Chapter 280 Don't Blame Her

Standing at the entrance of the village, Might Guy put his hands on his hips, his blood boiling.

"Alright everyone, let's get to Sunagakure within a day!"

When others looked at him in surprise, Rock Lee, a passionate young man, responded positively: "Teacher Kai, please get here within half a day!"

Yamanaka Ino muttered silently, "No matter how you think about it, it will take three days."

Might Guy, who was in his prime, full of passion and impeccable, could not hear her words at all and raised his thick eyebrows.

"Let's go! Let's release our youth!"

Tiantian wiped his face and said, "What a shame..."

Standing next to her, Hyuga Neji, who refused to associate with the two thick eyebrows, sighed, "Give up, Tenten."

"and many more--!"

Hearing the sweet and familiar voice, Nara Shikamaru turned his head first, and saw Haruko running towards him in a panic.

Nara Shikamaru took a few steps in her direction, "Haruko? Why are you here?"

Holding onto his arm, Haruko Asagi took a few breaths before explaining, "I asked my master to join the mission to assist the Sand Village, so take me with you!"

Recalling what Temari said before, Nara Shikamaru frowned slightly.

"Haruko~" Rock Lee twisted his body and floated over, "It's been a long time since we went on a mission together!"

Haruko Asagi looked at him with amusement, "Yeah, let's work together this time!"

"Okay, let's go," Inuzuka Kiba shouted impatiently, "If you keep dawdling, it will take four days to get there."

Inuzuka Kiba walked forward on his own, and his teammates Hinata Hyuga and Shino Aburame followed him subconsciously.

Seeing that their teacher Yuhi Kurenai didn't move, Inuzuka Kiba stopped in surprise.

"Teacher Hong?"

Not only Yuhi didn't move, but teachers from other classes, Asuma Sarutobi and Might Guy, were also stunned where they were. Their astonished eyes were all fixed on the appearance of Haruko Hayama.

The deeply buried memories broke out, and Xi Rihong's eyes gradually widened, and her rose-red pupils were filled with a strong and hazy watery light.

"Haru...ko? Uchiha Haruko?" she murmured in disbelief.

Asuma Sarutobi came to his senses before her. His narrow eagle eyes caught the confusion in Haruko Asahi's eyes, and he was somewhat unsure about his guess.

how come……

They are exactly the same, but their ages don't match...

Might Guy's emotions were much simpler and more brutal. He rushed to Haruko Hayama with tears streaming down his face, and held her shoulders with his strong hands and shook her hard.

In a voice so tragic that it even changed its pitch, he shouted: "Haruko!"

Haruko was dazzled by him in the morning and quickly called out to him, "Stop! Stop, Teacher Kai!"

When he heard her address him, Might Guy's tearful expression froze and his hands stopped.

Just when Asuma Sarutobi thought he had also discovered something strange, Might Guy's expression became serious.

"Haruko, do you have a twin sister?"

"what?"

Finally, when Tenten and Hyuga Neji could no longer bear it, they each put their arms around Might Guy, ignored his wailing and the hand he reached out to Haruko Hayama, and set off on their journey.

……

"Haruko went to Sunagakure?"

Uzumaki Naruto widened his puppy eyes, not expecting at all that he was left behind.

As Tsunade looked on with anticipation, Uzumaki Naruto suddenly put his hands on his head, scratched his hair continuously and asked questions angrily.

"Ahhhh—why? Why can't I go!"

"Just think about it and you'll know it's because of your special identity." Hatake Kakashi's tone was indifferent, and sounded no different from usual.

Unexpectedly, it was his special identity that hindered his pursuit of Haruko, and Uzumaki Naruto cried even more miserably.

Having found the culprit, Uchiha Sasuke clicked his tongue impatiently.

He took a few steps forward and tried to persuade Tsunade, "Then why doesn't he just stay? I should be able to go, right?"

As soon as the golden retriever stopped crying, anger appeared in his moist sapphire eyes, and he pointed at the bad guy who betrayed him and cursed.

"Sasuke, you're going too far! You actually wanted to abandon me and go find Haruko!"

"Heh, it's not me who is forbidden to travel."

"What?! Do you, Tomato Head, have any sense of teamwork?"

Unable to bear the sight of the two of them arguing in her office, Tsunade slammed the table.

Ignoring Shizune who was about to cry but couldn't and asked her to use less strength, Tsunade's eyes were sharp.

"You two, do you think I'm in a ninja academy? You're making so much noise, if you want to argue, go to the Hokage!"

Feeling the wild and terrifying aura around her, Uzumaki Naruto's arrogance suddenly subsided. He said aggrievedly and stubbornly that he would go, and ran away.

In his heart, he mourned for a second for Minato Namikaze who was coaxing the child, and then Kakashi Hatake looked at Tsunade.

"Senior, you shouldn't just ask us to come here for this, right?"

Tsunade glanced at the other two people in the room, waved her hand to signal Shizune and Uchiha Sasuke to go out, and then met the calm eyes of Hatake Kakashi.

She put her hands on the table and said, "You remember now, right?"

Hatake Kakashi's expression remained unchanged, but he forced himself to relax his clenched breath.

"What did the senior say?"

Tsunade snorted and ignored his re-set disguise, lowering her head to deal with her own affairs.

As he watched, he said, "Lin is back. I gave this task to her."

Hatake Kakashi's pretended calmness was a little unstable, and he asked, "When did she come back?"

"Today." Tsunade raised her eyes and glanced at him, "According to the time, she should be able to join them tomorrow."

"..." Hatake Kakashi remained silent.

Tsunade reversed her previous attitude and gave instructions in a businesslike manner: "Akatsuki is making quite a lot of noise. In recent years, they have been collecting tailed beasts, fearing that others would not know that they are going to cause trouble."

"The Hokage has issued instructions to increase security within Konoha. I guess you'll be assigned a new job soon. After you leave, new captains will be assigned to the three of them."

"So..." Tsunade paused and slowed down her voice, "Take it as a forced cooling-off period and digest your emotions."

As she finished her words, the room was completely silent, with only the sound of birds coming and going outside the window.

Hatake Kakashi did not respond, but lowered his eyelashes and turned away.

"Kakashi."

He heard Tsunade calling him, and the second before he was about to open the door, the light yet heavy words drove him to leave urgently.

"Don't blame her."

The door closed and Tsunade put down the documents in her hand.

After a while, she raised one hand and placed it on her neck.

Her hands didn't touch anything, but they kept tightening into fists, as if she was clenching the jade necklace that had been hanging around her neck for many years.

Those who leave are in pain, but those who stay are the most painful.

They are forced to accept the choices made by the other party and bear the price paid by the other party.

Before Haruko could remember, their thoughts would remain silent.

It was because Tsunade had once fallen into painful self-torture that she wanted to comfort the taciturn boy.

However, it is not so easy to get rid of the emotions that have been pent up for sixteen years.

Outside the door, Hatake Kakashi, who was leaning against the door, took a deep breath, and the dark circles under his eyes made him look even more tired.

Compared to him who stayed with Uchiha Haruko in the final stage, Nohara Rin was the one who lost her quietly and silently without knowing anything.

The feelings between Nohara Rin are no less than those between him and Uchiha Obito.