Devotion of Loyalty and Life

Smart, Minamoto Takuya silently praised.

Sure enough, there was no need for further coercion or persuasion. Yakushi Nonō, this hostage bargaining chip, had already firmly dictated Kabuto Yakushi's actions.

For her sake, this calm and rational boy would naturally be willing to serve him.

The road was not long. Soon, the little courtyard of the Orphanage, filled with the warmth of everyday life, came into view.

The children's crisp, cheerful laughter poured out like sunlight, and the air was suffused with a peaceful, cozy atmosphere.

When Kabuto Yakushi's gaze swept anxiously across the courtyard, his breathing suddenly stopped—

There she was. That motherly figure stood quietly amid the gentle play of light and shadow.

Her head was slightly lowered, her gaze so focused and soft, like a warm stream tenderly brushing over every child running and playing.

Sunlight outlined her tranquil silhouette, coating her in a sacred halo.

The sight was too beautiful, too peaceful—beautiful like an eternal painting frozen at the end of time, flowing with tenderness and love...

She was Yakushi Nonō.

Cold sunlight pierced through sparse clouds, falling in mottled patches across the muddy path leading to the Orphanage.

Kabuto Yakushi's footsteps came to an abrupt halt amid the silence.

His gaze seemed drawn by invisible chains, firmly fixed on that gentle, familiar figure ahead.

The tender smile on Yakushi Nonō's face was the pure warmth belonging to "Sister" that he had longed to see again for so long.

"Mm..." A nearly inaudible sob escaped Kabuto's throat, and his body stiffened like a statue.

In that instant, every carefully constructed defense, every scrap of a spy's calm, crumbled away. In its place was a panic that bordered on cowardice.

Timid upon nearing home? After so many years apart, meeting again in such a way, burdened by unspeakable