Mother and Son Reunited

Yakushi Nonō tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Lord Danzo selected me for the Root back then and trained me as an intelligence ninja. I spent my early years out gathering intel before I finally returned to the village and became the director of an orphanage."

Yakushi Nonō looked a little embarrassed.

So that was it.

Uchiha Mikoto sighed. She already knew what kind of person Danzo was through her husband.

The Root... it was complicated.

"I just saw you coming out of the Uchiha Compound...?"

Uchiha Mikoto asked with curiosity.

Yakushi Nonō hesitated for a moment before she answered, "I work for Lord Hokage now."

Uchiha Mikoto wanted to ask more, but at that moment the vendor spoke up. "My lady, everything is packed up!"

Yakushi Nonō flashed Uchiha Mikoto an apologetic smile. "Mikoto, I'm... still in a rush to head back..."

"Ah, right. See you later, then. We can get together again when you have free time."

Uchiha Mikoto said with a smile.

Yakushi Nonō nodded emphatically. She picked up the two bags of packed snacks and walked away, looking back every few steps.

Uchiha Mikoto watched Yakushi Nonō disappear down the end of the street before she headed to the vegetable market to shop.

Her husband and children would be getting off work and school to come home soon, so she needed to hurry up and buy groceries to cook dinner.

As soon as they got back, hot food would be just about ready.

Yakushi Nonō returned to the orphanage on the edge of the village.

When she stepped through the gate, she saw all the children in the courtyard gathered in a circle, chirping away about something.

Yakushi Nonō caught a glimpse of a young man standing in the middle through the crowd of children and walked over excitedly.

"Kids, I'm back!"

Hearing Yakushi Nonō's voice, the children of all sizes cheered excitedly and rushed forward.

"Director Auntie!"

"Director Auntie is back!"

A few other children who hadn't come out of the rooms yet heard the news when a helpful child ran inside to shout, and a fresh wave of excited kids rushed back out.

"Kids, I bought some tasty treats for everyone. There's enough for all of you, so don't fight over them. Nana, go hand them out. One skewer of three-color dango and one flatbread per person."

Yakushi Nonō was eager to see Kabuto, so she didn't hand them out herself. Instead, she picked a sensible and obedient older child to distribute the snacks to everyone.

"Okay, Director Auntie. Leave it to me."

The young girl took the two large bags of snacks from her hands, and the children obediently formed a line on their own without any scrambling or fighting.

Free to act now, Yakushi Nonō began looking around for Kabuto.

"Kabuto? Kabuto?"

Her gaze landed on the unfamiliar young man in the courtyard, and a look of confusion flashed in her eyes.

"Child, who are you?"

Yakushi Nonō looked at the unfamiliar youth and asked with puzzlement.

The youth had silver short hair that didn't reach his ears and wore glasses. Although he looked to be about the same age as Nana, he possessed a calm-as-water composure and an unsuited sense of weathered maturity.

Where did this youth come from? Where was Kabuto?

Kabuto had watched the whole scene unfold. Hearing the children call this beautiful woman Director Auntie, the memories that had lain dormant in his mind for many years slowly drifted to the surface.

Yakushi Nonō's features gradually merged with the memory deep in his heart of the gentle, mother-like Director Mother.

When he saw Yakushi Nonō look at him with a puzzled expression and ask who he was, failing to recognize him, Yakushi Kabuto felt his nose sting and tears fell.

"Director Mother, it's me, Kabuto."

Yakushi Kabuto's lips trembled as he tried to say the words, but he found himself too emotional to make a sound for a moment.

At that moment, Nana, who was handing out snacks nearby, reminded her, "Director Auntie, he's Kabuto! He said his name is Yakushi Kabuto."

A trace of disbelief flashed in Yakushi Nonō's eyes. She hurriedly reached into her pocket and pulled out the photograph she had cherished for many years.

She compared the photograph to the youth in front of her.

They looked completely different!

Yet the closer she looked at the youth before her, the more familiar he felt. When she compared him to the Kabuto of her memories from back when he was small, there was actually a sixty to seventy percent similarity!

Suddenly, Yakushi Nonō's heart stirred as if she had thought of something, and her expression turned dark.

She understood now. The photograph that Lord Danzo had given her all this time, the one claiming to be Yakushi Kabuto, was fake!

Though she didn't know why Lord Danzo would do such a thing, she knew that for him to do so, he must have had an ulterior motive!

For some reason, a inexplicable sense of relief welled up in Yakushi Nonō's chest, and she felt as though some terrible matter had moved far away from her.

Fortunately, Lord Danzo was already dead. No matter what he had wanted to do, he could no longer do it.

Yakushi Nonō discarded the photograph, her arms trembling as she opened them wide with a huge smile on her face. "Come here, child."

Kabuto could hold back no longer and lunged straight into Director Mother's embrace.

That was right, this reassuring embrace...

The embrace of Director Mother for whom he had yearned through countless nights and days.

"Director Mother, I'm back!"

Yakushi Kabuto sobbed as he spoke.

Yakushi Nonō gently patted Kabuto's back, her right hand soothingly stroking his head. "You've had a hard time, Kabuto. Welcome back."

Back then, Lord Danzo had wanted to take Kabuto away from the orphanage, and she had opposed it. But a lesser power could not fight a greater one, and Danzo had threatened her that if Kabuto didn't leave with him, he would target the other children. Driven to a corner with no choice, Yakushi Nonō had been forced to hand Kabuto over to Danzo of the Root.

It was good that everything was in the past now. No one would ever threaten them again.

Land of Fire, Imperial Palace.

The residence of the Twelve Guardian Ninja.

After finishing his shift, Tō'u went to Asuma Sarutobi's room, intending to relieve Seito, who was watching Asuma. However, when she pushed the door open, she found Seito lying unconscious on the bed, while Asuma, whom Seito was supposed to be watching, was already gone without a trace.

Panic-stricken, Tō'u hurried over to wake Seito up.

Seito let out a groan and rubbed the back of his aching head as he regained consciousness. When he opened his eyes to see Tō'u's anxious expression, a jolt of alarm went through him as well.

He abruptly glanced around the room, but Asuma was nowhere to be seen.

His face turned dark as he realized that Asuma had let down his guard, knocked him out, and escaped.

"Seito, where's Asuma?"

Though she had already guessed the outcome, Tō'u asked anyway, unwilling to give up.

Seito wore an ugly expression. "He escaped."

"Ah! How could you let him get away?! Don't you know how much danger he's in right now? The Sarutobi Clan has been wiped out, what good can he possibly do by going back alone?"

Tō'u said with exasperation.

Seito muttered discontentedly, "If he wants to run, what can I possibly do about it? I simply couldn't watch him all by myself, alright!"

Just as Tō'u opened her mouth to say something more in her anxiety, Chiriku's steady voice came from the doorway.

"Forget it, this is all fate. Asuma is determined to leave, and we cannot stop him. This is Asuma's own trial, one he must overcome himself. We have already done all that we could do."

"No, I have to go help him."