Chap.22 Desertion and adoption

The following conversation was very interesting.

Hinata was outraged when she found out the whole story from Karin's lips.

Kiba was impressed with Tony for his ability to defect a genin within two minutes of meeting.

Tony was delighted and a bit embarrassed, because he actually completely forgot about the Uzumaki until he saw her. There were too many characters and events to remember it all, right?

And why was he delighted?

A few minor things aside, he had to admit that Karin was a great addition. Not only was she an extraordinary sensor ninja and clansman talented in fuinjutsu, but she had a talent for administration and could become very loyal to those she truly cares about.

After what she went through, he just needed someone to treat her like a human and truly take care of her.

Her idea was simple, she would arrive early at the central tower before the others with her, then she would request an emergency meeting with the Third Hokage through Anko or an ANBU and explain her situation to him as well as her desire to adopt her.

Yes, he wouldn't ask the Akimichi clan to adopt her, he wants to register her as her own relative.

More specifically, as her little sister!

She wanted someone who was not blindly loyal to the village or a clan, but to him. She may sound sinister, but in reality she was just looking for someone she could trust. Someone she could entrust her life to in moments and could keep secrets. And Karin is looking for the exact same thing, someone to trust in this cruel world.

So she doesn't see anything wrong with them becoming brothers!

He gains a little sister to care for and adore, while she gains a trustworthy older brother.

Everyone happy.

The wife's choice?

No, Tony didn't have anything like that in mind. He wasn't interested in romance at the time and he remembered what the future version of Karin's personality was like, it just didn't fit him. Of course, maybe her personality will change to a different one from now on, but that is something to be seen in the future.

It will let things flow naturally in that sense.

Maybe I ended up feeling a kinship with Karin or maybe I managed to connect with a completely different girl. What's more, he may not even be from the same village.

Why worry about those things now?

Let's focus on gaining strength, eating and prospering the business.

—Come on then, now that this situation has happened, I want to reach the tower before any other team. We will move as fast as we can and we have what we need to get through this round.

They all nodded and moved on. Kiba was in the lead, while Tony and Karin were in the middle and Hinata brought up the rear. To avoid attracting attention with their speed, they made sure to go for the highest branches and by the time it got dark, they managed to cover almost half of the way. They found a place to spend the night and were preparing to eat something to regain their energy.

Karin waited without understanding what was happening. Nobody was trying to start a fire, collect water or anything like that. Were they going to rely on soldier pills like her? Or did they forget to bring supplies?

"Well, what do you want to eat?" Tony asked.

"Two big portions of beef and vegetable gyozas!" We'll have some tea to go with it," Kiba said and right after that Akamaru barked once in agreement.

"I'd like spring rolls with sweet and sour sauce and a lemonade, please," Hinata requested without thinking too much.

"I'm in the mood for something more Italian-inclined," Tony muttered. "I guess I'll go for a pizza and a cola." What do you want Karin?

"I…" She didn't know what to answer, she couldn't even understand why they asked for something so extravagant in such a place as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Since you're an Uzumaki, maybe some ramen is okay with you?" —After Tony saw how Karin nodded with a lost look, he began to work.

He took the plates out of a small storage scroll and distributed them to everyone. Then she took some mud from the ground and began to transform it into the food and drink that everyone wanted.

Five minutes later, everyone was eating to their heart's content. Well, everyone except Karin who was even more stunned at the absurdity of the situation. She subconsciously thought that she might have fallen into a genjutsu, so she made the sign to get out of the illusion, but everything was the same.

The aroma of her ramen tickled his nose and the warmth she felt in her bowl were so real...

One taste won't do anything for you, right?

The others smiled as they watched her start to eat and fell silent as her redhead shed tears as the taste and warmth filled her.

She couldn't remember when was the last time she ate something this good.

No, perhaps it would be more correct to say that she never tried anything like that.

Not since her mother left her alone in this world.

"Thanks," she said to Tony when she finished the ramen and wiped her tears with her wrists.

-You wanna repeat? Ella." She smiled back at him.

"...Please," Karin said with a slightly flushed face.

She couldn't help it, it was too delicious!

That caused some genuine laughter and her mood improved a lot. Karin opened up a bit more to everyone and the team took turns keeping watch.

They were all trackers or sensors, so they were able to rotate without problem until the next morning when they were back on the road.