"Appearances may change, but I am still your disciple."
Kiyoshi gave a slight smile. This was what one would call a [Bond].
Kiyoshi took a few glances at Nono Yakushi. Her figure was as shapely as it had been back in the Hidden Leaf Village, but her face showed several signs of exhaustion. One doesn't realize the cost of living until they run the household themselves.
Nono, who previously never had to fret over money, had begun to worry about such things. For every new mouth the orphanage had to feed, another expense was added. Just the children gathered in this room numbered seventy or eighty.
"Nono, it's been a long ti."
Beside Kiyoshi, Tsunade took the initiative to greet Nono Yakushi. The two had spent ti together at the Hidden Leaf Hospital in the past and were acquaintances who had shared academic exchanges.
"Tsunade."
Only then did Nono Yakushi shift her gaze away from Kiyoshi to look at the heroic Tsunade, who bore the diamond-shaped mark on her forehead. However, upon seeing Tsunade, Nono didn't feel any sense of joy.
On the contrary, her heart gradually sank to the bottom of the valley. As the forr "Big Sister" of the Root's espionage division, Nono was exceptionally sharp.
Both Kiyoshi and Tsunade were fully geared for combat, and she could see fresh mud stains on their boots and trouser hems. She could tell they were in the middle of a mission—a very urgent one at that. And for a mission to require soone like Tsunade of the Sannin to accompany it, the difficulty was easy to imagine. Kiyoshi's safety...
"Director, who is this big brother?"
A group of children crowded behind Nono Yakushi, peering at Kiyoshi timidly. Their identity as ninjas made them fearful, yet naturally sparked curiosity and admiration.
They knew there was only one ninja organization within the Land of Fire: the Hidden Leaf. The ninjas of the Hidden Leaf were constantly fighting against invaders, making them heroes in the children's eyes.
Kiyoshi noticed the children's gazes and reached out to offer a friendly greeting. Seeing that Kiyoshi wasn't the kind of aloof "Lord Ninja," the children's restraint vanished. So of the bolder ones even asked how they could beco ninjas.
"Becoming a ninja requires talent." Kiyoshi ruffled a young girl's hair.
"I definitely have that kind of talent!"
"Oh, co on, I'm the one with the talent to be a ninja."
The children played and joked, their eyes filled with longing for the future. Kiyoshi said nothing as he watched. To the outside world, ninjas appeared glamorous, but they were actually part of one of the darkest professions.
Today, they were heroes resisting foreign nations. But even the Hidden Leaf had engaged in shifting the battlefield to other small nations, which was no different from being invaders. The chaotic, lawless situation in the Land of Rain, where various factions were intertwined, was the best portrayal of this.
In the cruel ninja world, people were killed by other ninjas every day. They were all just rcenaries living on the edge of a blade. Ninjas enjoyed immunity for killing, but when they themselves were killed by enemy ninjas, it was simply the cycle of karma.
The village would only provide a bereavent payout; unless it was internal strife within the country or among comrades, the authorities would rarely intervene.
"Teacher Nono, can we stay here to rest for the night?"
Kiyoshi looked back at the sky outside the door. While they were talking, it had already grown dark. If they couldn't spend the night here, he and Tsunade would have to camp out in the wild.
"Of course, no problem. We still have beds."
Nono Yakushi naturally wouldn't refuse this small request from Kiyoshi. She even invited Kiyoshi and Tsunade to join them for dinner. A plump nun and an old maintenance man were the only employees of this orphanage. The two of them entered the kitchen, leaving the Director to talk with the two newly arrived ninjas.
"Looks like he's the Director's forr student," the plump nun whispered.
"Don't ntion things from the past. You know the Director doesn't want others to know about her history," the maintenance man said, glancing at the talkative nun. Both had received kindness from Nono Yakushi in the past, so they volunteered to help at the orphanage despite the low pay.
Before long, the nun and the maintenance man brought in a cart containing several buckets. The nun served the rice and soup to the children, and Nono Yakushi went to get a portion for herself as well.
Clearly, she ate the sa food as the children. The al was very simple, and Kiyoshi took so as he adapted to the local customs. He wasn't picky about food; he enjoyed fine cuisine when available, but was fine without it.
Beside him, Tsunade didn't seem burdened either. Soon, several empty plates were stacked in front of her. This caused Nono Yakushi's eyes to twitch slightly. Tsunade's appetite was as large as ever.
Kiyoshi's expression remained calm. Tsunade was indeed a hidden glutton. After the battle with Pain, when she woke up, her staggering appetite shocked Shizune, nearly making her think Tsunade wanted to eat Tonton as well.
Since chakra is essentially a mix of physical and spiritual energy, the source of physical energy is inseparable from food.
However, a trace of sorrow flashed through Nono's eyes. Kiyoshi caught this perfectly. He continued eating as if nothing had happened. In a corner, Kabuto Yakushi secretly observed Kiyoshi. He instinctively pieced together so intelligence: Kiyoshi and the Director were forrly teacher and student.
