"Medic Mom?" Akaseki looked puzzled. "You don't mean... Nonō, do you? So you really are from Root?"
"You're the one from Root!" Konoha was particularly sensitive about that accusation, but then she caught on. "You... know Medic Mom?"
"You..." Akaseki wondered if this girl knew that Nonō was actually a member of Root.
"The year before last... I mean, in Konoha Year 64, Third Hokage died, so that Shimura Danzō threatened Medic Mom into working for him again. When I found out, I dug up all his dirt and exposed his ugly side in front of everyone. After that, Root was disbanded!" Konoha said proudly.
"Konoha Year 64..." Akaseki did the math. That Hiruzen Sarutobi had certainly lived a long life.
Then Akaseki's expression suddenly froze as he realized there was a much more serious problem!
He had intended to ask who the Fourth Hokage was, but a thought suddenly struck him-If I were the Fourth, there's no way she wouldn't recognize me.
That led to another thought...
Even if I'm not the Fourth Hokage, someone like me shouldn't be a stranger to her, should I?
So...
Judging by her age, Akaseki reckoned that as long as he had still been alive in Konoha Year 60, she couldn't possibly have had no impression of him.
His heart sank at that realization, and for a moment, he couldn't even bring himself to ask who the Fourth Hokage was.
Ranwu, meanwhile, had long since fallen silent...
There was something nobody else knew.
Before Ranwu's father died, he had chosen names for his future grandchild. He told Ranwu to name a boy Konohamaru, and a girl... Konoha.
From the very beginning, Ranwu had sensed something familiar about Konoha. That was why, upon hearing her name, she had immediately believed the story about traveling