harleyscars Chapter 98, codenamed "Unknown," Danzo
Chapter 98, codenamed "Unknown," Danzo
Chapter 89, codenamed "Unknown," Danzo
Just as Xingyuan Qianshuo was enjoying his peaceful daily life—
After escaping from the Iwagakure camp, Nonou finally returns to the home she has longed for.
Her brown hair was a little messy, and her round-framed glasses were covered in dust, but they couldn't hide the eager excitement and anticipation in her eyes.
I feel apprehensive as I get closer to home.
She was weary from her journey, her heart filled with both anticipation and trepidation.
Walking on the smooth road leading to Konoha, the tall and imposing gates of Konoha are already in sight.
That familiar door seemed to instantly unlock her long-dormant memories.
Uno's mind was flooded with memories of the past—scenes she thought had long since faded, which unexpectedly surged into her heart.
An afternoon at the Konoha Orphanage: the creaking of the old swings, the laughter of children chasing and playing, sunlight filtering through the leaves like dappled gold—
All the hazy, warm memories are now as clear as the sky after the rain, crystal clear.
Even the dust particles floating in the air and the scent of grass suddenly became tangible and audible.
The four ninjas guarding the gates of Konoha looked at the petite figure and silently assessed her identity.
Without a ninja headband and dressed in dark casual clothes, he looked more like an ordinary person who had come to issue a mission than a ninja returning to the village.
However, one of them narrowed his eyes, his heart suddenly raced, and his face was filled with disbelief.
His lips twitched, and he murmured, "Is it Nono? It must be her—she's still alive, she's back."
"
His teammates heard his whisper and looked over in surprise.
They had never seen the usually taciturn Longmu so excited.
Under the astonished gazes of the group, Ryuki suddenly rushed forward, his voice trembling: "Nono, is that you?"
It must be you, right?
When Nono saw a ninja rushing towards her, she instinctively became wary, but quickly stopped what she was doing.
Hearing the call, she stared intently for a moment through her dusty glasses, her voice trembling slightly: "Longmu? — You've grown so much taller."
"Nonou, you're still the same as before," Ryuki said, suppressing his excitement.
"Really?" Nonou asked instinctively.
She raised her hand to tidy the messy hair beside her face—
Over time, she changed a lot and was not sure if she was still the same as before.
"Yes, nothing has changed." Longmu nodded vigorously.
"That's good." A relieved smile appeared on Nono's lips.
She never expected that she would run into her old orphanage friends as soon as she returned to Konoha.
The other person has grown taller, bigger, and stronger.
At this moment, other Konoha ninja gathered around, and the two stopped talking.
After registering at the entrance, Ryuki asked, "Nonou, do you want to go home now?"
"Home—" Nono responded subconsciously, but then stopped herself from saying it.
"Longmu, I still have to report on my mission. I'll be back in a bit," she replied calmly.
"Yes, that's fine. Tonight, we'll definitely have a big celebration," Longmu said.
"Mm." Nonou nodded with a smile.
They didn't talk much.
After saying goodbye, Nono officially set foot on the land of Konoha.
Longmu resumed his usual silence, quietly watching the petite figure blend into the street scene of Konoha.
"Ryuk, how come I've never heard you mention this friend before? Is she also a ninja?" someone asked curiously.
"Um."
"She's not wearing a headband. Which department is she in?"
"Roots," Longmu replied calmly.
That reply contained an unspeakable resentment.
Nono wanted to go back to the orphanage first, but she couldn't.
She returned without permission and had to report to the "Root" organization first.
However, upon seeing her former companions, her anxious heart finally calmed down considerably.
Stepping onto the bluestone streets of Konoha feels like entering another world.
The morning sunlight streamed over the familiar yet changed houses, bathing her in its warmth.
The villagers strolled around and chatted leisurely. The breakfast stalls had not yet closed, and wisps of steam rose, emitting a fragrant aroma.
There were no roars, no screams, only the mundane yet solid sounds of life itself.
Everything was ordinary and peaceful, overlapping with the scenes in her memory, yet so new.
She stood at the street corner, looking around in a daze.
Through his grey-green eyes and glasses, he greedily captured every detail:
The laughter of children running by, the unfaded flowers by the roadside, the wind chimes gently swaying under the eaves —
The tension that had been building for four years and one hundred and twenty-four days finally, under the sunshine of my hometown, quietly and completely relaxed.
She knew she would soon have to report to the headquarters, submit a report, and face questioning.
But at least at this moment, Yakushi Nonou—this seventeen-year-old girl—felt a long-lost peace and contentment.
She walked slowly along the familiar yet unfamiliar road, each step seeming as if confirming the reality of her return.
The warm sunlight of Konoha fell on her, as if slowly drying the lingering dew from afar in her hair and heart.
