After leaving the Hokage's office,
Minato Namikaze and Uzumaki Honoka were at odds over where she should live.
Honoka had just arrived in an unfamiliar world, and feeling deeply insecure, naturally didn't want to part ways with her boyfriend.
But this was Konoha—the place Minato had always lived.
Still, she couldn't shake the worry that moving in so soon might bring him unnecessary complications.
Would people think she was a frivolous girl?
Kei Yamanaka, ever the perceptive one, naturally wouldn't say something like "Why don't you go stay with Kushina" at a moment like this.
Firstly, Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't mentioned Kushina at all just now, clearly because he still didn't fully trust Honoka.
He likely wanted to keep this new Uzumaki clan member from getting too close to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki just yet.
Secondly, his good buddy had finally gotten himself a girlfriend after all—this was the perfect moment to charge into the blissful unknown of love.
As the matchmaker responsible for bringing them together, if he went and messed things up now, he'd truly be the worst kind of friend.
"Minato, Honoka, I should get going. The flowers at home haven't been watered in a while."
Kei made up an excuse, bid them farewell, then turned and headed toward the Yamanaka Clan district.
The streets of Konoha still bustled with life.
Crowds moved through the lively, vibrant city.
The atmosphere full of daily life showed no signs of change during his absence of ten days.
Compared to the frequent outbreaks of conflict and chaos in small foreign villages caught up in unstable external conditions,
Konoha now felt like a pure land amidst the turmoil.
At least most of the people walking these streets weren't wearing expressions of numbness or pain—they wore genuine smiles.
"Konoha... it's really wonderful..."
A soft female voice came from not far away.
It spoke very gently, yet those simple few words seemed to carry countless emotions within them.
Nostalgia, reluctance, yearning, determination, decisiveness...
That tone reminded him of an old folding fan opening slowly, and Kei couldn't help but turn around to examine the young girl sharing this view of the street with him.
She appeared about two or three years younger than himself.
Wearing a black robe, round black-rimmed glasses on her face, her pale golden hair largely hidden under a white hood.
A nun?
.....
Name: Nonou Yakushi
Role: Konoha Spy
Skills: [Wandering Shrine Maiden (Blue)], [Medical Ninjutsu Expert (Green)], [Charm (Green)], [Eye Condition (Gray)]
...
Nonou Yakushi?
Kei paused slightly, and roughly understood why her previous emotional expression had been so complex.
As a professional spy specially trained by Konoha,
the psychological toll of being embedded in hostile nations was unfathomable to most.
Even he, who had only been away for ten days and had companions the whole time, felt a powerful sense of homecoming upon returning.
How much more difficult must it be for someone like her—who repeatedly infiltrated hostile organizations, unsure of how long each mission would last or whether she'd even return alive?
Still, those skill entries were intriguing!
"Wandering Shrine Maiden" was a title Nonou Yakushi had earned while traveling abroad.
Many factions knew of this incredibly skilled spy but could never capture them, and their reputation only grew stronger over time.
But no one expected that very reputation to manifest as one of her skill listings.
What's more, a full suite of professional spy skills—stealth, disguise, intelligence gathering, surveillance, counter-surveillance—each carried bonus effects.
Topped off with a naturally affable trait that made gaining others' trust effortless.
This woman was *meant* to be a spy!
"Eye condition... Tch."
Kei Yamanaka cast another glance at the gray skill listing at the very bottom before turning and continuing toward the Yamanaka Clan compound.
Eye condition...
A negative effect: severe myopia combined with mild face blindness.
Thankfully, the blue-tier skill [Wandering Shrine Maiden] was strong enough. Otherwise, such an obvious flaw would have been fatal for anyone in the spy game!
Huh… wasn't that precisely how she ended up dead?
Kei retrieved the original plot details from his memory palace, frowning deeply as he cursed Danzo under his breath once more.
That old bastard was barely even human!
Nonou Yakushi had already retired, yet he used a group of children as leverage to force her back into service.
Then he flipped the script by using Nonou to manipulate Kabuto Yakushi—an orphaned boy—into becoming yet another pawn.
And that wasn't even all.
To control Nonou Yakushi, he swapped out photos so she mistook other people for Kabuto.
Once Kabuto grew stronger, Danzo decided Nonou knew too much, so he fed Kabuto false intel and manipulated him into personally eliminating Nonou Yakushi.
This…
For the first time, Kei felt that 'beginner's luck' simply wouldn't cut it.
Thinking about Shisui's gouged-out eyes, Pain arriving in Konoha carrying rice, and Sasuke's eventual betrayal…
"Maybe it's time I took out Shimura Danzo sooner rather than later."
Rubbing his chin, Kei increasingly felt this plan was feasible.
Granted, the black-tier trait 'Wild Imagination' had dulled Danzo's scheming edge, but this kind of threat could still spell sudden disaster for the team at any moment.
Better to eliminate him early rather than suffer later.
Plus, as the ultimate scapegoat Hokage—the 5.5th Fire Shadow—and one of the biggest hidden hands behind the original storyline,
If he went down, the system should drop a huge reward, right?
Kei Yamanaka's figure gradually disappeared into the distance.
Watching the street view silently, Nonou Yakushi relaxed slightly and turned her gaze toward the tall back wearing a Jonin flak vest.
As a seasoned spy, she'd always been extremely sensitive to others' stares.
The moment Kei fixed his eyes on her, she noticed immediately.
While pretending to remain absorbed in the street scenery, she carefully observed him using just the corner of her eye.
That open sympathy and pity in his expression...
Why?
Had he possibly figured out what kind of work she did, just from her brief sigh?
Impossible! It was just a passing remark!
Nonou carefully replayed the young ninja's face from earlier in her mind.
She was 100% sure she'd never laid eyes on that person before.
After all, a face that sharp and strikingly handsome—how could anyone forget it after seeing it just once?
After thinking hard for a while, Nonou Yakushi could think of only two possibilities.
Either the other party had somehow uncovered her identity, or he was exceptionally clever and perceptive.
Otherwise, a regular ninja wouldn't have responded that way!
"I don't need sympathy or pity! Everything is for Konoha!"
Nonou silently encouraged herself inwardly.
She took one final, lingering glance at Konoha's bustling streets.
She took a deep breath, steadied her resolve, and prepared to head out on her next mission—a stealth operation to gather intelligence.
At this moment, Kei Yamanaka glanced back toward the direction Nonou had left.
With one of Konoha's top sensor abilities,
how could he not sense her brief moment of nervousness?
However, within the Analysis Team, he had seen many captured spies from rival villages.
People like them feared nothing more than exposure.
Even if they were fellow villagers, approaching them casually would only cause intense anxiety.
Judging from Nonou's appearance, she clearly was about to go on another mission.
At times like this, he naturally wouldn't go out of his way to disturb her focus.
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