Wandering Miko, Face Blindness?

Leaving the Hokage Office Building.

Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Honoka went back and forth over where she would stay.

Minato wanted Honoka to move straight into his home.

Having suddenly arrived in an unfamiliar environment, Honoka was desperately lacking a sense of security, so naturally, she did not want to be separated from her lover either.

But this was Konoha, after all—the place Minato had always lived.

She could not help worrying whether moving into Minato's home the moment she arrived would have a negative impact on him.

Would others think she was a frivolous girl?

Yamanaka Kei, who had always been perceptive, naturally would not say something like having her stay with Kushina at a time like this.

For one thing, Sarutobi Hiruzen had not mentioned Kushina at all just now. Clearly, he still did not trust Honoka.

He did not want this newly arrived Uzumaki clanswoman to rashly come into contact with the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki.

For another, his good brother had finally gotten himself a girlfriend and was about to gallop toward a blissful future.

As the matchmaker who had brought them together, it would be downright mean of him to cause trouble now.

"Minato, Honoka, the flowers at home haven't been watered in ages, so I'll be heading back first."

Yamanaka Kei casually found an excuse. After saying goodbye to the two of them, he turned and headed toward the Yamanaka Clan compound.

Konoha's streets remained as bustling as ever.

Pedestrians streamed through them, and the city was noisy and prosperous.

The streets and alleys brimming with everyday life had not changed in the slightest during the ten days he had been gone.

Compared to the towns and villages of small countries, where conflicts and chaos frequently erupted amid the turmoil outside—

Konoha now was like a Pure Land in troubled times.

At the very least, most people on the streets did not wear numb or pained expressions. Their smiles came from the heart.

"Konoha... really is wonderful..."

A gentle female voice came from nearby.

Her voice was soft, yet those few simple words seemed to carry countless emotions.

Attachment, reluctance, yearning, resolve, determination...

That emotion-pie-chart tone made Yamanaka Kei turn to examine the girl who was looking at the same street scene as him.

She looked two or three years younger than him.

She wore a black robe and round black-rimmed glasses. Most of her pale golden hair was concealed beneath a white hood.

A nun?

Name: Yakushi Nonou

Occupation: Konoha Spy

Entries: Wandering Miko (Blue), Medical Ninjutsu Proficiency (Green), Affinity (Green), Eye Disease (Gray)

...

Yakushi Nonou?

Yamanaka Kei froze for a moment, then more or less guessed why her emotions had been so complicated just now.

As a professional spy specially trained by Konoha—

The psychological pressure of spending long periods undercover in enemy countries was beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

He had only been away for ten days, with friends accompanying him the whole way, yet even he felt an indescribable sense of familiarity upon returning to Konoha.

Let alone professional spies who repeatedly infiltrated hostile forces, never knowing how long they would remain undercover or when they could return.

Still, this Entry was interesting!

Wandering Miko was originally the title Yakushi Nonou had earned while operating abroad.

Many forces knew there was such a formidable spy, yet they could never catch her. In the end, the name only grew more and more famous.

He had not expected that title to become her Entry directly.

And with all those bonuses to professional spy skills—undercover work, disguise, intelligence theft, surveillance, counter-surveillance, and more—

Plus the Affinity Entry, which made it easier to gain others' trust.

This woman truly was a born spy!

"Eye Disease, tsk."

Yamanaka Kei glanced again at that final Gray Word Entry, then turned and continued toward the Yamanaka Clan.

Eye Disease...

Negative effects: severe nearsightedness and mild face blindness.

Good thing the Blue Entry, Wandering Miko, was strong enough. Otherwise, having such an obvious weakness as a spy would get her killed in no time!

Uh... seemed like that Entry was exactly what got her killed in the end?

Yamanaka Kei checked the original plot in the Memory Palace, then cursed Danzo in his heart again with a constipated expression.

That old bastard really did not treat people like human beings!

Yakushi Nonou had already retired, yet he had forced her to work for him again by threatening her with a group of children.

Then, after playing both sides, he turned around and used Yakushi Nonou to threaten Yakushi Kabuto from the orphanage into becoming a spy.

And that still was not the end of it.

To control Yakushi Nonou, he swapped out photographs so that she would mistake other people for Kabuto.

After Kabuto had grown up, Danzo decided Yakushi Nonou knew too much. He misled Kabuto with false intelligence and made him kill Yakushi Nonou with his own hands.

This...

For the first time, Yamanaka Kei felt that the insult "bastard" was not nearly strong enough.

Thinking of Shisui, whose eyes had been taken; thinking of Pain, who had come to Konoha carrying rice; then thinking of Orochimaru later on...

"Maybe I should find a chance to take Shimura Danzo out after all!"

Yamanaka Kei rubbed his chin. The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

With the Black Word Entry Brainwave Amplification, Danzo could not possibly have the energy to stir up trouble everywhere like in the original story.

But with a scourge like that, who knew when he might dig a massive pit for his allies?

The sooner he was dead, the sooner everyone could relax.

And as the strongest Shadow of the Pot, the 5.5th Hokage, and one of the behind-the-scenes masterminds who had influenced the original plot the most—

If he took Danzo out, the System should give a huge drop, right?

Yamanaka Kei's figure gradually disappeared into the distance.

Yakushi Nonou, who had been watching the street scene, quietly let out a breath. She turned to look at the tall back clad in a jonin vest.

As a veteran spy, she had always been extremely sensitive to the gazes around her.

The instant Yamanaka Kei set his eyes on her, she had noticed.

While pretending to remain absorbed in the street scene, she had cautiously observed him in return from the corner of her eye.

That unconcealed sympathy and pity in his eyes...

Why?

Had he roughly guessed what kind of work she did from her momentary words of emotion?

That could not be possible. It had only been a passing remark!

Yakushi Nonou carefully recalled the face of that young ninja.

She was certain she had never seen him before.

After all, with such a clean, handsome face, how could she possibly forget it after seeing it even once?

After thinking for a long time—

Only two possibilities remained in Yakushi Nonou's mind.

First, he had somehow learned her identity. Second, he was both extraordinarily intelligent and extraordinarily perceptive.

Otherwise, a normal ninja should not have reacted like that!

I don't need sympathy or pity! Everything is for Konoha!

Yakushi Nonou silently encouraged herself.

After taking one last lingering look at Konoha's bustling, prosperous streets—

She took a deep breath, adjusted her state of mind, and prepared to set off for the next force where she needed to go undercover and gather intelligence.

At that moment, Yamanaka Kei looked back once more in the direction Yakushi Nonou had left.

With one of Konoha's strongest sensory abilities—

How could he have failed to notice Yakushi Nonou's momentary tension?

It was just that, in the Analysis Team, he had seen quite a few spies from other ninja villages who had been captured.

People like that feared nothing more than having their identities exposed.

Even a ninja from the same village approaching them to strike up a conversation would make them intensely uneasy.

From Yakushi Nonou's appearance, she was clearly preparing to head out on another mission.

At a time like this, he naturally would not go up and mess with her head.

"May you return safely, Wandering Miko."