Soon, a response came from inside the house.
"Coming!"
The door opened, and kurenai, dressed in her combat uniform, appeared.
"Ren!"
Upon seeing him, kurenai's puzzled expression instantly turned to joy; she was about to say something when Ren interrupted her.
"kurenai, quickly help me take some of these inside."
Only then did kurenai notice the large number of gifts hanging on Ren, and she quickly took some to lighten his load, unable to help but say, "Why did you buy so many things? My father and I can't possibly use all of them."
"No, no, no."
Ren shook his head, then set aside a small portion of the items, pointing to the remaining large pile as he explained, "These are for me to visit others; those are for you and your uncle."
kurenai blinked her eyes twice, then turned her gaze to the large pile of items, examining them with some curiosity, and asked, "Who are you going to visit?"
"I'm going to volunteer at the orphanage for a day."
"Huh?"
"kurenai, come with me!"
"Huh? Huh? Huh??"
And so, kurenai, who had just returned from a mission, was inexplicably pulled along by Ren, carrying a large pile of items as they walked down the street.
"So, Ren, why did you suddenly decide to volunteer?"
kurenai turned her head to look at Ren, a hint of inquiry in her eyes.
She had volunteered with Rin before, and whenever she wanted to ask Ren to come along, she could never find him. Why was he suddenly dragging her along today?
"Oh, isn't it just right to do good deeds? I used to often help old grandmas and grandpas, you know that."
"Is that so..."
Although kurenai felt something was off, she couldn't quite pinpoint it, while Ren, on the other hand, had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.
This woman's sixth sense was simply too unscientific; he hadn't revealed any thoughts, yet she could sense that something was amiss.
A quarter of an hour later, the two finally arrived at their destination.
"This orphanage..."
kurenai looked at the familiar building in front of her, a pleasant surprise appearing on her face as she murmured.
"Knock, knock!"
Ren took two steps forward and knocked on the wooden door. Not long after, a response came from inside.
"Please wait, Misha is coming to open the door."
"Yes, Director!"
The sound of footsteps echoed, and the next moment, the wooden door opened, and their eyes met.
"You are... the big brother from yesterday!"
Upon seeing the two, Misha was first startled, then a look of pleasant surprise appeared on her face as she reacted.
"Little one, do you still remember me?"
Just then, kurenai stepped forward, looking at the other party and saying with a smile, "You are... Sister kurenai, who came to volunteer at the orphanage last time."
Misha's joy grew even stronger, and she immediately turned and ran inside, her voice echoing from afar, "Director, the big brother from yesterday and the sister from last time are here!"
Without making the two wait long, Yakushi Nonou hurried over, followed by four or five children of varying ages.
"Director Yakushi Nonou, sorry to disturb you."
Ren bowed slightly, chuckling.
"Long time no see, Director."
kurenai also bowed with Ren. Seeing this, Yakushi Nonou quickly came closer and returned the bow.
"Long time no see, both of you."
After they greeted each other, they all stood up. Yakushi Nonou turned sideways, smiling as she gestured for them to enter.
"Please come in."
"Thank you for having us."
Inside, Ren and kurenai, led by Yakushi Nonou and surrounded by a group of children, arrived at the reception hall—a large wooden house with neatly arranged tables, chairs, and benches, seemingly a place for the children to study.
"Please sit."
As soon as they sat down at a large table, Kabuto came over with a hot water kettle and several cups.
"Thank you."
Although it was just plain water, Ren still said thank you. Kabuto was still the same, shyly lowering his head. After pouring the water, he stood behind Yakushi Nonou.
"I apologize, the conditions are limited."
Yakushi Nonou looked at the two apologetically, as the orphanage's current situation was indeed not very good; maintaining normal operations was already very difficult.
"It's alright."
Ren shook his head, indicating he didn't mind.
Seeing this, Yakushi Nonou breathed a sigh of relief. Then her expression became cautious, and she softly said to the two, "May I ask, are you two here to volunteer?"
"Mm."
Ren nodded, then turned to kurenai beside him and nodded, saying, "kurenai, you go take care of the children first. I want to talk to the Director about some other matters."
"Okay."
kurenai didn't ask further. She stood up, bowed to Yakushi Nonou, then turned and led a group of children away to unwrap gifts. Only Ren, Yakushi Nonou, and Kabuto, who was standing behind Yakushi Nonou, remained.
"Director Yakushi Nonou, actually, I came here for one more thing."
Ren took out a bulging envelope and a document from his embrace and placed them on the table, nodding with a smile.
"Wh-what do you mean?"
Looking at the items Ren placed on the table, Yakushi Nonou immediately became somewhat surprised and uncertain. She didn't understand what Ren meant now.
"Take a look first."
Ren pushed the document over, then continued, "Hokage-sama, upon learning of the orphanage's situation, expressed great willingness to increase the monthly financial subsidy. This is for this month."
"Huh?!"
Upon hearing this, Yakushi Nonou and Kabuto simultaneously widened their eyes, their gazes scanning back and forth between Ren and the document, their faces filled with disbelief.
After reacting, Yakushi Nonou quickly picked up the document from the table and began to read it word by word from beginning to end. Kabuto, due to his height, could only stand on a stool to see the document.
"This... this..."
After finishing the document, Yakushi Nonou's hands were trembling slightly, her gaze shifting to the envelope on the table, biting her lip slightly.
"Director, that's great!"
Kabuto, being a child, didn't have as much composure. He returned to the ground, grabbed a corner of Yakushi Nonou's clothes, and said with joy, "They all knew how much the Director had sacrificed for the orphanage. To save money, she dismissed several caregivers and personally did the dirty and tiring work."
"After working hard all day, she still had to take care of the younger children and worry about the deficits on the financial ledger with two old caregivers late into the night."
"Now with this money, the Director should be able to relax a lot, right!"
Kabuto turned and ran towards the backyard; he wanted to share this good news with his other friends!
Watching Kabuto's figure disappear into the distance, Yakushi Nonou's expression also returned to calmness. She looked at Ren and softly said, "Please speak. Hokage-sama must have some instructions, right?"
She was not a naive child; how could such a good thing come without any cost? This was something she had deeply understood during her time in Root.