Chase Beneath the Rain Curtain

In this situation, all sorts of thoughts flashed through Mei Terumi’s mind, but in the end, she realized there was nothing she could do.

The man before her was simply far too mysterious.

Even though she now knew his name and what he looked like, the moment she learned his identity, Mei Terumi realized she still knew absolutely nothing about him.

She merely lowered her voice and asked, "You knew I was looking for you all along?"

"Many people are chasing after my shadow." Shen Mo turned his head and continued eating his ramen at an unhurried pace. "As long as I wish it, I can know who they are."

"So…" Mei Terumi gritted her teeth. "Was everything today arranged by you?"

She had thought it would be a beautiful encounter.

She had never expected that the person she encountered would not be the man of her dreams.

But an exceedingly mysterious, unknown being.

The contrast was far too great.

Mei Terumi did not even know whether she should feel fortunate or upset.

"Weren’t you the one who came looking for me?" Shen Mo’s unhurried voice drifted over. "I had no intention of seeking you out. Today, I was merely taking Ikaros shopping. After all—your greatest wish has already been fulfilled."

Setting aside that wish to get married.

Mei Terumi’s goal over the past decade or so had merely been to overthrow the Fourth Mizukage.

And now.

Mei Terumi stared at the man before her, countless emotions flashing through her eyes. Even Chojuro had gripped the hilt of the great sword on his back, his expression extremely tense.

"It had already been fulfilled." In the end, Mei Terumi took a deep breath, picked up her chair, and sat down beside Shen Mo again, her eyes fixed on him. "But because of your appearance, my wish is about to be destroyed once more."

That was right. If not for this person, the remaining matters should have been easy.

She only needed to make Kirigakure open and strong.

Then she could go seek her own happiness.

But after witnessing Tsunade’s terrifying power, she understood that such hopes were gone.

With unequal power, equal communication was impossible.

Let alone prosperity.

"If you truly had no wishes at all, you would not be able to perceive my existence." Shen Mo finished the last strand of ramen, then added, "Just like those people."

Mei Terumi instinctively glanced at everyone else.

Then she suddenly realized.

Everyone was continuing with what they had been doing. Everything was just as it had been moments ago, as though nothing had happened here.

Yet for no reason.

Mei Terumi felt a chill rise up her spine.

This was definitely not something like Genjutsu.

Because she could faintly sense that as long as she looked away and stopped paying attention, her impressions and memories of this man would continuously ebb away from her mind like the tide, as though he were merely an ordinary passerby not worth remembering.

If not for what the Hokage and Tsunade had said before, she might have believed all of this was merely her imagination.

But now.

She clearly understood that this was a method beyond her comprehension.

This man’s mystery far exceeded her imagination.

"Just who are you?" Mei Terumi asked with some difficulty.

"Have I not already told you, Miss Mei Terumi?" Shen Mo turned toward her, his deep eyes fixed upon her as he spoke in a somewhat formal tone. "I am a Traveling Merchant from the New World, selling Jars of Fate that can change one’s destiny."

"You only said you were a Traveling Merchant."

Mei Terumi was slightly indignant. She felt that her earlier behavior and the stirrings of her heart had all been treated as a joke.

"Well, I’ve said it now." Shen Mo shrugged, then stood up. "I should be going. This encounter with you was very pleasant. Goodbye."

Ikaros beside him hurriedly stood as well.

Shen Mo took a step away, truly appearing as though he intended to leave.

Mei Terumi became somewhat flustered.

"Please wait." She hurried after him. "Did Tsunade obtain that kind of power from you?"

"That’s right." Not only did Shen Mo not stop, he seemed to move even faster.

More precisely, he was still walking at the same leisurely pace, yet each short step seemed to span several meters, creating a powerful sense of dissonance. And yet, the pedestrians around them noticed nothing at all.

"How can I obtain that kind of power?" Mei Terumi could only quicken her pace.

"Wishes. Power exists to change wishes." Shen Mo moved faster and faster.

Lightning streaked across the dark night sky, followed by rolling thunder. Within mere seconds, a drizzling rain began to fall.

The pedestrians either ran quickly to escape the rain or opened their umbrellas.

Mei Terumi realized that even quickening her pace was not enough to keep up with Shen Mo. Growing flustered, she leaped onto the rooftops and ran toward the two figures beneath the rain curtain.

Then she shouted, "I have wishes too!"

But it had no effect. Even running at full speed, she could not catch up to them.

She could only vaguely make out the two increasingly blurred figures beneath the rain.

Her heart grew more and more anxious.

She had a feeling that if she missed this chance, she might lose it forever.

Their earlier conversation suddenly resurfaced in her mind.

What kind of place did she want her village to become?

Mei Terumi seemed to suddenly understand something. Taking a deep breath, she shouted ahead:

"I don’t know what I want the village to become, but at the very least, I hope it can be peaceful and harmonious, no longer forced to face cruel tragedies."

Her voice vanished into the rain curtain.

And she completely lost sight of the two figures’ backs.

It was over.

Mei Terumi stopped, rain striking her body and plastering her hair and clothes tightly against her.

For the first time, she felt so helpless that she wanted to burst into tears.

This was different from facing the Fourth Mizukage. Back then, she knew that if she worked hard enough, she could achieve it.

But now.

The enormous gap between them and Konoha was no longer something effort alone could bridge.

If Kirigakure was abandoned because of her.

What kind of fate would await the village?

Mei Terumi’s thoughts were in turmoil as immense pressure washed over her.

And just then.

"Your fate truly is unfortunate."

An unhurried voice suddenly rang out before her.

Mei Terumi abruptly raised her head.

Right in front of her, only a single step away, Shen Mo and Ikaros stood silently. Yet the raindrops that had been falling from the sky had somehow stopped in midair, each one like a transparent crystal, forming a beautiful and wondrous scene together with the village beneath the night sky.

"If you were merely pursuing your own wish, it would not require much. But your fate is bound to the fate of your village, which means the qualification of the entire village is at stake." Shen Mo stepped forward, walking through the frozen rain curtain. His eyes seemed to hold pity, yet also seemed to hold nothing at all.