A moonlit bath?

By the campfire, Tamao said excitedly:

"Haha, I never thought you'd already figured out the right way to use Izumi, boss!

Think about it.

Whenever we face this kind of choice again, we can just ask Izumi.

She gives us advice, and we do the opposite. I reckon we could avoid most of the risks that way!"

The Uchiha's eyes lit up. That made perfect sense to them.

The way they looked at Izumi changed immediately, with all the delight of having turned trash into treasure.

Izumi suddenly felt how cold and fickle the world could be.

"Get some rest, everyone!"

Ingetsu spoke.

At his words, the Uchiha settled down around the campfire, divided themselves into groups, and took turns napping.

Just then, at the rear of the group, the voluptuous Yakushi Nonō, dressed in a nun's habit, got up from beside Mikoto and tiptoed over to Ingetsu.

Their eyes met.

With just a glance through her round lenses, Ingetsu knew what the woman was thinking.

Nonō wore a smile as she straightened the skirt covering her pert curves. Her long habit outlined her rounded figure as she gracefully lowered herself to kneel on the grass.

Nonō felt she had behaved herself and worked diligently throughout the journey. It was time to discuss her payment and the conditions for accompanying his group.

"Once we reach the Land of Grass, I'll have to leave the group to carry out my mission," Nonō said as calmly as she could.

Her words roused the nearby Uchiha, Kurenai Yuhi, and the others. No one spoke; they quietly watched Ingetsu and Nonō.

After spending so many days together, everyone had come to appreciate the blonde nun's professionalism and abilities.

She was a reliable medical ninja.

She was leaving.

That was a real shame.

After speaking, Nonō's gaze gradually softened. Suppressing her conflicting emotions, she met Ingetsu's eyes and tried to appeal to his feelings.

The young Uchiha's handsome face did help ease some of her unease.

But Nonō had not spent enough time with Ingetsu to know how far she could go in speaking with him.

As far as she was concerned, he had killed the Hokage's son and the monks of the Temple of Fire without blinking. His strength and nerve far, far surpassed hers.

Facing someone like him...

Was like standing before an iceberg.

Nonō struggled to maintain her nun's composure, wearing a pure, serene smile as she tried to use her familiar way of dealing with people to lessen the oppressive force of his presence.

Ingetsu tossed a dry branch into the campfire and said calmly, "Just say it."

Nonō's eyes brightened. She nodded. "Earlier... you mentioned... payment."

"Oh."

Ingetsu's expression remained calm. Suddenly, he raised his right hand toward the space beside the round-spectacled nun and spread his fingers. Space trembled.

The next instant...

Splash—

A wooden bathtub appeared out of thin air and landed heavily on the grass. Water splashed over its rim, while the petals inside had long since sunk to the bottom.

"Uh..."

The noise jolted the Uchiha awake. They stared blankly at the enormous bathtub beside the campfire.

Everyone was puzzled. What did Captain Ingetsu intend to do with it?

Even Tamao, who had the most mischievous ideas, froze.

The sight left the gentle, virtuous Uchiha Mikoto, along with Kurenai Yuhi and Uchiha Izumi, staring in astonishment.

A bathtub...

Could the payment the captain had promised her be an invitation to bathe under the moonlight?

There were even red rose petals at the bottom.

Was he really that romantic?

But there were so many people beside the campfire... Mikoto, Kurenai, and Izumi were overwhelmed by mixed feelings.

"Ah, this... this... this!"

Nonō gaped, petrified on the spot. She had never imagined that a discussion about her payment would begin this way.

Tamao suddenly darted forward and leaned over the bathtub. By the firelight, he spotted the red rose petals inside. His eyes widened, and only after a long moment did he exclaim:

"That's so damn sultry!"

Nonō turned her neck as though it had seized up, staring at the familiar bathtub and the petals she had scattered into it herself, little by little.

After hearing Tamao's remark...

Nonō silently pulled her hood down to hide her face. She bit her lip hard, trembling all over, her toes digging into the ground beneath her skirt.

