Chapter 392: The Clever Little One and the Orphanage
"Who are you?"
A blonde woman stood before Amamiya Kenichi, her eyes filled with killing intent as she questioned him.
Amamiya Kenichi recognized her at once.
She was the main target of his trip, Yakushi Nonou.
"Director Nonou, don't be so tense. I was once a child from this orphanage myself," Amamiya Kenichi said with a smile.
His voice was soft. After all, it was already the children's bedtime.
Yakushi Nonou froze slightly.
She looked Amamiya Kenichi up and down. Although the lighting was dim, she was certain she did not recognize him.
However, considering that she had not worked at the orphanage for a period of time, Yakushi Nonou could not be completely sure whether the man before her had indeed once been a child here.
Still, he did not seem to carry any malice.
"I've also donated money to the orphanage before. My name is Amamiya Kenichi. If Director Nonou checks the donation records, you should find it," Amamiya Kenichi added with a shrug.
Yakushi Nonou's pupils contracted.
She looked at the man before her in shock.
She remembered the name Amamiya Kenichi.
He had been taken away by Orochimaru, one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin, and became Orochimaru's student. Back then, it had been considered a great success story from the orphanage, and the teachers often brought it up in conversation.
Moreover, Amamiya Kenichi had not forgotten where he came from. He often sent money back to the orphanage.
Because of that, the orphanage teachers all liked this grateful child and believed he was an excellent person.
But all of that changed after Amamiya Kenichi and Orochimaru defected from the Village.
The names Orochimaru and Amamiya Kenichi became taboo in the orphanage.
However, whenever the teachers talked privately, they still felt that Amamiya Kenichi was a good person. They believed his defection had only been an accident, because even after that incident, Amamiya Kenichi had donated another large sum of money to the orphanage.
That money had improved the lives of many orphans.
Because of this, they did not truly believe Amamiya Kenichi was a bad person. However, due to Konoha's policies, the teachers never said anything openly.
Yakushi Nonou had also heard about this from the teachers at the time.
Even now, Amamiya Kenichi's name occasionally appeared in the teachers' private conversations.
And now, he had appeared before her.
"You... what are you doing here?" Yakushi Nonou lowered her kunai.
She looked at the man before her with vigilance. Although she knew he had once been an outstanding ninja and bore no ill will toward the orphanage, she was still cautious.
That was a habit formed from years of life as a spy.
"Do you still remember an orphan you once took care of, named Yakushi Kabuto?" Amamiya Kenichi did not waste time.
He had come here to take Yakushi Nonou away, so he asked directly.
"Kabuto? Of course I remember, but..." Yakushi Nonou froze for a moment, then nodded.
Of course she remembered Yakushi Kabuto.
She had even been the one to give him his name.
"Kabuto is working for me now, and the person he values most is you. So, to fulfill my promise to him, come with me and leave Konoha," Amamiya Kenichi said calmly, looking at Yakushi Nonou.
His Mangekyo Sharingan began to emerge in his eyes.
Although Yakushi Nonou's strength was not particularly outstanding, she was still a ninja. It would not be good if she caused any unexpected trouble.
So Amamiya Kenichi still intended to use his full strength, just as a lion would use its full strength even when hunting a rabbit.
Yakushi Nonou opened her mouth, unsure what to say.
She was a spy assigned by Root.
Although Elder Danzo had died and Root was now in chaos, its internal members were being investigated and questioned by the Anbu. Some dirty dealings had even begun during the struggle for Root's leadership.
However, none of that had much to do with her as a temporary worker.
The Anbu had only questioned her about some past missions, then told her to continue her current work for now and wait for new assignments later.
This had let Yakushi Nonou breathe a sigh of relief.
Working for Danzo and working for the Third Hokage were two completely different things.
But at this moment, Amamiya Kenichi, a Konoha rogue ninja, had secretly come to her.
His purpose was to take her away, make her leave Konoha, make her defect from Konoha, and bring her to Yakushi Kabuto.
"You don't need to be so restrained. Although you'll be leaving Konoha, there are many things you'll need to do. There are several orphanages in the Land of Snow, but their directors aren't very reliable, and the orphans there are living miserable lives..." Amamiya Kenichi said when he saw Yakushi Nonou's hesitation, beginning to persuade her.
