Chapter 40: The True Culprit
Unexpectedly, Akiyama Makoto didn't see the answer for quite some time.
[The news that you and Ino have become a couple spreads quickly, and many people offer you their blessings.]
[Those who knew you had been sending Ino flowers every day for years sigh at the romance between you, but the question in your heart remains unanswered.]
[A week later, you are discharged from the hospital. Ino takes you to the Yamanaka clan compound. Her mother and grandmother both welcome you. Unfortunately, you do not see Yamanaka Inoichi.]
[Ino pulls you into her private room. You are initially confused, but then you see her collection: a dozen huge albums of pressed flowers.]
[It turns out that while you were sending her flowers every day for years, she was pressing every single one and collecting them.]
[Ino tells you that she had originally intended to just keep one or two as a memento and stop when you gave up. But you never gave up, so she kept collecting them, almost out of a sense of competition.]
[You want to ask her why, if they had mutual feelings, they had to go through so much trouble to get to this point. But Ino seems to see through your thoughts and pushes you down again.]
[She says she wants to accept your confession with the thousand-plus flowers you sent as her witness. You readily whisper a string of sweet nothings to her, leaving her utterly mesmerized. The two of you are lost in each other until dawn.]
[From then on, you gain the right to freely enter and exit the Yamanaka compound. Ino's mother and grandmother already see you as their son-in-law, but you still have not seen Yamanaka Inoichi.]
Makoto frowned... Was this all because of Yamanaka Inoichi?
He suddenly remembered that at the very beginning of the simulation, Inoichi had extracted his memories. Had he discovered something and told Ino, causing her to stay away? It was a reasonable explanation, but Makoto felt it was unlikely. Could he have really discovered the secret of the system?
Moreover, Makoto had a faint feeling that Inoichi was avoiding him. Of course, that could just be his imagination. The current Konoha, and indeed the entire ninja world, was in a state of turmoil. Soon, Konoha would launch its pursuit of Kakuzu and Hidan, followed by Jiraiya's death, Pain's assault... all the way to the Great Ninja War. This year was practically one continuous battle. In such a context, it wouldn't be strange for Inoichi to be too busy to see him.
Just as Makoto was looking forward to seeing what his simulated self would do in this busy year, he was disappointed to find that even as a master of medical ninjutsu, he could not influence the course of the war.
Thinking about it, that made sense. This was the era of Tsunade healing the entire village and Naruto healing the entire Allied Shinobi Forces, not to mention the grand meeting of the Reanimated Army. His one-on-one medical ninjutsu really didn't have much of an impact.
[You continue to work as a medical-nin. After Tsunade falls into a coma, you and Shizune become the strongest medical ninja in all of Konoha, shouldering the entirety of the village's medical work.]
[Just when you think you will work peacefully like this until the end of the Great Ninja War, news of Danzō's death arrives, and Yamanaka Inoichi comes to find you.]
Makoto's spirits lifted. Was the secret that had puzzled him for so long finally about to be revealed? He couldn't help but hold his breath, wanting to know what Inoichi would say.
But the following text left him silent for a long time, as if he had returned to that powerless night.
[Yamanaka Inoichi performs a dogeza, a deep bow of apology, before you. You are taken aback and tell him to get up, but he insists, saying he will not rise until you forgive him. Only then do you begin to listen patiently to his explanation. He then tells you a shocking truth.]
[It turns out that the person who stabbed you three years ago was named Yamanaka Fū, a member of Danzō's Root Anbu, under orders to probe your true abilities.]
[Inoichi believed that you would never forgive the Yamanaka clan after learning the truth, and that there would be no good outcome for you and Ino to be together. That was why he prevented her from seeing you.]
Makoto stared silently at the text. He, of course, knew who Yamanaka Fū was—an Elite Jōnin who specialized in the Mind Puppet Switch Cursed Seal Technique. But he didn't understand why Danzō had decided to investigate him, and with such a violent method. What had he done to attract so much of Danzō's attention?
At this moment, the real Makoto and the simulated Makoto seemed to merge. The simulated Makoto also asked a similar question.
[You ask Inoichi why Danzō did it, what you had done to cross the line. Inoichi's answer leaves you speechless. He had personally heard Danzō say in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen: "I just had a subordinate test him out a bit. He's not dead, is he?"]
[At this moment, you understand. You hadn't crossed any line at all. Danzō probably didn't even remember your name. He had simply sent his subordinates to eliminate potential instabilities in Konoha. The single strike that had nearly killed you and changed the course of your life probably never even made it onto Danzō's desk as an intelligence report.]
Akiyama Makoto let out a long, slow breath.
His recent growth had made him feel he had the power to change his own fate and life. But the simulation told him that in the ninja world, where human life was treated as grass, he was still far from true liberation.
"Danzō... oh, Danzō."
Makoto muttered to himself, "I hope that one day, when you become as insignificant as a blade of grass to me, you won't be foolish enough to ask my name."
The simulation continued its cold, logical progression.
[You choose to forgive the Yamanaka clan, because you know that Root ninja are all brainwashed by Danzō. Yamanaka Fū had no real connection to the Yamanaka clan anymore.]
[Yamanaka Inoichi is very moved. He then brings Ino to you. Amidst her tearful, joyous laughter, he entrusts her to your care.]
[The next day, the Yamanaka clan announces your engagement to Ino. Because of Danzō's death and the precarious situation in Konoha, your engagement ceremony is attended only by the Ino-Shika-Chō families, Ino's close friends, and key members of the Hokage's faction like Tsunade.]
[Shortly after, the Great Ninja War breaks out. Yamanaka Inoichi dies in the war. You are powerless to save him from the Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb.]
[After the Great Ninja War ends, Ino has not yet recovered from her grief. You are busy rebuilding the Yamanaka clan, so you and Ino do not hold your wedding ceremony right away.]
[Konoha 69: Ino gives birth to your son. You name him Yamanaka Shin.]
[Congratulations, the simulation was a success!]
[Calculating Yamanaka Shin's bloodline talent. Please wait a moment.]
In reality, Akiyama Makoto finally broke free from his emotional state, looking at the final successful simulation result with a strange expression.
He was certainly happy that the simulation had succeeded, especially since the twists and turns of this one were no less dramatic than the one with Uzuki Yūgao.
But hadn't the simulation ended a bit too quickly?
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