That was her bathtub!

And her bathwater!

Embarrassment, embarrassment—embarrassment so intense her scalp tingled.

Having strangers crowd around such a private possession sent an enormous wave of shame exploding through Nonō's mind, blasting it completely blank.

At that moment, she felt as though she were being subjected to some terrible punishment.

Under all those piercing, scrutinizing gazes...

Nonō suddenly felt that nowhere in the Shinobi World could possibly hold her.

As though nothing had happened, Ingetsu said calmly, "Oh, this is the interest on your payment."

You even brought my bathtub along while fleeing!

Well, thank you so much.

Captain Ingetsu!!

Nonō was so embarrassed she felt as though she were bleeding inside. She could have killed someone, but since she was no match for these Uchiha, she abandoned the idea.

She had wondered how such a large, brand-new bathtub could simply vanish.

Throughout their journey...

Nonō had known Ingetsu might possess some kind of Space Ninjutsu, but she had never connected it to this!

A long silence followed.

Watching the silent Ingetsu and Nonō, everyone felt the atmosphere turn abruptly awkward, without having the slightest idea what had happened.

They were utterly confused.

First, Nonō had approached him to discuss payment, and the captain had promptly produced a bathtub.

Could... this bathtub be the payment?

Surely that would wreck the negotiations!

Nanfeng and the other two knew the inside story, but none of the three knew whether they should speak up.

After a long while...

Nonō brought her explosive embarrassment under control and said, caught between laughter and tears, "Hahaha, Captain Ingetsu, please stop joking. Didn't you... didn't you say the payment had something to do with my mission? How did you know Danzo assigned it to me personally?"

They had finally reached the real subject.

Ingetsu nodded and said frankly, "Yes. First, tell me what your mission entails."

After that bombardment of shame, much of the nun's mind was still blank.

Nonō said instinctively:

"My mission is to assassinate someone. I had planned to stake out Mount Kikyo, which he would have to pass through..."

Before she could finish...

She froze.

Lowering her eyes slightly toward her lips, she realized in astonishment that the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal had not activated.

"Your mission's been canceled!"

Tamao suddenly stepped away from the bathtub.

"Canceled?"

Nonō looked at Tamao in surprise, raised a hand to adjust her glasses, then looked at Ingetsu, her face blank with confusion.

Ingetsu dipped his chin slightly, signaling that Tamao was right.

Tamao chuckled mockingly.

"The Root Organization is gone. Before we escaped the village, Ingetsu killed Shimura Danzō with his own hands!"

The moment those words left his mouth...

Nonō's eyes trembled. Her mouth hung open, and her body went rigid.

To her, this news struck even harder than the shame that had exploded in her mind earlier.

Uchiha Mikoto likewise shuddered all over, towering waves surging through her heart. When she raised her head, her beautiful dark eyes stared straight at Ingetsu.

She seemed to understand...

Why these clansmen felt so secure following Ingetsu.

On the Night of the Clan Annihilation...

Before their escape...

Uchiha Ingetsu had led these clansmen in such a frenzied act of revenge against the Konoha High Command.

"You've felt the change in your body yourself. If Danzo were still alive, you couldn't reveal the details of a mission assigned by the Root Organization."

Looking directly into Nonō's trembling eyes, Ingetsu said calmly, "Join us!"

Nonō sank into thought.

Long ago...

She had stopped wanting to serve the Root Organization. All she wanted was to spend the rest of her life running the Orphanage in peace. Before leaving on this mission, she had feared she might never return, so she had put all the Orphanage's affairs in order.

But now...

Someone was telling her...

That the powerful, ruthless man in the Konoha High Command who had constantly threatened her and forced her to do his bidding was dead, killed by the young Uchiha before her with his own hands.

The organization she had once belonged to had been destroyed!

Danzo...

Really was dead. Otherwise, Nonō knew the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal would not have lifted on its own.

Seeing that Nonō was still dazed, Ingetsu brought out his trump card and said evenly, "Say yes. For that child, Yakushi Kabuto!"