When a person is sad, it can be seen.
As Akihara Kagura spoke about his own story, he looked incredibly sorrowful.
At this moment, the young man looked nothing like someone consumed by jealousy and hatred, just simply like an abandoned child.
"..."
Yao Shidou remained silent.
Yao Shidou believed his fate had already been quite tumultuous.
Once upon a time, Yao Shidou, to secure more funds for the orphanage and to spare Yakushi Nonou too much difficulty, voluntarily sacrificed himself, choosing to join the Root Organization, becoming a spy ninja living on the edge of death.
Yet compared to Akihara Kagura…
Yao Shidou felt himself to be so fortunate.
Because his sacrifices were worthwhile, Dean Nonou always cared for him, so much so that this concern sparked jealousy in another child with the same fate.
"I… don't know."
Yao Shidou slightly lowered his head, a hint of hesitation and unease on his face: "For these past years, I haven't received any news from the Dean, nor have I seen her..."
Yao Shidou hesitated for a moment, seemingly feeling he must apologize to the young man: "I'm sorry, I never knew this."
This seemed like the pity of a superior towards an inferior.
Yao Shidou never considered himself a superior.
But in front of this boy forgotten by Dean Nonou, Yao Shidou felt himself to be an undeserving yet suddenly fortunate one who received a treasure, while the boy was the one who struggled hard to get the treasure but got nothing.
This made Yao Shidou feel like a thief…
At this moment, Yao Shidou felt a twinge of guilt in his heart.
Even though he had done nothing to wrong Akihara Kagura, the excessive care from Dean Nonou made Yao Shidou feel warmth and happiness, yet also gave birth to some shame towards this forgotten boy.
Although he felt some guilt and apology…
But Yao Shidou now felt truly happy.
However…
One's happiness might be within reach, but protecting it isn't easy; it often requires enduring some hardships.
"You know nothing."
Akihara Kagura's lips curled into a mocking smile, as if he was staring at someone utterly clueless: "What a coincidence... Dean Nonou knows nothing too."
"What?"
Yao Shidou felt a blankness in his mind, instinctively asking: "What do you mean? The Dean knows nothing, what does that mean?"
"Kabuto."
Akihara Kagura posed a fatal question: "When you entered the Root Organization years ago, weren't you even younger than I am now..."
"Yet you've been in the Root Organization for over four years now; you're about thirteen or fourteen, right? We all grow fast and our appearances change from when we were younger… Remember what you just said, how long it has been since you last saw Dean Nonou?"
"Since I joined the Root Organization..."
Yao Shidou faintly sensed that he and Dean Nonou were entangled in a conspiracy.
"So..."
Akihara Kagura looked at Yao Shidou, gently leading him to ask: "Would you like to guess how Dean Nonou wishes to see you?"
"Photos!"
Yao Shidou's eyes turned cold, almost gritting his teeth as he spoke the answer: "Dean Nonou must have requested my grown-up photos, and yet they gave her fake ones…"
Yao Shidou was an exceptionally intelligent person, immediately recalling Akihara Kagura mentioning something about photos at Training Ground No. 9.
In an instant, Yao Shidou also realized the conspiracy targeted at him and Dean Nonou, just one grown-up photo of himself could cause so many problems!
"Truly intelligent, you guessed it right again!"
Akihara Kagura looked at Yao Shidou with admiration, correcting him: "But it wasn't me who gave the fake photos, it was Lord Danzo… I'm just a child, what could I decide in the Root Organization?"
"Not necessarily..."
Yao Shidou shook his head, replied: "All the ninjas in Root fear you, which proves that Shimura Danzo certainly values you a lot, whatever you want to do, he wouldn't oppose."
"Because you were jealous of Dean Nonou's concern, you let Shimura Danzo send the fake photos to Dean Nonou, which couldn't be more normal…"
"Tch..."
Akihara Kagura sighed, didn't argue, and slowly continued: "You did get one thing right indeed, Dean Nonou really cares about you, always requesting your photos, wanting to know that you're safe…"
"Seriously... "
"She's always thinking of you..."
"Yet she never asked about me."
"To ensure that Dean Nonou continues to provide information for the Root Organization, Lord Danzo gradually replaced your photos with fakes, the ones Dean Nonou gradually saw became a fake, she didn't even know what you looked like."
"If it ended there, it wouldn't be so bad, just one fake could make Dean Nonou continue to provide information for the Root Organization..."
"However..."
"You, the real one, are still alive."
"Lord Danzo also continually dispatched you on dangerous missions, hoping you'd sacrifice yourself in the process, but you survived each time."
"What a resilient life indeed..."
"Successfully completing missions time and again..."
"Finally, Lord Danzo acknowledged your talents, wanting you to become a spy who could serve the Root Organization forever, but found himself facing a problem."
"If you were to stay in the Root Organization, sooner or later you would meet Dean Nonou, and then all lies would be exposed."
As Akihara Kagura said this sentence, he suddenly added: "This isn't surprising, since it's a lie, it will be exposed sooner or later."
"But..."
"Lord Danzo doesn't make mistakes."
"So he would certainly deal with his own errors."
"Therefore..."
Yao Shidou pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, lowered his voice: "You all don't want me to meet Dean Nonou alive, or you don't want Dean Nonou to meet me alive."
"Originally, Lord Danzo thought this way."
Akihara Kagura crossed his arms, sighed: "Lord Danzo favored you more, because he felt Dean Nonou was never loyal enough, so he kept pondering when to kill Dean Nonou…"
"..."
Yao Shidou's body slightly trembled.
This uncontrollable fear of being powerless over the most important things in life swept through his body.
Yao Shidou's fingers dug deeply into his flesh, a layer of cold sweat slowly seeped from his forehead, and he felt as if he had guessed something: "Why are you telling me all this? Do you… want me to commit suicide right now so that Dean Nonou can live?"
"I originally thought the same."
Akihara Kagura raised his eyebrows indifferently and continued: "But I heard something... Dean Nonou always hoped to negotiate a deal with Lord Danzo, she could do anything for Lord Danzo to let you leave the Root Organization, to free you."
"Kabuto…"
"I am even more jealous of you."
"Why didn't she think of rescuing me?"
"Why, when I was sent to the Root base, to be used as experimental material, didn't she think of saving me?"