Unfortunately, before Kabuto could gather more information, the nun and the maintenance man took the children to bed. The orphanage's rule was "lights out" at exactly 9:00 PM. The children had to finish washing up and get into bed a few dozen minutes early.
Kiyoshi and Tsunade were assigned rooms on the second floor. It was evident they were originally used for storage, but now that guests had arrived, they had been cleared and cleaned. They were two clean rooms, the only drawback being their small size.
"Teacher Nono, this is the fee for mine and Lady Tsunade's lodging and dinner tonight."
Kiyoshi produced 1,000 ryo. Nono Yakushi gently shook her head in refusal. "It's no trouble. Put that money away."
This wasn't a large sum; even an ordinary person could earn it in a few days. Having realized the importance of money, Nono knew Kiyoshi was likely short on funds too.
After all, Kiyoshi was just an ordinary mber of the Uchiha clan, and when she had been backed by the Root, she naturally hadn't realized how high a ninja's expenses could be.
"Director!"
Seeing Nono Yakushi refuse, the plump nun couldn't help but speak up. "Relying only on the subsidies from the country and the village, we can no longer maintain operations."
"We should be grateful the country and village gave us anything at all in the past. This endless war is burning the lifeblood of the citizens every second," the maintenance man added. Both looked worried; they clearly cared deeply about the orphanage.
"Teacher Nono, are you very short of money right now?" Kiyoshi asked, feigning confusion.
"Kiyoshi..." Nono Yakushi started to speak.
The outspoken nun interrupted her, saying, "The orphanage's operations are already very difficult. Especially today, since the Director took in another child, it has made things even worse."
"We'll just have to go and discuss it with the country and the village again," the maintenance man sighed. He knew the Land of Fire was struggling. But these orphans were struggling too. Or rather, the existence of the war was exactly what created such a large number of orphans.
If the orphanage didn't exist, these children would have to turn to theft and robbery to survive, or they would simply die quietly in so forgotten corner.
It was hard to imagine that within the borders of the Land of Fire, which prided itself as one of the Five Great Nations, such a cruel scene still existed. These people at the bottom were a true glimpse into the Land of Fire.
"I will find a way to resolve this," Nono Yakushi said softly, seemingly unwilling to show her distress in front of Kiyoshi. Tsunade listened from behind in silence, her thoughts complex.
"In that case, let give all my money to you, Teacher Nono."
Kiyoshi took out a sealing scroll. Inside was exactly the money he had split with Tsunade. Nono Yakushi naturally declined. She wasn't the kind of woman who liked taking money from others for no reason, especially since Kiyoshi was her forr student.
How could a disciple give money to a teacher? It should be her giving money to Kiyoshi; that was the principle she had learned from books.
mbers of the Root underwent training to erase their emotions, so the emotions they developed later tended to be purer than those of average people. She was willing to discard all her status as a ninja for a single thought and co to this place thousands of miles away to be an obscure orphanage director—that alone spoke volus.
"Teacher Nono gave so many things, what does this amount to?"
Kiyoshi pressed the sealing scroll into Nono Yakushi's palm.
"Director," the plump nun whispered as a reminder.
Nono Yakushi, who wanted to continue refusing, thought of the innocent children in the orphanage. She had just said she would find a way to get money. In reality, that ant going to Danzo Shimura and exchanging her services as a spy once again for funds.
Once she stepped back into the ninja profession, it wouldn't be sothing she could leave whenever she wanted. Being able to leave once had already been a lucky outco. In a war where manpower was increasingly scarce, anyone could be drafted, let alone an exceptional ninja like her.
"Thank you, Kiyoshi."
Nono Yakushi earnestly accepted the scroll. Beside them, Tsunade also took out her sealing scroll and handed it to Kiyoshi. Nono Yakushi looked up in surprise.
Tsunade said, "This money was won by this kid anyway. You might as well have it."
With that, Tsunade took the lead and entered her own room. Kiyoshi didn't linger either. Nono Yakushi let out a deep sigh. Was this the so-called [Will of Fire]?
Involuntarily, Nono Yakushi already viewed Kiyoshi as a hardworking, serious, and kind-hearted boy. It was no wonder that Tsunade Senju, the Princess of the Senju clan, was with him. One must rember that after developing hemophobia, she rarely executed missions.
"Director, let's see how much there is," the plump nun said. It wasn't that she was materialistic. It was just that while the Director provided the funds, she was the one who personally went to haggle and negotiate when purchasing food. Thus, she valued every cent; one more cent ant one more bite of food for a child.
"Six... six hundred thousand ryo!"
Once the money was brought out, the nun stared blankly at the cash poured from the two sealing scrolls. Every ten thousand was tied with a white band, and there were sixty bundles in total.
Nono Yakushi looked at the money on the floor in shock. The total reward for an A-rank mission was usually between one hundred and fifty thousand and one million ryo.
***
Read 30 Chapters early on P-atreon/Redestro666
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