Nono stared intently at the scene reflected on the water.
The pained, familiar gaze in the boy's eyes behind his glasses, and her own empty, numb face, like a stiff mask!
An indescribable, soul-rending agony exploded from the deepest part of her heart!
A hundred times! A thousand times more painful than being pierced by the Chakra Scalpel in her dream! It wasn't physical pain, but the agony of having the most precious part of her soul ripped out alive!
"Kabuto... Kabuto...?"
A broken call, trembling with disbelief and despair, was squeezed out with difficulty from the depths of her throat.
Tears, like a burst dam, instantly gushed forth, streaming down her deathly pale, wrinkled cheeks.
She abruptly raised her emaciated hands, clamping them tightly over her mouth, trying to stifle the heart-rending wail threatening to tear from her throat.
But her body, as if all its bones had been removed, could no longer support itself.
Her knees buckled, and she fell heavily onto the cold, smooth surface of the starry water.
In the reflection, the figure of the haggard, tear-streaked prisoner overlapped madly with the image of the gently gazing 'substitute' boy from the photos Danzo had provided, and with the 'Kabuto' she had personally stabbed through the heart in her dream… twisting and shattering through her tear-blurred vision-
Cold tears dripped onto the mirror-like water, striking it and spreading ripples of despair that expanded silently, as if threatening to swallow this starry desolation as well.
"You are fortunate." Shura's voice faded in and out, gradually dissipating.
The Genjutsu Space shattered. Nono fell back into the gloomy cell of the Seventh Prison Block.
The dampness of the stone walls, the stifling despair, and the soul-rending agony brought by those empty eyes gnawed at her relentlessly.
The cruel truth revealed on the starry water surface was like a red-hot brand, searing an irreparable hole in the barriers of her chaotic memory… Danzo's conspiracy, the substitute's lie, and-
She had failed to recognize her own child, right before her eyes!
Immense self-blame and the regained hope, mixed with fear, stirred up stormy waves in her dried-up heart, leaving her curled up on the cold stone bed, sleepless through the night.
Morning came, but the block's characteristic cold air, smelling of mold and disinfectant, did not arrive as expected.
The heavy iron door creaked open slowly, without the guards' rough shouts.
The light wasn't the dim yellow of the corridor's oil lamps, but the clear, natural light of dawn.
Hikari stood at the doorway.
She still wore that simple blue high-collared clan attire, outlining a slender yet powerful figure.
Her raven-black long hair fell down, making her skin appear even paler.
She just stood there quietly, yet an intangible, heart-stopping pressure emanated from her, as if even the thick despair of the prison block was kept at bay.
"Come out." Her voice was clear, concise, like ice beads falling on a jade plate, devoid of any commanding tone, yet carrying an undeniable force.
Nono shuddered, looking up blankly.
Her haggard face still bore tear stains and the exhaustion of a sleepless night. Those once-empty brown eyes now seemed like stagnant water disturbed by a stone, churning with shock, fear, and a faint thread of hope.
She subconsciously gripped her thin, ragged prison uniform, her body stiff, momentarily unsure how to react.
Hikari did not urge her, simply waiting quietly, her jet-black eyes gazing calmly at her.
After a few moments, Nono moved like a marionette, her actions stiff and slow, shifting off the bed.
Her feet touched the cold ground, bringing a sense of unsteadiness.
She kept her head down, not daring to meet those black eyes.
Because She knew the person opposite was from the Uchiha Clan, though she didn't know why an Uchiha would be here.
Nono obediently followed behind Hikari. No shackles were applied; she simply followed her out of the cell.
They didn't see any guards along the way.
Hikari led her, as if passing through an intangible barrier, directly onto a passageway leading to the surface, where the light grew gradually brighter.
The sunlight became increasingly dazzling, carrying a long-lost warmth.
Nono instinctively raised a hand to shield her eyes, her steps somewhat unsteady as she followed behind Hikari.
When she finally adjusted to the light and lowered her hand, she found herself standing in a small, quiet courtyard.
The courtyard wasn't large, paved with bluestone, with a few clusters of emerald green bamboo planted in the corners, rustling softly in the morning breeze.
