Chapter 162
Mother and Son Reunited, Kabuto Yakushi's Decision
Chapter 162 Mother and Son Reunited, Kabuto Yakushi's Decision
Yakushi Nonou stared intently at the scene reflected on the water's surface.
The painful yet familiar look in the boy's glasses, and my own empty, numb face, as if wearing a stiff mask!
An indescribable, soul-tearing pain exploded from the deepest part of my heart!
It hurts a hundred times, a thousand times more, than being pierced through by a chakra scalpel in a dream!
That wasn't physical pain; it was the excruciating pain of having the most precious part of one's soul brutally ripped out!
"Pocket...pocket...?"
A broken, trembling, and desperate cry was squeezed out with difficulty from deep in her throat.
Tears flowed like a burst dam, instantly gushing out and washing over her pale, wrinkled face.
She suddenly raised her withered hands and covered her mouth tightly, trying to stop the heart-wrenching scream that was about to burst from her throat, but her body felt as if all the bones had been removed, and she could no longer support herself.
Her knees buckled, and she collapsed heavily onto the cold, smooth surface of the Starry Water.
In the reflection, the emaciated, tear-streaked prisoner's figure overlapped, twisted, and shattered wildly with the gentle-looking "stand-in" boy in the photo provided by Danzo in her memory, and with the figure of "Kabuto" in her dream whose heart she had pierced with her own hands...
Cold tears fell onto the mirror-like water, creating ripples of despair that spread silently, as if to swallow up this desolate, star-studded realm.
"You are very lucky." Shura's voice appeared faintly and gradually faded away.
The illusion space shattered, and Yakushi Nonou fell back into the dark cell of the Seventh Ward.
The dampness of the stone wall, the oppressive sense of despair, and the excruciating pain of having her soul ripped out by those empty eyes gnawed at her relentlessly.
The cruel truth on the surface of the starry water was like a red-hot branding iron, burning an unhealable hole in the barrier of her chaotic memory.
Danzo's conspiracy, the lies of the substitute, and...
She couldn't even recognize her own child when they were so close!
Overwhelming self-blame and the hope of regaining what was lost, mixed with fear, stirred up a storm in the barren lake of her heart, leaving her curled up on the cold stone bed, unable to sleep all night.
Early in the morning, the cold air characteristic of the prison area, carrying the smell of mildew and disinfectant, did not arrive as expected.
The heavy iron gate creaked open slowly, without any harsh shouts from the guards.
The light was not the dim yellow of the corridor lamps, but the cool, natural morning light.
Uchiha Hikaru stood at the door.
She was still wearing that simple blue turtleneck dress, which accentuated her slender yet powerful figure.
Her long, raven-feather-like hair cascaded down, making her skin appear even whiter.
She simply stood there quietly, yet she exuded an invisible, chilling sense of oppression, as if she had shut out even the thick, despairing atmosphere of the prison ward.
"Come out." Her voice was clear and concise, like ice beads falling onto a jade plate, without any commanding tone, yet possessing an undeniable power.
Yakushi Nonou shuddered and looked up blankly.
Her withered face still bore traces of tears and the exhaustion of a sleepless night. Her once empty brown eyes now seemed like stagnant water with pebbles thrown in, churning with surprise, fear, and a faint glimmer of hope.
She instinctively clutched her thin, tattered prison uniform, her body stiffening, unsure how to react.
Uchiha Hikaru didn't urge her, but waited quietly, his dark, jade-like eyes calmly watching her.
After a few breaths, Yakushi Nonou moved off the bed stiffly and slowly, like a puppet on a string.
The cold ground beneath my feet sent a shiver down my spine.
She lowered her head, not daring to meet those dark eyes.
She knew that the people on the other side were from the Uchiha clan, but she didn't know why they would be there.
Yakushi Nonou obediently followed behind Uchiha Hikari, without being shackled, and walked out of the prison just like that.
We didn't see any guards along the way.
Uchiha Hikaru led her, as if passing through an invisible barrier, directly onto a passage leading to the ground where the light gradually brightened.
The sunlight grew increasingly dazzling, carrying a long-lost warmth.
Yakushi Nonou instinctively raised her hand to shield herself, and followed Uchiha Hikaru with slightly unsteady steps.
When her eyes finally adjusted to the light and she lowered her hand, she found herself standing in a small, quiet courtyard.
