The full moon hung in the sky.
The moonlight was bright and clear.
In the forest, the occasional song of nightingales echoed, their calls crisp, melodic, and pleasant.
Beneath the tree branches.
A woman's snow-white legs dangled in midair, her clean feet gently swinging, stirring the air as if she were playing with water.
At her age, such a girlish action seemed out of place, but since there was no one around, she indulged herself.
Through her round spectacles, she watched.
That group was gradually leaving.
It seemed they had no intention of looking for her.
Only then did she relax.
These people were in a hurry, as if fleeing. Once they left, they probably wouldn't return.
"This is the first time I've had my bath interrupted and had to escape in such a hurry."
She sighed.
"Sorry, I have a mission, so I can't waste too much chakra helping others."
A gentle smile appeared on her delicate face, and the internal conflict she had been feeling dissolved. She slowly stood up, reaching to untie her bath towel.
The moonlight was bright as snow.
Her skin was like smooth white jade.
The white bath towel fell to the ground, covering the thorns below.
With toes slightly pink against the branch, Nono formed a seal with her hands, unlocking the storage scroll. She retrieved her clothes and dressed skillfully before vanishing in an instant.
Buzz—
The branch trembled slightly. Clad in a shrine maiden's robe, her voluptuous figure leaped toward the mountain stronghold.
…
Back at the cabin.
The door was wide open.
Nono lowered her white hood, revealing a fair, beautiful face beneath her long golden hair.
Looking at the empty hall.
Nono's light blue eyes flickered, revealing confusion and surprise.
"Huh? Where did my bath barrel go?"
Her eyebrows raised slightly as she stepped outside barefoot and looked around, but saw no signs that anyone had spilled water. A big question mark appeared in her mind.
It was a new bath barrel she had bought with her own money after completing a mission to kill a rogue ninja in Kikyo City the day before!
Someone might be able to seal a bath barrel in a scroll, but how could they seal it with water in it?
Those people couldn't find her.
So, they took her bath barrel out of spite?
"How can someone be like that, not even sparing my bath water? Unbelievable!"
Nono set aside her confusion, and although she was usually gentle and kind, a slight trace of anger appeared on her delicate face as she clenched her jade-like fingers.
She glanced down the slope.
Beside the rugged mountain path.
Jaeger and Dr. Nake were still chatting.
"Dr. Nake, it's so late. Why don't you just stay at my place tonight?" Jaeger warmly invited him.
Nake shook his head and politely declined.
"No, the bill at the Kabukicho district hasn't been settled yet. It's a bother being called over in the middle of the night to treat someone, and your friends didn't even pay the medical fee!"
"I'll cover it," Jaeger said with a hearty laugh.
Nake gave him a sideways glance. Seeing Jaeger's sincerity, he waved it off.
"You've got three mouths to feed at home, and besides, you're a refugee hunter. How much money can you have? Fine, I'll come to your place for a cup of tea, but after that, I'm leaving!"
Jaeger smiled even wider and quickly led Dr. Nake back to his home. As soon as they walked through the door, both of them froze.
The candlelight in the cabin flickered.
Nono sat gracefully in the main seat, her eyes slightly closed, a gentle smile on her face. She looked like the perfect matron, her demeanor captivating, as she gazed at the two men standing at the door.
"Blond hair, round glasses, looks good, dressed as a shrine maiden!!"
Dr. Nake's eyes widened in shock. He gasped and immediately turned to leave.
Jaeger quickly grabbed his arm tightly, his whole body tensing up. He swallowed hard and stared blankly at Nono, whispering,
"Doctor, don't go. I'm scared!"
"I'm scared too!"
Dr. Nake's face twitched as he muttered to himself, "I should never have wanted that cup of tea!"
…
In the dark of the night.
Uchiha moved forward cautiously, each holding a torch. Some members carried stretchers, so their pace wasn't too fast.