Of course, he was lying.
The Land of Snow was a secluded country, isolated from the rest of the world. The Fourth Great Ninja War and the three previous Great Ninja Wars had basically had no impact on the Land of Snow, so the chances of orphans appearing there were not high.
The reason orphanages existed there was because of the rebellion in the Land of Snow, combined with Kazahana Koyuki's merciless purge after she took power, which had created a group of orphans.
However, the directors there were actually quite competent.
But if he did not make things sound tragic, how could he convince Yakushi Nonou to follow him?
Although he could directly control her with Mangekyo Sharingan Genjutsu, it was naturally best if she followed willingly.
"...I suppose I don't have much of a choice," Yakushi Nonou sighed, looking at Amamiya Kenichi.
She was a smart person, and she had some ambition of her own.
She knew that since Amamiya Kenichi had come to her like this, it meant that whether she was willing or not, he was going to take her away.
Besides, he had already given her a way out, hadn't he?
"A wise choice." Amamiya Kenichi smiled, understanding what Yakushi Nonou meant.
Thinking of this, he took out a thick envelope from his clothes.
Since he had come to Konoha this time, he still planned to donate some money as usual.
Yakushi Nonou glanced at it and immediately judged the amount inside from the thickness of the envelope.
Seeing it, her heart felt much more at ease.
Although she was still defecting from the Village, at least she had sold herself for a good price.
This much money was enough for the children in the orphanage to eat well for two or three years without worry.
"Is Hyuga Tsuki-sensei still here?" Amamiya Kenichi asked casually.
"Tsuki-sensei is still here, but she doesn't sleep at the orphanage at night. Her office..." Yakushi Nonou froze, then subconsciously replied.
"I understand." Amamiya Kenichi nodded.
He walked to Hyuga Tsuki's office and placed the money on her desk.
Hyuga Tsuki was the first orphanage teacher Amamiya Kenichi had known. She was a ninja from the Hyuga clan and also a teacher at the orphanage.
She was not old, only in her thirties, but because of her injuries, she no longer worked as a ninja and instead devoted herself to teaching at the orphanage.
She was a good teacher.
She would not embezzle the orphanage's donations.
After all, she was a ninja of the Hyuga clan. Ninja from prominent clans did not particularly care about money, especially someone like her, who had been injured in war. The Hyuga clan provided her with a decent amount of money.
More importantly, her character was impeccable. She was truly a good person.
Amamiya Kenichi had once wondered if everyone in the Ninja World was good.
Later, he learned they were not.
Even money donated to orphanages was sometimes embezzled by heartless beasts.
So later, Amamiya Kenichi always handed his donations to Hyuga Tsuki.
As for that beast who had embezzled the donations, he became an experimental subject in Amamiya Kenichi's laboratory.
"Actually, ever since that time... after Teacher Fujita went missing, there haven't been any more cases of donation money being embezzled at the orphanage," Yakushi Nonou said, understanding Amamiya Kenichi's meaning.
"With such a large sum of money, plus your disappearance, it's hard to say what might happen. I'd feel more at ease giving it to Tsuki-sensei," Amamiya Kenichi said, clapping his hands.
Then he turned his head and looked back.
In the dim hallway, he had just seen a small head flash by.
Amamiya Kenichi frowned slightly, then formed a hand seal. He immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind that person, grabbed them by the collar, and lifted them up.
"Kobai?" Yakushi Nonou was a little surprised as she looked at the trembling child in Amamiya Kenichi's hand.
Amamiya Kenichi narrowed his eyes and glanced at the child.
"A child from the orphanage?" Amamiya Kenichi looked at the little girl with interest.
"Yes... her name is Kobai. Because I don't know who her parents are, I named her Yakushi Kobai..." Yakushi Nonou quickly explained, clearly anxious.
"Director Big Sister, are you and this big brother on a date?" Kobai blinked, looking shy.
Yakushi Nonou smiled bitterly and began to explain.
Amamiya Kenichi silently watched the girl. Then he reached out, grabbed a strand of Kobai's hair, and rubbed it between his fingers.
"Lord Amamiya, you..." Yakushi Nonou became anxious.
