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Twin Demons. Chapter 43
🕑 Added 2025-10-09 21:13:52 +0000 UTCThe Uzumaki twins caught up with the cart before it rolled too far downhill. The road sloped gently, trees cast long shadows, and the squeak of wheels mixed with Tazuna and Sanbeiâs quiet grumbling. Four clones, created by Naruko and Menma, trailed behind, their hands full with the heavy burden of Zabuza and Hakuâs bodies. The twins didnât even look back, knowing the clones would manage. Later, when there was time and a proper place, everything would be neatly sealed into scrolls.
The originals, slightly out of breath from running, reached the cart.
âWhere have you been so long?â Karin met them with folded arms and reproach in her voice. âI was already thinking youâd been attacked again.â
âYou said that like youâre our wife,â Menma snorted lazily.
âI like it,â Naruko jumped in immediately, flashing a bright grin. âWhen Karin-chan worries about us, it makes me feel all warm inside.â
âIâm not your wife!â Karinâs face flared red, and she turned away with a huff.
The twins exchanged satisfied glancesâsynchronized smiles that only unsettled Karin further.
Up ahead, Tazuna and Sanbei pulled the cart, deliberately ignoring the antics behind them, and argued heatedly about something of their own. Judging by their gestures, one was insisting, the other grumbling back, and no jokes from the rear could distract them.
âSo what held you up?â Yamato finally spoke, his tone lazy. He was lying in the cart like in a hammock, opening only one eye.
âThe swordâs gone,â Naruko admitted with a sigh of regret.
âGone?â Karin spun around. âWhere?!â
âNo idea,â Menma shrugged. âJust vanished.â
Yamato didnât even raise a brow.
âI see,â he murmured, shutting his eye again as if the news was about a lost kitchen knife, not one of the Seven Swords of the Mist.
âYamato-sensei!â Karin protested. âDonât you even care that one of the Seven Swords of the Mist just disappeared?!â
âNot really,â he replied indifferently, eyes still closed. âKonoha doesnât need it, and we wouldnât get a reward for it anyway.â
Naruko let out a noisy sigh and punched her brother on the shoulderâsee, they couldâve just asked instead of making a scene.
Menma answered with a crooked grin that clearly said: Better to steal quietly than beg forever.
Before long, Sanbei said his farewells and hurried home to his family. It was obvious Tazuna had forgiven his old friendâs betrayalâthe kind of forgiveness you give someone youâve known half your life and canât imagine a village drinking session without.
The cart stopped near a modest hut. A young woman with long black hair came out of the doorway, her face glowing with a smile.
âFather!â she exclaimed. âYouâre back early!â
âThank my bodyguards,â Tazuna said happily, hugging his daughter. âThis is my daughter, Tsunami.â
âHello,â Karin bowed politely, still trying to hide her blush from the twinsâ earlier teasing.
âWell, why are we standing outside?â Tazuna darted into the house like a boy. âCome on in, weâll celebrate!â
âFather, what happened?â Tsunami asked in surprise. âI havenât seen you like this since you first got hired.â
âToday I was reborn!â Tazuna laughed. âCome on, set the tableâwe have guests!â
Menma casually tossed a sealing scroll with fuinjutsu tools to the clones. They nodded and disappeared behind the house to deal with the ninja corpses.
Team Eleven entered the house. The hut was poor, but neat and tidy. As they passed through, Yamato remarked quietly:
âNot enough rooms. To avoid crowding the hosts, Iâll build separate quarters for the team.â
Meanwhile, Tazuna clattered around with dishes, pulling a bottle of cloudy pink liquid from a cabinet.
âHere it is, cherry liqueur!â he declared triumphantly and poured himself a shot.
But his hand froze midairâMenma had gently but firmly stopped it.
âBusiness first, then celebration,â he said coldly, taking the bottle without asking.
âUhâŠâ Tazuna looked helplessly at Yamato. But Yamato had already settled at the table, chin resting on his hand, watching the scene with clear interestâand no intention of interfering.
âTime to talk about your deception,â Menma sat across from him, fingers interlaced. âAnd how you plan to pay for it.â
âHavenât we settled that already?â Tazuna frowned, all joy gone from his face. âYour commander told you to complete the mission.â
âAnd I did.â Menmaâs smile was cold, far too adult for his age. âNo one doubts youâre alive and well thanks to us.â
Tsunami shifted uneasily, glancing from the guests to her father. Not knowing what to do with her hands, she gripped her apron.
Karin and Naruko sat down beside Menmaâsilent, but making it clear they were on his side.
âIâm not here to play on your conscience,â Menma continued. âI wonât remind you that if an ordinary squad had taken your case, today weâd be burying children. Iâll simply take whatâs owed. Namelyâthe reward for a B-rank mission.â
He turned his head to Yamato:
âSensei, itâs not too late to raise the missionâs rank, is it?â
âConsidering the workâs done and the client is willing to pay extraâŠâ Yamato gave Tazuna a long look. âI see no obstacles.â
âBut I told you, I donât have any money!â the bridge builder grew anxious, wiping sweat with a handkerchief.
âMaybe you donât,â Menma said calmly, his eyes sweeping over the poor furnishings. âBut the one who hired you definitely does. Youâll write a letter to your sponsor. Explain everything that happened, and ask for additional payment.â
The room fell silent.
âCan someone explain whatâs going on here?â Tsunamiâs voice was cold, though her face still carried a polite smile. She crossed her arms and stared at the guests. âWhat deception are we talking about?â
âItâs very simple,â Menma smirked crookedly, clearly enjoying the effect of his words in advance. âYour father hired children to protect his own skin. Without mentioning that armed-to-the-teeth thugs were after him. Weâve got strong nerves, sure, but youâll agree thereâs a big difference between âescort an old man through the woodsâ and âfight mercenaries and a Mist swordsman.ââ
He looked around the table and added, almost lazily:
âI understand he didnât have money on him. But he couldâve at least explained everything back in Konoha. We shinobi are reasonableâan installment plan couldâve been arranged.â
âOh, donât be too harsh on him,â Tsunami defended her father. She stepped behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders. âHeâs old now, his mind doesnât work like it used to. He completely forgot heâd already received an advance⊠and not a small one, either.â
Tazuna went pale, looking like someone had just struck his weakest spot.
âYou stingy old miser!â Karin burst out and tried to leap over the table. âYou decided to save money by risking our lives?!â
She nearly grabbed Tazunaâs beard, but Yamato caught her by the scruff and held her back gently.
âYou canât kill clients,â he said calmly, as if repeating a well-worn mantra.
Meanwhile, Menma, stone-faced, pulled a coin from his sash and handed ten ryĆ to Naruko.
âYou two were betting?â Karin blinked in surprise, forgetting her intent to strangle the old man.
âYeah,â Menma replied evenly. âMy sister and I tried to measure our clientâs level of idiocy. I was naĂŻve enough to believe people this stupid didnât exist. But as you can see, I lost.â
Naruko, beaming triumphantly, tucked the coin into her clothes.
âGo rest, genin,â Yamato interjected, pulling out a scroll with the missionâs details. âTazuna-san and I will handle the contract adjustments. Since there is money after all, the work will go faster.â
Tazuna looked like heâd just swallowed a sour lemon. Naruko stuck her tongue out at him as she passed by.
///
Tsunami led the Uzumaki trio to an empty room and quickly hurried back to her fatherâhe looked like he might keel over without a glass of water or a strong drink.
Menma silently unrolled a futon on the floor, lay down, and shut his eyes. The day echoed dully in his head: fighting, death, endless talking. Killing people and dealing with idiots were equally exhausting tasks.
Naruko, of course, showed no trace of fatigue. She knelt across from Karin, beaming, with a fluffy rabbit in her hands.
âWhat a cutie!â Karin gently stroked the animalâs head. âSo you went back for him after all.â
âYup!â Naruko puffed out her chest as if sheâd just won a tournament. âI was afraid heâd drowned while sensei was fighting Zabuza. The whole ground turned to swamp. But nope, he was still in the same bushes, even munching grass.â
âLaziness saves lives,â Karin remarked with a smile. âAnd what did your brother say? He was totally against it.â
[Do they realize Iâm lying one meter away and can hear every word?]
âMy brother loves me to death,â Naruko declared smugly. âSo he lets me do anything.â
[Liar. If not for blackmail, Iâd never doom that poor creature to live with her.]
âWhere do you think he came from?â Naruko tilted her head, staring intently at her fluffy trophy.
âWhat do you mean?â Karin hugged the rabbit to her chest like a plush toy.
âRabbits donât live in the Land of Waves,â Naruko explained. âWhich means someone brought him here.â
[Hmm. I think itâs Hakuâs rabbit. Why he carried it around, thoughâthatâs the mystery of the century.]
âLetâs give him a name!â Naruko brightened. âHow about Mister Fluffy Pants?â
âUm⊠Naruko,â Karin lifted the rabbit in both hands, glanced underneath, and giggled. âItâs a girl.â
âReally?â Naruko quickly snatched the animal back and checked herself. âDefinitely a girl! Well then, young lady, what shall we call you?â
âKaguya,â Menma said lazily, eyes still closed.
âThatâs a strange name⊠Kaguya,â Naruko repeated, as if tasting the sound. âWhereâd you get it?â
âFrom an old tale about the Rabbit Goddess,â Menma replied, rolling onto his other side. âI think it sounds nice.â
âWhat do you say, Kaguya-chan?â Naruko pressed the rabbit to her cheek. The little creature calmly kept chewing a blade of grass. âI like it!â
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