After Haku left, Furen's spirit within Zabuza activated the Mind Body Chaos Technique and issued a command.
"This should be foolproof…"
Furen murmured, then deactivated the technique, retracting his spirit back into his body.
At Furen's location:
Once he retrieved his spirit, Furen opened his eyes under the tree. He felt complete again.
"It seems… my spirit has stabilized a bit more." Furen noticed that his mind felt more solid; the experience of splitting his spirit had some beneficial effects.
The sky had darkened; Sakura had long since left, and Sasuke had learned to climb trees and departed. Only Naruto, who hadn't yet mastered climbing, continued his training.
"Naruto, be mindful of the chakra distribution in your feet—don't let it fluctuate too much!" Furen called out as Naruto fell from the tree once more.
"Got it!" After a brief rest, Naruto's energy surged back, and he resumed his attempts to climb the tree.
Seeing Naruto's determination to keep trying, Furen remained silent for a moment before pulling him down from the tree.
Not for any other reason, but because Furen knew Haku would come here, and Naruto needed to leave.
Confused, Naruto looked at Furen after being yanked down.
Furen asked, "Do you know why you've been training for so long but haven't succeeded?"
"Why?"
"Because you haven't rested enough." Furen pointed to the Dazna's house. "Go take a good rest now, and you'll find climbing the tree will come naturally tomorrow."
Naruto was silent for two seconds, then his eyes lit up. "You're right, Furen!"
With that, Naruto left, leaving Furen behind.
Furen lay down on the ground and gradually fell asleep.
The chirping of birds echoed in the forest, where Haku knelt down carefully to pick a medicinal herb and placed it in her basket.
"Just a few more…" Haku whispered to herself. When she stood up and walked a few steps forward, she suddenly spotted someone sleeping on the ground.
"Is that… Furen-kun?!" Recognizing Furen, Haku felt a surge of excitement and approached, but then she became cautious as she neared.
Looking at Furen's sleeping face, Haku smiled and gently pinched his nose.
Furen, feeling the pinch, frowned in his sleep. Upon realizing it was Haku, he rubbed his nose and opened his eyes.
"Oh, it's you." Furen smiled at Haku.
Today, Haku wore a delicate pink dress, quite different from her usual fitted battle attire. Her hair was down, giving her the appearance of a cute forest spirit.
Furen had never seen Haku dressed like this before.
"Hey, you look beautiful today." Furen said as he sat up, teasingly flicking her nose, causing her face to flush.
As Haku sat up and adjusted her long hair, Furen suddenly noticed red bruises on her neck. She wore a black choker that he hadn't seen before.
"This is… a mark left by Zabuza," Furen recalled how Zabuza had gripped Haku's neck tightly when he lost his decapitating sword.
"Zabuza, huh… very well." A fierce glint flashed in Furen's eyes.
Haku seemed to recall her neck injury too. To avoid Furen's gaze, she quickly covered it up, evading his eyes.
"Furen-kun… I… I'm fine…" Haku spoke softly.
"Don't move; I'll help you with that."
With a pained expression, Furen gently lowered the choker around Haku's neck.
"Furen-kun… can you use medical ninjutsu?" Haku's innocent gaze turned toward Furen.
Furen remained silent as his hand over Haku's neck began to glow with a soft green light.
Medical Ninjutsu: Healing Palm.
The flickering green chakra radiated warmth, and Haku felt the soothing sensation from Furen's hand, gradually melting her heart.
Haku's affection for you increased by 10%.
Enjoying this healing moment, neither spoke first.
"It's done. You won't have any scars now." Furen removed his hand from Haku's neck.
"Thank you, Furen-kun." Haku bowed in gratitude.
Furen did not stop her from thanking him; instead, he waited for her to rise before looking at her seriously.
"Haku, I don't know who did this to you, but I hope you take care of yourself." Furen held her shoulders firmly. "If possible… I hope I can take care of you."
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A/N:
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