Kakashi obviously refuses because he doesn't want to be beaten up in front of his team and while on a mission.
"Come on, mate. It will be fun. Oh, actually, why don't you fight me as a team? Let's see how good the son of the 4th Hokage and the son of the Uchiha clan head." Zoro smirks while looking at Naruto and Sasuke.
He is genuinely curious how the changes happening in their lives will affect themselves. Both of them don't lose their families now, so it should affect their power development too.
Zoro doesn't know much about Sakura's family though. But her life and anyone else's life should have been affected by the changes he caused on Konoha like the minimum victims of Nine Tails incident, the 4th Hokage being alive, and Danzo's death that changed a lot of things.
"Oh, let's do it, Kakashi-sensei."
"Yeah, I want to see how strong the man who can rival a village is."
Naruto and Sasuke really want to try fighting Zoro with Sasuke sound arrogant as he should be. It makes Zoro assume that their personalities aren't that different from the original story despite the changes in their lives, so maybe some things just won't change.
Kakashi sighs before agreeing because of their persistence. But he asks to do it tomorrow because he still needs to teach the kids a few things. Zoro doesn't mind it and tomorrow is actually better because he still needs to take care of something today.
Meanwhile, the public execution is still going on. People are still throwing rocks angrily while cursing Gato who has already died after being stoned by so many people. But it still can't soothe these people's anger.
No one can stop the angry mobs, so Zoro just goes back to Granny Suzu's house to sleep because he hasn't slept last night. He also needs to put the sleeping Hiyori in bed so she can sleep properly.
When he wakes up in the evening, he finds out that the angry people have thrown Gato's corpse into the ocean after tying a big rock onto the corpse. They don't want to bury him in their land, so they chose to feed him to the fish.
"At least he will have some use to this world." Granny Suzu looks at the moon with tears flowing out of her eyes.
"You okay, granny?"
"Yeah, thanks to you. You know, I was always alone with my husband and he died many years ago, so I started living on my own. But then Hiyori's parents moved here after getting married and they just took care of me like their own mother. So I was very devastated when I lost them and couldn't find Hiyori. When you returned with her, I was very glad to see her alive. She is already like a granddaughter to me, so the thought of losing the last family member I have is really scary to me. I thought it was enough joy for me to have in my last days, but then you even destroyed Gato for us. I don't even know if I can thank you enough for everything you've done."
Granny Suzu is very emotional right now. She has lost everything once and almost lost her everything for the 2nd time. While she looks stern, she is actually a fragile old woman who puts a strong front to hide her weak self.
"It's okay, granny. Just your heartfelt gratitude is enough for me. As I've told you, I only do this for Hiyori. I didn't have a good life when I was a kid and I always hoped that someone would extend their hands to me, but I never got any. So now, I will extend my hands to those in need if I can help them."
"Haha, you really have a good side despite having such a scary face."
They get silent and just look at the moon that looks very bright tonight until Granny Suzu breaks the silence after a while.
"Boy, it might sound audacious after you've helped us this much, but I have a request for you. Can you please take care of Hiyori?"
"What? What are you saying, Granny? Aren't you two already a family? It is better for her to live with you who's already like her grandmother than someone who she has just known for a few days, right?"
"I know, but I'm afraid I can't take care of her for too long. My end is already near, you see." Granny Suzu lifts her clothes a bit and shows her upper stomach.
Zoro's eyes widen when he sees some big purplish-black spots on her stomach.
"What happens to you, granny?!"
"I was trying to stop those lowlifes from killing Hiyori's parents, but an old woman like me was too weak to even stop one of them. They punched and kicked me too, but I miraculously survived. There are more of these bruises all over my body and each one of them hurts like hell, but I hold on. I felt like dying was better, but I couldn't die before finding Hiyori. Even if she was killed too, I wanted to see her before I died. The uncertainty of her life or death made me hold on even with this broken body. No one else knows about this because I know they won't let me move around to loom for Hiyori if they know my body's condition."
It must have hurt like hell, but this old woman endures all the pain she felt because she really wanted to know Hiyori's condition. The hope of Hiyori being alive must've been the last motivation she has to stay alive.
Zoro can't even imagine the pain she felt for the last few days because of her injuries. Her body is already weak at her age, yet she also needs to endure the unimaginable pain from her injuries.
"Here." Zoro suddenly takes out a bottle of pills and gives it to Granny Suzu.
"Poison for suicide?" Granny still knows how to joke even at the current situation.
"Painkillers. They will help you ease the pain. You can't look hurt in front of Hiyori or she will keep crying again. Even if it's just for a little longer, I want the 2 of you to have fun without feeling any pain." Zoro looks away from Granny while saying that, making her smiling and giggling a little.
She takes the pills from Zoro's hand and eats one. The effect is near instant because the pain disappears almost instantly. It will last for a few hours, so she needs to take another one again later.
Both Zoro and Granny know that she won't live much longer. It's too late to treat her injuries. Her internal organs must've been damaged too much and at her age, any treatments won't really heal her. Maybe even Tsunade can't heal her anymore.
"When I die, Hiyori will feel another great loss. I know how it feels to lose everyone you love and I don't want Hiyori to go through the same thing as me, but it will happen soon and I can't do anything about it. However, I'm glad that now she has you to support her when it happens. The worst thing is losing everything but you have no one to hold your hand. You might have just met for a few days, but you have become someone that Hiyori trusts like a family. That's why, boy, please take care of Hiyori after I'm gone. I can't trust anyone else but you for this."
"Haven't I told you I live a dangerous life, granny? Won't it be better for her to stay here? Maybe with someone you trust?"
"Hmph, I don't trust anyone here. Or more like, I don't trust Hiyori will be happy to live with anyone here. I just want her to be happy and I know she is happy with you and I can see it in your eyes, you care for her or you won't do this much. Also, even if your life is full of danger, I know that you are strong enough to protect her. Besides, she says she wants you to train her to be strong, right? I agree with her, I want her to be strong so she can protect herself in the future."
"Sigh, fine. But I must warn you, I don't know the proper way to raise a child. She might turn into a very rude woman because of me. I can make sure she won't become evil, but I can't say much about personality."
"Hahaha! It doesn't matter. Do you think I am someone who cares about personality when I myself have a bad personality?"
".... Right."
They are silent for a while before Granny talks again.
"Thank you, boy. I know it won't be much, but I'll leave everything I have for you and Hiyori. Obviously, an old granny like me has some money I saved up over the years. You can take them as a compensation for all the trouble you'll get when you raise her."
Granny Suzu decides to give her inheritance to Zoro, but he knows it is for Hiyori. Even if she doesn't give him anything, he will still take care of the child. There's no way he will abandon Hiyori because he can see himself in her.
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Chapter 131. Looting Otogakure
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