"So, your name is Kaze?" Kaori walked beside Kaze and asked in a low voice.
After they were out of danger, Kaze put her down because carrying her was quite heavy.
"Yeah." Kaze shrugged and replied indifferently.
He had been making a fool of himself several times today and carried Kaori for such a long distance. He was almost exhausted.
"..."
Seeing that Kaze didn't want to talk to her, the girl lowered her head and fell silent again.
During this time, Ayako tried to strike up a conversation with Kaori.
But Kaori looked like she didn't want anyone to get close to her. It seemed that she only wanted to be around Kaze and Minato.
Seeing this, Minato accompanied her and chatted all the way.
After some time.
The five of them went to the nearby market and got a carriage. They loaded the supplies they had captured earlier and planned to return to Konoha.
On the way, Kaze got into an argument with Minato far away from the carriage.
"Hey, Minato! You saved this girl, and you want me to take her in? What the hell kind of logic is that?!"
Minato looked bitter, and his little face was all wrinkled like a bitter gourd.
"Kaze, if I take her home, Kushina will kill me!"
"No way, no way!" Kaze crossed his arms and said firmly.
"It's like you're saying if I take her home, my dad won't kill me either!"
"..." The two stared at each other and started brainstorming.
"Wait!" Kaze slapped his head and suddenly had an idea.
"We can send her to Kushina's place. Then the problem will be solved!"
"They're from the same clan. Kaori definitely won't reject Kushina. Maybe she'll even feel the warmth of home."
Really, if it weren't for making Kaori feel better, Kaze would have just dumped her at Root.
The cells... rooms at Root are warm in winter and cool in summer, and they even provide free meals. It's actually quite nice to stay there!
"Right! Why didn't I think of that!"
Minato was happy at first, but soon his face fell again and he said with a sad face,
"But before we talk it over with Kyu, we still have to find a place to temporarily accommodate Kaori."
Damn it! After going around in circles, we're back to square one!
"Otherwise, let her stay at Nagato's place for a few days?" Minato asked tentatively.
"No good." Kaze shook his head and rejected Minato's suggestion.
Kaori's identity was special. Before they decided what to do with her, Kaze didn't want her to come into contact with Nagato.
"Minato!"
"Kaze~"
The atmosphere gradually became tense. The two discussed for a long time, but neither could convince the other.
"Well, how about this, Kaze." Minato pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up and he came up with an idea.
"Let Kaori choose for herself. How about that? Whichever one she picks, she'll go to that person's home."
"Oh?" When Kaze heard this, he immediately got excited. "Are you sure, Minato?"
"I'm sure, Kaze."
"Okay, I'll take the bet with you!"
The two then returned to the carriage again.
Minato walked up to Kaori and pointed at himself and then at Kaze, smiling as he spoke.
"Kaori, after we get back to Konoha, you might need to stay at one of our places for a few days. Whose place would you like to go to?"
Kaze stood beside them, arms folded, grinning, waiting to see Minato make a fool of himself.
You know, he hadn't talked to Kaori much on the way, while Minato had been chatting with her the whole time.
For this bet, Kaze didn't even know how he could lose!
"I'll go to Kaze's place," Kaori said in a small voice without even thinking.
"What the hell?!"
Kaze was stunned, and the mocking smile on his face froze.
"No way, why? I don't get the vibes!"
Seeing Kaze looking so deflated, the girl's lips actually curled up slightly, as if she was smiling.
Seeing this, Kaze suddenly wasn't so reluctant to let Kaori stay with him temporarily.
"Damn it, this girl looks kinda cute when she smiles..."
On the way, he hadn't paid much attention to Kaori's appearance. This was the first time he was really looking at her face.
Kaori's features were more delicate than Karin's, and she had a tough and cold charm different from his daughter.
On her face, one could find the feeling of both the young Mito and Kushina. The more you looked, the more perfect she seemed.
"Whoever marries her is gonna have triple the fun!" Kaze thought secretly.
But of course, that someone wasn't going to be him.
In the Naruto world full of bro - love, falling in love goes against the will of the universe.
Let me give you a few examples: Asuma and Kurenai, Hayate and Yugao, Obito and Rin...
All of them ended up badly.
All in all, Kaze didn't want to ruin his happy later life for a woman.
If he ended up having a miserable old age with red - haired misfortunes, he'd really be crying his eyes out.
A week later.
At the Shimura Residence in Konoha.
"...That's roughly how things went, Dad," Kaze said, looking at his father sitting on the throne - like chair, eyes slightly closed and not responding. He swallowed hard and continued.
"It's just a temporary stay. I'll send her to Kushina's place in a few days."
Tanzō slowly opened his eyes, looked at his nervous son, and suddenly said, "No need. There are so many empty guest rooms in our courtyard. Let her stay here."
"What's up?"
Kaze was shocked again. He never expected his father to react like this.
What's going on with you people? Why aren't you following the script?
"Hehe."
Seeing his son looking so confused, Tanzō gave a half - smile but didn't offer an explanation.
Since the bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan was extremely precious, there was no way he'd turn away the girl who had come to their doorstep.
He must do everything he could to keep this powerful bloodline in the Shimura family and let it be passed down from generation to generation!
"Kaze, you did a good job this time. You didn't disgrace me."
" Tanzō complimented, a rare occurrence for him.
"Alright, I'm going to the Hokage's office. You stay at home and take good care of Kaori. Don't let her feel left out."
"Yes, father." Kaze was too exhausted to make any sarcastic remarks.
Don't let her feel left out? Listen to what you're saying. Does that sound like something Tanzō would ever say?!"
Sigh. (The text seems to be an expression, keep it in brackets for cultural context)
Watching Tanzō leave with a flick of his sleeve, Kaze let out a long sigh.
He really loathed dealing with girls, especially pretty ones. It was a real pain in the neck.
With a worried look, Kaze settled Kaori into a guest room.
"Alright, you'll stay here from now on."
Kaori fidgeted with her clothes with her delicate hands and asked in a soft voice, "You seem to dislike me?"
"Not really, it's just... sigh..." Kaze hesitated to speak and let out another long sigh.
"Is it because of these scars..."
Kaori tugged hard at her sleeves, trying to cover all the bite marks on her arms.
"No, why would you think that?" Kaze scratched his head in confusion.
He took out a tube of ointment and handed it to Kaori. "This is Anbu's ointment. It works really well. Apply some every day."
"With your Uzumaki Clan's constitution, your skin will probably be as good as new in less than a month."
"Thank you." Kaori took the ointment and said softly.
After a moment of silence, she asked again, "What will Konoha do with me?"
"Don't worry." Kaze knew what Kaori was worried about and comforted her.
"In Konoha, you might get brainwashed by the Will of Fire, being exploited and forced to work for the village day in and day out."
"But here, we'll treat you like a real person. You can rest easy on that score."
"I trust you." Kaori nodded without hesitation.
"Don't." Kaze curled his lips. "I'm no saint. You'd better put your trust in that Minato guy."
"And, my old man isn't any good either... cough, anyway, try to keep your distance from him as much as possible."
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