Konoha Notes

Chapter 249 Homecoming
Yakushi Nonou's ninja career has finally come to an end.

After she fully recounted her mission experiences over the years and the intelligence department verified the information, they updated all her files and reissued her discharge permit.

This can be seen as an endorsement of her work over the years.

She returned to the familiar orphanage. The two caretakers, their eyes red, came to greet her, tightly grasping her hands, their lips moving but no sound coming out.

She was surrounded by children as she entered the courtyard.

After the brief excitement, Nonoyu found some peace and quiet for herself.

Dou didn't come in through the main gate; he silently climbed over the courtyard wall and landed in a dimly lit corner.

He wanted to see his former friends from the orphanage, but would they still recognize him?
Or perhaps, like the nun, all that remains in her mind is a replaced, stranger's phantom?
"pocket."

A gentle voice sounded from behind.

He turned around abruptly. Nono stood under the eaves, the dim light casting a soft silhouette on her.

Her gaze fell upon him, no longer that of a stranger, but rather the tenderness he felt when they first met, deep in his memory.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “for saying those things to you.”

"As a mother, I couldn't recognize my own child."

Dou lowered his head. His eyes burned uncontrollably, hot tears welled up, and his vision blurred rapidly.

Nono approached and gently stroked his hair.

“Urushi, like you, also became a ninja. I met him in the village.”

He asked me if Dou had come back too.

"Just now, everyone else did too."

Dou's body began to tremble uncontrollably, and suppressed sobs escaped from his throat.

He haphazardly wiped away the tears that kept rolling down his face with the back of his hand, but the more he wiped, the more tears flowed. He coughed, and even snot streamed down his face uncontrollably, making him look utterly pathetic.

"Tomorrow, we'll go see Urushi and the other children together. They're all waiting for you, Dou."

"Okay...okay..." Dou's voice choked with emotion as he nodded forcefully, over and over again.
-
"Shimura Danzo has been confirmed dead, and the Shimura residence has been cleared."

"Then, I kept this."

Inside the Hokage's office, Shuuji laid out three specially made transparent test tubes on the desk in front of Tsunade. Inside the liquid, three scarlet Sharingan eyes floated silently.

He didn't bring his whole arm; the sight was ultimately not very pleasing.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow: "Danzo did this?"

"Ah."

Then, the Fifth Hokage smirked and said, "You haven't even fully explored the power of your grandfather yet, and you're already eyeing the Sharingan. You're really greedy."

"Don't let the Uchiha find out."

"Although it was Danzo who did it, it has a bad influence."

Xiu Si remained silent.

"Is there anything else?" Tsunade asked, then seemed to realize something, her face showing displeasure. "Hey, I'm the Hokage. You can do the research on the Sharingan yourself."

"Now that Danzo is dead, the cleanup of the root of the problem is just beginning, and I'm very busy."

After Danzo Shimura's death, the curse marks on the Root members also disappeared. More information about Root will follow, and more Root members will appear.

Take, for example, the Ninth Earthly Branch, which was brought back with it this time.

How to deal with these Konoha ninjas who had not appeared since the Root was handed over to Kakashi, and who still obeyed Danzo's orders, was a new problem for Tsunade.

Shuji said, "We don't need to treat them all as enemies."

"Handle each case individually. Locate the individuals; those willing to cooperate with the investigation can be treated leniently."

“Danzo Shimura held power for decades, and many of his ninjas, like Nono Yakushi, found themselves in situations where they had no choice in the matter.” “Those who do not resist can be accepted depending on the circumstances.”

"As for some differences in opinion, that is only natural, even among ninjas."

"If they can continue to obey the village's orders, we can give them a way out."

After a moment's thought, Tsunade said, "Let's leave it at that for now. Let Kakashi sort it out."

"After clarifying the connections, we will completely dismantle the root system."

The biggest reason Root wasn't disbanded before was Danzo's cursed seal. Now that the cursed seal is gone, Root ninjas are not much different from other ANBU ninjas.

As for Kakashi...

Once this task was completed, it was only natural to hand over the secret service to him.

After arranging the most troublesome matter that had just arisen, Tsunade immediately felt relieved.

The war is over, Danzo is gone, and now it's time to deal with Root.

Seeing that Shuuji hadn't left yet.

Tsunade's face immediately fell: "I know, I know! It's your own interest that's bothering me, it's never going to end!"

She grabbed the three test tubes from the table with a huff and held them in her hand.

"This isn't something that can be solved by working overtime for a few days!"

"Listen, you're out of vacation days this year! They're all gone!"

Anyway, there are only two months left in the year, that's what Xiuji originally thought, and he was mentally prepared.

In the days that followed, aside from conducting Sharingan-related research at the research institute under Tsunade's guidance, he spent the rest of his time diligently dealing with the mountain of documents in the Hokage's office.

A few days later, a ninja sent a meeting request via Shizune. Somewhat surprisingly, his target was not the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, but Shuji.

The request was granted.

When Kabuto was led into the Hokage's office, he was somewhat surprised to find that only Shuji was sitting behind the desk on the side of the large room, with documents piled up on half of the desk.

The fifth generation's seat was empty, with only a half-finished cup of tea still steaming.

Kabuto's gaze swept over the empty Hokage seat without asking any further questions.

He vividly remembered the power that Xiu Si had displayed, and he was also aware of Xiu Si's weight in the current power structure of the village.

Kabuto walked to Shuji's desk, stood still, and bowed.

"Lord Shuji."

"Hmm." Shuuji put down his pen. "What is it?"

Kabuto raised his head, his tone calm and firm: "I want to withdraw my retirement application and continue to serve as a Konoha ninja."

"Oh?" Shuuji looked at him. "Being able to apply for retirement at this age is the village's compensation for your forced conscription."

"You really don't plan to go back to the orphanage?"

Kabuto Yakushi bluntly stated, "Without sufficient protection, even if we return, we will not be able to bring peace to the orphanage."

“You and the fifth generation are fair in your dealings, but the orphanage’s daily operations and future development still require continued financial support.”

Shuji said, "Just submit the application as required. With the merits that Yakushi Nonou has made, the funding to keep the orphanage running will not be a problem."

“If all you’re asking is to maintain the status quo, yes,” Kabuto said. “But if the orphanage wants to truly develop and break free from the cycle of hardship, it needs more and more stable resources.”

"I want to be the cornerstone and pillar for the continued development of the orphanage, Lord Shuji."

He bowed again, lowering his posture even further, but his voice became even more resolute.

"Please allow me to continue serving you and the village."

(End of this chapter)