Yakushi Nonō

Happiness was always fleeting, while pain was eternal.

At the training grounds far from the main district, pale moonlight filtered through layers of shadows cast by the trees, scattering faint white patches across the inky ground.

On the quiet, deserted road, only overlapping shadows swayed slowly in the bleak breeze.

Kato Osamu turned back. The dim streetlamp had receded until it was no more than a tiny point of light, and the figure that suddenly appeared before him blocked even that last trace of brightness.

"Mi, Lord Danzo has summoned you..."

"Yes!"

Following behind the Root ninja, Kato Osamu suddenly felt something familiar. The Root ninja in front of him seemed to be someone he knew.

"Mi, it seems you recognized me..."

The Root ninja walking ahead was about the same height as him. Seemingly sensing his probing gaze, she paused for a moment.

Through the mask's only openings, Kato Osamu saw a pair of curved eyes, like crescent moons.

"Mi—oh no, I should call you Osamu now..."

"So, Osamu, have you gone looking for your own light?"

What shone from D-Five's eyes at Kato Osamu was a radiance he had never seen before, as though all the light in the night had been reflected from her gaze.

"Perhaps..."

He took half a step back, but the girl in the black hood took another half step forward. Less than thirty centimeters remained between them...

"But it is all Lord Danzo's mission..." Looking into the girl's eyes, Kato Osamu somehow did not say it aloud.

"Let me tell you a secret..."

D-Five slowly removed her mask, revealing her fair face completely before Kato Osamu.

She leaned close to Kato Osamu's ear, making his entire body tense. The senbon in his mouth was ready to fire, and one hand rested on his weapon pouch.

"I gave myself a name: Nonō. In my hometown, it means lily..."

A faint floral fragrance clung to Nonō's body. It was unmistakably the scent of lilies, though only a faint trace reached Kato Osamu's nose when he stood very close to her.

Although Kato Osamu did not know why she was telling him these things, at least she did not seem hostile.

"I cannot remember my parents' names. I only remember that our home always smelled of medicinal herbs. I think they must have been doctors who gathered herbs to treat people..."

"So I gave myself a surname too: Yakushi."

"Do you think it sounds nice, Osamu..."

Kato Osamu looked into Yakushi Nonō's gray-blue eyes. They seemed filled with misty currents of smoke and cloud. The silver moonlight fell over Nonō's face, making her seem to glow with a gentle radiance.

"Yakushi Nonō... I will remember it..."

Even the wind around them seemed to dance at that moment. A few strands of hair curled around her ears, and there was a softness on Nonō's face that Kato Osamu had never seen before.

"Osamu, you are a very gentle person..."

Seemingly satisfied with his answer, Nonō said nothing more. She merely led Kato Osamu to an utterly inconspicuous rock wall.

Danzo summoned him in a different place every time.

In a hidden corner of the rock wall, Kato Osamu formed Root's secret hand seals. A faint ripple of Chakra flashed, and the entrance to a cave protected by a barrier gradually emerged. The dark opening resembled a monstrous beast waiting to devour someone.

"Osamu, perhaps we will never see each other again..."

At the instant he entered the cave, Nonō's voice, soft as a mosquito's hum, murmured by his ear.

Before he could ask, the barrier had already closed. All that remained in Kato Osamu's eyes were those crescent-shaped eyes.

Within the deep cave, candle flames flickered. Streams of light continually flashed across the stalactites lining the walls. Water dripped down into pools below, its echoes carrying through the silent cavern.

Kato Osamu tightened his hood. Nonō's words had left his thoughts in turmoil, and this long, narrow passage seemed filled with gloom and terror.

"Could it be... she knows something..."

"Was she warning me?"

Kato Osamu still had not fully understood the previous mutation of his soul, but merely discovering a few differences had already allowed him to develop several entirely new abilities.

After thinking for a moment, he concealed all his presence, swept his gaze around, and secretly formed several hand seals.

"Spirit Infusion Technique!"

