Naruto: We Agreed on a Simulation, But They Actually Came to Life? Chapter 131 131: You Bastard

Just past midnight, the tide had already begun to roll into the northern fishing port.

The sea was a deep, ink-black, with waves crashing rhythmically against the wooden pilings, one after another.

Pakura sat at the edge of the pier.

Her luggage rested by her side, and a small puppy lay curled at her feet, its head resting on its paws. She hadn't lit a lamp; she simply sat in the darkness, listening to the sound of the waves.

Occasionally, the distant sound of a rope rubbing against a piling echoed through the air. Other than that, the entire port remained fast asleep.

Pakura stared down the road leading to the harbor. There was no one in sight.

She sat there for a long ti, her posture barely shifting, though her hand resting on her luggage had pressed the knot of the rope flat.

Suddenly, the puppy raised its head and let out a low bark toward the distance.

Pakura turned her head. Through the mist ca the sound of a dragging net. A fisherman erged, hunched over, carrying a soaking wet net over his shoulder.

Pakura looked away. The puppy glanced at her, then lowered its head again.

Pakura stroked its head.

"Don't worry."

She wasn't sure who she was speaking to.

As dawn broke, an old man carrying fishing gear walked onto the pier. Seeing her sitting there, he paused in surprise.

"Young lady, out this early?"

Pakura looked up. The old man glanced at the luggage beside her, then at the dog.

"Setting sail?"

Pakura nodded.

The old man smiled. "Looks like you're still waiting for soone?"

Pakura gave a small, responding smile. "Yes."

The old man grinned. "That person is a lucky one."

Pakura didn't respond. The old man didn't pry further, carrying his gear toward the boats.

As the sun rose, the sea mist began to clear. It was a rare, beautiful day.

Pakura looked down and rubbed the puppy's head. "Our luck is good today."

The puppy nuzzled into her palm.

Pakura looked back toward the road. "The weather is fine; the road will be easy to travel."

Once she finished speaking, she fell silent.

The morning passed. The fishing port grew lively for a while. n hauling fish, others repairing nets, and workers pacing back and forth across the deck—the noise erased the morning's lingering stillness.

Pakura remained in her spot. Whenever she heard footsteps approaching, she would look up. Whenever soone passed the entrance to the road, she would glance their way. Then, she would settle back into her seat.

She had fidgeted with the knot of her luggage so many tis that it was no longer neat. Finally, she lowered her head.

When Kitahara Kaede had spoken those words last night, he had been too composed.

He said he was certain.

He said he would be here before dawn.

He said they would leave together.

He said he wouldn't lie to her.

At the ti, she couldn't find a single flaw in his words. But thinking back now, that very certainty was what felt most wrong.

If he had truly intended to co, he wouldn't have made every promise so absolute. Unless... unless he already knew that he wasn't going to make it here.

Pakura looked up at the empty road. As soon as the thought erged, she suppressed it.

'No. He said he wouldn't lie to .'

At noon, the old man passed by the pier again. Seeing Pakura still sitting there, he paused.

"Young lady, you still haven't left?"

Pakura didn't move. The old man frowned, glancing at the sky.

"Waiting from dawn until now... do you think sothing happened to your companion on the road?"

Pakura stood up abruptly. The movent was so sudden that her luggage tilted precariously.

Realizing he had overstepped, the old man hurried to wave his hands. "I've got a big mouth, don't take it to heart!"

Pakura didn't answer. She leaned down, picked up the puppy, and placed it in a cloth bag. The puppy struggled for a mont, but Pakura pressed its head down.

"Stay still."

She grabbed her luggage and turned away. The old man only saw a blur of motion; the pier was already empty. He stood there for a long ti before muttering under his breath.

"Ninjas..."

By the ti Pakura reached the outskirts of the Hidden Mist Village, it was nearly afternoon.

She bypassed the sentries and hidden guards on the periter. She stopped in the woods near the village gates, suppressing her breathing. Ahead, the guards were switching shifts.

One guard lowered his voice. "Did you hear about what happened in the canyon yesterday?"

The other yawned. "Which one?"

"That Chunin, Kitahara Kaede."

Pakura's hand, resting against a tree trunk, froze.

The guard continued, "Word is he was a Sunagakure spy who'd been embedded for years."

"Really? No way!"

"How could it be a lie? He was killed yesterday."

"Who did it?"

"Who else? Lady Terumi i handled it personally..."

Pakura couldn't hear the rest. She stood behind the tree, the words ringing in her ears.

Kitahara Kaede.

