Chapter 25: Mina’s Suspicion, Dropping Guard
Uchiha Mina stopped, opened her palm, looked at the note palm, and her back was drenched with cold sweat.
“How can this be? There is no reason for Tonan-kun to kill her.” Mina shook her head, denying this thought. She continued to rush towards Konoha, but she felt a thorn in her heart.
She started to continuously think about what had happened that day. When she noticed an anomaly, she stopped again.
“Today, after Tonan-kun and I parted ways, we went into a different direction from usual. He was headed this way! Judging from the traces at the scene, that bitch’s head must have been burned by the Great Fireball. Tonan-kun knows this ninjutsu.”
If someone else had killed her, then her corpse shouldn’t be there, rather it would be on the shore. As a girl, after noticing a stranger, she would definitely try to put on her clothes.
In other words, she walked over to that place, stark naked.
Gudong
Mina swallowed uncomfortably, forcing herself to not think any further. Just when she was preparing to walk again, a figure suddenly appeared on the path ahead. Because of the moonlight’s direction, Mina was unable to see who the person was.
She could just vaguely discern the tall man’s back and the bird on his shoulder. Mina felt her blood becoming cold and her legs trembling. She couldn’t walk and the fear in her heart spread throughout her body.
At that moment, that person slowly turned around. In the darkness, those blood-red eyes with three spinning tomoe were especially conspicuous. Mina’s eyes widened in horror. She instinctively opened her mouth, wanting to scream, but no sound came out.
She seemed to have lost her voice in extreme fear.
Step, step…
The man walked towards Mina, step by step, and every step seemed to trample on her heart. The distance between the two gradually shrunk, and she could see the person’s face.
It was Uchiha Tonan.
Tonan was carrying a basket, and with a refined and easygoing smile, he said, “Mina, I didn’t expect to meet you here. Did you also come here to cook outside?”
He lifted the basket in his hand as he asked. It was filled with various kinds of wild ingredients.
“Yes… that’s right, To… Tonan-kun,” Mina smiled stiffly with cold sweat dripping from her forehead. Hearing her, Tonan smiled, patted the white pigeon on his shoulder, and said, “Little guy, go look for food yourself.”
Coo coo
The white pigeon chirped, spread its wings, and flew into the forest. Immediately afterward, Tonan reached out, gently held her fist that was holding a note, and said warmly, “You are lucky, you’ll get to eat delicious food today.”
Mina’s mind had become blank at that moment. She was so confused she did not resist, and she was pulled along by Tonan. After a while, the two arrived at an open space. In the middle, there was a bonfire, and an iron cooking pot was placed above it, using stones as support.
Tonan pulled Mina over and made her sit in front of the bonfire. He put the basket’s ingredients into the pot to cook. The flickering fire illuminated his face. That face, which looked flawless in Mina’s eyes before, seemed frightening now.
However, Tonan didn’t make any strange movements. He just looked at the bonfire calmly and said, “I used the living expenses left behind by my parents when they went to the battlefield to buy books. With nothing to eat, I often come to the forest by myself to cook.”
At this moment, Mina had collected herself a little, and she probed, “Tonan-kun, I wanted to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“What do you think of Chiryo?” Mina was very tense. She was ready to run if she noticed anything amiss. However, Tonan didn’t show any abnormalities. While flipping the food in the pot with chopsticks, he lightly said, “Didn’t I tell you before? I think of her as a younger sister. Honestly speaking, she is very cute, but I don’t have any thoughts about her.”
Mina didn’t see any anomaly and let out a deep sigh of relief.
“Mmm, it smells good.”
Tonan picked up the only piece of fresh green mushroom from the pot with his chopsticks and placed it in front of Mina’s mouth.
“Try this.”
Mina looked at the green mushroom and a lesson from class popped in her head. The more brightly colored the mushroom, the more poisonous it is.
She smiled stiffly and said, “No thanks, I’m not hungry.”
Tonan didn’t force her. He stuffed the green mushroom into his mouth, chewed it, and said happily, “So tasty, I like this kind of mushroom the most. Unfortunately, I just found one today.”
Then, he picked up a piece of brown mushroom and put it inside his mouth. After eating it, he glanced at Mina, picked up another brown mushroom from the pot, placed it in front of his mouth, and blew it.
He then moved it in front of her mouth and gently said, “Come on, this mushroom is very delicious, ah~”
Seeing Tonan had already eaten a similar kind of mushroom just now, Mina laid down her guard a little and opened her mouth to eat it.
A fresh fragrance erupted in her mouth. She could swear she had never eaten such a delicious mushroom before.
“Is it tasty?”
Hearing Tonan’s question, Mina nodded and said, “It’s tasty.”
“Then, eat some more.” Tonan began to pick up another piece of brown mushroom and kept blowing on it. By now, Mina had already dropped most of her vigilance.
“Tonan-kun, I want to ask you one more thing.”
“Mmm?”
“Did you see Chiryo today?”
“No, why are you asking about her again?”
“I… I’m just casually asking.”
After speaking, she opened her mouth and ate the mushroom. Tonan shook his head and reproached, “It’s not safe for a girl to run into the forest at night. I heard many girls in the village had accidents at night recently. The guards are investigating everywhere.”
After he spoke, Mina immediately exclaimed, “What? Is it a pervert?”
Tonan didn’t seem to be surprised hearing Mina’s question. He said while picking up a mushroom, “He should be considered a pervert, but he isn’t weak. He is not caught yet.”
Mina nodded, hesitated for a bit, and put out the final test, “In fact, I didn’t come out to cook. The weather was so hot, so I was going to the river to bathe.”
Tonan smiled, reached out his hand, rubbed Mina’s hair, and said in a pampering voice, “So, that’s why you’re here. But it would be best if you return home and bathe with clean water. The river water is not too clean. If you get sick, I’ll be very sad.”
“Mmm~”
Mina had already relaxed completely now. She felt the person in front of her gave her a special sense of security.
“Mina, how can you doubt Tonan-kun? He is so good, how can he kill a person? He also has no reason to kill that bitch. Even if he’s lustful, as long as he opens his mouth, wouldn’t she do anything for him? He’s so smart, how can he be so stupid at this moment?”
Thinking of this, a sense of guilt emerged in her heart. She started to consider whether to tell him about Chiryo’s death. But after thinking for a while, she didn’t say it.
If he learned about it, he will go to that waterfall to check the situation. And if by chance that pervert returns, he will be in danger.
“Let’s leave this to the guards.”
After a while, the food in the pot was over. Tonan stood up, patted his butt, and said, “Alright, I’ll take you home. It’s already so late, I won’t be at ease if you went back alone.”
After speaking, he held Mina’s hand and walked towards the village.
