Yakushi Nono's body trembled violently, her hands barely able to hold the light scroll, which felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
A heavy sense of despair surged over her like an overwhelming wave.
Loyalty to Konoha? The safety of the children? This choice was too cruel! She closed her eyes in pain, her mind filled with the innocent smiling faces of the children, each one vividly clear.
"Furthermore—" Takuno took advantage of her distracted state, slowing his tone like a devil sowing seeds of tempting poison.
"You know I've collaborated with Konoha before, right? Rest assured, I have no direct hostility toward Konoha for the time being, and I won't make you do anything that directly harms Konoha." He deliberately emphasized the syllables of "collaborated" and "for the time being."
Yakushi Nono snapped her eyes open, looking at Takuno with suspicion and uncertainty.
The Kumogakure battlefield, indeed, that record of cooperation was indelible proof.
If—if he really just wanted to collect non-Konoha intelligence rather than destroy Konoha, perhaps, perhaps she could—
Just as the scales of loyalty in her heart wavered violently and nearly tipped under the weight of the children...
Takuno's lips curled into a triumphant arc as he threw out the final and most precise weight: "As long as you serve me, I can also help you find your adopted son, Yakushi Kabuto."
"Kabuto?!" Yakushi Nono lost her voice instantly, a strong flush appearing on her pale face for the first time, a complex mix of shock, ecstasy, and disbelief. "He, he, he's still alive?!"
Her voice was so sharp it went out of tune.
"Of course he's alive." Takuno's voice was firm, carrying an unquestionable certainty. After all, he had personally wiped out the Root's nest, and Yakushi Kabuto was certainly not among those corpses.
"Just like you, he's probably doing similar work in some Shinobi Village. But who can say for sure what the fate of a spy is? He might be exposed the next moment, or lose his head the next second." He deliberately painted a dark future, as if cutting her heart bit by bit with a dull knife.
"Kabuto, why did it turn out like this!?" Yakushi Nono's eyes instantly reddened, and hot tears surged uncontrollably, sliding down her cheeks.
That was the child she wanted to protect! To think he had also stepped onto this path of no return, filled with thorns and the shadow of death, just like her—
The mockery of fate made her heart twist with pain.
"Enough." Takuno watched coldly as her emotional defenses completely collapsed, his voice returning to its initial cold majesty, like an ultimatum.
"Tell me your decision. Do you choose loyalty and death, burying the children's future and Kabuto's potentially tragic end along with you? Or do you choose to serve me, live on, and exchange your service for their safety and the hope of me finding Kabuto?" He pressed her step by step, leaving no room for retreat.
Yakushi Nono fell into a long silence. In the deathly stillness, only her heavy breathing and the faint crackling of the firewood could be heard.
Time seemed to freeze.
After a long time, she used all her strength to ask one last question she needed to confirm rationally, her voice hoarse and dry to the extreme: "Are you certain you won't become an enemy of Konoha?"
"The world is unpredictable; no one dares to guarantee the future." Takuno's answer was airtight, carrying the arrogance of a superior and the coldness of reality. "But I can promise you one thing: while you are working for me, there will never be a day when you need to reinfiltrate Konoha as a spy."
Yakushi Nono fell silent again.
She understood that this was the greatest "kindness" the other party could offer and the only bottom line she could fight for now.
The other party held all the cards: the safety of the orphans, the hope of Kabuto's survival, and control over her own life and even her dignity.
She had no capital to question him, even if his words were full of hypocrisy and endless possibilities.
Other than trust, which was the only way out, what else could she do?
"If you need my talents...." She finally seemed to have exhausted all her strength, every word incredibly heavy, "As long as you can keep your promise, don't harm the children, and help me find Kabuto—"
She slowly lowered her head. Humiliation, despair, and a sliver of false hope—all sorts of feelings mixed in her heart, weighing it down.
Seeing his prey finally submit, the corners of Takuno's mouth under the mask curled into a cold, satisfied arc. The most crucial key to controlling Yakushi Kabuto, Yakushi Nono, was now in his hands!
Moonlight covered the forest like silver foil. Yakushi Nono stood with her head bowed beside Takuno. At this moment, she thought of her children.
When she looked up, a glimmer of hope flickered deep in her pupils.
This was her only chance. This place was not far from Konoha; between the crisscrossing dry branches, she could even see the vague outline of the Village in the distance.
If she missed this opportunity and followed Takuno to an unknown territory, those innocent smiles would become faded shadows in her memory, and she might never see them again.
