After the snakebite incident, Tenten deliberately avoided Kirito for several days. He understood completely, after all, she was a girl in her prime. Regardless of the circumstances, what happened would be hard for anyone not to mind.
Fortunately, the awkwardness gradually faded. By the time her foot had fully recovered, Tenten was back to her usual sunny, bold self. She greeted Kirito with her normal grin, acting as if nothing had ever happened, and the atmosphere returned to normal.
On the evening of the seventh day, Kirito's team finally arrived at the city where the daimyo's estate was located. Since night had already fallen, Guy decided they'd rest here before continuing.
After dinner, while the team settled down to rest, Tenten approached Guy. "Guy-sensei, remember I mentioned I've got a personal errand to take care of here?"
"Oh? The thing about rare metals, right?" Guy replied, scratching his chin.
"I can help!" Lee immediately sprang to his feet, full of youthful energy.
Tenten rolled her eyes. "You'd just get in the way."
"Wh-what?!"
"Forget it, Lee," Tenten waved him off. "This job's not for someone clumsy like you."
Neji, standing to the side, added blandly, "Since it's a small task, you don't need my help either. I need to prepare for tomorrow's meeting with the daimyo anyway."
"Wait, Neji..." Guy blinked. "Isn't that meeting the squad leader's job?"
"Hmph." Neji gave him a meaningful glance but didn't answer.
Tenten snorted. "It's a mission from the daimyo himself. Guy-sensei, we can't afford to embarrass the Leaf Village."
"Tenten! How can you say that about Guy-sensei?!" Lee was outraged.
"Quiet, Lee. It was Lord Hokage's personal instruction," Neji said coldly. And it made sense. With Guy's eccentricities, the Hokage couldn't risk him saying or doing something inappropriate in front of the daimyo. This was a matter of national diplomacy. As one of the most trusted younger generation shinobi, Neji had both the talent and temperament to represent the village.
Guy collapsed in dramatic grief. "Is my reputation really that low?!"
Lee instantly rushed to hug him, equally tearful. "Don't worry, Guy-sensei! I will always believe in you!"
"Lee!!"
"Guy-sensei!!"
The two sobbed in each other's arms, overflowing with bromantic intensity.
Neji wordlessly walked away.
Tenten clutched her forehead in exasperation, then strapped on her ninja tool pouch and called to the bystanding Kirito. "Come on. Let's go."
"Mm." They had agreed on this before the mission. Or rather, Kirito's real task was this errand to begin with, both for Tenten's sake and for the mission issued by the system: [Collect Rare Metals].
The two slipped out of the inn together. This city, located within the daimyo's territory, had limited commerce. Aside from this small traveler's inn for passing merchants, the surroundings were vast farmlands and scattered estates. People were few.
The moon climbed into the sky, stars scattered like jewels.
The two walked through the grassy fields, not for leisure, but to follow a crudely drawn map leading to their objective.
Tenten led the way, scanning the map, her brow occasionally furrowing, then relaxing, then nodding slightly. She had clearly locked onto their destination.
Kirito's gaze dropped briefly to her left foot, exposed in her open-toed ninja sandals. Though it was still wrapped in bandages, her steps were light and brisk. The injury had clearly healed.
Of course it had. The bite itself hadn't been serious, just two tiny punctures. A single dose of antivenom would've cleared it up, if not for clumsy Lee breaking the syringe. In the end, Kirito had no choice but to suck the venom out himself. It wasn't a big deal, emergency treatment was part of a shinobi's job. No time for silly gender boundaries.
"Ugh…"
Suddenly, Tenten stopped walking and turned to look at him wide-eyed.
Kirito blinked, realizing she'd just caught him staring at her foot.
He raised a hand awkwardly, silently trying to explain. But Tenten had already turned away, ignoring him completely.
She didn't yell or make a fuss, just acted indifferent. But if one looked closely, her ears were definitely a little red.
The two continued walking in silence for quite a while.
Finally, Tenten stopped.
"We're here," she said, standing before a dense patch of underbrush. Nothing seemed unusual about the area, just wild grass.
But when she knelt and swept aside a thick layer of weeds, a pitch-black tunnel opened before them, leading deep underground.
Kirito raised an eyebrow. "This well-hidden place… and you still managed to find it?"
"Don't underestimate our intel division," Tenten huffed proudly. Then she pulled out two chakra rods from a summoning scroll and tossed one to Kirito.
The rods were cold to the touch, whether metal or something else was unclear. When Kirito injected a bit of chakra, the palm-length rod began to glow with a faint green light. Dim, but sufficient to illuminate the dark.
"Let's go," Tenten said, though she didn't move.
Kirito stopped, then smiled knowingly. He stepped forward into the darkness without a word.
"…Tch." Watching him take the lead, Tenten finally followed.
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200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapters