It was then that Muteki and the others realized the misconception they had fallen into.
Their worries were all from an adult’s perspective. But for Haruki, a child not yet ten years old, weren’t these exactly the issues he cared about most?
Because his power was too immense and uncontrollable, he feared and rejected his own strength. He was afraid of becoming an anomaly among people.
Wasn’t that just a child’s way of thinking?
Haruki used to be alone, they didn’t know how he had gotten by.
"Haruki, how could we possibly be afraid of you?" Yushi’s hand landed on Haruki’s head, gently ruffling his hair.
He gazed at the rare blue sky after the rain in Amegakure, feeling a touch of emotion. "We’re grateful to have met you. If it weren’t for you, we’d all be dead by now. You’re not a jinx, you’re Amegakure’s lucky star."
Muteki earnestly explained to Haruki, "Curses is your power, and you haven’t used your power to harm anyone. On the contrary, you saved us."
Mizuna joked, "Maybe those curses are your kekkei genkai, Haruki. This is a power we could only dream of having."
Mizuna’s words to comfort Haruki, however, made Muteki and Yushi consider the possibility of a kekkei genkai.
"Really?" Haruki looked at them anxiously.
The three immediately nodded in unison.
"Of course, it’s true." The three spoke in one voice.
Haruki pursed his lips, a resolute light flickering in his eyes as he promised, "Then I will save more people in the future. I will protect more people. I won’t let them harm you all."
Mizuna and the others felt a warmth in their hearts.
At this moment, intense footsteps approached from the distance. Mizuna and the others immediately became vigilant.
Muteki glanced at them and said, "I’ll go check."
Mizuna and Yushi had to stay here to protect Haruki. Mizuna and Yushi also understood what Muteki meant.
"Be careful." Yushi reminded him.
Muteki nodded, his figure flashed, and in a few moments, he disappeared from their sight.
Haruki worried, "He won’t be in danger, will he?"
Yushi comforted him, "Don’t worry."
Although he reassured Haruki, the worry in Yush’s heart did not diminish in the slightest.
Seeing that Muteki had not yet returned, Yushi and Mizuna’s hearts grew heavier and heavier.
The two of them shielded Haruki between them, vigilantly watching the direction from which the footsteps came. Judging by the sound, there were quite a few people.
Hopefully, they weren’t ninjas from Sunagakure.
"Hanzo-sama is here."
Muteki’s surprised voice rang out like a clap of thunder.
Yushi and Mizuna trembled. They immediately stood up and looked at Muteki, who jumped out of the bushes.
Behind Muteki, Hanzo led hundreds of ninjas, appearing before Yushi and Mizuna.
The hearts that Yushi and Mizuna had held high finally settled back into place.
"Hanzo-sama!" They shouted.
"Haruki!" Suzaku’s uncontrolled voice came.
A dark shadow flashed and Suzaku appeared in front of Haruki.
His hands gripped Haruki’s shoulders. "How are you here? Weren’t you in the iron tower?"
Hanzo’s gaze swept over the blood and dismembered bodies on the ground, then landed on Haruki, and he asked in a deep voice, "Who brought Haruki to the battlefield?"
If anything happened to Haruki on the battlefield, it would be the greatest loss for Amegakure.
Hanzo suspected whether this person was a ninja from Amegakure.
Did they not know Haruki’s importance to Amegakure?
In a moment of silence, Haruki raised his hand amd said, "I wanted to come myself."
Suzaku frowned. "Nonsense! What do you think this place is? This is a battlefield. Do you know how dangerous it is?"
As soon as he said this, Suzaku’s gaze swept over the thick bloodstains and neatly severed body parts nearby, and his eyes tightened. Such a scene must have frightened Haruki quite a bit.
"I know." Haruki nodded.
"You know and you still came?" Suzaku’s tone was stern.
Yushi, standing nearby, couldn’t bear it and stepped forward, wanting to speak up, but as soon as he took a step, he was pulled back by Mizuna.
Mizuna shook his head at him.
"I want to save everyone." Haruki said softly. His words immediately halted Suzaku’s anger.
Suzaku took a deep breath and said, "After the war, we will bring the injured ninjas back, and you can save everyone then."
Suzaku’s tone was still harsh, but his attitude had softened considerably.
Haruki lowered his head and asked, "What about the ninjas who can’t be brought back?"
Suzaku opened his mouth.
Haruki’s voice was not loud, but it was clear enough for everyone to hear. "I want everyone to go home. I don’t want to leave anyone behind."
How could this not be a child’s innocence? Only a child would have such naive thoughts.
As long as there is war, there will inevitably be casualties. This was an unchangeable fact.
"What happened here?" Hanzo looked at Muteki.
Muteki told Hanzo everything that had happened in meticulous detail.
While Muteki was telling the story, Haruki was continuously treating injured ninjas, earning gratitude points.
[Gratitude points collected: 8000. Your Cursed Spirit Land God’s rank has increased to 54.8%]
Upon hearing Muteki mention the curses on Haruki, Hanzo frowned.
"Haruki is very afraid of the power of curses, he can’t control it. He always feels like he’ll hurt those around him and be rejected by them..."
Muteki narrated, his gaze tenderly fixed on Haruki, who was treating the ninjas.
Hanzo looked at Haruki, recalling his own past.
When he was a child, after the salamander’s poison sac was implanted in him, he was also rejected by the villagers because he couldn’t control the salamander’s toxins.
Later, he relied on his efforts to gain the trust of the villagers and the loyalty of the ninjas.
He believed that Haruki would also gradually control the power within him, just like him, and become a powerful ninja worth following.
[System detected Hanzo’s Nostalgia Value + 5000]
[Your Cursed Spirit Choso’s rank has increased to 23%]
Haruki’s lips twitched imperceptibly.
Was Hanzo reminiscing about his childhood again?
By the time Haruki had healed all the severely injured ninjas, Land God’s rank had already risen to 58.5%.
The amount of Cursed Energy consumed today was quite substantial. Fortunately, the increase in Cursed Spirit rank also brought an increase in Cursed Energy.
Otherwise, Haruki’s Cursed Energy would have been depleted by now.
Suzaku frowned, supporting Haruki’s falling body.
Haruki "weakly" blinked his eyes. "I... I’m fine... I still need to continue treating..."
Suzaku’s attitude was firm. "You’ve treated countless people today, you can’t continue. Get some good rest first."
He carried Haruki on his back.
Haruki’s head rested on his back, calling out softly in a voice only they two could hear.
Suzaku froze, his eyes suddenly stung, and he lowered his head, blinking rapidly to force back the tears.