---Third POV---
Looking at Nonō, who stood before him looking haggard, Danzō spoke with a touch of emotion. "It's precisely because you can't suppress your compassion that you've ended up in this situation."
As he said this, he seemed to sense something and glanced out the window, there, under the eaves, the orphan favored by Orochimaru was eavesdropping. Without revealing anything, Danzō withdrew his gaze and continued to make an even more outrageous demand.
"Also, I lost a subordinate in order to obtain this intelligence. The replacement will be selected from among your children."
"This is too much! I've already agreed to your request!" Nonō slammed the table and stood up. Her reaction this time was far stronger than when she heard she would have to infiltrate Iwa.
After all, to her, nothing was more important than the children at the orphanage. Being asked to sacrifice one child's future for the safety of the others, this was far too cruel a decision for her to make.
Knock knock~
A knocking sound came from the door, and both parties inside the room looked at each other without moving. The person outside, perhaps thinking the heavy rain was making it hard to hear, knocked louder and louder.
Bang bang bang~
In the end, Danzō waved his hand and said, "Go see what's going on."
Tatsuma nodded heavily and walked to the door. As soon as he saw who it was, he reflexively jumped back as if shocked, immediately placing himself in front of Danzō in a defensive stance. His sudden movement revealed the figure standing outside, Ryouma.
He stood alone in the rain, wearing a black raincoat, his sunny smile completely at odds with the gloomy weather, instantly lightening the oppressive atmosphere in the room.
"Yo, sorry to intrude." Ryouma greeted them.
"P-please come in."
Nonō quickly came to her senses, nodded, and bowed in greeting.
With the host's permission, Ryouma took off his raincoat, and the overweight nun on Nonō's left quickly walked over to take it for him.
"Thank you."
"Not at all," the overweight nun replied, waving her hand repeatedly.
Ryouma was a well-known name in Konohoa, and all for good reasons.
"What are you doing here?" Tatsuma asked nervously.
"Hm..." Ryouma's eyes swept over Danzō's expressionless face, and the thought of what he was about to say nearly made him laugh. "Obviously, I'm here to steal the deal."
"What do you mean?"
Ryouma ignored the overly anxious Tatsuma and pulled out a scroll from behind his back, handing it to Nonō.
Under his gesture, Nonō opened the scroll on the spot.
"This..."
It was an official commission from the Konoha Hospital, with Ryouma listed as the recommender and approved by Tsunade herself. It couldn't be any more official.
"As you can see, your recent work has earned the full recognition of everyone at Konoha Hospital. So, congratulations, you've been officially recruited. All you need to do is sign. Or... is there something you're worried about?" Pulling a chair out from under the table and sitting down, Ryouma turned his gaze toward Danzō's side as he spoke.
"Don't forget what we just discussed. The orphanage is still here. Leaving with us is your only option." Danzō didn't know who had sent Ryouma, but as long as the Konoha Orphanage remained here, he could continue to use it to control Nonō. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about her disobedience.
His threatening words once again reached Nonō's ears.
"Don't agree to him." A child's voice came from outside the window.
In truth, most of the people in the room were already aware that a kid was hiding there eavesdropping, they just hadn't expected him to be bold enough to speak up.
Kabuto was very smart. If he had been born into a normal family and enrolled in the Ninja Academy like other children, he would most likely be called a "genius." He had heard everything clearly. If sacrificing one child could ensure the safety of the entire orphanage, Kabuto was more than willing to be that child.
But now, both Nonō and himself were going to be taken away. If there were no choice, so be it, but now there was a powerful ally offering help. Hesitating now would be a crime.
The name Leaf's Gale was hated in other villages, but in Konoha, it was a name of great renown.
Kabuto had once followed the director to the front lines in Iwa. Many of the ninjas there had been transferred from other battlefronts, and when they spoke of Ryouma, their eyes were filled with sincere admiration and respect.
Nimbly climbing in through the window, he knew this might be the only chance to change the fate of the orphanage.
Nonō looked at Kabuto in surprise. It was rare to see him this emotional. "Don't worry, Kabuto. I'm not so stupid that I'd let a golden opportunity fall right into my lap and still let it slip away."
She picked up the commission letter from Ryouma, her eyes gradually becoming resolute, and quickly signed her name.
"Nonō?" Danzō was genuinely stunned. He didn't expect that someone in Konoha would actually dare defy his threats. In times of war like these, even the heads of the major ninja clans didn't dare refuse him when he came to ask for people.
"Hey, hey, would you mind not shouting at one of Konoha Hospital's new employees?"
Ryouma had kept quiet earlier because he wanted to see if Nonō had the courage to stand up for herself. If even she gave in and accepted her fate, there wouldn't be much he could do to help her.
Fortunately, his judgment hadn't been wrong.
"Do you even know what you're doing?" Danzō's expression didn't change, still the same paralyzed look.
"Of course I do. I'm recruiting talent for Konoha's development."
"Do you have any idea how much damage Konoha will suffer if no one carries out the mission to infiltrate Iwa?"
Danzō, as usual, tried to press with the bigger picture, but Ryouma wasn't having any of it. He gave a fake thoughtful expression and smiled as he replied:
"Hmm, sounds kind of serious. But isn't that something you shouldn't be worrying about? I mean... you're not the Hokage."
Ryouma's voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the room who knew anything about Danzō had a visible reaction, their pupils contracted slightly.
That was not something one should say lightly.
"Heh heh." Orochimaru couldn't help but chuckle. This was his first time seeing Ryouma in person, and now he understood how someone like him could get along with Jiraiya, they really were a different breed.
Tatsuma couldn't stand seeing Danzō insulted like this. Behind his dark glasses, his eyes locked onto Ryouma with intensity.
