"Rustle..."
There were no cheers, no applause. Many children and parents simply rose to their feet of their own accord and watched Wuye walk out.
Many mindsets could not be changed all at once, but Wuye had shown everyone his determination.
Especially when he said he would bear the burden for them and let the children enjoy their lives properly—it truly moved many people.
"Hokage... sir!"
Not long after Wuye walked out of the venue, a little boy who looked like a girl suddenly ran up to him.
The way he addressed him as "sir" was quite distinctive.
"Haku?"
Wuye stopped.
"Ah... Hokage-sama still remembers me!"
Haku clasped both hands to his chest, shy as a girl.
"Have you been living well in Konoha these past two years?"
Wuye crouched down in front of her... him.
"Yes... very well..."
Haku gathered his courage and looked directly into his eyes. "Mr. Zabuza is happy in Konoha too. He said he never imagined he could simply take missions, and never expected life could be this comfortable."
"That's good." Wuye rubbed his head. "Does anyone in the village reject you?"
Haku hesitated slightly. "Sometimes there still are, but because you required immigrants to Konoha to live separately, aside from the residents nearby, no one else knows we came from elsewhere. So no one openly rejects us."
Wuye nodded to himself, quite satisfied.
"Then live well in Konoha. If you like being a shinobi, be one. If not, do whatever you want." He reached out and rubbed Haku's head. "Don't think of yourself as some kind of tool anymore."
Haku looked at him blankly, unable to understand what "tool" meant for a moment.
But Wuye stood and waved. "Goodbye, Haku."
"W-wait..."
Haku suddenly remembered why he had come running over. He reached out and