New Job

Yakushi Nonō had originally been a Root ninja and had only recently left Root.

She was also the only ninja who had managed to leave Root alive while Danzo was still alive.

From Danzo and Ryoma's perspective, while it could not exactly be called a disgrace, letting a nearly perfect top-tier spy like Yakushi Nonō leave was undoubtedly a loss.

There were only a few perfect spies like Yakushi Nonō in all of Konohagakure.

Kaedeji said, "Lord Ryoma, you should understand as well. A War Orphan like me, with no real talent, has to cherish every moment and work desperately hard. My health has always been poor, and I survived until now only thanks to everyone's care. I must rely on my own efforts to do something for everyone. I never want to bring trouble to others."

Aburame Ryoma stared at the youth before him. In truth, Kaedeji was not in his field of vision at all; his mind was wholly occupied with analyzing Yakushi Nonō's motives. As Danzo's right-hand man, he always instinctively viewed matters from their darkest angle.

As for Kaedeji himself? Aburame Ryoma did not take him seriously at all. He was merely a genin who had mastered the Dead Soul Technique, a Defective Product Ryoma had personally eliminated back then, with no talent to speak of.

He was more interested in speculating about the emotional bond between Yakushi Nonō and Kaedeji. As he casually flipped through Kaedeji's information, he attached one label after another to him.

For example: lacking potential (signs of a short life), withdrawn (in reality, he was afraid of infecting others with the germs on his body), overly valuing his comrades' lives (always ready to turn his comrades into expendable battle materials), and so on.

Now, he added another label: "Yakushi Nonō," followed by a question mark.

"You have formed bonds with the village. That is good, but it is not enough. You must do more in order to repay the village's kindness. As for your studying this controversial ninjutsu under the Miko, I can choose not to pursue the matter."

Aburame Ryoma said coldly, "I need you to regularly pass information about the Miko to me."

"Why should I do Such Matters? Is this the assignment the deputy captain of the Medical Corps is giving me?"

"You may refuse, but I will immediately cut off the village's subsidies for War Orphans, and I will also send every War Orphan who has completed their training to The Front Lines." Aburame Ryoma's voice remained cold. "Though the intensity of the war has declined, battlefields everywhere still lack manpower. Funds and personnel should both be utilized to the fullest extent."

The village had already expended Large Amounts Of resources merely to establish the Medical Corps during wartime. Aburame Ryoma had every reason to cut the financial subsidies for War Orphans.

Aburame Ryoma watched the ever-changing expressions on Kaedeji's face and secretly nodded, deciding that this guy had a temperament similar to Yakushi Nonō's and was well suited to being coerced through moral pressure.

Aburame Ryoma said coldly, "If you refuse, the few people you know will bear greater risks because of it. You would not want Such Matters to happen."

Kaedeji frowned. "As deputy captain, you actually say something like that... Are the village's comrades worth nothing in your eyes?"

"Before a mission, comrades are secondary. It seems the orphanage's education for you War Orphans needs a thorough reform. At the very least, that childish teaching philosophy must be discarded. Ninjas are ultimately weapons that serve missions. Other than that, ninjas are nothing."

Aburame Ryoma did not conceal the cold-bloodedness in his heart. That was simply the kind of person he was. In his eyes, even ninjas born in Konohagakure could be discarded when necessary, let alone War Orphans. They were nothing more than consumable tools capable of thought.

The atmosphere of this era was completely opposite to that of Naruto and Sasuke's era. This was also the root cause of why, six years later, Hatake Sakumo would be condemned by countless people and ultimately be forced to commit suicide to erase the shame of failing a mission because he had saved his comrades.

Not long afterward, Kaedeji walked out of the Medical Corps office with a blank expression, looking as though he were weighed down by heavy concerns.

Yet his heart was completely calm. He even felt like laughing.

It seems Aburame Ryoma has categorized Yakushi Nonō and me as the same kind of person... But the problem is, My Jutsu is not the Dead Soul Technique at all, nor have I ever received Yakushi Nonō's true teachings. In Yakushi Nonō's eyes, I was merely one ordinary member among many. She had only taken over the task of raising War Orphans for half a year when I had already left the orphanage and begun carrying out the village's missions.

In the original history, Danzo would bring Aburame Ryoma and Orochimaru to the orphanage to threaten Yakushi Nonō, demanding that she rejoin Root and carry out espionage missions in various ninja villages. They would use Kabuto's life to force Yakushi Nonō into submission.

At the time, Aburame Ryoma had used the continued financial subsidies for the orphanage as a condition—Root's way of doing things always carried that groundless sort of oppression. They liked using things their targets should have received anyway as leverage, reducing the cost of getting things done to the lowest possible level.

Only after Yakushi Nonō Died In the course of a mission did Root finally exhaust the last bit of value this Miko possessed.

No One could casually leave after joining Root. In this way, Danzo silently declared that fact to everyone.

Aburame Ryoma was reluctant to give up Yakushi Nonō, the finest intelligence-gathering tool, and intended to break the situation open through Kaedeji.

Root could not possibly place its hopes of controlling Yakushi Nonō on me. Their intelligence gathering is comprehensive, and when necessary, they will play every card they have to force Yakushi Nonō into submission... But what does that have to do with me?

The person who had shown Kaedeji the kindness of looking after him was the previous orphanage director. That director had long since died on the battlefield, which was why Yakushi Nonō had come to take over.

Still, Aburame Ryoma is At Least willing to spend money to get things done. He transferred me to the Corpse Disposal Unit... Going from a transporter to a final processor, it seems I will have some leisure time for a while. Aburame Ryoma is deliberately giving me some worthless corpses to handle so that I can have opportunities to practice ninjutsu.

For that reason alone, Kaedeji had a very favorable impression of Aburame Ryoma. He was willing to sincerely praise him as As Expected Of the second-in-command of Root and the Medical Ninja. No matter how Aburame Ryoma's coercive methods worked, he had At Least offered benefits.

Only when Sasuke killed Danzo and Root was disbanded in the future would Aburame Ryoma formally lose his power and position, disappearing without a trace thereafter.

Perhaps he had been purged. After all, over those decades, no one knew how many despicable deeds Aburame Ryoma had done for Danzo, or how many people hated him to the bone.

Once I fail to produce value that satisfies Aburame Ryoma, I will be discarded without mercy... This brief interval is a rare opportunity for me.

Kaedeji returned to his rundown residence to rest, seizing the time to recover his strength.

As expected, the news that he had killed a Kirigakure Chunin and rescued three comrades from the enemy's hands did not cause any stir. Aside from Aburame Ryoma, no one would summon him specifically.