"Don't think just because you're strong, you can do whatever you want."
Ryouma smiled at Tatsuma's comment.
Danzō waved his hand, signaling Tatsuma to stand down. He then stood up from his seat and bid farewell to Nonō.
"My offer still stands. You know what I mean."
With that, he turned and headed for the door with Tatsuma.
"Wait." Ryouma stood up as well.
"What is it now?" Danzō didn't turn around; his voice betrayed no emotion.
"Nothing much. Just a friendly reminder, watch your back. It is wartime, after all. Who can say they won't be assassinated?"
Ryouma's tone was casual, but the words instantly dropped the room's temperature to freezing.
Danzō flinched. He hadn't expected someone to threaten him.
"What did you just say?!"
Tatsuma lost it. Even if he were threatened himself, he probably wouldn't get this mad, but for Danzō, it was different.
BOOM.
A surge of violent energy erupted from Ryouma. His chakra, tinged with blue and threaded with streaks of black, coiled around him like a living force. This was one way to utilize the dark chakra produced by the Dark Factor, enhancing his aura to a terrifying degree.
In that instant, everyone in the room felt as though a blade was hanging over their heads. Cold sweat started to seep out.
Even Orochimaru, who had been silently observing, didn't expect to get caught up in this. His hands moved subtly into position, ready to form seals and escape at a moment's notice.
He couldn't help it. The intensity of that chakra was terrifying. He even wondered if it was some kind of genjutsu. But the cracking floor beneath Ryouma's feet and the creaking roof above said otherwise... this was real.
If just the aftershock had shaken him like this, imagine how Danzō and Tatsuma felt. They were drenched in sweat by now. Perhaps affected by the black streams of chakra flickering in the air, Tatsuma's mind began to buckle under the pressure. His hand slowly reached toward the ninja tool pouch on his back.
Danzō caught the movement from the corner of his eye and cursed inwardly, Useless idiot.
What good would attacking this monster do now? It'd only get him killed. He'd only ever seen this level of destruction from his own teacher, just from releasing chakra, no less.
To avoid losing his top subordinate to some laughable scenario like throwing a single shuriken and getting killed, Danzō had no choice but to back down, for now.
"This time, you win."
But Ryouma didn't withdraw his chakra pressure just yet.
Come on, attack him... He just threatened the person you admire so much... And you're just going to take that? A sinister voice echoed in Tatsuma's heart. His hand inched ever closer to the pouch behind his back.
Danzō noticed it too. In fact, any veteran ninja could see it, Tatsuma had fallen under a genjutsu.
Ryouma was clearly baiting them into making the first move, so he could strike back from the moral high ground. Given his reputation on the international stage, he just might kill them for real. Realizing this, he struck Tatsuma's neck with a swift chop, physically breaking the genjutsu.
Thud.
Tatsuma collapsed to the floor.
Seeing his bait-and-switch tactic fail, Ryouma didn't seem disappointed. He withdrew his chakra pressure and, with a glint in his eye, quickly came up with another idea.
Pointing at the collapsed Tatsuma, he shouted with feigned outrage like a thief crying thief.
"Yo, Danzō, you actually attacked a fellow ninja? I absolutely cannot let this slide."
With that, and under Danzō's widened single eye, Ryouma threw a deliberate straight punch, slamming him into the orphanage wall. The impact sent cracks spreading across the wall like a spiderweb.
Everyone nearby was stunned. Sure, they didn't like Danzō either, but wasn't that reason for attacking him a bit too far-fetched?
For a moment, Nonō even doubted whether the mission request from the Konoha Hospital in her hands was real.
Could it be that Ryouma faked the request just to have an excuse to beat up Danzō?
Cough, cough...
Danzō coughed twice as he struggled back to his feet, eyes wide with shock. He couldn't believe this guy had actually hit him.
Ryouma had gone easy, of course. At worst, Danzō had a few fractured bones, nothing too serious. The important part was that he had secretly planted a Flying Thunder God mark on Danzō during the attack.
In the end, Danzō chose not to fight to the death. He left, dragging Tatsuma along with him. He didn't even utter a single threat, probably worried Ryouma would pull another stunt.
Ryouma watched their retreating figures.
"So then, Orochimaru, do you still have business here?"
Orochimaru caught a bit of dust falling from the cracked ceiling and, in his signature raspy voice, replied, "Hehe… interested in working together with me?"
Ryouma didn't know what trick Orochimaru was trying to pull, so he declined bluntly. "Sorry. Not interested."
"Oh? I see." Surprisingly, Orochimaru didn't press further. Instead, he turned to leave, but not without a parting line:
"We'll meet again. Hopefully next time, we can work together… hehe."
Ryouma actually didn't dislike Orochimaru. Besides, he was Tsunade's old teammate. If the chance ever arose, he thought he should try persuading him to be less extreme. And if reason didn't work, then a little force would be fine too, it was Orochimaru, after all.
He could take it.
Glancing around at the room he'd just trashed, he scratched his head and gave Nonō an apologetic smile.
"Sorry. Got a little carried away. Don't worry, I'll pay for the damage."
Nonō quickly waved her hands.
"You've already helped us tremendously. We can handle the repairs ourselves."
"Yes." Two caretakers chimed in with the same sentiment.
But in the next moment, none of the three could find it in themselves to refuse what came next.
Clunk.
Ryouma placed a small box on the table and opened it, revealing stacks of money.
"This is five million ryō. Consider it my personal donation. There should be some kids here at the orphanage with potential to become ninjas, right? It's best if they're sent to the Academy."
Even if they ended up as career genin, being a ninja was still a decent job in this world.