Back to Root

"My recovery's going well. I can get ready to leave the hospital."

Tsunade bent over to carefully examine Namikaze Yoru's condition. Her faint, sweet fragrance drifted to his nose, making him momentarily lose focus.

Coupled with the professional outfit she was wearing, it made his heart beat faster.

More than three months had passed since he'd returned to Konoha from the front lines in the Land of Rain.

Nawaki and Shibi's injuries were nothing compared to Namikaze Yoru's. They'd been discharged and sent home to recuperate after just two or three weeks.

Nawaki, in particular, had bounced back in less than a week thanks to the Senju Clan's powerful constitution. In the end, Tsunade had forced him to stay in the hospital for another two weeks.

As for Namikaze Yoru, his bones had healed, and the channels throughout his body had recovered by sixty to seventy percent under Tsunade's careful treatment.

However, whether he could make a full recovery was, according to Tsunade, up to fate. Still, she'd praised his constitution as one of the most resilient she'd ever seen.

"Brother Yoru, we're here to see you."

Nawaki and Shibi entered the hospital room carrying fruit. Seeing Tsunade there, Nawaki reined himself in a little.

"Big sis."

"Lord Tsunade."

At their arrival, Tsunade gave them a slight nod.

"You came at just the right time. I was getting ready to leave the hospital anyway. I don't think I can take much more of lying around here," Namikaze Yoru said with a smile.

"Perfect! We'll treat you to dinner tonight to celebrate your recovery and discharge, Brother Yoru," Nawaki immediately suggested.

Namikaze Yoru had no objections. To keep his secret hidden, he'd followed Tsunade's treatment to the letter, even if he'd enjoyed parts of it.

But according to Tsunade's instructions, he'd been eating light meals in the hospital all this time. He really did need to give his stomach a proper treat.

His battlefield promotion mission had also been completed beyond question. Nawaki and the others had submitted the mission report on his behalf. All he had to do was find time to register at the Hokage Building, and he could collect his Chunin vest.

From their conversation, Namikaze Yoru also learned that the Stone Ninja on the Land of Rain front had withdrawn to the Land of Earth.

The official explanation was that they wanted to reduce ninja casualties and raise the Five-Tails Jinchuriki. In reality, Konoha had already learned the truth about how the Stone Ninja lost the Five-Tails through its intelligence network.

Though the Stone Ninja's stubborn denials seemed rather amusing, the two great nations had tacitly agreed to accept this version of events.

With the Stone Ninja's withdrawal, the Sand Village was left isolated and unable to hold out alone. It was now seeking peace and offering reparations to Konoha. The Second Shinobi World War had essentially ended, with only a few minor clashes remaining.

Though the victory had cost many lives, Konoha and the Third Hokage, who had led the village to victory, had reached the height of their prestige.

Stepping out of Konoha Hospital, Namikaze Yoru felt as though he'd entered another world. He'd grown so used to the smell of disinfectant that being without it felt strange.

He didn't hurry home. Instead, he walked around Konoha, marveling at how quickly the village had recovered after the war.

As the victors, the villagers all wore proud smiles, basking in the glory of their village's achievement. Quite a few shops had even hung banners reading, "Celebrate the Victory! Special Discounts on Everything!"

As he walked, someone suddenly stepped in front of Namikaze Yoru. It was a ninja wearing an animal mask and clothes very similar to those worn by Konoha's Anbu.

But the mechanical indifference radiating from him immediately gave Namikaze Yoru a good idea of who he was.

"What is it?"

Namikaze Yoru had never bothered to hide his disdain for Root. It made no difference to them what attitude he took, anyway.

"Lord Danzō requests your presence."

The Root ninja's emotionless voice made Namikaze Yoru pause.

The man was being rather too polite. Namikaze Yoru had been planning to ignore him, but this unexpected courtesy made him suspicious.

Could this be a case of politeness before force? Namikaze Yoru wondered. They'll lure me to Root, then tell me my secret's out and order me to confess before I spend the rest of my life repenting in Konoha Prison?

But confident in his own strength, he followed the man. He wanted to see what Danzō was up to.

This wasn't his first visit to Root, but it was the first time he'd entered through the front door.

After passing through several layers of overt and covert inspections, he finally entered the base.

The interior was much as he remembered it, with no visible changes. The one obvious difference was the Root ninja bustling about everywhere.

On the way to the deepest part of the base, he even ran into the genuine Shimura Shinsei. Seeing that familiar cold face, identical to Danzō's, Namikaze Yoru couldn't help thinking that evil men really did live forever.

"Lord Danzō, Namikaze Yoru has arrived."

The Root ninja who had escorted Namikaze Yoru respectfully knocked on the door of the office at the very bottom of the base.

The door slowly opened, and Shimura Danzō's voice came from within. "Come in."

The moment he entered the office, Namikaze Yoru felt dazed. The decor inside had changed completely.

The office no longer looked like an almost exact copy of the Hokage's Office. Instead, the furnishings were now extremely plain—almost stark.

Perhaps Shimura Danzō truly believed that Hiruzen Sarutobi was reprimanding him, which was why he'd made such drastic changes.

Of course, Namikaze Yoru didn't know that. He assumed Shimura Danzō had been badly shaken after Namikaze Yoru had cleaned out his private stash, and that he was probably having financial difficulties.

"Lord Danzō."

Namikaze Yoru greeted Shimura Danzō with affected formality, doing his best to keep his true feelings from showing.

"Mm."

Shimura Danzō wore an inscrutable expression, seemingly unsurprised by Namikaze Yoru's attitude. There was no emotion in his voice.

"You're quite impressive. I've read your record. It's outstanding."

"You flatter me, Lord Danzō." Unsure of what Shimura Danzō was after, Namikaze Yoru could only go along with him.

"As a civilian ninja, I know how hard things are for you. Without some unforeseen opportunity, you might have reached your limit as a Chunin."

He paused to observe Namikaze Yoru's reaction. Seeing that he remained unfazed, Shimura Danzō was even more satisfied. He continued:

"You need a patron, and you need an organization. Join my Root. I can teach you ninjutsu and secret techniques—"

Shimura Danzō looked at Namikaze Yoru proudly, as if he could already see him overcome with gratitude.

But after waiting for a long time without hearing a response, he assumed Namikaze Yoru hadn't heard him. He was just about to say more when Namikaze Yoru cut him off.

"I refuse."

"Very good. Welcome to— What did you just say?" Shimura Danzō seemed unsure he'd heard correctly and asked again.

"I refuse."

Namikaze Yoru repeated himself, this time raising his voice.