On the edge of Konoha's core urban area, in front of a somewhat old building.
Nonou took a deep breath and knocked on the door in a certain rhythm.
Inside the room, two expressionless ninjas were doing weighted squats, while the other flipped through a book and scribbled on a piece of paper.
The knocking sounded, and both of them were startled. After a moment of thought, they confirmed the code.
The Root organization does not have only one underground base; this place is one of the sites where Root makes contact with the outside world.
Many non-core peripheral members can only access this area.
The site's password is not static.
The password for knocking on the door that is being used now was actually changed a long time ago.
The two exchanged a glance, said nothing, put on their ghost masks, adjusted the hilts of their swords, and walked one after the other to the door.
The tall, imposing man warily uttered a single word: "Speak."
"Code name: Unknown, reporting for duty." Nono tried to remain calm.
Upon hearing the young woman's response, the two people in the room looked at each other again, exchanging glances for a moment.
Within the root organization, those who use the Earthly Branches as code names are usually important peripheral members—that is, important spies.
They never expected that a codenamed spy would come to this site today.
The two remained wary, and the taller one slowly opened the door.
Seeing that the visitor was a petite, unfamiliar woman, he didn't ask any questions, stepped aside to let Nonoyu enter, and then closed the door.
"Wait," the tall ninja said indifferently, then stood still facing Nono.
The short man picked up a pen and paper from the table, quickly wrote several lines, rolled them up, and put them into a small bamboo tube.
Then, he raised his hand, bit his thumb, and skillfully formed a hand seal.
"Spiritual communication!"
Bang!
After a small puff of white smoke, a grayish-brown weasel appeared on the ground.
The gray weasel, less than half a meter long, looked very shrewd, constantly looking around to observe the people in the room.
The short ninja handed over the bamboo tube, but the gray weasel didn't take it; instead, it squeaked a few times.
Helpless, the ninja took out a piece of dark red jerky from his pocket and handed it over.
The gray weasel then swallowed the jerky and the bamboo tube together.
It skillfully ran into the inner room and squeezed out through a hole in the wall about the size of a bowl.
Nonou watched this scene quietly, showing no emotion despite the ferret's adorable actions.
The gray weasel left, and the room fell silent.
The three remained silent, each waiting in their own place.
Five minutes later, the door was opened again.
Two Root ninjas wearing demon masks entered the room and carefully examined Nono.
After a long while, he finally spoke, "Not yet, come with us."
Outside the city, on the edge of Konoha, stands a detached house.
Nono knelt on one knee, head bowed, waiting quietly.
In front of her, Danzo sat in a chair with a gloomy expression, his right hand lightly supporting his chin, his left eye squinting as he read the report in his hand.
"The Lava Release Training Method — Select young genin who possess both Earth and Fire Release, the younger the better — Extract a small amount of the Four-Tails' chakra and seal it within their body, using the power of the Tailed Beast to influence their physical development and training —"
"Did it fail? There might have been successful test subjects." Danzo pondered to himself.
He recalled Onoki's famous Dust Release technique—Iwagakure was indeed experienced in developing bloodline limits.
"Unfortunately, this method requires the Four-Tails' chakra to catalyze it, making it almost impossible to replicate—only the experience of fusing earth and fire chakra has some reference value."
He thought of Orochimaru's ongoing Hashirama cell transplantation experiment. If successful, it would indeed fuse the earth and water chakra properties, which was quite similar to the original idea.
At this moment, Danzo thought of Konoha's strongest tailed beast—the Nine-Tails.
The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was always under the surveillance and protection of the Anbu, and Root was completely unable to intervene.
Although the Nine-Tails' chakra has no clear attribute bias, if it could be extracted and sealed into the bodies of Root members, it would likely be able to create a batch of powerful tools.
"Hmph, even Onoki knows to use human experimentation to improve the village's strength, but Hiruzen is hypocritical and hesitant."
Danzo couldn't help but feel resentful—if he became Hokage, he could effectively utilize these resources to strengthen Konoha.
After pondering for a moment, Danzo put down the report, his gaze fixed on Nono with a gloomy expression, and demanded, "Nono, this information shouldn't have been enough to expose you, right? How dare you leave Iwagakure without permission?"
'
Hearing Danzo's question, Nonou trembled slightly, but still tried to answer calmly: "Sir, the battle between Iwagakure and Konoha is causing heavy casualties every day—facing those wailing wounded, I'm afraid I—I'm afraid I won't be able to hold on."
"Hmph! That's why ninjas should abandon emotions. Kindness, compassion, bonds—all of them are useless," Danzo said coldly.
Nono lowered her head, not daring to refute.
"Tell me the details of Jiraiya's sneak attack on the Iwagakure camp."
