"Did you come here just to see me?"
Sitting down opposite Kazashiro, Nonō ignored Yamato and instead asked Kazashiro why he had come.
"I really just missed you; what other purpose could I possibly have?"
Kazashiro answered somewhat guiltily, avoiding eye contact with Nonō, his gaze wandering elsewhere.
He didn't come here simply to see Nonō, but to see a certain little guy who shed his snake skin and transformed into a dragon.
Judging by the timeline, this master spy should be in orphanage by now.
"Really?"
Nonō reached out and turned Kazashiro's head, forcing him to look into her eyes.
"Zun Du..."
With his cheeks pinched, Kazashiro answered the other person incoherently.
After observing for a while, he had spotted Kabuto Yakushi, who was hiding in the crowd like a nobody. Just like in the story, he was like a harmless little lamb, posing no threat whatsoever.
"Yeah..."
After receiving Kazashiro's affirmative answer, Nonō finally let go of his hand and gave him a flick on the forehead.
"Ouch, that hurts Nonō!"
Kazashiro covered his head and pretended to be in pain.
"Don't give me that, I clearly flicked your Forehead Protector."
Rolling her eyes at him, Nonō flexed her wrists, stood up, and looked down at Kazashiro: "Little Kazashiro, I advise you to tell the truth honestly, otherwise my fist might really be landing on your head in the next second. Don't worry, I'll be much gentler than Yamanaka Zen and Ichiko, at least I won't put you in a near-death state."
"I told you, I told you, I was afraid this child would be led astray at the Root Base, so I took him out to see the outside world!"
Seeing that Nonō was getting serious, Kazashiro quickly raised his hands in surrender and shifted all the blame onto Yamato.
"Hmph, that's more like it."
Upon learning that the Danzo to contact her, Nonō breathed a sigh of relief, but her expression still looked somewhat distressed.
"What happened, Nonō- san?"
Just as Nonō could see through whether Kazashiro was lying at a glance, Kazashiro, who had lived with the other for many years, also noticed the worry in the other's eyes and asked him with some concern.
Nonō glanced at Kazashiro, hesitating whether to tell him what had happened.
"It's from my dad's side..."
From Nonō's eyes, Kazashiro realized something and asked in a low voice.
"Um."
Seeing that Kazashiro had already guessed, Nonō simply nodded in agreement and told him about what had happened recently.
"Does Dad want you to go to Iwagakure to gather intelligence?"
With Nonō's explanation, Kazashiro quickly understood the reason for her distress.
Iwagakure has made peace with Kumogakure and is preparing to attack Konoha.
Upon learning this news, Danzo immediately dispatched his intelligence agents to attempt to steal the secrets of Iwagakure's operation in order to prepare in advance.
Unfortunately, Iwagakure's security measures were very strong, and all the ninjas Danzo sent out disappeared without a trace. This made Danzo think of Nonō, a skilled intelligence operative.
Therefore, shortly before Kazashiro returned to the village, Danzo personally contacted Nonō, trying to persuade her to come out of seclusion, but Nonō refused.
If Danzo acted according to his old ways, he would have definitely used various means to force the other party to take action.
However, he needed to consider the consequences, and since the other party had taken care of his son for many years, Danzo did not completely break off relations. Instead, he cut off the orphanage's funding as a warning.
"Neither Kamp nor I are good at business, and we don't know what to do next."
Looking at the older male employee outside who was closely watching the children, Nonō wondered how long the orphanage could continue without funding.
After listening to Nonō's story, Kazashiro fell silent.
He was much more rational at this time than he had been a few years ago.
Just like the Sakumo incident back then, although Imin Rujin's methods were indeed despicable, the other party was initially determined to exchange his life for the success of the mission. Sakumo's act of saving him satisfied his Will of Fire, but it also brought shame to Imin Rujin himself and his family.
Danzo this time were also driven by a desire to protect Konoha by gathering information about Iwagakure. Of course, if he were to continue doing things like silencing witnesses as in the original story, that would be going too far.
Kazashiro didn't think he could persuade Danzo.
But he didn't want to see Nonō follow the path of no return found in the original story...
What should I do...?
Meanwhile, Danzo also received a report from his subordinates, learning that his son had gone to the orphanage.
"That brat, was it Nonō who called him over?"
Upon hearing that Kazashiro had gone to the orphanage, Danzo's expression turned somewhat grim, and he immediately thought of Nonō.
"We didn't find any tricks from Nonō; Young Master Kazashiro went there entirely on his own will."
The Root ninja who had been monitoring Nonō truthfully.
"Hmph, fine, I'll let that wretched witch go for now."
To everyone's surprise, Danzo directly abandoned the idea of having Nonō return to the martial arts world.
Even Aburame Ryoma, who had always been by Danzo's side, was taken aback by the other party's words.
It seems that Young Master Kazashiro holds a much higher place in Danzo Danzo's heart than they imagined.
[I hope you can live up to Danzo's good intentions, young master Kazashiro.]
Reflecting on Danzo's transformation, Aburame Ryoma silently held onto his hopes.
Meanwhile, Kazashiro, who was being talked about by everyone, perhaps sensed this deep "longing," and felt an itch on his nose, suddenly sneezing a few times.
Are you alright?
Nonō hurriedly asked with concern.
"It's nothing, it's probably Obito that brat Obito talking about me. It's alright."
Kazashiro waved his hand, took out a tissue to wipe his nose, and like the Second Hokage, attributed his sneezing to the evil Uchiha.
"Nonō- san, I have some ideas about funding."
After throwing the tissue into the trash can, Kazashiro sat up straight and told Nonō about his plan, "We can get the children involved and make some snacks, handicrafts, or other small items to sell in the village. By using their orphan status, we can evoke a lot of sympathy."
"In addition, the orphanage can also take in war orphans from the village. I heard from Teacher Sarutobi that war orphans from various Ninja Clan are taken care of by their clans, but ordinary ninjas can only live on the allowances given by the village. You can take these orphans into the orphanage and take the opportunity to negotiate with the higher-ups to see if you can get the village's support. The price is that the orphanage will take in all the war orphans who emerged during this war and take care of them until they are able to support themselves."