A pale-blue seal made of strands of faint fluorescent light rapidly spread from Kato Osamu's spiritual platform, clinging to his skin and covering his entire body. After flickering a few times, it disappeared into every corner of his body.

The Spirit Infusion Technique, created by combining Sealing Jutsu, Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, and the Spirit Transformation Technique, could lock spiritual energy within these tiny seals and form a passive layer of protection over his body.

Any spiritual consciousness that tried to spy on him would be stripped of all perception upon touching the seals and fall into endless darkness.

As he went deeper along the dark passage, faint sounds gradually drifted out from the vast cavern ahead.

But what Kato Osamu had not expected was to encounter Orochimaru here...

"Osamu, it has been a long time..."

Orochimaru's figure slowly emerged from the darkness. That emotionless voice made a trace of surprise flash through Kato Osamu's eyes.

"Teacher Orochimaru?"

"It seems Osamu has been doing quite well these past few days..."

Even now, Kato Osamu did not quite understand his relationship with Orochimaru. This man, like a great serpent, seemed as cold and without warmth as a reptile.

As his nominal teacher, Orochimaru gave Kato Osamu neither the oppressive feeling of a superior nor the affinity of one of his own kind. There was only his ever-changing unpredictability, like a deep valley where one could never see his true face.

"My apologies, Teacher Orochimaru. I have been far too busy these past few days..."

Kato Osamu bowed respectfully. No matter what, Orochimaru's help had been real. Whatever plans he might have, for now, he was still Kato Osamu's teacher.

"A genius like Osamu will naturally have his brilliance noticed by others..."

Orochimaru said nothing more. A faint smile rested on his lips as he walked slowly ahead of Kato Osamu, then gently pushed open the door to a hidden chamber within the cave.

An elderly man wrapped in bandages sat on a raised platform in the chamber, his eyes slightly closed.

The sharp gazes of four or five Root ninja at his side made Kato Osamu vaguely sense that something was amiss.

"Root, Mi, greets Lord Danzo..."

Danzo ignored Kato Osamu. He merely stared coldly at Orochimaru, his voice exceptionally low.

"Orochimaru... war is coming..."

"News has just arrived from the front lines. The Cloud Shinobi have joined forces with the Stone Shinobi to invade Konoha's border. Their momentum is fierce, and the frontline outposts have already come into contact with them."

"However, they do not seem to have launched an outright attack. They are only harassing us with small units..."

A Root ninja with ash-brown hair standing beside Danzo spoke slowly, but his eyes were fixed on Kato Osamu, who was kneeling on one knee.

Kato Osamu faintly sensed hostility in the eyes behind his mask.

"That must be why the Third Hokage has not yet called up the jonin squads..."

Orochimaru lightly licked his lips. War was something he had long looked forward to as well.

"Hiruzen will not send you to the battlefield..."

Danzo's words made Orochimaru narrow his eyes slightly. An icy chill seemed to fill his long, narrow gaze.

"It seems the village has experienced some things recently that I do not know about..."

"Orochimaru, you are too confident."

Danzo's cane slammed fiercely against the ground. For the first time, Kato Osamu felt the anger Danzo had hidden deep within himself.

"Hmph. You, Tsunade, and Jiraiya have spent all these years regarding Hiruzen only as your teacher. He has long since blinded you."

"Your beloved teacher..."

"Is not as simple as you imagine."

Danzo's gaze suddenly shifted to Kato Osamu. A sharp, sinister pressure made Kato Osamu's heart sink.

"Wouldn't you agree..."

"Mi..."

Danzo's cane pressed against the top of Kato Osamu's head. The cold Chakra made him feel as though he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"You little brat who peers into souls..."

The rough wood grain, carrying an icy chill, rose high into the air. Like a streak of light accompanied by a howling wind, it crashed heavily into Kato Osamu's face.

Kato Osamu did not dare resist. His body flew like a soccer ball struck with tremendous force, crashing into layers of stalactites. He violently spat out a mouthful of blood, which flowed into a puddle formed by dripping water.

