Chapter 8: New Work
Nonō Yakushi was originally a Root Shinobi, having only recently left Root.
She was also the only Shinobi who managed to leave Root alive while Danzo was still alive.
From Danzo and Ryoma's perspective, this couldn't be called a disgrace, but allowing a virtually perfect, top-tier Spy like Nonō Yakushi to leave was undoubtedly a loss.
A perfect Spy like Nonō Yakushi was rare even throughout Konoha.
Tsukasa Kaede said, "Lord Ryoma, you should also be aware that a War Orphan like me, with no particular talent, must cherish every moment and work desperately hard. My body has always been weak, and I've only survived this long thanks to everyone's care. I must rely on my own efforts to do something for everyone, and I absolutely do not wish to cause trouble for others."
Ryoma gazed at the young man before him, though in reality, Tsukasa Kaede wasn't even truly in his sights. His mind was entirely focused on analyzing Nonō Yakushi's various motives. As Danzo's right-hand man, he always subconsciously approached matters from a darker perspective.
As for Tsukasa Kaede himself? Ryoma completely disregarded him. He was merely a Genin who had mastered the Soul Death Technique, a reject Ryoma himself had eliminated years ago, devoid of any talent.
He was more inclined to speculate based on the emotional Bonds between Nonō Yakushi and Tsukasa Kaede. While casually flipping through Tsukasa Kaede's Intel, he assigned one label after another to Tsukasa Kaede.
For instance, lack of potential (a sign of a short life), reclusive (in reality, fearing infecting others with Pathogens), overly valuing Comrades' lives (always ready to turn Comrades into Consumables for battle), and so on.
Now, he had added the label "Nonō Yakushi" and marked it with a question mark.
"You have established Bonds with the Village, which is good, but not enough. You need to do more to repay the Village's kindness to you. As for you following a Priestess to learn such a controversial Ninjutsu, I can choose not to pursue it."
Ryoma said coldly, "I need you to regularly pass Intel about the Priestess to me."
"Why should I do something like that? Is this the Mission given to me by the Medical Unit's Vice-Captain?"
"You don't have to," Ryoma said coldly. "But I will immediately cut off the Village's subsidies to War Orphans, and send all proficient War Orphans to the Front Line. Although the intensity of the War has decreased, various battlefields still lack personnel. Funds and manpower should both be utilized to their fullest extent."
Establishing the Medical Unit during the War had already consumed a vast amount of the Village's resources. Ryoma had every reason to cut off financial aid to the War Orphans.
Ryoma observed Tsukasa Kaede's constantly changing expression, nodding inwardly. He concluded that this fellow's temperament was similar to Nonō Yakushi's, making him suitable for moral blackmail.
Ryoma said coldly, "If you refuse, your few acquaintances will bear greater risks because of it. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?"
Tsukasa Kaede frowned, saying, "As a Vice-Captain, how could you say such things…? Are the Village's Comrades worth nothing in your eyes?"
"In the face of a Mission, Comrades are secondary. It seems the Orphanage's training of you War Orphans needs a complete overhaul. At the very least, it needs to discard its naive teaching philosophy. A Shinobi is ultimately a weapon serving a Mission. Beyond that, a Shinobi is nothing."
Ryoma made no attempt to hide his inner ruthlessness. That was just how he was. In his eyes, any Shinobi from Konoha could be discarded if necessary. War Orphans, naturally, were even more expendable; they were merely thinking Consumables.
The current ethos was a complete extreme compared to the Naruto and Sasuke era. This was also the root cause of Sakumo Hatake being reviled six years later, and ultimately being forced to commit suicide to atone for the shame of failing a Mission due to saving his Comrades.
…
Shortly after, Tsukasa Kaede walked out of the Medical Unit's office with an expressionless face, looking deeply troubled.
Yet, inwardly, he felt no ripples, and even felt a slight urge to laugh.
"It seems Ryoma has classified me and Nonō Yakushi as the same type of person… But the problem is, my Jutsu is not the Soul Death Technique at all, nor have I ever received Nonō Yakushi's true teachings. In Nonō Yakushi's eyes, I am nothing more than an ordinary member. She had only taken over the work of raising War Orphans for half a year before I had already left the Orphanage and started carrying out the Village's Missions."
In the original timeline, Danzo would bring Ryoma and Orochimaru to the Orphanage to threaten Nonō Yakushi, demanding she rejoin Root to carry out Spy Missions in various Ninja Villages, and force Nonō Yakushi into compliance by threatening Kabuto's life.
At that time, Ryoma used not cutting off the Orphanage's financial aid as a condition—Root's modus operandi always involved a kind of fabricated oppression, preferring to extort targets by threatening what they were already entitled to, thus minimizing the cost of their operations.
It wasn't until Nonō Yakushi died during a Mission that Root finally exhausted the last bit of this Priestess's value.
No one could casually leave Root after joining. Danzo used this method to silently declare this to everyone.
Ryoma was reluctant to give up Nonō Yakushi, the top-tier Intel gathering tool, and planned to break the stalemate by starting with Tsukasa Kaede.
"Root wouldn't place their hopes of controlling Nonō Yakushi entirely on me. Their Intel gathering is comprehensive. When necessary, they'll play all their cards to force Nonō Yakushi into compliance… But what does that have to do with me?"
The one who had taken care of Tsukasa Kaede and shown him kindness was the previous Orphanage director. That director had long since died on the battlefield, which was why Nonō Yakushi had come to take over.
"However, at least Ryoma is willing to spend money to get things done. Transferring me to the Corpse Disposal Unit… From a transport specialist to a terminal processing specialist, it seems I'll have some free time now. Ryoma is deliberately giving me some less valuable Corpses to process to provide me with an opportunity to practice Ninjutsu."
For this point alone, Tsukasa Kaede had a very good impression of Ryoma. He was willing to sincerely praise him, acknowledging that he was indeed Root's and the Medical Ninja's second-in-command. Regardless of Ryoma's coercive tactics, he at least offered benefits.
It wouldn't be until Sasuke killed Danzo in the future, and Root disbanded, that Ryoma would officially lose his power and status and vanish without a trace.
Perhaps he was purged, who knows, after all, over the past few decades, Ryoma had done countless despicable things for Danzo, and countless people hated him to the core.
"Once I can no longer produce value that satisfies Ryoma, I will be ruthlessly discarded… This brief interlude is a rare opportunity for me."
Tsukasa Kaede returned to his dilapidated dwelling to rest, making haste to recover his stamina.
The news of him killing a Hidden Mist Chunin and saving three Comrades from the enemy indeed caused no stir. Apart from Ryoma, no one else would specifically summon him.
(end of chapter)