Persuading Nonō to Become a Rogue Ninja

At the mention of Yakushi Kabuto's name.

Nonō's pupils gradually widened as she stared at Ingetsu in disbelief.

She was shocked that Ingetsu had killed Danzō, shocked that he knew her true identity, and even more shocked that he knew Yakushi Kabuto!

This man...

He was far too terrifying!

Nonō's mind raced as she considered her situation.

These Uchiha had killed Shimura Danzō, wiped out the Root Organization, and even killed the Hokage's child. Now that she had traveled with them for so long, there was no way Konoha would take her back.

It seemed she had no choice.

She could only agree to join them.

"Alright... I'll join you. But how... how do you know my identity? And how do you know about that child?"

At that moment, Nonō felt as though she were standing before Ingetsu without her nun's habit on. Other than her thoughts, everything about her was exposed to his gaze.

At that moment, Tamao snorted.

"Why does Big Brother know all this?

"If we Uchiha were going to rebel, of course we would have gathered all sorts of intelligence from inside the ninja village beforehand.

"We wouldn't have been able to access that intelligence.

"But Big Brother definitely could!"

"..." Ingetsu.

"..." Mikoto.

Before the Uchiha rebellion, had they gathered detailed intelligence from within the ninja village?

How had she, the Clan Leader's Wife, not known about it?

"Rebellion?"

Nonō froze, then immediately understood. So the Uchiha clan had rebelled, which was why so few of them remained after defecting from Konoha?

That explained everything!

She had not expected it.

While she had been away from Konoha, such a world-shaking event had actually occurred in the village.

The Uchiha had rebelled!

This would likely trigger new turmoil throughout the ninja world.

Thinking of turmoil, Nonō thought of war, and of those innocent children left homeless after being caught in the flames of conflict.

Seeing that Tamao's words had shocked Nonō to the point where she nearly lost the ability to speak, Ingetsu said nothing more.

It was nice having someone speak for him and fill in the gaps.

Nonō had agreed on the surface.

Yet the reward had not appeared.

Ingetsu understood that Nonō was still hesitating and had not truly made up her mind.

Following Tamao's words, Ingetsu continued, "I also know the truth behind the Assassination Mission Danzō assigned to you."

Nonō stared blankly at Ingetsu.

Ingetsu spoke calmly.

"Danzō's mission this time was to send you to Iwagakure to assassinate a spy.

"That spy was actually Yakushi Kabuto, the child you personally raised, who had been lying low in Iwagakure for Konoha.

"As Double Agents for Konoha, you both knew far too much of Konoha's classified information.

"So Danzō staged this little show.

"He wanted you to kill each other.

"If you carried out this mission, there was a high chance you would die at Yakushi Kabuto's hands.

"He was stronger than you now.

"But regardless of which one of you lived or died, "the survivor would be relentlessly hunted and assassinated by the Root Organization's Pursuit Ninja until death."

Upon hearing this, the Uchiha wore grim expressions, their backs turning cold. A mission like this—akin to forcing a mother and son to kill each other, utterly inhumane—seemed like something only Root could have issued.

Nonō's entire body went limp, her gaze vacant. Tonight, one earth-shattering revelation after another had shattered everything she believed in.

What kind of ninja village had she been loyal to all this time?

She had bled and toiled for Konoha, only to end up with such a miserable fate?

Nonō stammered out one final weak and hollow question:

"But... I-I know Kabuto. If we ran into each other, how could I possibly attack him?"

Ingetsu suddenly reached out, turned his palm over, and held it before Nonō's nearly shattered, beautiful face. Calmly, he said, "Photos."

At that moment, Nonō's scalp went numb as her beautiful eyes trembled while she looked at Ingetsu.

As if she were looking at a monster—before him, she truly felt completely exposed!

Nonō froze for a moment, then reached into her nun's habit, pulled out a stack of photographs, and handed them to Ingetsu.

Rustle, rustle—

Lowering his head, Ingetsu flipped through the photographs of the orphans, quickly found the photo of the fake Kabuto, and threw it into the campfire in front of Nonō.

Sizzle—the flames surged.

"Ah!!"

Nonō's pupils shook as she cried out. She wanted to reach in and take it back, but the blazing flames stopped her.

Ingetsu stuffed the remaining photographs into her hands and explained, "I know Yakushi Kabuto too. The person in that photo isn't Yakushi Kabuto. Danzo has been giving you fake photos of Kabuto all these years."

"..."

Nonō stood dazed beside the campfire, blankly clutching the photographs of those children she cherished as she watched the fake Kabuto's photo burn to ashes in the fire.

No one knew what she was thinking at that moment.

The Uchihas only felt that the woman's back looked lonely and helpless, as though she stood at the edge of the world.

It seemed that she...

had nowhere to go either.

The Uchihas' emotions were stirred by the woman's solitary figure. They immediately stopped paying attention to the bathing barrel, lay back down one after another, and rested.

[Side Quest]: Recruit a Medical Ninja

[Options]:

1. Persuade a Medical Ninja to join the team.

Mission complete!

[Reward]: Green Medicine.

Upon receiving the mission completion prompt, Ingetsu's eyes lit up. He immediately opened the Storage Space, which he had not checked in several days.

The moment he looked inside—

Ingetsu frowned tightly in surprise. He discovered that there were two green potions in the space.

They lay side by side in the corner.

Ingetsu turned his palm over. The space trembled slightly, and two bottles of Green Medicine appeared neatly in his palm.

There really were two bottles!

Ingetsu thought of one possibility: this Green Medicine could refresh every day!

Even if he smashed the bottle or threw it away, it could refresh again.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain the existence of two vials of Green Medicine.

He needed to verify this guess.

With that thought, Ingetsu put away one bottle of Green Medicine, uncorked the other, and before the rich life force inside could disperse—

He tilted his head back and drained it in one gulp.

Gulp—

A cool, refreshing sensation slid smoothly down his throat, while an exceptionally fresh flavor filled his mouth and danced across his taste buds.

The vigorous vitality contained within the Green Medicine seeped into every cell of his body, gently nourishing them.

Green eyeshadow appeared around Ingetsu's eyes again, only to vanish quickly. He sensed the subtle changes within his body.

After drinking the Green Medicine—

His mental strength recovered.

His fatigue vanished.

His physical strength increased slightly once more. What surprised him most was that the range of his "Wood Release" had expanded outward by another meter from its previous radius of five hundred meters.

Ingetsu stored the empty test tube in the Storage Space.

He immediately understood the proper way to use this potion. He needed to drink Green Medicine every day; that way, he could strengthen himself and increase the power of his "Wood Release."

What a simple way to grow stronger.

On the grass, most of the Uchiha were asleep. Even the few on watch felt utterly at ease because Ingetsu was still awake, sitting where they were and nodding off.

Nonō caught the scent of Green Medicine lingering in the air, her eyes lighting up. She quietly turned around and slowly approached him under Ingetsu's gaze.

After wallowing in sorrow for quite some time, as a ninja—and once the Wandering Miko—a woman with formidable mental resilience, Nonō gradually accepted the arrangements of fate.

She was now a rogue ninja too!

With no ties holding her down!

Konoha wanted her dead, so she could not die.

The miserable display she had put on just now

was because she had been thinking about something.

In the end, unable to think of a better solution, Nonō admitted defeat. Blushing, she came to Ingetsu's side and lay down beside him.

Seeing Ingetsu staring at her impassively, Nonō lowered her voice and pleaded awkwardly:

"Cap... Captain, please help me keep it for now. Put... put it away!"

As she spoke, Nonō glanced awkwardly at the large bathing barrel.