Pokémon Ninja Scrolls of the Mizukage

Chapter 37: Mei Terumi's Thoughts
Jianchuan Ju, who was being stared at by Mei Terumi with a complicated expression, was completely confused at the moment.

"Envy me? And Zabuza?"

"Yes."

Jianchuan Ju put down his chopsticks and looked at Terumi Mei in confusion. This child was not a sentimental person. Besides, he and Momochi Zabuza were both orphans. What was there to envy about Terumi Mei, who had both parents?
"You want to be an orphan too?"

Mei Terumi almost choked to death over these words, and her emotions became incoherent for a moment.

He gave Jianchuan Ju a cold look.

"What are you thinking! I'm just envious of the way you became a genin."

After being interrupted by Jianchuan Ju, Terumi Mei's mood recovered a little and she began to explain the reason for her envy.

"You know what? Actually, when I graduated last year, the Jounin Kujira came to see me."

"Looking for you? Could it be..." With such a shocking piece of news coming out suddenly, Jianchuan Ju couldn't believe his own guess for a moment.

"Yes, he asked me to do what Zabuza did this year. Because I was the top leader that year, he had no other choice but me."

"With your father's connections, how could Karuju Yagura let you do such a thing?"

As a veteran jonin, his connections in the village are obviously not limited to Ao. If juniors like Karutagi Yagura dare to underestimate him just because he has retired from the ninja sequence, they will definitely suffer.

"He went to see my father first. He told me to make my own choice." Mei Terumi paused for a moment, looking at her bowl of noodles, and said, "I refused."

"I didn't know at the time if doing this could really change the village policy. If it failed, my hands would be stained with the blood of my companions." Having said that, Mei Terumi looked at her hands as if she was a little dazed.

Without waiting for Jianchuan Ju to comfort her, she continued with a trembling voice: "Even so, my graduation exam was still stained with blood. I just wanted to steal her badge, but I ended up killing her by mistake."

"This..." As a person who avoided exams, Jianchuan Ju didn't know how to comfort him.

But at this time, Mei Terumi might just want someone to talk to.

"I thought this was the fate of the Blood Mist Ninja until I met you. You were promoted to Genin through medical ninja, and you were not stained with the blood of your fellow villagers."

Jianchuan Ju thought to himself that the ninjas from those big families were not stained with the blood of their companions, so they didn't need to go to ninja school at all.

But he was not Zabuza Momochi after all, so he did not explain anything at this time.

"Later, in this year's graduation exam, Zabuza accomplished what I didn't dare to do back then, and he succeeded in the end."

"So when you two became my teammates, I was actually very envious of you. I've always wondered, is someone like me who doesn't have the courage to take on all this and has been stained with the blood of my companions really qualified to be the Kage of the village?"

"Of course you can become the Mizukage. This is my judgment based on my reading of the original work." Seeing this ten-year-old girl with such a heavy heart, Jianchuan Ju silently cheered her up in his heart.

At the same time, he stretched out his hand and pressed it on Terumi Mei's reddish-brown hair. Lanzai, who was working hard to eat, saw his master like this and also put his little hand on Terumi Mei's hand.

"You just have to believe in the path you are on and move forward with big strides. Ming, I also believe that you will become the best Mizukage."

The Hidden Mist Village, which is usually shrouded in fog, was unusually sunny today. The midday sun shone through the awning of the ramen restaurant onto the two people in the store, as if to dispel the haze in people's hearts.

"Crack~"

With a crisp sound, Terumi Mei blushed and gently slapped away the hand that was pressing on her head.

"Your trotters are all greasy, don't touch my hair!"

Mei Terumi pretended to be angry, but the hand she used to push away Tachibana Kanagawa was not the one that Lan Zai was holding down.

Jianchuan Ju withdrew his hand somewhat awkwardly and rubbed Lanzai's head, signaling it to continue eating.

"Haha, eat, eat."

Perhaps because she had finally spoken out her deepest thoughts, Mei Terumi's mood quickly returned to normal and she quietly ate her bowl of ramen.

However, the atmosphere between the two seemed to be much more harmonious than before. The two of them finished their lunch quietly, and Jianchuan Ju did not mention the training together in the afternoon.

After saying goodbye to Mei Terumi at the entrance of the ramen shop, they went their separate ways.

Jianchuan Ju did not go home, but went directly to the Kirigakure Village Hospital.

"Aunt Huizi, long time no see."

"It's only a few days. Things in the village have been quite busy lately." When Keiko Saigyouji saw Tachibana Jiangawa greeting her, the fatigue on her face faded a little.

Recently, Jianchuan Ju has often come to the hospital to improve his clinical experience, but the time is uncertain.

Keiko Saigyouji has been busy participating in the village's pre-war preparations, and the two have not met for some time.

"Tachibana, have you grown taller recently?" Saigyoji Keiko said as she placed her hand between Tachibana Jianchuan's head and herself.

"Haha, really? I didn't even notice it myself." Jianchuan Ju said that he didn't care, but the corners of his mouth curled up a little.

As an adult who traveled through time and space as a child, how could Jianchuan Ju not care about his height? Besides, Zabuza was 183cm tall when he grew up, and he didn't want to be overtaken by a kid.

When Keiko Saigyouji saw Jianchuan Tachibana like this, the smile on her face became a little gentler.

"It means that Ju has been eating well recently."

Perhaps it was due to the hormones in his body after traveling through time, Jianchuan Ju felt that his mentality was getting younger and younger, and he was not averse to this way of talking to coax children.

As they were talking, the two of them had already walked into the ward and restrained the smiles on their faces. After all, they had to appear professional when treating the injured.

The ninja lying on the hospital bed was from the Snow Clan. Generally, ninjas from such large families, especially bloodline families, would rarely be sent to the hospital.

However, this ordinary Chunin, who is not young, does not seem to have inherited the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, and should be the kind of person who is not valued in the clan.

Although this person is a branch of the Snow Clan, he is very arrogant.

The day before yesterday, Jianchuan Ju's excellent treatment saved his life, but the two of them didn't have much communication. Today, he just came over as a routine to check on each other's recovery.

After briefly asking about the other person's physical condition and doing some routine checks, Jianchuan Ju was ready to leave the ward.

Just as he was about to leave the ward, a young girl came in. Well, perhaps it was not appropriate to call her a girl considering Jianchuan Ju's age.

The girl who came in looked about 16 or 7 years old, which should be considered an adult in the Naruto world. She had long black hair and dignified and gentle facial features. She gave people a gentle and kind feeling.

However, judging from his body movements, he should be just an ordinary person, so Jianchuan Ju didn't care much about it.

"Sorry, little brother, I didn't notice you."

Jianchuan Ju was about to correct her address with a frown on his face, but the middle-aged man on the hospital bed scolded him first.

"Nanako! This medical ninja is my attending physician. You are trained as a member of the Snow Clan!"

"I'm sorry, father. Lord Ninja, I'm sorry!" After saying this, the girl named Nanako quickly bowed to Jianchuan Tachibana.

Jianchuan Ju was also caught off guard by this situation. He just said that he didn't mind and hurriedly left the ward.

It was only after I walked out of the ward that I realized that the girl's appearance seemed somewhat familiar.

But the other person is also very good-looking, and if he has seen me before, he should remember me.

Besides, this girl wasn't a ninja, and he didn't know many ordinary civilians. Since he couldn't figure it out, he simply gave up on investigating further.

"But Nanako? The Snow Clan? Her full name can't be Setsuna, right?"

Jianchuan Ju feels that he has once again refreshed his understanding of naming in the ninja world.

(End of this chapter)