Chapter 044 | We Can't Be Together.

"Even if you say so, I can't decide."

Oki Miyamoto looked at the feeble old woman on crutches in front of him with difficulty.

"Then who can decide?"

Despite her old age, the old woman's voice was still strong.

"Honey, I just want a clay doll! Can't it be helped? "

"What kind of doll does this Granny want?"

Kaoru Uchiha, who had just finished her training, walked into the figurine store with sweat on her head that she hadn't had time to wipe off.

"This one --"

"Granny just wants a doll of my old man as a souvenir."

The old woman interrupted Oki's words and her tone and expression of unspeakable despair and frustration.

(Oki: You weren't like that just now!)

The girl's finger was on her chin, lost in thought.

In theory, in Manoshi's absence, she was now in charge of the figurine store.

Moreover, Manoshi also mentioned the concept of 'custom-made by hand'.

"I understand, Granny. You want to customize a handmade figure. That's no problem at all."

Kaoru Uchiha had an idea in her heart. First, he promised to the elderly, and then he looked at Oki Miyamoto:

"Oki-kun, please go and ask Urushi or Kabuto to come over here!"

"Who is it you want to make a figurine of, Granny?"

　　...

"My name is Guren!"

The Crystal Release girl, named Guren, answered her 'Lord's question.

"Um, Guren."

Under the bandage that others can't see, Manoshi's expression was somewhat distressed.

"Why do you want to become my apprentice?"

At first, he thought the girl was aiming for Tsunade.

"I want to get stronger!"

"It's no use looking for me to become strong... you have a Bloodline Limit, right? If you develop your abilities well, you will become stronger."

At Manoshi's level, he hadn't even figured out his direction for future development. How could he guide others?

Rather, it was the first time he came in contact with the Crystal Release. It was very suitable to experiment with.

"But you are strong, Master-sama, and I can become stronger if I follow you!"

"The logic here seems a bit confusing."

Manoshi pressed down the strange thoughts in his mind and had a bit of a headache.

"I'm going back to the village soon. You can't always follow me. Hey Obasan, what does the citizenship clause of Konoha village say?"

Tsunade, who had been watching the drama from the side, felt some amusement.

"In principle, it's impossible for people over 12 years old, especially shinobis, to join Konoha."

This was natural. If outsiders with formed mindsets were casually let into the village, there would be nothing but spies in the village.

Having gotten the desired reply, Manoshi again said to Guren:

"You see, we can't be together."

"However, if the outsider is a relative of a person from the village, he or she can enter the vetting process."

Tsunade added from the side.

"Right, do you have any relatives in Konoha village?"

The girl didn't need to think about this problem, "No ..."

"So, we really can't be together."

Guren was a little lost.

"In fact, relatives don't have to be blood relatives."

Tsunade began to expose her evil intentions.

"Geh? What kind of relative is that? "

The innocent young girl looked at Tsunade in confusion, and her mood seemed to rise and fall like a roller coaster.

"Obasan, don't mess around!"

The old soul in Manoshi already understood what the woman was thinking.

"I only accept the freedom of love in my marriage!"

"This is a great opportunity to add new strength to Konoha. And you see, the little girl didn't object."

Tsunade pointed at Guren, whose cheeks were pink, teasingly.

"I ..."

The girl was at a loss and bit her lip.

To spend the rest of her life with this powerful and reliable boy in front of her, it seems ...

"Don't be carried away. It's not a matter of me marrying you and you marrying me."

Manoshi stroked his forehead wordlessly and was about to refuse.

But on second thought, it seems a little too cruel to leave a 12-year-old girl wandering alone in the shinobi world.

"Forget it. Follow me first. But don't get me wrong, I'm not agreeing to this because I have thoughts about you. If the village doesn't agree to your temporary stay, you still have to go."

"Yes! Master."

The young girl shouted excitedly.

"By the way, my name is Manoshi, Manoshi Uchiha. Don't call me Master in the future."

　　...

"Masao, he said he would follow the First Hokage and build a home that belongs to us."

"I said, 'Then we'll wait for you to come back, and when you do, we'll be together.' "

In Konoha village, Kaoru Uchiha listened to the old woman telling the story of her and her lover.

She couldn't help but substitute herself into the story.

"Kaoru-san, what happened!?"

Instead of Oki Miyamoto, a fidgety Urushi came trotting along.

"Urushi-kun, you're here."

Looking back from her delusion, the young girl looked at Urushi with a smile in her eyes.

"This Granny wants to make a hand-crafted figure for her lost husband."

"No problem!"

Urushi patted his chest and readily promised.

"Granny, give me the picture. I'll be done soon!"

"Granny doesn't have a picture!"

The old woman's walking stick knocked twice on the ground and said angrily:

"That young man just said he couldn't do it without a photo. Young lady, is this reasonable?! How could there be cameras back then!"

"Well, what about a painted portrait?"

"A portrait? Also, no!"

'This ...'

It made it even more difficult for the young girl.

Oki Miyamoto arrived late and overheard this conversation.

Kaoru Uchiha and Oki Miyamoto looked at each other and felt each other's embarrassment.

"Urushi, can you knead out the figure according to the description from Granny?"

The young girl looked stiffly at Urushi, hoping for a positive answer.

However, Urushi shook his head in disgrace, "I can't do it."

Although he was familiar with clay modeling, he couldn't make people's appearance out of thin air.

After all, he wasn't an artist with professional training.

"So even this old lady's little wish can be realized..."

"Urushi, give it a try. I think you can do it."

Clay was taken out of the backroom and handed to Urushi, and Oki Miyamoto patted the child on the shoulder.

Kaoru Uchiha also cheered him up, "Come on, Urushi!"

He tried it for a few hours.

"Ah ~ I can't."

Urushi was lying on the table, holding an unpainted figure prototype in his hands.

Instead, the old woman's energy was surprisingly abundant, and her pair of eyes still divinely fixed on Urushi's hands.

Accurately speaking, at the prototype in his hands.

"This will do."

"This old woman's husband looks very ordinary."

Kaoru Uchiha picked up the prototype from Urushi's hand.

A young man with a definite size, big nose, and small eyes, showing a foolish smile.

There was a slight gap with the image in Kaoru Uchiha's mind.

"But he's the hero of my heart, thank you, kids."

The old woman took the hand-made prototype handed over by Kaoru Uchiha and held it in front of her to study it carefully.

"How much is this doll going to cost?"

"Ugh? Forget about the money and consider it a gift. And it's still an uncolored clay prototype. Wait for Urushi to recover and knead the finished product again."

The old woman smiled and refused. Her eyes were full of nostalgia, "No, it's been too many years. Color has long since ceased to matter."

Watching the old woman leave, Oki Miyamoto hung up the closed sign at the door and sighed:

"I didn't think selling figures could bring happiness to others."

"Manoshi-kun's idea is not as simple as just making money."

The young girl spoke in an affirmative tone.

Although Manoshi rarely spoke to her about it, she could feel that her younger brother had always wanted to change the world.

That was why she always wanted to be stronger and become the support behind her brother.

Urushi, who was resting on the table, also felt the meaning for the first time when his sensei said, 'Shinobi isn't the only great profession'.

…

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