The air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and vegetation, utterly different from the foul despair of the prison block.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the bamboo leaves, casting dappled, swaying shadows on the engawa veranda.
A small figure sat on the engawa with its back to her, seemingly fiddling with something.
He had spiky black hair and wore a black shirt and dark shorts, his silhouette bearing the childishness unique to children.
Nono's heart leaped violently, an indescribable ache instantly rushing to the bridge of her nose.
'Why did this figure feel so familiar...?'
"Menma." Uchiha Hikari's clear voice broke the tranquility of the courtyard.
The small figure turned around at the sound.
It was indeed Menma's true form.
The face of a five-year-old child, yet covered with a depth and calmness completely at odds with his age.
He looked at Nono, his expression complex… probing, scrutinizing, but also with a trace of barely perceptible gentleness.
"Hikari-nee," Menma's voice was clear, carrying a child's tenderness, but his tone was unusually steady.
He stood up, his gaze turning to Nono. Those black eyes held no surprise, as if he had long anticipated her arrival.
Nono's breath caught in her throat.
She looked at Menma, then sharply at Hikari, her eyes filled with incredulous shock and confusion.
'Menma?'
'The child I worried about most, why was he here?'
'And why did he seem so familiar with this Uchiha?'
'This was the heart of the Land of Stars, surrounded by Hoshinins. This residence must belong to high-ranking Hoshinin. Why would Menma be-?'
'What on earth was going on?'
Hikari didn't seem inclined to explain.
She merely gave a slight nod to Nono, her voice still cool: "The person is brought to you."
With that, she turned. Her figure seemed to melt into the shadows of the sunlight, disappearing from the courtyard without a sound, as if she had never been there.
Only the cool air of the courtyard and that faint, distant sense of belonging to Hikari remained.
The courtyard was now left with only Nono and Menma.
The sunlight was warm, the bamboo shadows swayed, but they could not dispel the stormy waves raging in Nono's heart.
She looked apprehensively at the little boy before her. Her memory of Menma was still frozen from two years ago, before she left the orphanage for a mission in the Land of Earth.
The child from her memory overlapped and conflicted madly with the child before her in her mind, making it almost impossible for her to think.
"Director, come and have something to eat." Menma gestured for Nono to come sit with him. Opposite him was a simple lunchbox.
He lifted the lid, revealing plain rice balls, sushi, and a pot of green tea.
Nono walked over slowly.
"I know you have many questions, but Kabuto will be here soon." Menma said, pushing the lunchbox towards Nono.
His small face showed little expression, but his tone carried a certain calmness, "He has already agreed to join the organization. His loyalty was exchanged for your safety."
"Kabuto...?" Nono murmured the name, her heart feeling as if squeezed tightly by an invisible hand.
The images from the starry water surface last night, the deep pain hidden in the boy's eyes as he distributed food, stung her clearly once again.
The image of the stars on the water last night, and the deep pain in the boy's eyes as he distributed food, stung her again clearly.
'Join an organization?'
'Pledge loyalty to Shura?'
'To exchange for my life?'
Immense sorrow and self-blame instantly overwhelmed her. Tears uncontrollably welled up in her eyes once more.
Just then, the gate at the courtyard entrance was pushed open.
A figure rushed in hurriedly.
It's Kabuto.
He was still wearing Hoshinin's dark blue Genin Uniform, with his round glasses, but the deliberately maintained gentleness and calmness were gone from his face.
His hair was slightly disheveled, his breathing rapid. His eyes behind the lenses were bloodshot, filled with unconcealable urgency and fear.
His gaze, like a searchlight, instantly locked onto the figure sitting on the engawa veranda in the center of the courtyard with Menma.
Time seemed to freeze.
Kabuto's steps halted abruptly, as if nailed to the spot.
He stared fixedly at Nono, his chest heaving violently, his lips moving soundlessly as if trying to call out something, but no sound emerged.
That gaze was filled with the immense joy of recovery, bone-deep guilt, and a childlike, fragile fear that what he saw was merely an illusion.
Nono also stared dumbfounded at him.
Across the few steps, through Kabuto's round glasses, she saw those eyes so clearly and directly for the first time, without any obstruction.
