The full moon hung high in the sky.
Its light was clear and bright.
In the forest, an occasional nightingale called out—
its song crisp, melodic, and beautiful.
Beneath a tree branch,
a pair of snow-white legs dangled in the air, bare feet gently swinging, disturbing the air like ripples on water.
For a woman of her mature age,
this kind of girlish movement might seem out of place—but there was no one else around.
Through her round glasses,
she watched that squad slowly fade into the distance.
They clearly had no strong intent to find her.
Only then did she feel at ease.
They'd left in a hurry, as if on the run.
After this, they likely wouldn't return.
"First time I've ever been interrupted while bathing and had to flee like that."
She sighed softly, smiling gently.
"Sorry. I'm on a mission and can't afford to waste too much chakra helping others."
The gentle smile on her face slowly softened her inner conflict. She rose to her feet and reached up to untie her towel.
Moonlight as pure as snow.
Skin pale and smooth like creamy jade.
The white bath towel slipped down, settling over the thorns below.
Her rosy toes pressed lightly onto the branch. Yakushi Nono formed hand seals with both hands, activated her storage scroll, retrieved her clothes, dressed herself swiftly, and disappeared in a flash.
The branch trembled gently.
Wearing her shrine maiden robes, which couldn't contain her voluptuous curves, her figure darted toward the mountain stronghold.
The door was wide open.
Nono pulled down her white hood, revealing her fair and delicate face beneath her golden hair.
She looked at the now-empty room.
Her pale blue eyes flickered with confusion and surprise.
"Huh? Where's my bath bucket?"
Her brows twitched slightly. She stepped barefoot outside and looked around but saw no sign of anyone dumping water. A huge question mark appeared in her mind.
That was the brand-new bath bucket she'd bought yesterday in Kikyo City after submitting a mission report for eliminating rogue ninjas!
Someone could seal a bath bucket with a scroll, sure—
but with water still inside?
Couldn't find her, so they took her bath bucket out of spite?
"What kind of people are these…? Even stole my bathwater. Unbelievable!"
Though she was normally gentle and kind,
a faint trace of anger finally appeared on her pretty face as she clenched her delicate fingers.
Her gaze shifted toward the slope below.
Along the rugged mountain path,
Yega and Dr. Nak were still chatting casually.
"Dr. Nak, it's so late—why not just stay at my place tonight?"
Dr. Nak shook his head in polite refusal:
"No thanks. I've still got unpaid bills in Kabukicho. Just my luck—getting called out this late, and your friends didn't even pay the medical fee!"
"I'll pay it then!" Yega replied with a hearty grin.
Dr. Nak glanced at him and, seeing the hunter so honest, waved it off:
"You've got three mouths to feed. And let's be real—how much money can a refugee hunter have? Fine, fine, I'll go have a cup of hot tea at your place, but I'm leaving right after!"
Yega's smile remained undiminished as he hurried to lead Dr. Nak back to his home.
But the moment they stepped through the door, both men froze.
Candlelight flickered inside the wooden cabin.
Nono sat calmly in the main seat, eyes half-closed, a gentle smile on her face. She looked every bit like a graceful, elegant matron welcoming them home.
"Tch… blonde hair, round glasses, good-looking… dressed like a shrine maiden!!"
Dr. Nak's eyes widened. He sucked in a sharp breath and turned to leave.
Yega immediately grabbed the doctor's arm in a death grip, body tense, gulping hard as he stared dumbly at Nono.
"Don't go, Doc… I'm scared."
Dr. Nak's face twitched, muttering under his breath and aloud at once: "I never should've gotten greedy over that cup of tea…"
In the pitch-black night, each Uchiha held a torch as they made their way in the dark.
With someone carrying a stretcher, their pace wasn't exactly fast.
Fortunately, they hadn't encountered any attacks, so their nerves had a chance to relax just a little.
All they could do now was pray—
that in the next three to four days, they could find a medical-nin for Tamao.
Izumi stayed close beside Uchiha Yu, asking curiously:
"Captain Yu, that kunoichi in shrine maiden robes… why didn't she kill Mr. Yega and the others, even though he was pretending to be a rogue from the Hidden Mist?"
Yu thought for a moment, then replied:
"What's the most important thing for a ninja before making a move?"
Izumi smiled instantly:
Yu gave a slight nod.
"I get it!" Izumi suddenly understood.
That female ninja must have done her research on the rogue ninja activity in the area before acting.
She knew Yega's group wasn't truly rogue ninjas, which is why she borrowed a place to stay and even helped the family out of goodwill.
Still, Izumi thought to herself—
pretending to be a rogue ninja was incredibly unwise.
Uchiha Yu landed atop a tree branch, lifting his head to gaze at the night sky.
Stars glittered like diamonds.
The moon glowed bright and pale above.
It was a night just like the one when he killed Danzo.
Breathtakingly beautiful.
Yu's lips curled slightly as he stopped in place. He turned to look back at the group and said calmly:
"We're going back the way we came."
The Uchiha were suddenly stunned.
A simple wooden cabin.
Nono frowned deeply as she stared at Yega, who clenched his jaw and refused to speak. She turned instead to Dr. Nak:
"You tell me—who were those people just now? What are their identities, and what are they doing in Kikyo Mountain?"
At that moment, Yega and Nak were tied back-to-back to two chairs, completely immobilized.
Both men looked grim and ashen.
As for Yega's wife, she stood behind Nonoyu, her gaze locked on the back of Nonoyu's neck, expression tense, cradling a sleeping baby in her arms.
Dr. Nak let out a sigh: "I really don't know those people. I don't even know their names."
Nono deliberately stabbed a kunai into the table.
Yega stared at the gleaming blade, eyes going wide and unfocused.
Nono put on a cold expression:
"I'll give you one last chance."
Of course, she didn't intend to hurt Yega or Dr. Nak—she just wanted to intimidate them into giving up information on that group.
It wasn't even strictly necessary.
But as a former elite intel operative from the Root division, intelligence gathering was second nature to Nono.
To ensure the success of her mission this time, she believed it was worth probing into this group's background. If they had nothing to do with her assignment, she'd simply let it go.
If she really wanted to extract intel,
she could've just threatened Yega using the woman and baby behind him.
It would've been quicker.
Before Yega could come up with a lie to cover things up, Nono's brows twitched slightly. A premonition struck her.
She turned toward the tightly closed front door.
The wooden door was kicked open from the outside.
Dust and wood chips rained from the cabin ceiling.
A wave of blood stench flooded in.
It was even more pungent than the scent that had clung to Nono two days ago.
Nonoyu remained composed, calmly adjusting her glasses.
Through the clear lenses, she saw four figures slowly entering the cabin.
Yega's wife startled, and the baby in her arms woke with a loud wail.
The infant's cries signaled the start of chaos.
On his chair, Dr. Nak's pupils contracted.
He glanced to the side and mentally cursed again: "Should've never gone after that damn tea…"
The four were dressed in standard Konoha ninja uniforms, all wearing Leaf forehead protectors.
Their clothing was still stained with fresh blood.
One of them—a short-haired, overweight ninja—had the kanji for "Food" (食) emblazoned on his armor.
He was gripping a Mist rogue-nin forehead protector in his thick hand—one with a broken corner.
A white-furred ninja dog snuck in from outside, sniffing the air intently.
Suddenly, it caught a familiar scent.
With a startled yelp, it tried to bolt, but was immediately yanked back by a leash held firmly by one of the ninjas.
His eyes locked on the broken Mist rogue forehead protector in the fat ninja's hand.
A/N: Double release, gimme stones for more
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