The courtyard was small, paved with bluestone slabs, and a few clumps of emerald green bamboo were planted in the corner, rustling softly in the morning breeze.
The air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and vegetation, a stark contrast to the filth and despair of the prison area.
Sunlight filters through the gaps in the bamboo leaves, casting dappled, swaying shadows on the veranda.
A short figure sat on the veranda with his back to her, seemingly fiddling with something.
He had short, spiky black hair, wore a black shirt and dark shorts, and his back view had a childlike innocence.
Yakushi Nonou's heart skipped a beat, and an indescribable pang of sorrow instantly welled up in her nose.
That back view... it seems so familiar...
"Menma." Uchiha Hikaru's cold voice broke the tranquility of the courtyard.
The small figure turned its head at the sound.
It is the very essence of the vortex-shaped hemp.
The face of this five-year-old child possesses a depth and tranquility that belies his age.
He looked at Yakushi Nono with a complex expression, a mixture of inquiry, scrutiny, and a hint of barely perceptible gentleness.
"Hikari-neechan." Menma's voice was clear and crisp, with a childlike innocence, but her tone was unusually steady.
He stood up and turned his gaze to Yakushi Nono. There was no surprise in his dark eyes, as if he had expected her arrival.
Yakushi Nonou's breathing stopped instantly.
She glanced at Menma, then suddenly looked at Uchiha Hikaru, her eyes filled with disbelief, shock, and confusion.
Face numb?
How could the child she was most worried about be here?
And he seems to be so familiar with Uchiha Hikaru?
This is the heart of the Land of Stars, surrounded by Star Ninja. The residence here must belong to a high-ranking Star Ninja. Why would Menma...?
What exactly is going on?
Uchiha Hikaru didn't seem to intend to explain.
She simply nodded slightly to Yakushi Nonou, her voice still cool: "The person has been brought."
After saying that, she turned around, her figure disappearing silently into the courtyard as if it had never existed, like a shadow blending into the sunlight.
Only the cool air in the courtyard and that faint sense of alienation belonging to the Uchiha remained.
Only Yakushi Nonou and Menma remained in the courtyard.
The warm sunlight and swaying bamboo shadows could not dispel the turbulent waves in Yakushi Nono's heart.
She stared blankly at the little boy in front of her, her memory of Masa still stuck two years ago before she left the orphanage to go to the Land of Earth on a mission.
The child in her memory and the child in front of her were frantically overlapping and clashing in her mind, making it almost impossible for her to think. "Director, come and have something to eat." Menma gestured for Pharmacist Nonou to come and sit down with her. A simple food box was placed opposite him.
He opened the box, inside were simple rice balls, sushi, and a pot of tea.
Yakushi Nonou slowly walked over.
"I know you have a lot of questions, but Kabuto will be here soon." Menma pushed the food box towards Yakushi Nonou, her small face expressionless, but her tone was calm.
"He has already agreed to join the organization. His loyalty has secured the safety of the dean."
“Kabuto…?” Yakushi Nonou murmured the name, her heart feeling as if it were being squeezed tightly by an invisible hand.
The scene on the starry water last night, the deep pain hidden in the boy's eyes as he distributed food, once again pierced her heart.
Join an organization?
Pledge allegiance to Asura?
To... save her life?
Overwhelmed by immense sorrow and self-blame, tears welled up in her eyes once more.
Just then, the gate to the courtyard entrance was pushed open.
A figure rushed in.
It's Yakushi Kabuto.
He was still wearing the dark blue genin uniform of Hoshigakure and round-framed glasses, but the gentle and calm demeanor he usually maintained was gone from his face.
His hair was somewhat disheveled, his breathing was rapid, and his eyes behind his glasses were bloodshot, filled with undisguised urgency and fear.
His gaze, like a searchlight, instantly locked onto the figure sitting on the veranda in the center of the courtyard with Menma.
Time seems to have frozen.
Dou's steps suddenly stopped, as if he had been nailed to the spot.
He stared intently at Yakushi Nonou, his chest heaving violently, his lips moving silently as if trying to call out something, but no sound came out.
That look in his eyes was filled with immense joy at regaining what was lost, deep-seated guilt, and a childlike, fragile fear that what he was seeing was just an illusion.
Yakushi Nonou stared at him blankly.
