Not far from the orphanage.
Sora dragged his tired body towards the orphanage.
Although the recovery ability of the Azure Dragon Fruit allowed the physical side effects after "opening the first gate" to quickly subside.
The cost was that the body's stored energy was rapidly consumed.
Gurgle~~ Gurgle~~
His stomach let out a series of rumbling sounds. Hungry, very hungry!
"Hurry back for dinner! Nonō should have dinner ready by now."
Turning a street corner, the orphanage was just ahead.
"Hmm? What's that?!"
Sora suddenly stopped at the corner. He saw a dark figure flash past near the orphanage gate, its movements furtive.
Although it was just a blurry figure, Sora's eyes, enhanced by eating the Azure Dragon Fruit, still managed to see that the person wore a black cat mask on their face.
"Anbu?"
"Or Root?"
Sora looked in the direction the shadow left. That person's chakra felt cold, sticky, and gave him an extremely uncomfortable feeling.
Sora stroked his chin, recalling. "Root" was the Anbu within the Anbu of Konoha, established by Shimura Danzo. They operated with extreme methods, adhering to the belief "everything can be sacrificed for Konoha." Members were branded with the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, preventing them from revealing any information about the organization.
Quickening his pace, Sora quickly analyzed in his mind.
"If it's Anbu, then I need to hold back on the Eight Inner Gates training recently. But if it's Root? Then they are here for Nonō."
Connecting it to Nonō's unusual behavior recently, Sora felt it was most likely Root!
Pushing open the orphanage gate, the aroma of food wafted over. Two little girls were chasing and playing in the yard. Miyamoto Ichirō, on weekend break, sat on the corridor reading a ninjutsu scroll.
"Sora! You're back?" Miyamoto Ichirō looked up to greet him. "How was training today?"
"Alright." Sora replied casually, his eyes sweeping over the yard. "Where is Nonō sister?"
"Kitchen." Miyamoto Ichirō pointed. "By the way, do you know when Satō and Inoue will be back? They've been on a mission for almost a month..."
Sora shook his head. The Satō and Inoue mentioned by Miyamoto Ichirō were the two other older children at the orphanage. Since becoming genin half a year ago, they often went out on missions. This time they had indeed been gone for quite a while...
"They couldn't have gotten into trouble, could they..." Miyamoto Ichirō muttered quietly.
Sora didn't respond and walked straight to the kitchen. Pushing the door open, he saw Nonō chopping vegetables, while Uesugi Rin was cooking soup nearby.
"You're back?" Nonō said without looking up. "Go take a bath first, dinner will be ready soon."
Sora didn't move. He stared at Nonō's back for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "Sister, has anyone been giving you trouble recently?"
The kitchen knife paused for a moment, then continued chopping. "No, why do you ask?"
"I just saw a suspicious person lurking around nearby." Sora said deliberately. "Wearing a mask, acting sneaky."
The expression on Nonō's face didn't change, her tone gentle. "It might have been a patrolling ninja. Don't overthink it, go take a bath and eat."
Although Sora didn't detect any problems from Nonō's answer or her expression, that initial, momentary pause of the kitchen knife just now...
Something is definitely wrong!
Back in his room, Sora changed his clothes while recalling the original plot.
That old schemer Danzo loved to use the orphanage to threaten Nonō. In the original story, he threatened to cut off the orphanage's funding, forcing her to continue performing dangerous missions...
"It seems Nonō hasn't officially left 'Root' during this period."
Sora had been in Konoha for over a year now. During this time, Nonō had never left the village, which led him to believe she had already left Root. Until today, he discovered that wasn't the case.
"My strength is still too weak!"
"Fortunately, I have obtained the Eight Inner Gates. My strength should improve very quickly from now on."
...
After dinner, Sora returned to his room, preparing to start today's daily dragon transformation training.
Knock knock knock!
A sudden knocking sound interrupted Sora's movements.
"Sora, are you asleep?" It was Nonō's voice, a few tones lower than usual.
Sora quickly sat up. "Not yet, sister, come in."
The door was gently pulled open. Nonō walked in wearing a light blue kimono, carrying a tray. On it was a small bowl of red bean soup.
"You didn't eat much dessert just now, so I saved some for you." Nonō placed the bowl on the low table, her smile as gentle as ever.
"Thank you, sister." Sora picked up the spoon but didn't bring it to his mouth. "Sister, is there something you need from me, coming so late?"
Nonō's movements paused for a moment, then she casually wiped the tray. "Nothing particularly important."
Her voice hesitated slightly. "Actually, Sora, you probably noticed. That person you discovered today is actually a former teammate from the village I used to go on missions with."
Sora silently drank the red bean soup from the bowl and nodded without speaking.
'That's no teammate. It's clearly someone from Root.'
"He came to ask me to go on a mission with him. A small mission, that's all. We can finish it in two weeks."
"I know you're sensible, much more mature than kids your age, so I won't hide it from you. I need to go out tomorrow for this mission. I'll be back in two weeks."
Nonō took a deep breath, softening her tone even more. "While I'm gone, I want you to look after the other children a bit more. And,"
She looked up at Sora, trying hard to curl her lips into a smile. "Don't you worry either. Your sister is very strong. I've carried out missions ten times harder than this before."
Saying that, she deliberately puffed out her chest slightly, as if proving she really was strong.
"Is that so? Then I'm relieved."
Sora knew perfectly well how much of that statement was true. For example, the so-called small mission was, if not a life or death situation, definitely a dangerous and unpredictable tricky task.
But Sora also knew he currently had no ability to stop it. Forget facing Kage-level gatekeeper Danzo. Even against an ordinary Root ninja, with his current strength, charging forward would just be delivering himself.
"Don't worry, I'll be back in two weeks. I'm counting on you to take care of the other children during this time."
Nonō added, "Oh, right, and the Director too."
The Director she mentioned was the only elderly person at the orphanage. He had worked there for decades and had been bedridden for many years, relying entirely on Nonō's care.
Sora looked at Nonō and, for once, saw a trace of weariness in her eyes. He nodded and said, "Sister, you can go with peace of mind. I'll take good care of everyone!"
Seeing Sora nod, Nonō showed a relieved smile, picked up the empty tray, and turned to leave the room.
The moment the door closed, the calm expression vanished from Sora's face.
"Still too weak..."
If he had Kage-level strength now, why would he let Nonō go on such a life threatening mission?
But that's how the ninja world is. With low strength, you are at the mercy of others. Either die in dangerous missions one after another, or die in the future ninja wars. No choice.