After a long time, she finally took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly: "Master, may I go back to Konoha to see the children?"
Takuno glanced at Yakushi Nono. Even though he had already inscribed some Sealing Jutsu on her, he could not trust her so easily.
Compared to the Snow Shinobi from the Hidden Snow Village who hadn't seen much of the world, or Zabuza who was living aimlessly without any purpose...
For someone like Yakushi Nono, the threat of Sealing Jutsu alone was not enough.
Sure enough, she needed a new bond to tie her loyalty firmly to the lives of those children.
His thoughts extended like a spider's web, and he finally nodded.
"You may."
"Thank—thank you, Master!" Yakushi Nono was a bit surprised to see Takuno agree, but she was mostly overjoyed.
"Follow me. Also, don't even think about alerting Konoha." Takuno's fox mask seemed to be smiling eerily under the moonlight.
"You know Konoha can't keep me here, but those children of yours might pay a bloody price for your stupidity."
The threatening words reached Yakushi Nono's ears, making her whole body tremble.
She knew that what Takuno said was true, and this caused the little scheme rising in her heart to quietly extinguish.
The night mist grew thicker. Takuno stepped forward like a ghost gliding, the dead leaves beneath his feet making no sound.
Takuno said nothing more and led Yakushi Nono toward Konoha. Then, when passing through the Great Konoha barrier, he easily deceived the Sealing Team using a back door he had left behind.
During this process, Takuno kept walking ahead. Yakushi Nono watched this scene and paused for a moment.
The other party seemed very confident in his Sealing Jutsu. At this moment, he seemed certain she wouldn't betray him and ignored her. Could she take this opportunity to leave some warning for Konoha?
Based on her years of experience, his movements suggested he was completely unable to notice her actions—
Finally, Yakushi Nono made a decision. She scratched her fingertip with her nail and began to write something.
During this time, she kept her eyes on Takuno ahead and did not look up. If she had, she would have seen several crows on the branches in the air and around her, staring at her every move with their blood-red eyes.
Under the mask, his thin lips curled up silently. Takuno's mouth hooked into a cold arc.
Yakushi Nono straightened up and stole a glance at the back in front of her. The other party's pace was steady as he continued toward the depths of Konoha.
She breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, but cold sweat had already soaked her inner clothes.
Soon, under Takuno's lead, the two arrived in front of the Orphanage.
At this time, there was still an Anbu member outside the Orphanage. He should have received notice from the Sealing Team and most of the Anbu had withdrawn, but they were worried the intruder might return, so they left one Anbu to watch over it.
The next moment, a crow quietly landed in front of him.
"Where did this crow come from?" The Anbu was a bit confused, but the next moment, he froze.
Because that crow's eyes had suddenly turned into a two tomoe Sharingan. Caught off guard, he fell completely into a Genjutsu.
After waking up, he would forget all of this and only remember that nothing had happened.
Takuno pushed open the Orphanage door as if no one were there. The "creak" of the wooden hinges echoed infinitely in the dead silence.
When Yakushi Nono saw Takuno walk through the corridor without hesitation, turn precisely at the junction, and stop in front of a familiar birch door, her blood seemed to freeze instantly.
This scene made her even more terrified. His familiarity with this place made her feel that if he wanted to kill her children, it would be effortless.
Konoha's defenses were impressive even to her, someone who lived as a spy. Why was he able to intrude so easily?
Is this the power brought by true strength?
At this moment, Yakushi Nono thought of the warning she had left, and her heart was suddenly filled with fear, worrying that he had discovered the traces she left behind.
Takuno gently pushed open the door.
Moonlight filtered through the window frames, casting a clear glow on the mottled floor. Several small beds were lined up, and even, faint snoring came from under the quilts.
His gaze swept across casually, finally stopping on a boy curled up and holding a worn-out teddy bear.
The boy was sleeping soundly, his cheeks flushed with a healthy red, and a bit of crystal saliva hung from the corner of his mouth.
"Let's choose him."
Yakushi Nono's mind suddenly went blank: "What?"
She didn't even see the movement before a Kunai had quietly slid into Takuno's fingers, the cold metal reflecting a piercing light under the moon.
"I warned you. That stupid trace you left," Takuno stepped slowly toward the edge of the bed, the tip of the Kunai hovering a few inches above the sleeping boy's throat, "needs to be repaid with a life of equal value. It's a fair trade, isn't it?"
