Goodbye

Inside Satomi Hill Villa.

The Kurama Clan held a banquet to entertain their guests.

Having learned of the conspiracy between Kurama Unkai and Danzo, Kimura Takuya remained completely unperturbed.

He merely offered a slight warning to Yakumo's parents, and since the two of them had already been on their guard, Kimura Takuya did not concern himself further with their clan's internal affairs.

However, the fact that the Third Hokage had directly abdicated in favor of Tsunade did come as a bit of a surprise to Kimura Takuya.

Yet, it was a reasonable arrangement; Sarutobi Hiruzen had been feeling the strain ever since the Third Great Ninja War, or else he would never have passed the mantle to the Fourth.

With the Fourth and his wife dead, the Third had been forced to step back out and take charge of the situation.

He had originally intended to recall Tsunade and Jiraiya, but the former avoided him, while the latter appeared as a representative of Mount Myōboku, even replacing his Konoha forehead protector with one bearing the character for "Oil."

If not for the fact that Konoha wanted to maintain its connection with Mount Myōboku, and that Jiraiya himself was both immensely powerful and a disciple of the Third, such behavior from anyone else would have been a clear-cut case of defecting from the village.

Now that Tsunade had returned, the Third's direct abdication was well within reason.

After the banquet.

Kurenai Yuhi, Yakumo Kurama, and Kimura Takuya went to a quiet spot within the villa.

Kimura Takuya first "refreshed" Yakumo's physical condition, then cautioned her not to use her abilities lightly.

"Every use of power comes with a price. If you wish to ignite a flame, you must first consume fuel. All power has a root."

At this point, Kimura Takuya paused slightly; where did his own soul power originate from?

Ignoring the doubt in his heart, he continued.

"I will restore you often, so remember to eat well. Even if you don't use your abilities at all, they will constantly drain your body. As long as you have consciousness, you will have an inner world. Within that inner world, your abilities will be used and consumed continuously; even a seal cannot contain them."

This was why, in the original story, Yakumo's abilities could still be used even after being sealed by Kurenai—her powers had broken through the seal directly from her inner world.

"Yakumo, if you want to become a ninja, don't think too much for now; just train in basic taijutsu."

"Mm, I understand. Thank you, Takuya-kun!"

Yakumo nodded and smiled, her eyes lingering on Kimura Takuya, unwilling to look away for a long time.

The latter, feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, turned his head to look into the distance.

Kurenai Yuhi watched the two of them, a knowing, maternal smile spreading across her face.

"Yakumo and Takuya look quite good together."

The two were of similar age, both had black hair and black eyes, and their features even carried a hint of a 'yandere' quality.

You really couldn't deny it—they looked quite a match!

At these words, Yakumo lowered her head in shyness, not daring to look at Kimura Takuya again.

The latter slightly massaged his forehead, lamenting how open-minded this world truly was.

As a teacher, was it really okay to just go around pairing up your eleven or twelve-year-old students?

If this were in reality, wouldn't the parents tear you apart?

Kimura Takuya grumbled inwardly.

He was well aware that his soul was that of a normal adult.

He had no feelings for little girls; he only had feelings for grown women, such as Uzuki Yugao or an adult Ino.

His heart was perfectly healthy!

"For today, let's—who is there?"

Kimura Takuya had intended to take his leave, but he suddenly sensed a chakra approaching.

His sensory abilities had grown stronger; he had detected the person long before Kurenai, a Jonin, had noticed them.

A young figure emerged from the dense forest of the villa.

"Jonin Kurenai Yuhi, I am Sai, recommended by Root to serve under you. Here is the transfer order. Lord Third has decided to pass the position of Fifth Hokage to Lady Tsunade. The inauguration ceremony is tomorrow, and the Hokage Building is busy at the moment, so I have been sent to notify you in his stead."

"I have already learned of the Fifth's succession through the Kurama Clan. As for your transfer order, I will still need to verify it."

Kurenai Yuhi had also come from the Anbu, so she naturally understood the Root and knew it was Danzo's faction.

As a member of the Hokage's inner circle, she would naturally not trust the Root so easily.

Sai remained noncommittal, nodded in acknowledgment, and turned to leave.

As for Kimura Takuya, he cast a meaningful glance at Sai.

"Teacher Kurenai, is Lady Tsunade the same Tsunade I'm thinking of? I felt a bit awkward asking while we were eating earlier."

"That is correct. She is the disciple of the Third Hokage and one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha."

Kimura Takuya laughed it off with Kurenai, pretending to be surprised as he asked a few more follow-up questions about Tsunade.

One must commit to the act, after all.

After feigning surprise and tossing in a few remarks about how incredible Lady Tsunade was, he took his leave of Kurenai.

Currently, in their squad, Yakumo was not yet an official ninja, and now a member of Root had joined them.

Naturally, they wouldn't be taking on any missions.

Moreover, during times of peace, ninjas have quite a bit of freedom regarding mission acceptance; as long as you aren't short on money, you don't have to take a single one.

Of course, without a sufficient mission record, there are many things you simply cannot do.

For instance, to participate in the Chunin Exams, you are ineligible unless you have at least eight recorded missions.

This also applies to promotion to Jonin; even if your strength is sufficient, if your mission record is lacking, you must obediently complete missions to rank up.

Take a certain protagonist, for example, who saved the Ninja World at sixteen, married a wealthy beauty, became the Seventh Hokage, and reached the pinnacle of life.

Yet, as for his rank?

He was still a Genin!

In their team, Kurenai Yuhi and Yakumo were both clan ninjas, so they naturally weren't short on money.

Kimura Takuya himself was not lacking in funds either.

Although he had worked at the hospital for a few years, that was merely to keep up appearances.

Having mastered the True Transformation Jutsu, how could he possibly be content with honest labor?

Working is impossible; he would never work a day in his life.

Kimura Takuya quickened his pace and caught up to Sai.

"Hey, kid, what is Root? Is it very impressive? Let me test your mettle!"

Sai was slightly surprised, then his eyes shifted.

He parried the kick Kimura Takuya sent his way, shifted his body backward, and drew the short blade from his back.

"Hey, it's just a spar, no need to draw your blade, right? I'm done playing with you, I'm off."

Seeing Kimura Takuya walk away just like that, Sai sheathed his short blade.

But the very moment he sheathed it, a kunai stabbed toward him from his blind spot.

It was too late for Sai to draw his blade to parry, so he had no choice but to reach out and grab the incoming kunai directly.

With blood streaming from his palm, he saw the attacker clearly: it was a veteran member of Root responsible for training new recruits.

"You were careless. You must remain vigilant at all times. Otherwise, I will kill you. Do not let the sight of childhood playmates stir up emotions. You will die!"

"My deepest apologies, I should not have been like that."

"You have apologized twice today already. Be careful, or I won't be the one apologizing to you."

"Hai!"

Sai nodded in admission of his fault, his expression unreadable.

The Root member suddenly unleashed his aura, pressing cold, murderous intent toward Sai as he continued to lecture him.

"Root has no name, no emotions."

"No past, no future; there is only the mission."

Sai recited the tenets of Root as if by reflex.

Seeing Sai act this way, the Root member nodded in satisfaction.

"Supporting the great tree of Konoha is the will of us 'Root,' buried deep underground, unseen by others. Never forget this!"

After delivering this brainwashing declaration, the Root member performed a jutsu and vanished.

Sai waited on the spot for a moment, then returned home, looking somewhat disappointed.

"Little Sai."

A voice drifted over. Sai looked left and right, yet there was clearly no one around.

"Go back normally. Don't look around. I am inside your head."