The sky was clear and blue, the sun blazing overhead.
Nara Kaikei left Konoha alone, carrying a backpack.
Seeing that it was nearly noon, he slightly changed his itinerary. Rather than returning directly to the clan grounds in Kikyo Castle, he first paid a visit to Kikyo Orphanage.
Kikyo Orphanage had its own precise daily schedule.
When Nara Kaikei arrived at Kikyo Orphanage, the children were gathered in the kitchen eating lunch.
Outside the kitchen.
Fat Nun and Thin Monk—let's call them that for now—were pulling Yakushi Nonō aside and telling her something.
Nara Kaikei moved closer, and the conversation between the three became clear.
"Director, the subsidy the village issued this month is much lower than before."
"With war approaching, not many families are willing to adopt children."
"The orphanage has been running at a deficit for so long that its financial situation is getting tighter and tighter."
"And once war breaks out, the orphanage will definitely take in even more children..."
Yakushi Nonō quietly listened to Fat Nun and Thin Monk's report. Only after they finished did she slowly speak.
"I'll think of something... Please give me a little more time."
Fat Nun and Thin Monk exchanged glances and sighed helplessly.
They also knew this was not something that could be forced.
Yakushi Nonō had already shown the heart of a bodhisattva by opening an orphanage for abandoned children as a ninja and using much of her mission income to cover its operating costs.
What more could Fat Nun and Thin Monk ask of someone like her?
"Director, I say—"
Fat Nun pressed her lips together.
"We could ask the village for more money—who's there?!"
The worried expression on Fat Nun's face instantly vanished, replaced by the stern look she specifically used to intimidate children.
But once she