Chapter 22: Chapter 22
Under the watchful eyes of his comrades and the restaurant's patrons, Kano put on a real show of gluttony on live television. He swept the grilled meat off the table with such speed as if he had never seen such delicious food before. Even the Akimichi clan, known for their appetite, would probably blush with shame at such a rapid meal. In the end, in less than five minutes, only empty plates covered in greasy stains remained on the table.
Haru, stunned, looked at Kano, not believing his eyes. The piece of meat, clamped between his chopsticks, fell with a thud onto the table. As for Kushina, she had taken care of herself in advance, filling her plate with an impressive portion.
"It still seems to be not enough," Kano said, rubbing his stomach. He still felt a little hungry and frowned slightly. Although despite his dissatisfaction, he was not going to order more meat - Haru was not that rich.
Sighing, he looked at Kushina, who was leisurely eating the meat from her plate.
Noticing his gaze, Kushina quickly pulled the plate away, looking warily at his hungry gaze, and snorted, "Don't even hope that I'll share."
"Tsk," Kano turned away, not at all surprised by such an answer.
Haru, having come to his senses, picked up the fallen piece of meat with a trembling hand and put it in his mouth. After chewing, he used the short time to count the money in his wallet, and then, with difficulty forcing a smile, asked: "Um… Do you want more?"
Kano's eyes lit up, but he didn't want to burden his comrade, so he shook his head.
Seeing this answer, Haru quietly let out a sigh of relief. With others, he wouldn't have been so worried, but Kano's stomach was like a bottomless pit - you never knew how much food he could swallow.
Although Kano had not eaten any more, Haru, who had only eaten two pieces, was too embarrassed to order more and simply sat there staring at his plate with a small grease stain. Suddenly, someone's chopsticks holding a piece of meat reached out to his plate and placed the meat on it.
Haru turned to Kushina, who was sitting next to him. She divided the meat from her plate in half and handed it to him.
"Kushina..." Haru was touched.
"Come on, eat it before someone takes it away," Kushina said, throwing an unkind glance at Kano, who, without changing his expression, looked out the window, propping his chin up with his hand.
After lunch, Haru suggested a walk around the sakura district, to which Kano and Kushina happily agreed. It was cherry blossom season. And the area, planted with flowering trees, attracted many villagers. Pink petals swirled in the air, filling it with a delicate scent.
As she watched the falling sakura petals, Kushina remembered how a year ago, it was here that she realized that she didn't really want to become Hokage. Even now, the caustic ridicule associated with her bright red hair did not give her peace. Fortunately, her two comrades never expressed even a shadow of hostility towards her hair.
Looking at Kano with his indifferent expression and hands in his pockets, as well as the happy Haru, whose cheeks always turned slightly red when he looked at her, Kushina smiled.
As evening approached, Haru reluctantly said goodbye to Kushina and Kano and left. Watching his shadow lengthen in the twilight, Kano asked Kushina, "What are you going to do?"
"What to do with what?" Kushina pretended not to understand.
"Nothing," Kano shook his head, turned around and, waving his hand, left.
Waiting until he disappeared around the corner, Kushina sighed. She knew Haru liked her, but she herself did not have any romantic feelings for him. She wanted him to give up on his hopes as soon as possible, but knowing his personality, she felt helpless in this matter. So, she shook her head, pushing away these thoughts, and headed home.
Kano, who was standing around the corner, pressed his back against the wall and turned his head slightly, watching Kushina's retreating figure. He wondered if he should follow her unnoticed. At noon, he sensed several hostile figures, their gazes directed at Kushina. He didn't understand why someone would follow a genin, but somehow he had to warn her or follow her to protect her. However, remembering that the figures were being watched by Anbu members, he began to doubt it.
"If someone is already guarding her, then my presence here is pointless," Kano thought, leaning towards the decision not to follow her.
He took a step, but couldn't take a second one: "But… what if something unexpected happens?"
He paused and thought. He wouldn't have cared before, but why was he hesitating now? Was it just because Kushina looked a little like his sister, Koshibe?
Thinking about it, he shook his head in annoyance. He knew that it was probably really Koshibe, but he didn't want to admit it. His ultimate goal was to return to Earth, so he didn't want to get involved with anyone in this world. But… why couldn't he just turn around and leave?
"Damn this feeling," Kano whispered, finally making a decision, and silently headed towards Kushina's house.
He felt one of the Anbu members following him, but he couldn't break away from him. Even if he had the ability, he wouldn't do that.
Konoha was huge. High walls surrounded its vast territory, and one of the borders was the Hokage Rock. Inside the walls were not only densely populated residential areas, but also the Forest of Death. In this huge territory, there were both prosperous and abandoned places. And the house where Kushina lived was located in one of these abandoned areas.
When Kano reached her house, all he saw were a few bodies of Konoha shinobi lying in pools of blood. His face twisted, and after a quick survey of the scene, he realized with regret that he was too late.
All the shinobi were dead. There were many wounds on their bodies, but the cuts on their throats were fatal. The blood was still warm, which meant that death had occurred recently.
"Kushina…" Kano glanced at the house. Not feeling her chakra, he rushed to the nearest wall with worry in his eyes. He didn't have time to notify anyone. He was sure that the Anbu watching him would report this scene to the Hokage himself.
As expected, as soon as he crossed the wall and left the village, the aura of the Anbu that was watching him disappeared.
Once outside Konoha, Kano was running around like a fly without a head. Without effective tracking methods, even knowing that Kushina had been kidnapped only recently, he couldn't determine which direction the kidnappers had fled. His heart sank into his boots, and his chest was seething with unquenchable rage. If only he hadn't hesitated for so long...
Kano clenched his fists, and his face darkened like a thundercloud. An icy, murderous glint flashed in his eyes. At that moment, he thought of Koshibe, and his face became even darker. The inability to protect someone close to him was tearing him apart from the inside, causing him unbearable pain.
If Orochimaru were here, he would probably be very surprised. After all, although Kano had killed many people while carrying out missions, Orochimaru had never seen such a strong thirst for blood in him. And now...
However, as Kano, almost losing hope, continued his search, in the last rays of the setting sun he noticed several bright red hairs...