"Did you come here this time just to see me?"
Sitting across from Takeshi, Nonō ignored Yamato and asked about the reason for Takeshi's visit.
"I really just missed you, that's all. What other reason could I have?"
Takeshi replied somewhat guiltily, his gaze avoiding Nonō's eyes and drifting all over the place.
Truth be told, he hadn't come just to see Nonō. He was here for a certain little guy.
If his calculations were correct, that master spy should have already been taken in by the orphanage.
"Really?"
Nonō reached out and turned Takeshi's head, forcing him to meet her gaze.
"Really, I swear..."
With his cheeks being pinched, Takeshi mumbled his reply unclearly.
After observing the orphanage earlier, he had already spotted Kabuto Yakushi, who blended into the crowd like a complete nobody. Just as in the original story, at this point in time, Kabuto looked like a harmless little lamb—completely devoid of threat.
"I see..."
Receiving Takeshi's (half-mumbled) confirmation, Nonō finally let go of him and flicked him hard on the forehead.
"Ow! That hurt, Nonō-san!"
Takeshi held his head, pretending to be in pain.
"Oh please. I clearly hit your forehead protector."
Rolling her eyes, Nonō flexed her wrist and stood up, towering over him.
"Takeshi, I suggest you tell me the truth. Otherwise, my fist is going to land on your head for real. Don't worry, I'll be a lot gentler than Yamanaka Akira or Ikku—at the very least, I won't leave you half-dead."
"I'll talk! I'll talk! I was just afraid that kid might get twisted at the Root base, so I brought him out to see the outside world!"
Seeing that Nonō was getting serious, Takeshi quickly surrendered and threw all the blame onto Yamato.
"Hmph. That's more like it."
Now certain he hadn't been sent by Danzō to approach her, Nonō breathed a small sigh of relief, though her expression remained a bit troubled.
"Something wrong, Nonō-san?"
Just like Nonō could always tell when Takeshi was lying, having lived with her for so many years, Takeshi also noticed the sorrow in her expression and asked with concern.
Nonō glanced at Takeshi, hesitating whether to tell him about what had happened.
"It's about my father..."
Judging from her eyes, Takeshi seemed to understand what she meant and asked in a low voice.
"Yeah."
Since Takeshi had already guessed, Nonō simply nodded and told him everything that had happened recently.
...
"Dad wants you to infiltrate Iwagakure for intel?"
After hearing Nonō's story, Takeshi quickly understood the reason behind her troubled look.
Iwagakure had already reached a peace agreement with Kumogakure and was preparing to make a move against Konoha.
Upon learning this, Danzō immediately deployed his intelligence agents to try to steal Iwagakure's plans and prepare in advance.
Unfortunately, Iwagakure's security was airtight, and none of Danzō's operatives returned. So he turned his sights on Nonō, the intelligence expert.
Just before Takeshi returned to the village, Danzō personally contacted Nonō, hoping to get her back into the field—but she refused.
Had this been the old Danzō, he definitely would have used every means to force her compliance.
But now, needing to maintain a certain public image, and considering Nonō had raised his son for many years, Danzō didn't go to extremes. Instead, he cut off funding for the orphanage as a warning.
"Neither Kelly nor I are good at managing things. We really don't know what to do next."
Looking out at the older male staff member watching over the children attentively, Nonō couldn't help but wonder how much longer the orphanage could survive without funding.
After listening to everything, Takeshi fell silent.
Compared to a few years ago, he was much more rational now.
Just like during the Sakumo incident—though Yōmei Rikujin's methods were despicable, he did initially intend to trade his life to complete the mission. Sakumo saving him fulfilled the Will of Fire, but it brought disgrace upon Yōmei's family.
Same with Danzō this time—his motive for obtaining intel from Iwagakure was to protect Konoha. Of course, if he followed the original timeline and started silencing witnesses, that would cross a serious line.
Takeshi didn't believe he could convince Danzō.
But he also didn't want to see Nonō walk down that irreversible path like in the original story...
What should he do...
...
Meanwhile, Danzō had received a report from his subordinates, informing him that his son had gone to the orphanage.
"That brat. Was it that damned woman Nonō who called him over?"
Hearing that Takeshi had gone to the orphanage, Danzō's expression darkened. His first thought was of Nonō.
"We didn't detect any suspicious actions from Nonō. Takeshi-sama seems to have gone entirely of his own accord."
The Root ninja who had been monitoring Nonō reported truthfully.
"Hmph. Fine, we'll let that cursed shrine maiden off the hook for now."
To everyone's surprise, Danzō simply gave up on the idea of forcing Nonō back into the field.
Even Aburame Tatsuma, who always stayed by Danzō's side, was shocked by his decision.
It seemed Takeshi-sama held far greater weight in Danzō-sama's heart than anyone had imagined.
I hope you won't let Danzō-sama's efforts go to waste, Takeshi-sama.
Sighing at Danzō's change, Aburame Tatsuma silently prayed in his heart.
At that very moment, as everyone's thoughts centered on him, Takeshi—perhaps sensing this deep wave of "concern"—suddenly felt an itch in his nose and sneezed violently several times.
"You okay?"
Nonō immediately asked with concern.
"I'm fine. Probably just that brat Obito talking about me again. Nothing to worry about."
Takeshi waved his hand and pulled out a tissue to wipe his nose, blaming the sneeze, like the Second Hokage would, on an evil Uchiha somewhere.
"Nonō-san, I have a few ideas about the funding."
Throwing the tissue into the trash, Takeshi sat up straight and began laying out his plan to Nonō.
"We can get the kids involved—have them make snacks, handmade crafts, stuff like that, and sell them in the village. Since they're orphans, it'll evoke sympathy from a lot of people."
"Also, the orphanage could start taking in war orphans from the village. I heard from sensei that the clan children are taken care of by their families, but civilian ninja children can only rely on the village's stipend. You can take those children in and use that as a reason to negotiate with the higher-ups—see if you can get some official support. The price would be that the orphanage takes responsibility for all war orphans during this period, caring for them until they can live independently."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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