Those eyes that always held a gentle smile and a trace of timidity were now filled with pain and hope, yet they were still the same eyes she remembered from countless times under the orphanage lamplight, looking up at her after she gently patted his head!
He is no longer the cheerful boy from the substitute's photo, no longer the numb, empty 'stranger' from the reflection on the starry water.
It was her Kabuto!
"Dir... Director-" Kabuto's voice finally squeezed out from his throat, dry, hoarse, carrying an uncontrollable tremor, like a traveler who had trekked through a thousand-mile desert finally seeing an oasis.
This call completely shattered the last line of defense in Nono's heart.
"Kabuto-!"
A cry, choked with tears and heart-rending, burst from Nono's mouth.
She could no longer care about any restraint, any doubt, and stumbled forward!
Her steps were unsteady, her body swaying.
Kabuto also rushed forward, arms outstretched.
They met in the center of the courtyard, under the warm sunlight and swaying bamboo shadows, crashing into each other with force!
Nono's emaciated arms wrapped around Kabuto's waist and back with all her strength, as if trying to merge herself into his very bones and blood.
Kabuto also held her tightly, his arms gripping like a vice, as if afraid she would vanish again if he loosened his hold.
Both their bodies trembled violently. Tears suppressed for too long gushed out like a burst dam, instantly soaking each other's shoulders.
Kabuto buried his face deeply in Nono's chest, emitting suppressed, wounded-animal-like sobs.
Nono tilted her head back, eyes tightly shut, tears streaming silently down her cheeks, her throat bobbing violently, bearing the immense impact of recovery and the churning self-blame and regret within.
The sunlight showered down quietly, enveloping the mother and son, finally reunited after fate's cruel twists, in a warm glow.
The courtyard was filled only with the sound of their uncontrollable weeping, the lament and release of souls torn apart finding their anchor in each other amidst the ruins.
After a long time, their emotions gradually calmed slightly, but they still held each other tightly, as if trying to make up for the long, lost time.
Menma, who had been sitting quietly on the engawa all along, watched this scene. A faint, almost sigh-like ripple passed through the depths of his black eyes.
"The ways of Konoha's Root… you understand better than anyone." He said softly, breaking the warmth of this post-catastrophe respite.
Menma's voice was calm, carrying insight beyond his years.
"Danzo will not easily give up any pawn. However, the Director can fake her death to escape, change her name, and stay in the Star City. This is the only place that can block Root's reach."
Upon hearing this, Kabuto's body stiffened slightly. He raised his head from Nono's embrace, his tearful eyes looking at Menma, then at Nono, filled with worry for the future.
Nono gently patted Kabuto's back, wiping the tear stains from his face.
Kabuto took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
Though his eyes behind the lenses were still red and moist, they regained the sharpness and resolve of a Ninja.
"Faking a death requires time and must be foolproof. Before that… I cannot disappear for too long." Kabuto said, looking at Menma. His voice was still slightly hoarse, but exceptionally clear.
He paused, his expression becoming complex yet determined, "Danzo is inherently suspicious. If the identity of 'Kumamoto Kabuto' goes silent for too long, or dies abruptly, it will inevitably alert him and trigger a thorough investigation."
"If both the Director and I disappear or die within a short time, he will definitely suspect something. He will use all his resources to search, and it might even affect the other children at the orphanage."
His gaze fell on Nono's haggard face, the meaning self-evident.
Nono opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately couldn't speak.
"More importantly..." Kabuto's gaze refocused on Menma's small face, which held a steadiness mismatched with his age.
His voice lowered, carrying a note of resolve.
"I cannot let you walk alone in the shadows of Konoha."
A brief silence fell over the courtyard.
The rustling of bamboo leaves seemed especially clear.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps, illuminating the determined, even pleading eyes behind Kabuto's glasses.
It wasn't for a mission, not for Danzo, not even for some so-called organization.
He simply could not let this 'brother' before him, who had pulled him back from the brink of the abyss and given him and his mother a chance at survival, face Konoha's bottomless darkness alone.
Menma looked back at Kabuto quietly, his face still expressionless.
Those black eyes were like a windless lake, reflecting the burning determination in Kabuto's eyes.
After a moment, he gave a slight nod. The movement was subtle, but it contained a silent acknowledgment.