How could Amamiya Kenichi lay a hand on a child?
"Don't be nervous. I just don't think this little girl forgot her own name," Amamiya Kenichi said with a smile.
He looked at the black dye on his fingers, while the little girl trembled all over.
Yakushi Nonou was confused by Amamiya Kenichi's words until she saw him hand Kobai over to her.
"Give this Uzumaki Kobai a bath. Why dye her hair at such a young age?" Amamiya Kenichi said with a faint smile.
Yakushi Nonou's pupils constricted.
She looked in shock at Kobai, who had lowered her head and was trembling.
Among the girl's black hair, a single red strand stood out sharply.
Red hair.
The most direct symbol of the Uzumaki clan.
Although not every Uzumaki had red hair, red hair was indeed one of the simplest ways to distinguish the Uzumaki clan.
When Amamiya Kenichi grabbed this little brat, he had noticed the somewhat unusual Chakra inside her body.
Although she was still young, she had already reached the age to attend the Ninja Academy. The amount of Chakra in her body was still rather high, reminding Amamiya Kenichi of Naruto when he was young.
Combined with the way her hair looked when he held her up, it was still too abrupt in the eyes of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
So Amamiya Kenichi tested it and discovered the secret this little brat was hiding.
Yakushi Kobai?
This little brat was clearly Uzumaki Kobai.
The Ninja World truly was the Ninja World. Even a child was this precocious, knowing to hide her hair color.
It was likely that her previous wandering life had brought her plenty of hardship.
But there was no helping it. The Uzumaki clan's physique was quite special.
Furthermore, after the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools, there were very few surviving Uzumaki left in the current Ninja World. Any Uzumaki would become a golden brick in the eyes of others.
The unfortunate thing was that Kobai was a girl.
If she were a boy, she would probably be raised by certain people as a bloodline tool.
A moment later, Yakushi Nonou came out with a complicated expression, leading Kobai by the hand.
The child had regained her original hair color.
A head of red hair made her look somewhat like Uzumaki Kushina.
"Lord Amamiya, Kobai, she..." Yakushi Nonou looked at Amamiya Kenichi, wanting to say something.
"She has to come with me too. Konoha is not suitable for Kobai," Amamiya Kenichi said, shaking his head.
He knew what Nonou wanted to say, but he could not agree.
For Kobai, staying in Konoha would truly be worse than leaving with him.
If she were discovered in Konoha, she might be trained into the next Jinchuriki vessel.
Konoha would not give up the Nine-Tails.
That was their battle deterrent, the key weapon that made them the number one Ninja Village in the Ninja World.
Even a partially unsealed half of the Nine-Tails had been troublesome for Nagato back then. A complete Nine-Tails would be even more troublesome.
It was also a crucial factor in Konoha's position as the number one Ninja Village in the Ninja World.
Now that Naruto had been taken by him, Konoha certainly would not sit idly by. If Kobai were discovered, it would be disastrous.
"Don't worry. I have an elder from the Uzumaki clan with me. I won't do anything to her. I'll just have that elder help look after her," Amamiya Kenichi said with a shrug.
Uzumaki Kushina was the best caretaker.
Yakushi Nonou sighed.
She knew there was nothing she could do, so she led Kobai and followed Amamiya Kenichi out of the orphanage.
Her only prayer was that everything Amamiya Kenichi said was true.
The orphanage was rather remote, located some distance away from the busier parts of Konoha, so there were very few ninja here.
Amamiya Kenichi easily left Konoha with Yakushi Nonou and Kobai.
Although this would trigger Konoha's defensive barrier warning, Amamiya Kenichi did not care.
By the time the Konoha ninja realized something was wrong and rushed over, he would already be gone.
Before leaving, Amamiya Kenichi looked back at the scattered lights of Konoha behind him and clicked his tongue lightly.
He wondered when they would meet again.
He also wondered what kind of reaction the Five Great Ninja Villages of this world would have once that intelligence spread.
"Kakashi, I wonder if you'll be able to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan successfully, and what kind of Mangekyo ability you'll awaken then. I'm truly looking forward to it."
Amamiya Kenichi smiled and slipped into the dark forest outside Konoha.
Behind him, the scattered lights gradually faded from view.
.....
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