Chapter 263: Why Are You Here?
"Kitahara Kaede."
The corridor was nearly empty, allowing Tsunade’s voice to carry clearly.
Kaede was checking the contents of a scroll with a ninja from the Intelligence Division. The instant he heard that familiar voice, the rest of his sentence died in his throat.
He spun around.
Tsunade stood at the corner of the corridor not far away.
Kaede’s heart lurched.
Why would she come to the Hokage Building to look for him herself?
The Intelligence Division ninja followed Kaede’s gaze.
Tsunade-sama?
There was definitely something going on between these two.
If he stayed any longer, he would only be inviting trouble upon himself.
"Ahem, Jonin Kitahara, I’ve recorded everything. I’ll return and organize the rest myself!"
The ninja swiftly rolled up the scroll and tucked it against his chest, then bowed toward Tsunade from a distance.
"Tsunade-sama, please carry on. You two can talk!"
Before the sentence had fully ended, he had already fled around the other end of the corridor, terrified of overhearing something he shouldn’t.
The hallway instantly emptied.
Kaede stood there holding the documents, countless possibilities flashing through his mind.
Had she come to settle everything?
Had she finally reached a decision and come to give him her answer?
He had taken Kushina’s words to heart, but every time he approached the hospital, he remembered Tsunade’s suffocating silence from that day and found himself unable to step inside.
Yet now, she had come herself.
Kaede rolled up the documents, put them away, and walked toward her.
With every step, his heartbeat grew heavier.
"Lady Tsunade, did you need something?"
Seeing how cautious and battle-ready he looked gave Tsunade a small rush of satisfaction.
So this bastard knew fear after all?
She revealed none of it. Instead, she cast a cool glance around them.
"There’s something important we need to discuss. Too many people pass through here. It isn’t convenient to speak openly."
Not convenient to discuss here.
Kaede’s heart rose completely into his throat.
It was over. She really had come to discuss that matter.
Whatever was coming, he couldn’t avoid it forever.
He slowly nodded, his voice slightly dry.
"All right. Let’s speak somewhere else."
Tsunade had merely been worried that too many people would overhear the news of Rin’s awakening. His solemn agreement left her somewhat confused.
Still, she didn’t ask. She turned and walked toward the stairs.
Kaede followed behind as the two descended one after another.
Outside the Hokage Building, sunlight poured brightly across the street. Several Ninja Academy students who had just finished class ran past, laughing and chasing one another.
Tsunade didn’t head directly toward the hospital. Instead, she stopped beneath the shade of a large tree in front of the building.
It stood some distance from the main road, and few people passed nearby.
Kaede stopped behind her and looked at her back.
He exhaled as if making a decisive choice, his expression turning incomparably serious.
"Whatever you want to say, just say it directly. I..."
"Rin woke up."
Tsunade turned around.
They spoke at almost the same time.
The rest of Kaede’s prepared death-row speech—something along the lines of "I’ll accept whatever you decide"—lodged completely in his throat.
He stared at Tsunade, his mind failing to turn.
Tsunade frowned slightly and examined him.
"What were you about to say?"
Kaede snapped back to his senses, an unnatural trace of embarrassment appearing on his face.
After all that, she had made this trip because of Rin.
And he had assumed...
"Nothing." He hurriedly covered it up. "You said... Rin woke up?"
Tsunade found his strange expression suspicious, but she had no interest in investigating it now.
"Not long ago. Her body is functioning normally, but she doesn’t know anything. The moment she woke, she thought she was already dead."
Tsunade paused, looking directly at him.
"I don’t know why you arranged things this way either. I came to take you over so you can explain everything to her."
Kaede immediately suppressed all his chaotic private emotions.
"All right. Let’s go. We shouldn’t leave her alone with her thoughts for too long."
Tsunade nodded, and the two walked side by side toward the hospital.
The streets were crowded, yet neither spoke first.
Kaede turned his head and secretly glanced at Tsunade.
She stared straight ahead with an air that warned strangers to keep their distance.
Kushina’s words echoed in his mind, nearly as if she were poking him in the forehead again.
’If you never go to her, she’ll only think you don’t care!’
He couldn’t remain silent any longer.
Kaede cleared his throat, gathered his courage, and spoke first.
"Have you... been doing well lately?"
Tsunade’s step paused so subtly it was nearly invisible, then immediately resumed.
This bastard had finally remembered to ask?
The resentment she had accumulated over two months surged at once.
She wanted to shout, "No, I haven’t been well at all," but swallowed the words before they escaped.
"Busy."
Tsunade threw out the single cold word. After walking two more steps, she added something to make it sound more convincing.
"There’s a great deal to handle at the hospital."
This time, her icy expression didn’t scare Kaede away. He followed her answer, his voice becoming gentler.
"No matter how busy you are, you still need to rest."
The words were like stepping on a cat’s tail.
Tsunade abruptly turned her head, snorted, and looked at him sideways.
"Coming from you, don’t you think those words lack weight?"
Kaede was left speechless. He could only rub his nose.
Seeing him at a loss improved Tsunade’s mood slightly, only for a trace of regret to rise immediately afterward.
But the words were already spoken, and she couldn’t lower her pride enough to take them back.
They continued walking in silence.
Kaede keenly noticed one change.
Tsunade’s pace had slowed.
She was no longer deliberately trying to leave him behind.
A fraction of the tension in his heart loosened.
They reached the hospital.
Tsunade led Kaede through the corridors toward her office.
Every nurse they passed respectfully stopped to greet Tsunade, though their curious gazes kept circling Kaede.
At the office, Tsunade pushed open the door.
Rin stood beside the window, quietly looking out over Konoha.
During the period she had been unconscious, Konoha seemed to have improved. The streets were livelier too.
Hearing the door, she turned around with obvious expectation on her face.
Tsunade-sama had said there was someone who could explain everything.
Rin had assumed it would be Minato-sensei, or perhaps Kakashi.
But the instant she recognized the young man walking in behind Tsunade, her entire body froze.
Why was it...
Kitahara Kaede?
Kaede stopped in front of her and carefully studied her complexion. After confirming nothing was wrong, he softened his voice.
"Rin, how do you feel? Is anything uncomfortable?"