"Cough, cough..."

Whether something had gone wrong or whether it was the first time someone had counter-detected his perception, Kato Osamu endured the excruciating pain in his body and knelt on one knee.

"Lord Danzo... this subordinate does not understand what you mean..."

"You will understand."

Danzo's lips moved slightly, while Orochimaru watched Kato Osamu with an unfathomable look in his eyes.

"Ah..."

A stabbing pain surged from his mind, making Kato Osamu's entire body convulse. He could feel cold Chakra rising from the base of his tongue and charging straight into his brain, as if it intended to shatter all his mental resistance.

"Fū..."

At Danzo's command, the ash-brown-haired Root ninja beside him slowly stepped forward, looking at Kato Osamu with a cruel gaze.

"Ninja Art! Mind Reading Technique!"

The Root ninja named Fū seemed to use all his strength as he struck Kato Osamu's forehead with his palm. If Danzo had not been present, he likely would have shattered Kato Osamu's skull without hesitation.

"A ninja of the Yamanaka Clan... How interesting. I never expected Elder Danzo to let me witness such a fine show..."

"The only fate awaiting those who betray Root is death..."

Yamanaka Fū's gaze slowly became blank, and his head gradually lowered. It seemed he had completely linked to Kato Osamu's mind, his consciousness wholly entering Kato Osamu's spiritual world.

"Tell me your name..."

Danzo's voice slowly rang out. Orochimaru pursed his lips as well, watching the scene with interest. He seemed curious about what his "disciple" was hiding in his heart.

"Mi..."

A low voice slowly emerged from Yamanaka Fū's mouth. Surprise flashed through Danzo's eyes, and his gaze narrowed slightly.

"Did Hiruzen Sarutobi order you to investigate Root's secrets through fluctuations of the soul..."

"Mission target: Minato Namikaze. Mission: approach Minato Namikaze and gain his trust... Soul fluctuations... An error occurred while cultivating a secret technique..."

Within Kato Osamu's spiritual world, a cluster of ghostly blue light spun through the endless darkness. Its shrill cries seemed as though they would pierce the boundless space, while blade shadows sliced again and again across the blue orb.

"Kato Osamu, you are deceiving Lord Danzo! I will expose you! You will definitely die, definitely!"

Yamanaka Fū's face emerged on the ghostly blue sphere. Standing before him was a gigantic spirit body, like a titan holding up the heavens.

The enormous spirit body bore Kato Osamu's face and gripped a pitch-black longsword. As the blue orb was continuously cut apart by the blade, it transformed into strands of flowing light that the black blade slowly absorbed. Black soul flames began to spread over the blade.

"You will not get the chance..."

"Your soul will become nourishment for the Soul-Extinguishing Blade, and you will never be reborn..."

Kato Osamu's voice was cold. He had already recognized this person as one of the ten survivors from before. He had simply not expected him to be from the Yamanaka Clan, much less that he had noticed Kato Osamu's soul perception.

"I must have absorbed too much spiritual energy at once, causing the soul fluctuations to become impossible to suppress. It seems I will need to digest it first during this period..."

"But war is coming..."

Kato Osamu pulled the Soul-Extinguishing Blade from Yamanaka Fū's spirit body.

As the final speck of ghostly blue light disappeared from Kato Osamu's spiritual world, all of Yamanaka Fū's soul energy was absorbed by the Soul-Extinguishing Blade.

He also obtained all of Yamanaka Fū's memories, finally understanding that this man had been jealous because Kato Osamu had become Orochimaru's disciple.

"How ridiculous..."

Most people could only see the happiness in others' lives, never the misfortune they endured.

Rather than envy others, it was better to make others see one's own worth.

Kato Osamu turned his palm over, and a pale-blue ball of light slowly emerged from the spirit body's palm. It followed the soul passage Yamanaka Fū had created and vanished like a ghostly gleam.

"It should last about half a month..."

"If he dies amid the chaos of battle, Danzo should not suspect me..."