Chiyo gently held Yakushi Nonō as his gaze fell on Kabuto, who was curled up beside her.
Wearing an oversized hat, Kabuto's eyes were hollow and lost. He clearly had yet to emerge from the shadow of war.
Chiyo sighed inwardly. He had originally intended to directly propose taking Kabuto as his disciple.
But upon seeing him like this, he held himself back.
"He still needs time."
"We'll talk about it after he comes out of the shadows."
Noticing Chiyo's silence, Nonō looked up at him, her eyes full of questions.
Chiyo smiled faintly and shook his head, signaling that he was fine.
He reached out and gently stroked her hair, speaking softly.
"Let's go. We should look around some more. There may be other surviving children."
Nonō nodded and tightly held Kabuto's little hand.
The three continued searching through the ruins, passing collapsed houses and scorched earth.
But reality was cruel enough to suffocate them.
Other than Kabuto, there was not a single living child left in the entire village.
The occasional tiny bodies they found had long since turned cold and stiff.
In the distance, Konoha's Medical Ninjas silently carried away corpses, and the air was thick with oppression.
Nonō's fingertips trembled slightly, and her eyes reddened again.
Chiyo tightened his grip on her hand and said softly.
"Let's go back."
After returning to camp, Nonō settled Kabuto into a temporary orphan tent.
She gently tucked a blanket around him and spoke softly.
"Get some rest. Things will be better tomorrow."
Kabuto did not respond. He merely stared blankly at the top of the tent, as though immersed in his own world.
Standing outside the tent, Chiyo looked up at the blue sky as thoughts churned within him.
The person before him was a living, breathing human being.