Chapter Thirty-One: Painful Compensation

Kushina sat at the table with her head bowed, adopting the posture of someone admitting fault. She probably didn’t have many friends at school—no, if one considered her behavior in previous years, Kushina had almost no friends at all. So, when Karn flattered her with a few kind words and claimed to treat her as an equal, Kushina unconsciously began to regard Karn as a friend.

After all, Karn never mocked her for her physical traits like the other students at the ninja academy did. Although he had managed to get quite a bit of money from her, Kushina seemed entirely unaware. Karn was skilled in the art of commercial praise—so much so that even adults couldn’t always tell truth from flattery, let alone a young girl like Kushina.

That’s how today’s incident came about. Seeing Miwa Kawaki leave, Kushina wanted to play a prank on Karn. However, as soon as Karn heard the phrase “Boss Karn,” he sensed something was wrong. Miwa would never do something as childish as poking only her head through the door, so Karn instantly saw through Kushina’s transformation technique.

“Don’t joke around like that next time. I’m just an ordinary outsider, Kushina,” Karn said with a sigh, a hint of grievance in his tone. He had been startled, true, but he hadn’t suffered any real loss, and Kushina hadn’t meant any harm.

Still, her behavior couldn’t be condoned, and Karn realized he needed to find an opportunity to learn some ninjutsu.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Kushina said in a small, apologetic voice, her head lowered. In her mind, she had so few friends that losing one over this was not something she could bear.

Karn didn’t answer her directly. Instead, he turned his head and muttered softly, “The floor’s damaged, and a few bullets are missing… all will need money to fix.”

Kushina’s ears perked up as she realized she should be responsible for these expenses, since the accident was her doing. But she wasn’t sure how much to pay, so she took out her little orange wallet and placed it on the table, slowly pushing it toward Karn.

“Forget it, it was just an accident today. Just be more careful next time,” Karn said, his tone softening at the sight of the wallet. Kushina, hearing these words, thought Karn had forgiven her and reached to take her wallet back.

But Karn was quicker; he picked up the wallet and weighed it in his hand—it was quite hefty.

He gestured to Kushina and said, “Let’s call this compensation. Fixing the floor and replenishing my custom weapons will cost quite a bit, and you startled me so badly I might need to go to the hospital for a checkup.”

“Do... do you need that much? But inside there’s my earnings for today…” Kushina protested, reluctant to part with it. But seeing Karn’s expression, she swallowed the rest of her words, pained by the loss of her orange wallet—she had just filled it today.

“Don’t dwell on it. After I fix the floor and restock my special tools, there should be some left over. I’ll treat you to a meal,” Karn said, not wanting to linger on the issue as evening approached.

“A meal? I want barbecue…” Kushina replied.

“Barbecue is out of the question. When my barbecue shop opens, I’ll treat you then… Let’s go for ramen, you can order whatever you like,” Karn refused. Not for lack of money, but as a citizen of America, he’d eaten plenty of barbecue; the Leaf’s version didn’t interest him at all.

Cheapskate! Kushina thought, wrinkling her nose in displeasure. Even though she loved ramen, after losing so much money, he wouldn’t even buy her barbecue?

But once they reached the ramen shop, Kushina was delighted, wolfing down three big bowls and adding plenty of toppings. Karn shook his head repeatedly; with all the sweets and full meals she ate daily, she never gained a pound—chakra must truly work wonders for weight loss.

After Kushina had her fill, she patted her stomach, said goodbye to Karn, and headed home.

Though it wasn’t very late, Karn didn’t linger outside and made his way toward the grocery store. The war had only recently ended, and there might still be spies from other villages lurking in Leaf. It was best to return early.

...

When Kushina returned to the Senju compound, lights were still on in the house.

She lived with Grandma Mito in the largest house in the compound.

As she arrived, she noticed the lights in Tsunade’s room were still on—a common occurrence lately. Word was that Senior Rope Tree’s injuries were severe, possibly affecting his future as a ninja. So, after finishing her duties at the Leaf hospital, Tsunade would come home and research medical ninjutsu, hoping to heal Rope Tree’s wounds.

Kushina had visited Rope Tree recently; though he seemed somewhat better, his voice was much weaker than before. But with Tsunade’s medical expertise, Kushina was confident Rope Tree would recover.

Her own return times had become unpredictable lately, as she spent much of her time training outside. Neither Tsunade nor Mito paid much attention to the sound of her coming home.

...

After eating ramen, Kushina calmed herself and began to mourn her lost orange wallet. She hurried upstairs, found her box of chocolates, and planned to bribe Tsunade.

“One, two, three… stolen again? That wicked Tsunade!” Kushina counted her chocolates and exclaimed angrily. Last time, she’d hidden them in the fridge, covering them with eggs, but still lost many. This time, she hid them in her own room, yet seven or eight pieces were missing again.

Still, thinking she might get some money from Tsunade, Kushina took three pieces from the box, brewed a cup of tea in the kitchen, and arranged it all on a tray to bring to Tsunade.

Knock, knock.

“Tsunade, you’ve worked so hard staying up late. I brought you some tea and snacks,” Kushina said with a smile, carrying the tray into Tsunade’s room. Inside, she found it almost impossible to find a place to step—scrolls and documents cluttered both the bed and floor. Even Tsunade, seated at her desk, had to stand up for Kushina to see her.

“So it’s you, Kushina,” Tsunade said, peeking over the heap of papers. At first, she thought Kushina had come to demand answers, but upon seeing the tea and snacks, she realized the girl surely had another request.

After several years together, Tsunade and Kushina had developed a good relationship. They were somewhat related by blood and shared similar temperaments, so they got along well.

“Are you still researching medical ninjutsu this late?” Unable to set the tray on the desk, Kushina placed it aside and began tidying up the scrolls and documents on the floor for Tsunade.

“It’s not that late. I feel I can develop a technique for regenerative healing, but it’s still not what I envisioned…” Tsunade said with a frustrated shake of her head. She had promised Rope Tree she’d heal him, but his injuries involved permanent damage to bodily functions and nerves. Ordinary medical ninjutsu could barely restore such wounds.