Sunagakure spy.

Killed.

By Terumi i's own hand.

Pakura took a step back. Leaves brushed lightly against her shoulder. She took another step back, and only when she was certain she was outside the sentries' sensory range did she turn and leave.

Kitahara Kaede was dead...

Deep in the woods, Pakura stopped. She slid down the trunk of a tree and sat on the ground. The puppy crawled out of the cloth bag and looked up at her, letting out a soft, whimpering moan from its throat.

Pakura looked at the dog, but all she could see was Kitahara Kaede standing at the gate last night.

He had looked back at her. His expression had been unnervingly calm.

Pakura's lips quirked, but she couldn't manage a smile.

She cursed in a low voice, "You bastard."

After the curse, she covered her eyes with her hand. The puppy lay quietly by her leg.

After a long while, tears began to drip onto the puppy's back. The dog looked up, then pressed its head back down against her.

***

Terumi i didn't know how she had made her way back to the village.

People stepped aside for her along the road. Others whispered in low voices.

"That's her, right?"

"I heard she personally eliminated a spy who had been in hide for years."

"Lord Genji really didn't misjudge her."

"Kitahara Kaede seed so normal; who would have thought he was from Sunagakure?"

The voices drifted past her. Terumi i heard them, yet it was as if she didn't.

Soone bowed to her; she didn't react. Soone called her na; she didn't stop.

She had already washed her hands. Yet as she walked, she found herself looking down at them. Her palms were clean, but she could still feel the phantom weight of the kunai in her grip.

She didn't go ho. Instead, she walked to the riverbank, to the cat's nest beneath the crooked tree.

A stray cat poked its head out, looking first at her, then behind her. Terumi i stopped in her tracks, her chest feeling as though it were blocked by sothing heavy.

"Stop looking," she said, her voice very low. "He's not coming."

The stray cat watched her for a mont, then disappeared back into its nest. When it erged again, it was carrying a letter in its mouth.

The cat dropped the letter at Terumi i's feet.

Terumi i looked down. It was Kitahara Kaede's handwriting. She stood still for a mont before leaning down to pick it up. The seal wasn't waxed.

Clenching her teeth, Terumi i unfolded the letter.

The first line was short:

"Terumi i, by the ti you read this, I will likely be dead."

Terumi i's vision blurred. She blinked hard and continued reading.

"Initially, my approach to you was indeed based on my identity and my mission. I have no right to claim innocence."

"But later, teaching you, accompanying you, and paving the way for you... that was no longer just because of the mission."

The paper rustled in her hand. She bowed her head, and a tear fell onto the page, causing the ink to smudge slightly. Terumi i started to wipe it away, then stopped, fearing she would blur the words that followed.

"You asked about the future. You asked if I would live to see that day. You asked what I planned to do afterward."

"I understood everything. I didn't answer because I had no right to."

Terumi i bit her lip.

"Kirigakure needs you."

"You can move forward on your own now."

"Don't let be the reason you stop."

Terumi i stared at the final line for a long ti.

She finally understood.

The canyon was his choice.

The identity of the Lightning Style masked man was his choice.

And the forehead protector he had tossed away—that, too, had been his choice.

He had let her be the one to end it all.

The spy scandals, the cold cases, and the suspicions that might have entangled her were all buried alongside his death.

From this mont on, no one could use Kitahara Kaede to stand in her way.

Terumi i pressed the letter against her chest, a few words straining through her throat.

"You bastard."

At the sa mont, in the forest outside the village, Pakura leaned against a tree trunk and whispered the exact sa words.

"You bastard."

The riverbank fell silent. The wind died down among the leaves.

Then, Terumi i heard a voice behind her.

"Let's go."

She spun around abruptly.

The road was empty. Only the shadow of a crooked tree shimred in the water.

But the voice had been too clear—so clear that she could almost picture him as he spoke.

After training, he was always like this. He never rushed her, nor did he wait for her answer. He would simply say the words and turn to walk ahead.

Clutching the letter, Terumi i continued to weep. She gazed at the river for a long while before finally whispering back.

"Okay."

In the forest, Pakura also looked up.

There was no one between the trees. Only a puppy stood up by her leg and gave a soft bark toward the path ahead.

Pakura looked toward the road leading away from the village. She had heard it too.

'Let's go.'

Just two words. As calm as he had been the previous night when he told her they should leave together.

Pakura closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she wiped the tears from her face, picked up the puppy, and adjusted her pack.

She didn't look back at the Hidden Mist Village.

"Okay," she whispered.