Chapter 82 (Patreon)

If the Sharingan was an eye that reflected the heart, then Roy’s Zanpakutō, Kyōen, was a blade that reflected emotion.

The Grudge Serpent technique born from Nonō Yakushi reflected the unease that had taken root in her heart during her many years as a spy.

Perhaps that was precisely why she had become the director of the Konoha Orphanage after leaving Root.

Well-behaved children were some of the most lovable beings in the world. For a heart burdened by emptiness and helplessness, there was nothing more comforting than being surrounded by them.

Thinking about it made Roy curse Danzō all over again.

That old bastard was truly despicable.

In the original course of events, Danzō used the Konoha Orphanage’s funding to force the retired Nonō back into service as a spy.

He then sent her altered photographs of Kabuto as he grew older, gradually changing the image of him in her mind. In the end, he arranged for the two of them—mother and son in all but blood—to kill each other.

One could only imagine the confusion and despair Nonō must have felt as she lay mortally wounded before Kabuto, unable to recognize the child she had once raised.

That tragedy also caused Kabuto to question the world around him and the very meaning of his existence.

After withdrawing from the space created by his Shikai, Roy looked at Nonō, who now understood his entire plan.

“Nonō-san... those years must have been difficult for you.”

Roy had never been a spy himself, so he could not truly claim to understand what she had endured. Even so, he could imagine the torment that came with living such a life.

To infiltrate enemy territory, a spy had to invest genuine emotion into their relationships to gain the trust of those around them. At the same time, they could never completely trust anyone.

Every single day was spent wondering whether their identity would be exposed.

Unfortunately, Nonō misunderstood what Roy meant.

First, she had no idea that Roy knew about her past as a spy. Second, she really was struggling to endure what she was feeling at that moment.

She was afraid that if she opened her mouth, an embarrassing sound might escape. Yet ignoring him entirely would have been far too rude.

After hesitating for a moment, Nonō pinched her thigh hard and barely managed to force a soft response through her nose.

“Mm...”

“Don’t worry,” Roy continued. “Danzō will never have the chance to return.”

Kushina looked at him in confusion.

Why had he suddenly brought up Danzō?

Was Roy planning to go after him?

The problem was that Danzō had completely disappeared from Konoha. Even if they somehow discovered his hiding place, the village could not currently spare enough shinobi to ensure his death.

Nonō’s gaze fell upon the blade in Roy’s hand, its surface as clear as glass, and she immediately understood what his words meant.

She was both surprised and deeply moved.

No one had ever cared about the past of a spy or the suffering hidden within their heart.

“Thank you, Roy-sama.”

After finishing her daily training, Yugito Nii was on her way back to her room when she passed the living room and saw Kushina and Nonō speaking quietly.

She had no intention of eavesdropping. Still, she could not help wondering why the nanny they had hired had damp eyes, as though she had just been crying.

During her time in Konoha, aside from Karui, Nonō was the person Yugito had gotten along with best.

Nonō was gentle with everyone and also understood the customs and habits of the Land of Lightning remarkably well.

If not for the hostile relationship between Konoha and Kumogakure, Yugito would have been more than happy to become friends with her.

Seeing that Nonō appeared upset, Yugito instinctively moved to comfort her.

“Yugito-san, have you finished your training?” Kushina asked. “Oh, right. Some shinobi from Kumogakure will be coming to Konoha in the next few days. I’ll arrange for you to meet them when they arrive.”

Yugito froze in place.

Since coming to Konoha, she had never left the courtyard on her own. Aside from occasionally going for a walk with Kushina, she had remained inside the entire time.

Naturally, she had not heard that a delegation from Kumogakure was coming.

“Did something happen?”

It was perfectly normal for shinobi villages to send envoys to one another. This happened not only during times of peace. Even during war, villages still needed to communicate and occasionally cooperate.

However, with Yugito being held hostage in Konoha, the timing immediately made her wonder whether Konoha intended to use her as leverage against Kumogakure again.

As for the possibility that the village had sent someone specifically to visit her, Yugito considered it unlikely.

It was not because the people of Kumogakure were cold or indifferent, nor was it because they did not care whether she lived or died.

On the contrary, the relationships between the people of Kumogakure were generally harmonious. Even shinobi and civilians treated one another in a relatively friendly manner.

Konoha was different. Its shinobi clans and ordinary civilians often seemed to exist as two separate classes.

The reason Yugito dismissed the possibility of a personal visit was simple: it was unnecessary and would only create additional risks.

First, unless Konoha’s leaders had completely lost their minds, they would never harm her and risk provoking the full wrath of both the Raikage and Kumogakure.

Second, sending someone to visit her from time to time might cause Konoha to suspect that they were secretly exchanging information. That would only create unnecessary trouble for her.

Even if the Raikage wanted to send someone, Lord Dodai would undoubtedly stop him.

Once she ruled out the possibility of a simple visit, only one explanation remained.

Konoha intended to use her as a bargaining chip again.

“It’s nothing serious,” Kushina explained. “We simply made a small trade. Kumogakure will return the Uzumaki Clan’s relics, and Konoha will provide some technical training in exchange. That’s all.”

“Huh?”

Yugito, who had been about to approach Nonō, stared blankly at Kushina. For a moment, she wondered whether she had been caught in a genjutsu.

The Uzumaki relics held by Kumogakure were primarily secret-technique scrolls the village had obtained many years ago.

They were undoubtedly relics of the Uzumaki Clan, but the clan itself had long since vanished. Even though Kushina was one of its few survivors, she had married into Konoha and become a shinobi of the village.

From Yugito’s perspective, those relics no longer had much direct connection to her.

What kind of technical training could Kumogakure possibly need badly enough to exchange the Uzumaki relics for it?

Could it be fūinjutsu?

Putting aside whether Konoha would ever teach its sealing techniques to outsiders, Kumogakure no longer needed fūinjutsu as urgently as it once had.

In the past, Kumogakure’s sealing techniques had been inadequate, and its jinchūriki often lost control of their tailed beasts. That was why the village had collected several Uzumaki sealing techniques and attempted to study them.

However, before Kumogakure could make any real progress, Yugito and Killer B had already reconciled with their tailed beasts. Naturally, the village’s urgent need for better sealing techniques had disappeared.

Even if those tailed beasts were entrusted to new jinchūriki in the future, Yugito believed that their successors could follow their example and become friends with them.

That was why she could not imagine what kind of technology Konoha possessed that Kumogakure desperately needed.

A trade for supplies would have been far more believable than technical training.

Kushina did not explain any further. As far as she was concerned, Yugito only needed to know that the exchange was taking place.

Her decision to allow Yugito to meet the visiting shinobi from Kumogakure had been made on the spur of the moment.

Many years ago, Kushina herself had been brought to Konoha to live. She knew what it felt like to be a stranger in an unfamiliar land, and it was not a pleasant feeling.

Yugito’s situation was even worse than hers.

At least Kushina had still possessed Grandmother Mito, another member of the Uzumaki Clan, when she first arrived in Konoha.

It was precisely because Kushina understood that loneliness that she decided to let Yugito meet people from her homeland.

It would also allow the visiting shinobi to see for themselves that Yugito had not been mistreated while being held hostage, demonstrating Konoha’s sincerity.