Chapter 112: The Child Who Doesn't Grow Up
"You know that child?"
"No, I've just heard of him."
Nonō Yakushi didn't believe that kind of lie for a second. When she mentioned Kabuto, he had reacted very quickly. Only someone who knew him very well, or at least had a very deep impression of him, could have reacted that fast.
It's only natural that this child is wary of me right now.
Thinking this, the Miko in the white robe did not press further about Kabuto's whereabouts, although she very much wanted to know where he had gone. That child, who had been taken into Root for training and sent to various countries to carry out the same infiltration work as her, must still be struggling somewhere, wanting to escape that endless time of deceit.
"I want to join the Akatsuki. I have all of Root's intelligence and classified information on the Five Great Nations. As long as I join the Akatsuki, I will hand over all of this information."
"Why? What is your purpose in joining the Akatsuki?"
Although Kakashi felt that this woman might have a few screws loose, he had already agreed in his heart to let her join the Akatsuki. This intelligence alone was something that couldn't be measured by value. Coupled with the espionage capabilities of "The Walking Miko," if used properly, she would definitely be of great use in the future.
"I have no purpose. I just want to help children."
"There are no orphanages in the Land of Rain."
"It's fine. As long as there are children."
"Let me be clear first, I do not fall into the category of 'child'."
"Children never admit they are children."
"Talking to you is so tiring. The leader's mansion is over there. I'll take you to get your Akatsuki robe and get you registered as a member."
In this world, only two people had ever touched Kakashi's head without his permission. One was the "Yellow Flash," Minato Namikaze, and the other was the white-robed Miko who had just succeeded, Nonō Yakushi.
The former relied on a speed that was unmatched in the ninja world, which was an irresistible force. The latter was due to his own carelessness, which was unforgivable.
I absolutely cannot make this kind of low-level mistake again in the future, Kakashi admonished himself. At the same time, he began to question his own reasoning. This woman clearly couldn't harm him, she had no killing intent, and she wouldn't have come all the way to Amegakure just to play a prank. It seemed he had been overly tense lately, his nerves a bit frayed. He needed to take good care of himself.
Walking ahead of Nonō Yakushi, Kakashi rubbed his temples, feeling his head clear a little. The woman behind him spoke up.
"If you have a headache, it's best to get more rest. Pay attention to the frequency when carrying out missions. High-intensity training can lead to overreactions. The climate in the Land of Rain is humid and it's easy to get sick. You can carry a medical kit with you. If the Land of Rain doesn't have the conditions for it, I can make one for you. If you get a wound, you must bandage it in time..."
Not knowing what kind of expression to make in the face of the person's nagging (concern) behind him, the silver-haired young man could only reveal a pair of lifeless, dead-fish eyes and stare at the leader's mansion they were about to reach.
"We're almost there."
"Yeah."
Finally stopping her nagging, the white-robed Miko didn't really intend to admonish him with so many precautions. She believed this child should know the basic common sense, but seeing his unrested appearance, she couldn't help but remind him a couple of times.
Perhaps it was also related to the fact that she hadn't had anyone to talk to for a long time, or perhaps it was her way of showing concern and gratitude to this child who had freed her.
In any case, the moment Nonō Yakushi took off her white robe and put on the black one with red clouds, she deeply felt that the members of the Akatsuki were a bunch of children who hadn't grown up. Only children would design such a conspicuous and dark uniform.
It didn't match their organization's name, "Akatsuki" (Dawn).
"I think a white base with blue clouds would be more appropriate."
The white-robed Miko tactfully expressed her opinion. She didn't want to wear this dark-colored outfit when interacting with children; it would be a bad influence on them.
Kakashi was silent for a moment, then turned his gaze to Yahiko.
The golden-haired youth naturally heard this new member's dissatisfaction with the uniform. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
Come to think of it, he had designed this uniform. At the time, Konan had also expressed her opposition, but in the end, this design was still adopted.
"If you know how to alter clothes yourself... you can make a white robe with blue clouds, but I have one condition."
"What condition?"
"Help me train a batch of medical ninja. Amegakure is in urgent need of medical ninja right now. The medical corps actually only has Rin Nohara. The others only know the basics of preparing herbal medicine."
"Yes."
Nonō Yakushi readily agreed to this request. This was exactly what she had hoped for. She hadn't been able to become Lady Tsunade's disciple, but this time she could finally step back onto this path of healing others.
It would be even better if she could take care of children in her spare time.
"Where will I be staying?"
"Someone will take you there later."
Before long, an outer member came to the leader's mansion and led the now-official member, Nonō Yakushi, towards the block of houses specifically allocated for formal members.
It was roughly the same as the houses for the foreign members, with a similar internal structure. The only difference was the location.
The white-robed Miko walked into the new house where she would be living from now on. It had the most basic living facilities: a bed, a table, and chairs.
Everything else, like the Land of Rain's currently strained economy, was in its original, plain state.
Although the economy of the Land of Rain was developing rapidly, a large amount of money was invested in infrastructure and drainage construction. It was already quite good that the allocated houses could be of this standard.
This was a far cry from the living conditions in Konoha, and even inferior to the conditions in Root. Yet, Nonō still felt that this place was more like a home than Konoha.
I no longer have to live a life of deceit as a spy. I can finally help the children.
On the wooden bed, the white-robed Miko closed her eyes, curled up on her side like a child.
Occasionally, it would be nice if I could be treated like a child, too.
Kakashi, who had originally thought this woman was an opportunity, gave up on the idea of having her continue to work as a spy to gather intelligence. It seemed that this was not what she wanted to do. In that case, he would still have to rely on himself to convince Yahiko.
No, his words alone were not enough. Everyone had to raise questions together. Only then could they make Yahiko realize how impractical his pure 'no-killing' ideology was.
At this stage, internal conflicts were already beginning to erupt. To avoid treading the same old path as Konoha, some core issues had to be resolved.
"Yahiko, put the matter of borrowing men from the Tsuchikage on hold for now. Cancel all their missions for this week. I think we need to have a meeting to discuss our next objectives."
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