Yamato set off through the forest, his steps slow and silent. Contrary to his usual attire, he was wearing normal clothes, having left his Anbu uniform behind.
He had just finished reviewing the Uchiha Mitsuro file in the Anbu archives:
"Uchiha Mitsuro, Last Rank: Special Jōnin. Skills: Excellent use of Fire Release and Earth Release. High intelligence. Specializes in data collection and analysis. Number of Missions: 200 (Rank D: 84, Rank C: 68, Rank B: 30, Rank A: 15, Rank S: 3)."
His last mission dated back to about five years ago, just a few weeks before the bloody Uchiha Night. The report in his file stated that during the Uchiha Night, he completely lost one eye, and the other was severely damaged. After recovering, he was discharged from the hospital and stayed for over three years as a supervisor and teacher at an orphanage near Konoha.
About a year and a half ago, he finally returned to the village and was hired as an Academy teacher. After teaching for one term, he was recommended as a Jōnin Sensei by the Hokage but rejected the students assigned to him. He then took a month's leave and disappeared from the village again, only returning a month before the Chūnin Exams.
During this entire period, he had not accepted any new missions. He had also not shown any suspicious behavior.
Yamato was heading towards the orphanage, an old one on the outskirts of the village, for further investigation.
He quietly passed through the entrance gate and entered the yard, which was filled with the laughter and sounds of children playing.
Yamato pretended to be a donor—a regular ninja who wanted to help children. When he entered the director's office, a peculiar smell reached him, the scent of a flower he felt he had never smelled before. The director of the orphanage, a kind old woman named Yuki, greeted him cheerfully.
After some conversation, the director said, "That's wonderful. These children don't have guardians. And this place is quite humble, so we're happy to receive any new assistance."
"I'm happy to help as well. I actually have a few days off, so if it's not a problem, I'd like to stay and help the children and teachers physically, not just financially. If that's okay?"
"No problem at all! That's excellent! We are always grateful for new helping hands here!"
And so, for two whole days, he stayed at the orphanage and began to get closer to the children.
He monitored every corner of the orphanage, from the children to the staff, visitors, and guests.
On the first day, under the pretense of playing, he approached the children and started helping them with their exercises.
It was clear that the orphanage prioritized the children's cleanliness and health. The children showered daily and wore clean, fragrant clothes that had a distinct scent. It was the same slightly unnatural scent that had been constantly swirling in his head since he arrived, before he seemed to get used to it and forget it.
After breakfast, they were taken to a classroom for theoretical lessons and learned many subjects. After class, while the children played, Yamato casually asked them about Mitsuro.
"Hey kids, do you know I had a friend who used to come here? I got this address from him. His name is Mitsuro. Do you know him?" Yamato asked with a warm smile.
A boy who was playing immediately answered, "Yes, he's a very good teacher."
Yamato continued, "Yeah, he really is a good person. Do you know how long he was here?"
A little girl nearby, looking down at the ground, said, "I don't know."
"I mean, was there a time when he left and then a long time passed before he came back?" Yamato asked curiously.
The little girl simply repeated, "I don't know."
Yamato thought to himself with a hint of disappointment:
At least think about it a little! Maybe you do know!
...
On the second day, a Samurai with short brown hair and light stubble walked out of the orphanage. The man had a cheerful face and wore loose, cream-colored clothes.
Yamato was surprised; he hadn't seen him anywhere in the orphanage on the first day, and now he had suddenly appeared from inside and was casually leaving?
To satisfy his curiosity, he asked the children while they were washing clothes: "Who was that man who left the orphanage this morning?"
Some of the children looked at him in confusion, as if they didn't know who he was talking about.
Others gave Yamato a suspicious look. Yamato felt the children's reaction to his question was a little strange, and perhaps it was due to his poor explanation. So this time, he asked, "The Samurai gentleman. I didn't see him yesterday, and I only saw him leaving the orphanage this morning. I just wanted to know if he was part of the staff here?"
One of the children replied, "Sir, I think you saw a ghost! We don't have a Samurai here!"
Yamato was speechless. It seemed the children were either unaware of the man or were messing with him.
While observing and talking with the children, he noticed a few odd things. Firstly, all the older children spoke very eloquently and seemed much wiser than their age. Secondly, the games the younger children were playing were neither accidental nor ordinary. They were very coordinated.
Finally, he asked one of the staff members why the children were giving him such strange answers.
A nurse working there also replied in surprise, "We didn't have any new visitors today. I don't think any of the staff have gone on leave either, but if it's important, would you like me to ask the office manager to check the log for you?"
Yamato shook his head and said it wasn't necessary. In any case, it didn't seem like an issue that required his follow-up, especially since he wasn't on very good terms with ghosts.
Afterward, he briefly observed the staff and also noticed that none of them were ninjas, but their routine was extremely regular, and they behaved in a highly organized manner. For a moment, it reminded Yamato of returning to the Root barracks.
Of course, it was a great insult to compare the orphanage to Root. At least here, it didn't seem like anyone was training ninjas.
Although the orphanage looked humble, it had a large staff. The building was two stories, with six communal rooms on each floor, housing about one hundred orphaned children. Each floor also had three caregivers who doubled as teachers, bringing the total number of staff, including the director, to seven.
While visiting the orphanage library, Yamato noticed that the books were filled with unexpected topics like astronomy, military tactics, economics, linguistics, and history. There were almost no children's storybooks on the shelves.
Later that night, when everyone was asleep, Yamato secretly infiltrated the director's office and searched the files of the children and staff. The files of the teachers simply contained their professional backgrounds. Every single one of them was a distinguished teacher in various academic fields who had previously taught in the capitals of different Daimyōs. The director herself was a linguistics researcher who had previously lived in the Land of Wind. According to the documents, she had come to this orphanage less than two years ago. Apart from their brilliant records, there was nothing suspicious in their files.
Yamato looked for Mitsuro's employment file among the records but didn't find one. He thought to himself that perhaps he didn't have a file because he hadn't been officially hired.
The children's files were also filled with the grades they had received and their history of admission to the orphanage, with nothing else significant noted. Finally, he remembered the "ghost" from the morning and quickly went to check the register. It had the entry and exit times logged. Even his own entry time was recorded, but there was no record of anyone else leaving throughout the day. At first, it seemed to him that the logs might have been tampered with, so he checked the dates from a few months prior and saw that Mitsuro's name was also registered, and his departure was recorded. Nothing unusual, except for that morning's incident, was observed. Disappointed, he put the logbook back in its place.
In the end, when the two days were over, Yamato had found nothing remarkable, neither about Mitsuro nor the orphanage.
He quietly left the orphanage. He had a bad feeling. He thought something was right in front of his eyes, and he hadn't noticed it, yet he didn't know what it was. He thought to himself that perhaps his unpleasant experience in Root had made his sense of envy toward the children trigger this feeling, and there was nothing wrong with the orphanage. So he tried to put it out of his mind.
Yamato returned to headquarters and wrote his report. In his report, he only stated the facts: "The orphanage is a calm environment, suitable for the growth of children. No unusual or suspicious activity was observed."