Chapter 158
Kabuto the Pharmacist: Does Mom Not Want Me Anymore?
Chapter 158 Kabuto the Pharmacist: Does Mom Not Want Me Anymore?
Lord Danzo promised that as long as he completed his mission here, he could free the Dean from the Root's shackles and grant him freedom, allowing them to start a new life in a safe place.
This belief, like a lighthouse in the darkness, sustained him every day he wore the mask, allowing him to swallow all the bitterness brought by loneliness and pretense.
The oxcart passed through the last inner city gate, constructed of thick rock, and the hustle and bustle was instantly shut out.
The air in the seventh prison ward suddenly became cold and stagnant, mixed with the dampness of the stone walls, disinfectant, and a faint, oppressive atmosphere of despair.
The tall, gray stone walls seemed to block out the sunlight, casting cold shadows.
The guards, dressed in dark uniforms, were expressionless, with sharp, eagle-like eyes. Their swords and armor gleamed coldly in the darkness.
The heavy iron door slowly opened with a screeching metallic scraping sound, revealing an even darker passageway inside.
The logistics team began unloading the goods, carrying the heavy supplies into the warehouse.
Xia Ri spoke in hushed tones with the guard captain of the prison ward, checking the list.
Kabuto, Toshito, and Hazuki were instructed to carry the pre-packaged food baskets into the prison area, where they were distributed to the inmates in each cell by designated guards.
"Tsk, this place is so oppressive." Morishita Toshito, holding a basket full of black bread, couldn't help but mutter a complaint under his breath, wrinkling his nose as if trying to dispel the lingering, chilly smell.
His voice echoed softly in the empty stone corridor.
"Concentrate, Toshito." Hazuki Murahashi, holding a basket of vegetables, whispered a reminder. Her senses were particularly acute in this place filled with negative emotions and chaotic chakra, and her face turned slightly pale.
Dou didn't say anything, but silently pushed a small cart loaded with several food baskets.
He lowered his head slightly, his glasses reflecting the light in the dim light, obscuring the emotions deep in his eyes.
He acted like an ordinary genin who was entering this strict environment for the first time, feeling somewhat nervous and uncomfortable.
The wheels of the cart made a monotonous rolling sound on the uneven stone ground.
The distribution point was located deep within the prison area, in a long, dimly lit corridor.
The corridor is lined with rows of heavy iron doors, each with only a small observation port.
They had to walk up to these iron gates one by one and distribute a meal to the prisoners through the window.
The air was filled with the smells of sweat, mildew, and bland food.
Dou is in charge of the window on the right side of the passage.
He placed the black bread, a small handful of dried vegetables, and a spoonful of bland bean soup from the basket into the old wooden bowl or tin plate that extended under the window.
Move mechanically, keep your eyes down, and avoid direct contact with those numb or resentful eyes.
"Hurry up," the guard's hoarse voice rang out.
Dou picked up a piece of black bread, as was his habit, and prepared to put it into the bowl by the window.
His gaze inadvertently swept across the window, glancing at the face peeking out from the shadows of the iron gate.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
The sound of the cart wheels rolling, the guards' shouts, the distant coughs of prisoners, the dull thud of the handsome man moving a box...
All sounds receded rapidly like a receding tide, leaving only the sound of his own heart pounding wildly in his chest, so muffled it seemed about to explode.
Those were extremely familiar eyes.
Those brown eyes, which were once as gentle as the warm spring sun and embraced the grievances and fears of all the children in the orphanage, now seemed to be covered with a thick layer of dust that could not be wiped away.
His eyes were vacant and unfocused, devoid of any expression or spirit.
He stared blankly in the direction of the pocket, yet it was as if he had seen through him and was looking at a point in the void.
There was no recognition, no doubt, not even the slightest numbness or wariness one would expect when facing a stranger distributing food. There was only a deathly silence, like two dried-up wells.
It's the dean!
Yakushi Nonou!
His... mother!
Dou's mind went completely blank.
The blood in my body seemed to rush to my head instantly, only to flow back down to my feet in the next second.
The black bread he was holding between his fingertips was almost crushed by his unconscious strength.
Kabuto stared intently at that face, that face etched deep within his soul, the face that had sustained him through countless dark years.
He couldn't possibly have mistaken his own mother!
Even though those eyes had lost all the familiar light...
But that's her!
It was the director who took him in during the war, wiped the mud off his face with warm hands, gave him his own glasses because he was nearsighted, and hummed a soft lullaby to lull him to sleep!
"..."
Dou's throat felt like it was being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, preventing him from making any sound.
He wanted to shout, to shout that name without hesitation.
But his remaining rationality, like the last taut string, reminded him of his current identity and situation.
He is "Kumamoto Kabuto," an orphan from the Land of Stars, a low-ranking ninja from the Land of Stars. It's impossible for him to know "Wandering Shrine Maiden," a spy from Konoha's Root organization.
He was overwhelmed by immense shock and the ensuing tsunami-like panic.
Why? Why is the dean here?
Why is the director in a prison in the Land of Stars?! Shouldn't she be on a mission in another country or at an orphanage in Konoha?
And... she doesn't recognize me?
How could I not recognize it?!
How long have I been away from the orphanage?
But that's the dean!
The hospital director loved him like his own son!
His mother!
How could she possibly look at him with that empty, blank gaze, like she was looking at a stranger?
Dou forced himself to lower his head, concealing the turmoil and tearing pain that was about to burst forth from his eyes.
He used all his strength to control his trembling fingers and gently placed the slightly deformed black bread into the broken bowl held in his withered hand.
His movements were as stiff as a rusty machine.
"Th...thank you." A very dry, hoarse voice rang out.
Faint, indistinct, carrying a sense of unfamiliarity after a long silence.
That "thank you" was like a red-hot knife, stabbing deep into his heart and then cruelly twisting it.
There was no familiar warmth, no fluctuation whatsoever, only an almost instinctive, numb response.
This is not the voice he remembers!
It wasn't the voice that would gently call his name!
A chilling coldness shot through my spine and spread rapidly throughout my body, colder than the stone walls at the deepest part of the Seventh Prison Ward.
The world he had meticulously constructed and relied on for survival cracked with a hollow "thank you."
The pillar of my belief was shaking violently, as if it would collapse completely at any moment.
Lord Danzo's promise... the Dean's freedom... their promise to start their lives anew...
Could all of this... just be...?
"Dou! What are you daydreaming about! Hurry up!" His companion's voice rang out like thunder, jolting him awake.
(End of this chapter)