Along the way, they had not encountered any attacks, allowing their tense nerves to relax slightly. Now, all they prayed for was to find a medical ninja for Tamao within the next three to four days.
Izumi, walking closely beside Captain Kuroki, asked curiously,
"Captain Kuroki, why didn't that shrine maiden ninja kill Jaeger and his group who were impersonating Mist rogue ninjas?"
Kuroki thought for a moment and replied,
"For a ninja, what's the most important thing before taking action?"
Izumi immediately smiled and said,
"Intelligence!"
Kuroki nodded slightly.
"I get it now!"
Izumi suddenly realized the reason.
The female ninja must have studied the rogue ninjas in this area before making her move.
She knew that the group Jaeger belonged to wasn't actual rogue ninjas, which is why she decided to stay with them temporarily and even helped the family out of goodwill.
However, Izumi believed that pretending to be a rogue ninja was an incredibly unwise decision!
Kuroki landed on a tree branch, gazing up at the night sky. The stars shone brilliantly like diamonds, and the bright full moon hung high, pure and pale.
This night was just like the one when Danzo was killed.
Breathtakingly beautiful.
Kuroki's lips suddenly curled slightly. She halted and looked back at the group, calmly saying, "We're going back the way we came!"
"Huh?"
The Uchiha clan members were stunned.
...
In a simple wooden cabin.
Nonō Yakushi furrowed her brow, staring at Jaeger, who gritted his teeth and refused to speak. She then turned to Dr. Nake
"You tell me, who were those people just now, and why did they come to Kikyō Mountain?"
At this moment, Jaeger and Nake were tied back-to-back to two chairs, unable to move.
Both of their faces were ashen.
As for Jaeger's wife, she stood behind Nonō, staring at the back of her neck with a grave expression, holding a sleeping baby.
Dr. Nake sighed and said, "I really don't know that group well. I don't even know their names."
Thunk—
Nonō deliberately drove a kunai into the table. Jaeger stared at the sharp blade, his eyes wide.
Nonō, feigning indifference, said, "This is your last chance!"
She had no intention of harming Jaeger and Nake, only trying to intimidate them into revealing information about that group.
It wasn't something she absolutely had to do.
But when out on a mission...
As an intelligence agent from Root, gathering information was a skill ingrained in Nonō's very being.
For the success of her mission, she felt it was necessary to probe for intelligence. If that group wasn't related to her task, then she would drop it.
If she truly wanted to extract information, she would've used the woman and child behind her to threaten Jaeger. That would've been much more straightforward.
Before Jaeger could fabricate a lie, Nonō's brow arched slightly, sensing something. She turned toward the closed wooden door.
Boom—
The door was violently kicked open from the outside, causing a shower of wood splinters and dust to fall from the cabin's ceiling.
A thick stench of blood filled the air.
Jaeger's eyes widened. The stench was even more nauseating than what had clung to Nonō a couple of days ago.
Nonō remained calm, adjusting her glasses. Through the bright lenses, she saw four figures slowly step into the cabin.
Jaeger's wife, along with the baby in her arms, was startled, and the baby began wailing loudly again.
The baby's cries signaled the beginning of chaos.
Dr. Nake, strapped to his chair, narrowed his eyes. Glancing to the side, he internally grumbled once more: "I really shouldn't have taken that cup of tea!"
The four figures wore Leaf Village ninja uniforms and headbands, their clothing stained with still-wet blood.
One of them, a short-haired, fat ninja wearing armor with the kanji for "food" emblazoned on it, was clutching a Mist Village rogue ninja headband, one corner chipped off.
Suddenly...
A white-haired ninja dog crept into the room, sniffing the air in the cabin with its nose down.
"Woof!"
Suddenly, it caught a familiar scent, yelped in fear, and tried to run outside frantically, but one of the ninjas held it firmly in place with a leash.
Jaeger's gaze turned hollow, fixed on the chipped Mist Village rogue ninja headband in the fat ninja's hand.
(End of chapter)