Danzo stopped questioning and instead asked about something he was more concerned about.
The decision by Iwagakure to cease hostilities was largely due to Jiraiya's sneak attack.
Unfortunately, Yantian only relayed some hearsay information.
When the Konoha ninja launched their sneak attack, Nono was in the medical barracks and did not witness it firsthand.
She had no choice but to fabricate her story based on some fragments she overheard when she left the Hidden Rock Camp, which was roughly in line with the truth.
"It's the Flying Thunder God Technique again—truly a rare and precious ninjutsu."
Danzo felt jealousy and greed surge in his heart again, "With this achievement, Jiraiya's reputation will surely rise greatly."
Just as Danzo was pondering, Nonou mustered her courage, looked up, and said, "Sir, I want to leave Root and return to Konoha to carry out my normal mission."
Upon hearing this, Danzo suddenly exuded a sinister aura, which was filled with intense killing intent.
Nono trembled slightly, but her eyes remained firm.
Through her dusty glasses, she stared directly into Danzo's eyes.
Danzo's two demon-faced subordinates quickly gripped the swords on their backs, waiting for the order to kill this audacious "colleague".
A silence and murderous intent enveloped the room.
After a long while, Danzo slowly calmed down and said, "Nonou, the village invests a lot of money in the orphanage every year. As a ninja who grew up in the orphanage, it is only natural for you to make some sacrifices for the village and give back to the village."
Nonou was slightly shaken, but remained silent, insisting on her own will.
Seeing this, Danzo said in a deep voice, "You should rest in the village for a while. Root won't assign you any missions outside the village, but staying in Root and contributing to Root and Konoha is the reward you must give."
Tuanzang's tone was stern and left no room for refusal.
He suppressed his murderous intent, but his words carried a deeper threat.
This was the biggest concession he could make—if it weren't for the fact that Nono was a rare talent for espionage, he would never have let her go so easily.
Upon hearing this, Nonou remained silent for a long time before finally lowering her head slowly, as if deflated, and replied, "Yes, sir."
o
She didn't say anything more, stood up, and walked out of the room.
Her petite figure conveyed fragility and helplessness.
Danzo squinted his left eye and watched her leave silently, like a wolf staring at a lamb trying to escape—a lamb that may be running, but can never escape the wolf's sight.
This is a very useful tool; it's just temporarily set aside, but I can pick it up again at any time.
Nonou's kindness is the best leverage to control her.
As long as the Konoha Orphanage exists, they can keep her under control at any time and never let her escape.
As Nono walked out of that building, her steps were sluggish and weak.
She mustered her courage, wanting to escape this torturous life, but ultimately failed.
At this moment, the will that had sustained her as she fled from Iwagakure back to the village had completely vanished.
Danzo's last words, like an invisible shackle, still firmly bound around her neck.
The so-called "rest" and "concession" were nothing more than imprisoning her from the distant battlefield into a closer and more inescapable cage.
Perhaps one day, she will embark on a lonely and arduous journey once again.
The sun in the sky climbed higher, brighter, and more dazzling.
The sunlight that fell on her had lost its previous warmth.
The streets remained peaceful, with the sounds of villagers chatting and children laughing occasionally drifting by, yet she felt a deeper loneliness than when she was in the enemy camp.
She stopped, took off her glasses, breathed softly on them, and slowly wiped them with her sleeve.
The movements are mechanical yet focused.
This is a habit she often uses to calm her mind.
In her blurred vision, the world seemed to recede little by little, leaving her alone, calm and peaceful.
After putting her glasses back on, a gentle smile returned to her face.
She tried hard to recall the wonderful scenes at the orphanage, but found that those images had become blurry once again.
She paused slightly, then took a step forward with force.
Many new shops had opened along the roadside. She thought that there must be a new batch of children in the orphanage, so she took out her wallet and planned to buy some gifts to take back with her.
When carrying out missions in various ninja villages, she often used the pretext of seeking refuge.
In such cases, the medical compensation provided by the other party is minimal, often just enough to cover daily needs.
But she still saved money by living frugally, so that she could use it at the orphanage after returning to the village.
At that moment, Danzo's words echoed coldly in my ears once again: "The village invests a lot of money in the orphanage every year—it is only right to give back to the village."
Her gentle expression froze for a moment before returning to normal.
What she protected, and what she was used to trade, were the same thing.
A sense of powerlessness, even deeper than when facing Danzo's murderous intent, quietly gripped her heart.
She composed herself and blended into the bustling street, like a drop of water joining a river.
It's like a quiet ghost, completely out of place with the vibrant life around it.
She knew that from this day forward, the existence of "Yakushi Nonou" would be forever divided.
Some of them belong to the leaves exposed to sunlight.
The other part remained forever in the shadows of darkness, never truly returning.