May you be safe, sister!

At dusk, by the river where he trained every day.

Having just finished training, Lin Ze panted heavily, his forehead covered in sweat.

"Ten minutes of rest, then I'll try the Gate of Life again."

Before long, ten minutes had passed, and Lin Ze began activating the Eight Gates Released Formation.

"Gate of Opening! Open!"

"Gate of Healing! Open!!"

"Gate of Life! Open!!!"

Lin Ze guided the little chakra he had in his body. After several attempts, faint sounds of release finally came from three pressure points-the first three gates opened in response.

"Whew! This feels more than twice as powerful as opening only the first two gates. The Eight Gates Released Formation really deserves its reputation as the strongest taijutsu in Naruto."

Lin Ze quietly took in how it felt to open the Gate of Life. His blood flowed faster, and he could hear the thumping pulse in his blood vessels, as though a warm current were surging up his carotid arteries to the top of his head. Even his vision grew a little brighter.

Although his muscles felt as though they were tearing slightly, Lin Ze paid it no mind. With the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon bolstering him, he would recover soon after releasing the Eight Gates Released Formation.

Boom!

He raised his hand and threw a punch. Even the sound of the rushing wind was a little sharper than usual.

The most obvious improvement was in his endurance. Lin Ze felt as though he had inexhaustible strength.

"As Duy said, keep it up for an hour before releasing the Eight Gates Released Formation."

Lin Ze resumed training. Next came 1,000 push-ups.

With the Gate of Life bolstering him, Lin Ze did push-ups so quickly that he seemed to leave afterimages!

Meanwhile.

Konoha, in a hidden underground base.

Nonō looked at the man before her, a hint of confusion in her voice. "Lord Danzo, didn't you say last time that I could rest for two years after completing the previous mission?"

"The plans have changed." Danzo's voice was flat in the shadows. "We need someone to gather intelligence in the Land of Lightning. It's all for the village."

"But..."

"If you're unwilling to go, let him go instead." As he spoke, Danzo casually tossed over a new file.

Nonō caught it, and her expression changed drastically the moment she read its contents. "No! He can't go!"

"Why not?" Danzo chuckled, a trace of mockery in his tone. "Weren't you carrying out missions in the Land of Earth at his age?"

"No... absolutely not..." Nonō seemed not to hear him. She merely gripped the file tightly, murmuring the same words over and over.

The photograph in the file was unmistakably Lin Ze's.

"Nonō, the village raised them, so they should give something back. This is all for the village." Danzo's voice grew colder, carrying an unquestionable pressure.

"Sato and Inoue already died on their mission in the Land of Lightning!" Nonō abruptly raised her head, her voice trembling with suppressed emotion.

Danzo did not even lift his eyelids. His expression remained utterly unchanged, as though they were merely two insignificant names.

"I'll go! I'll take this mission!"

Her fingers squeezing the file in her hands, Nonō finally spoke, but there was an unmistakable helplessness in her voice.

Whoosh-

She snatched several files off the desk, and her figure instantly vanished into the depths of the base.

Heh.

Danzo sneered in the shadows and muttered, "A tool should know its place as a tool. A tool that develops ideas of its own needs regular hammering and repairs."

The Root ninja standing behind him showed no reaction, as though he had heard nothing. Years of brainwashing had long since turned him into a machine that understood only obedience to orders, a machine that acted solely in the village's interests.

Or, more accurately, in Danzo's interests!

Before long, Lin Ze finished his 1,000 push-ups, yet he felt only slightly tired.

Lin Ze wiped away his sweat and looked up at the sky. "Time to head back."

Lin Ze set off toward the orphanage.

Just as he rounded the alley outside the orphanage, a chill suddenly shot up the back of his neck.

Someone's following me? Lin Ze's heart sank. ANBU? Or... Root?

Deliberately slowing his steps, Lin Ze pretended to be exhausted while quietly sensing the movements behind him.

Sure enough, that gaze was still there. The other person's presence was cold and concealed, like a venomous snake lurking in the darkness.

He's hidden so well. If I weren't still using the Eight Gates Released Formation, I really wouldn't have noticed him!

Looks like someone from Root! Lin Ze gritted his teeth. What's that scheming old bastard Danzo up to now?

Lin Ze did not alert his pursuer. He continued pretending to have noticed nothing and returned to the orphanage.

When he pushed open the courtyard gate, Nonō happened to be coming out of the house.

"You're back?"

Nonō spoke with a smile, her voice as gentle as ever. Yet Lin Ze felt that her smile was slightly forced.

The atmosphere at dinner was a little strange.

