"You are... Naruto Uzumaki...?"
Mikoto Uchiha felt terribly thirsty, with a sweet fruity taste in her mouth.
"Have some water."
Naruto poured her a glass of water and handed it to Mikoto Uchiha.
"Why am I here?"
Mikoto Uchiha drained the glass in one gulp, clutching it as she looked at Naruto in confusion.
"Because I snatched you back from that world!" Naruto grabbed Mikoto Uchiha's wrist and showed her the scabbed wound on her own wrist.
"My blood is inside you. Without me, you'd already be dead!"
Naruto's finger lightly traced the wound, sending a slight shiver through Mikoto Uchiha's body as she recalled the feeling of nearing death...
The loss of blood, her fading consciousness, the cold creeping through her body... until everything finally became nothingness...
"You saved me..."
Mikoto Uchiha pulled aside her clothes. The wound on her chest that had nearly killed her that day was now nothing more than a pink scar.
"Where is this? How are my husband and children?"
"They should be on their way out of the Land of Fire by now... Your husband and children are all alive and well. But in their eyes, you're already dead."
Resting her chin in her hand, Naruto looked at Mikoto Uchiha's pale face. Her heart gave a slight ache, and as if possessed, she reached out toward Mikoto Uchiha.
Mikoto Uchiha watched the girl with messy golden hair reach toward her. Those deep azure eyes seemed to hold emotions no one her age should possess.
Is she feeling sorry for me?
Mikoto Uchiha froze at the thought that had suddenly crossed her mind.
Naruto gently stroked Mikoto Uchiha's face. Her warm little hand was like a heat pack, warming Mikoto Uchiha's slightly chilled cheeks.
"You're very lucky. When your husband left, he accidentally dropped the scroll sealing you away... I thought it had money inside. Who knew it was you? If I hadn't sensed that you still had a faint breath, I probably would've disposed of you as a corpse..."
A fine rain began falling outside the window. Lightning flashed, and the roaring thunder was deafening.
Naruto's small body trembled. She instinctively leaped onto Mikoto Uchiha and pinned her to the bed.
"What's wrong?"
Looking at Naruto's little face illuminated by the lightning, Mikoto Uchiha could not tell whether it was because of the flashes, but Naruto's azure eyes seemed to have turned dark blue.
"I'm a little scared of thunder..."
"Sleep together?"
"Mm..."
Naruto nodded, blushing.
In the morning, the sunlight after the rain was bright and dazzling. Naruto, asleep on Mikoto Uchiha's chest, had soaked the clothes there with drool.
Mikoto Uchiha slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Naruto clutching her tightly, she felt as though she had somehow gained another child. She gently stroked Naruto's hair, looking at the sleeping girl with a motherly expression.
Mikoto Uchiha knew full well that she would not be able to return to her child's side anytime soon. Besides, Naruto had saved her life. Sasuke had clan members to care for him, but how could a child as young as Naruto survive alone in such a cruel world after fleeing Konohagakure? Thus, Mikoto Uchiha made a decision in her heart.
She was...
The moment Mikoto Uchiha made her decision, she noticed Yakushi Nonō unconscious beside them.
Isn't she Yakushi Nonō, the director of the Orphanage?
Mikoto Uchiha, who had once visited the Orphanage to see the children, recognized Yakushi Nonō at once.
Mikoto Uchiha stared at Yakushi Nonō. Her black eyes turned red as Three Tomoe appeared within them. Back then, before marrying Fugaku Uchiha, she had been a prodigy of the Uchiha Clan—a talented ninja who had awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan at a young age.
Clang—!
The fruit knife collided with a kunai, producing a crisp sound.
Naruto immediately woke at the sound, seeing Mikoto Uchiha holding a fruit knife and Yakushi Nonō wielding a kunai.
"What are you doing? It's so early, can't you let me sleep properly?" Naruto yawned as a tail formed from Nine-Tails Chakra suddenly appeared and snatched the weapons from their hands.
"Uwah~! Yakushi Nonō, I already killed Danzo, so you're free now." Naruto rubbed her eyes and yawned as she informed Yakushi Nonō of Danzo's death.
"If you don't believe me, go look in a mirror and see whether the Curse Mark on your tongue has disappeared."
"Danzo is really dead?"
Yakushi Nonō's eyes widened in shock.
"Not a whole body left, either~!"
Naruto leaned against Mikoto Uchiha's chest, enjoying its warm softness. She gave the stunned Yakushi Nonō a thumbs-up and flashed a brilliant smile, her teeth gleaming with a ding.
"I took him out myself!"
Several minutes later, Yakushi Nonō emerged from the bathroom in a daze. Seeing that the Curse Mark Danzo had placed on her tongue had vanished, she understood that Naruto was telling the truth. Danzo really was dead. But what reason did she have to keep living now?
Danzo had discarded her as a pawn. She could no longer return to Konohagakure, so where could she possibly go?
"What's wrong? Aren't you happy that Danzo is dead?"
Naruto looked at the listless Yakushi Nonō in confusion. Why was she not happy at all that Danzo, who had abandoned her as a disposable pawn, was dead?
Could she be a masochist?
"No..."
Yakushi Nonō shook her head, her eyes filled with confusion.
"I just don't know which path to take from here."
"If you don't know where to go next, then stay by my side. It'll be dangerous, though, because I'm a Rogue Ninja who betrayed Konohagakure..."
As Naruto said "Rogue Ninja," she touched her forehead and added another sentence.
"A Rogue Ninja who isn't even a Genin..."
Before you continue