CHAPTER 90
Two hours later, Guy lay on the floor of the barbecue restaurant with satisfaction, rubbing his round belly. Beside him, Gekkō Hayate looked at his shriveled wallet. His face was wrinkled like a bitter melon, and tears seemed to well up in his eyes. This was the money he had saved for a long time, intended for his date with Yūgao. He thought treating them to a meal would be more than enough. As it turned out, looking at the mountain of empty plates next to him and Guy's relaxed appearance, he began to suspect that his wallet had been burned through by "youth."
Yūgao Uzuki pursed her lips. She quietly walked to Hayate's side, stuffed a roll of bills into his hand, and whispered, "I still have ten thousand ryo here. Take this for now..."
Gekkō Hayate took the money and looked at Yūgao. A wave of emotion and a little bit of shame surged across his pale face.
Ebisu and Genma suppressed their laughter nearby, pretending to look at the ceiling.
After eating and drinking their fill, the group chatted idly. Ebisu and Genma mentioned that the new transfer orders were expected to come down in the next day or two. They didn't know where they would be sent yet, but it should be soon. Gekkō Hayate and Yūgao Uzuki would also be returning to the battlefield after a short break.
As they talked, the conversation naturally turned to Guy's new weapon.
"I say, Guy, can this thing really be better to use than a blade?" Ebisu pushed up his glasses, looking at the dark-gold short sticks and chain in Guy's hand with a face full of doubt. "It looks very strange."
Guy grinned and didn't explain. With just a flick of his wrist, the nunchaku spun in his palm with a swish, creating an afterimage.
"It's very handy."
He only said that one sentence.
Seeing this, Ebisu also began to show off, unwilling to be outdone.
"See this? My new glasses!"
"Special lenses. They can block bright light and even see through simple Genjutsu disguises to an extent!"
"Even though it cost some contribution points, it's worth it!"
Genma drew several cold-glinting senbon from his ninja tool pouch.
"I also exchanged for a batch. The material is better and more discreet. Thanks to those fifty contribution points."
He looked at Guy and added a rare sentence.
"Thanks."
Hayate and Yūgao listened to them with faces full of envy.
Fifty contribution points!
They had been on the battlefield for half a year and only accumulated a little over thirty contribution points. Yet these guys received fifty contribution points just like that.
Comparisons were truly odious.
After chatting for a few more minutes, it was getting late, and they went their separate ways.
Guy looked at the sky. Although he was full, he felt full of energy. After eating so much, he happened to need to digest a bit. He decided to go to the back mountain again to practice the Shaolin Nunchaku and the Multi-Size Technique.
Passing through a relatively secluded street, a sound of suppressed crying and shoving suddenly caught his attention.
He frowned and looked over.
He saw three or four older children surrounding a thin, small figure. They were roughly trying to snatch something held tightly in the other's hand.
It looked like half a piece of dried food.
"Bullying again?"
Guy's frown deepened.
The bullied child was wearing old clothes that were clearly ill-fitting. With his head bowed, his body trembled slightly from fear. His eyes revealed a numbness and terror that didn't match his age. Faced with the snatching around him, he only curled up instinctively, neither resisting nor calling for help. Yet he stubbornly blocked the space behind him, refusing to let others pass.
As if protecting something.
Guy's heart tightened for no reason.
This kind of look... he had seen it before.
On the faces of refugees who had lost their loved ones and had their homes destroyed during the war.
...
[Triggered Mission: War Orphan]
[Mission Description: Encountered a war orphan suffering from bullying. Their situation is precarious.]
[Mission Objective: Escort the orphan to a safe temporary shelter (0/1).]
[Mission Reward: Monk Value +150]
[Optional Objective: Find a reliable long-term sanctuary for the orphan (0/1).]
[Mission Reward: Random Elementary Gift Pack ×1]
...
"System mission?"
Guy was stunned for a moment.
Indeed, a System mission had not been triggered for a long time.
He had considered before whether it was because he was on the battlefield. Pure slaughter might conflict with some of the core principles of a "monk," causing the System missions to fall dormant.
And now, not long after returning to Konoha, a mission had been triggered.
"Could it be that encountering this kind of thing now better fits the monk's path of chivalry and compassion for all living beings?"
He thought to himself.
Looking at the malnourished child with frightened eyes, the child appeared to be no more than six or seven years old.
Guy's heart softened.
He stepped forward.
"Hey! You guys, what are you doing?!"
Guy's voice wasn't loud, but it carried the steady aura of someone tempered by countless battles.
The older children were startled.
Turning back and seeing Guy wearing a Konoha flak jacket and a forehead protector, they immediately became a little afraid.
Muttering something about a meddlesome Ninja, they scattered and ran off.
Guy didn't chase them.
He squatted down, looking levelly at the thin figure that was still curled up and didn't dare raise his head.
He tried to keep his voice as gentle as possible.
"It's okay now. They're gone. What's your name? Where is your home?"
The child only shook his head.
Clutching the dried food even tighter, he still didn't speak.
Guy looked behind him.
In the corner, a few even smaller figures were peeking out cautiously.
He stood up and spoke to the child, and also to the other possible children hiding around him.
"I'll take you somewhere. There's food there, a place to stay, and no one will bully you."
"Are you willing to come with me?"
Three thin figures slowly emerged from different hiding places.
Including the first child, there were four children in total.
They all looked at Guy with eyes filled with wariness, suspicion, and yet carrying a tiny, faint spark of hope.
Guy looked only a little older than them, but he seemed very reliable.
And... he was wearing a Konoha Ninja flak jacket.
The oldest child hesitated for a long time before finally giving a very slight nod.
"Good. Come with me."
Guy stood up, already having a destination in mind.
He led the four children, who followed cautiously behind him while always maintaining a distance of several steps.
Together, they headed toward a place in Konoha Village that Guy had heard of before but never personally visited.
The Konoha Orphanage.
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