"No!" Yakushi Nono's scream broke through her throat as her knees slammed heavily onto the cold floor. "Master! I was wrong! Please—please spare him!"
She frantically struck her forehead against the ground, each impact making a dull thud. She didn't even notice her skin breaking and bleeding as tears mixed with blood trickled down.
"Mother?" A tender voice sounded with the grogginess of just waking up.
The boy sat up, rubbing his sleepy eyes. Seeing Yakushi Nono kneeling on the ground, a pure, cloudless smile instantly bloomed on his small face. "You're back! I missed you so much!"
He reached out his small hand, as if trying to pull her up.
"Don't!" Yakushi Nono shrieked heart-wrenchingly, struggling to pounce over, but she was pinned in place by invisible despair.
The Kunai swung down at that moment, cutting through the air with a faint but sharp whistle!
Pfft!
Hot blood splashed onto the mottled lime wall like ink, the crimson spreading rapidly under the moonlight.
The boy's smile froze on his face. His clear eyes were clouded with the gray of death, and his small body slumped onto the crimson-soaked pillow.
The worn-out teddy bear in his arms fell under the bed, half of its face stained with blood, its eyes staring hollowly at the ceiling.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment. Yakushi Nono's pupils suddenly dilated, and the world was stripped of all color, leaving only a chaotic gray and white.
Her heart felt as if it were being gripped and torn apart by a cold iron claw.
Tinnitus drowned out all sound, leaving only the thunderous roar of rushing blood.
"It's me—it's all my fault!" The scream in her heart was deafening. "Why did I crave this one meeting? Why did I leave that damned mark? I personally led the Shinigami to their bedside!"
Immense regret turned into a tangible vortex, dragging her into the dark abyss of consciousness. Her soul felt as if half of it had been cut away, leaving a bloody void.
"The first time is just a warning." The devil's whisper was like a thin needle, piercing the chaos of her consciousness.
"A warning? You've already taken his life!" Yakushi Nono suddenly looked up, her bloodshot eyes burning with flames of madness and destruction.
The string of her sanity snapped completely. Like an enraged mother beast, her body gathered its last strength and lunged at Takuno.
However, just an instant before her fingertips could touch that cold mask, the scene before her rippled like water, shattered, and vanished.
The walls were as clean as new, and the moonlight flowed gently.
On the bed, the boy turned over and mumbled in his sleep, "Mother... teddy bear..."
His cheeks were rosy, and the quilt rose and fell steadily with his breathing. The worn-out teddy bear lay perfectly intact in his arms.
There was no trace of blood on the floor or the walls, only the moonlight silently washing over everything. In the air, only the faint scent of soap and the milky scent of a child remained.
Yakushi Nono stood frozen on the spot, her outstretched arm solidified in the air.
"It was Genjutsu?!" She trembled as she forced out the words. Tears gushed out like a broken dam, and a frenzied hope grew wildly on the walls of her heart, which was on the verge of collapse.
She stared intently at Takuno, like a drowning person grabbing at a final straw: "It was Genjutsu, right?!"
"Yes. Do you still want to keep playing petty tricks?" Takuno's voice was laced with a cold smile. "Next time, the warmth of the body under the blade and the splashing of fresh, sweet blood won't be fake anymore~"
He flicked his finger, and a blood-stained piece of cloth drifted down to Yakushi Nono's feet. It was the fabric from the inside of her collar, and the handwriting on it was like a red-hot iron, deeply stinging her eyes.
The last sliver of luck completely vanished into thin air.
She collapsed to the ground like a puppet with broken strings, then struggled to crawl up, her forehead slamming heavily against the cold, hard floor, making a dull and desperate sound: "Master! It was my mistake! I swear on my life—there won't be a second time!"
The pain in the Genjutsu was too real—the warmth of the blood, the passing of life, the hollow feeling of her soul being torn apart.
She had finally submitted completely to fear. What Takuno had forged was by no means a physical shackle.
It was an invisible yet indestructible chain of bonds, one end connected to Yakushi Nono's soul on the brink of collapse, and the other—hanging over the small, fragile necks of these children.
Takuno didn't speak, leaning against the nearby wall.
Yakushi Nono was stunned for a moment, knowing that this was time given to her to spend with the children.
Unfortunately, she could only look at them while they were asleep.
She looked at the small figures tenderly and whispered, "I'm sorry. You must live well. I won't make any more mistakes."