Sasuke tilted his head.
"Kano, why are you here?"
Kano, who was busy giggling, forgot to change her clothes back. Oh well, it didn't matter; Sasuke was one of her own. There was no need to keep him in the dark, and letting him know a few things would be more convenient.
"I just came to check on you guys."
Kano picked up the forehead protector and handed it back to Sasuke, letting him put it on.
"You're not here to stop me, are you?"
"No. Wait for me to give Naruto some treatment first, then I'll accompany you to find Orochimaru."
Kano immediately used the Mystical Palm Technique to treat Naruto... Uh, the wounds were already healed... Nine-Tailed, you're stealing my job!
Whatever. She used Shadow Jirobo to build a small earth hut for Naruto, helped him change out of his wet clothes, and then had Shadow Deer Tube use Fire Release and Wind Release—treating the large pipe like a hairdryer to dry the clothes.
The clothes were placed over Naruto, and a steaming hot bento was left beside him.
"You really do care about Naruto. You made this bento, didn't you?"
There was even a hint of jealousy in Sasuke's tone.
"Yeah," Kano admitted frankly. "If you want, I can care about you too."
"No need."
"I knew you'd say that. Alright, let's go. I'll treat you as we walk. Kakashi might be coming after us soon."
Kano helped Sasuke up. Sasuke, who was already low on stamina, was suffering from the backlash of his skills. Forget walking; he couldn't even stand up.
This was also the first time Sasuke rode on Kano's Shadow Deer.
As they left, it started to rain, but with the hut Kano built, Naruto wouldn't get wet.
Kano opened an umbrella for herself to avoid getting drenched.
"Sasuke, do you know where Orochimaru is?"
"Yeah, that way."
After the two left, Kakashi and Pakkun tracked the scent and found Naruto.
"I'm still a step too late; the battle is already over."
Kakashi saw an earth hut and approached it out of curiosity to investigate.
Lying inside was actually Naruto! There was even a bento placed next to him.
"It seems someone got to Naruto before us and saved him."
The ninja dog Pakkun walked over and sniffed around, but didn't pick up any unfamiliar scents.
"The bento is still hot; the person must have just left."
"Can you still track them?"
"I can't. The rain is masking the scents now. Besides, other than his own scent, Naruto only has Sasuke and Kano's scents on him. For now, let's take Naruto back first."
Could it be that Kano was here? No, if it were Kano, with her personality, she should have had the ability to keep Sasuke here, or at least stayed behind to look after Naruto.
Besides, Naruto follows Kano around all day, so it's normal for her scent to be on him.
Without thinking too much more about it, he decided to take Naruto back first.
Kakashi looked at the warm bento on the ground, hesitating whether to take it back with them. But he had to carry Naruto, and his hands weren't free.
Besides, Naruto wouldn't wake up for a while, and by the time he did, the bento would likely be cold.
As the teacher, Kakashi could only reluctantly help his student test it for poison.
Hungry from consecutive missions, Kakashi finally felt relieved after testing the very last grain of rice.
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