Nonō's hand kept trembling as she served food to the children. Miyamoto Ichirō tried several times to ask for news of Sato and Inoue, but each time, Rei Uesugi quietly tugged his sleeve.

Lin Ze shoveled rice into his mouth, constantly glancing toward the doorway out of the corner of his eye. He kept feeling that the Root ninja from earlier was probably still nearby. Unfortunately, Lin Ze could not keep the Gate of Life open for long, either. Now that he had released the Eight Gates Released Formation, he could no longer sense the man's presence.

After dinner, Nonō stopped Lin Ze as he was about to return to his room. "Come to my room for a moment."

Lin Ze nodded.

Nonō sat on the tatami with her hands clasped in her lap. She remained silent for a long while before speaking. "Lin Ze, there's something your big sister needs to tell you."

"You're going on a mission?" Lin Ze asked directly.

Nonō abruptly raised her head, a flicker of panic flashing through her eyes before she gave a bitter smile. "I really can't hide anything from you." She took a deep breath, her voice growing quieter. "This time... I might be gone for a long time."

"How long is a long time?"

"I don't know." Nonō shook her head. "Maybe a year. Maybe... several."

"Does it have something to do with me?" Lin Ze stared into her eyes. That Root ninja just now was definitely no coincidence.

Ever since Hiruzen Sarutobi had summoned him and his Uzumaki Bloodline had been discovered, Root was certainly paying more attention to him. After all, someone like Danzo was best at exploiting the people around a person as weaknesses.

Nonō's eyelashes trembled. She picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip, as though concealing something. "Don't let your imagination run wild. It has nothing to do with you. It's the village's arrangement. Someone has to go."

Lin Ze did not press her further. He could tell that Nonō had been given the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, leaving her unable to say certain things at all. But he was almost certain that, just as in the original story, Danzo had used the orphanage and him to threaten Nonō.

"Those children..."

"I'll take care of them," Lin Ze finished for her. Just like last time, no extra promises were needed.

Nonō gave a relieved smile. "The next time we meet, you'll be a grown young man. I'll bring presents back for everyone then."

Lin Ze managed a smile, but his heart felt as though a stone were weighing on it. Unlike last time, Nonō's departure might mean parting forever.

Last time, Lin Ze could guess that Nonō's mission had nothing to do with him. Going by the original story, she would certainly return safely.

But this time was different. It was obvious that Nonō had received this mission because of him.

After all, Lin Ze was someone who did not exist in the original story. In other words, Nonō now had an extra mission with an uncertain outcome, and Lin Ze had no confidence that she could return safely!

"Get some rest." Nonō stood up. "I'll leave before dawn. I won't say goodbye to the others, so they won't cry."

Back in his room, Lin Ze lay on his bed with his eyes open.

He had not asked Nonō where she was going. Once someone bearing the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal tried to reveal information about Danzo or Root, their entire body would become paralyzed, leaving them unable to speak or move.

Furthermore, the cursed seal was bound to Danzo's life. As long as Danzo lived, it would remain active. Its bearer could not remove it themselves, or even commit suicide. Only after Danzo died would the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal automatically disappear. Lin Ze remembered that Sai had used this very phenomenon to determine that Danzo was dead.

These were Root's methods: turning people into emotionless tools, unable to speak a single heartfelt word even when saying goodbye.

"Danzo..." Lin Ze murmured the name. For the sake of Konoha's "peace," that old man had stained his hands with blood. Whether it was the exterminated Uchiha clan, the wretched Nagato and the others, or even Orochimaru, who had defected from the village, he was inextricably linked to them all.

Once I reach Kage Level, you'll be the first person I kill.

Lin Ze spoke viciously in his mind. After all, he had only recently sworn to himself that he would never let something like this happen again, only for Danzo to slap him in the face in less than three short months. His mood was easy to imagine.

After an unknown length of time, extremely faint footsteps came from the courtyard gate. Lin Ze abruptly sat up, ran to the window, and lifted a corner of the curtain.

Nonō stood in the courtyard with a small bundle on her back. She looked back at the orphanage before her gaze finally settled on Lin Ze's window.

She seemed to know that Lin Ze was watching and smiled gently at the window. But the moonlight falling on her face lent that smile a pale, helpless quality.

Then she turned and rapidly formed hand seals. With a puff, she became an afterimage and vanished beyond the courtyard wall.

Lin Ze stood by the window, gazing blankly at the spot where Nonō had just stood.

The courtyard was empty, with only the wind stirring a few fallen leaves. Lin Ze spoke softly, as though making a promise to the air:

"I'll take good care of everyone."

"You have to come back alive, too... may you be safe, sister."