tools for extracting gold ignoring our presence. I see, I guess gold fever always affects some people.

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The granddaughter has been found, good job everyone!