A few steps away, through the round-framed glasses in his pocket, she looked directly into those eyes for the first time so clearly and without any obstruction.
Those eyes, which always held a gentle smile and a hint of timidity, were now filled with pain and hope, yet they were still the same eyes she remembered, the eyes she had looked up when she was studying diligently under the lights of the orphanage and when she was gently patted on the head!
No longer the cheerful young man in the stand-in photo, no longer the numb and empty "stranger" reflected in the starry water.
It's her pocket!
"Dean... Dean..." Dou's voice finally escaped his throat, dry and hoarse, with an uncontrollable tremor, like a traveler who had trekked through a thousand-year desert and finally found an oasis.
This call completely shattered the last line of defense in Yakushi Nonou's heart.
"pocket--!"
A heart-wrenching cry, choked with sobs, burst forth from Yakushi Nonou's mouth.
She could no longer care about any restraint or doubt, and staggered forward!
His steps were unsteady, and his body swayed precariously.
Dou rushed forward and opened his arms.
In the center of the courtyard, under the warm sunlight and swaying bamboo shadows, the two collided violently!
With all her might, Yakushi Nonou clung tightly to Kabuto's waist and back, her withered arms gripping him tightly as if trying to merge herself into his very bones.
Dou hugged her tightly, his arms around her so tightly that he seemed afraid that if he let go, the person in his arms would disappear again.
Both of them were trembling violently, and tears that had been suppressed for too long burst forth like a flood, instantly soaking each other's shoulders.
Kabuto buried his face deep in Yakushi Nonou's chest, letting out suppressed whimpers like a wounded animal.
Yakushi Nonou tilted her head back, closed her eyes tightly, tears silently streaming down her cheeks, her Adam's apple bobbing violently as she endured the immense shock of regaining what she had lost, and the turmoil of self-blame and regret churning within her.
The sunlight fell quietly, enveloping the mother and son, who had finally been reunited after being cruelly manipulated by fate, in a warm halo.
Only the two people's suppressed sobs remained in the courtyard; they were the lamentations and catharsis of souls torn apart, finding each other's anchor again amidst the ruins.
After a long while, their emotions calmed down a little, but they still hugged each other tightly, as if trying to make up for the long time they had missed.
Menma, who had been sitting quietly on the veranda, watched this scene, a faint, almost sigh-like ripple passing through the depths of her dark eyes.
“You know better than anyone how Konoha Root operates.” He broke the warmth of the survivors’ grief with a soft voice.
Mianma's voice was calm, carrying an insight beyond his years.
“Danzo will not easily give up any pawn, but the Dean can fake his death and escape, living in seclusion in the Star Capital. This is the only place where the Root tentacles can be cut off.”
Upon hearing this, Kabuto stiffened slightly, lifted his head from Nono's embrace, and looked at Menma with teary eyes, then at the headmaster, his eyes filled with worry for the future.
Yakushi Nonou gently patted Kabuto's back and wiped away the tears on his face.
Kabuto took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
Although his eyes behind the glasses were still red and moist, they had regained the sharpness and decisiveness that belonged to a ninja.
“Faking death takes time and requires absolute certainty, and before that… I can’t disappear for too long.” Kabuto looked at Menma, his voice still slightly hoarse, yet exceptionally clear.
He paused, his gaze becoming complex yet resolute: "Danzo is inherently suspicious. If the identity of 'Kumamoto Kabuto' remains undiscovered for an extended period, or if he suddenly 'dies,' it will inevitably arouse his vigilance and prompt a thorough investigation."
“If I and the director disappeared or died together in a short period of time, he would definitely be suspicious and would use all his resources to search for us, and it might even affect the other children in the orphanage.”
His gaze fell on Yakushi Nonou's haggard face, the meaning of which was self-evident.
Yakushi Nonou opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately couldn't utter a word.
“More importantly…” Kabuto’s gaze refocused on Menma’s young face, which had a maturity beyond his years.
His voice lowered, carrying a sense of resolve.
"I can't let you walk alone in the shadows of Konoha."
A brief silence fell over the courtyard.
The rustling sound of the bamboo leaves was exceptionally clear.
Sunlight streamed through the gaps, illuminating the determined, even pleading, eyes behind the glasses.
He wasn't doing it for the mission, for Danzo, or even for the so-called organization.
He simply couldn't bear to let the "brother" who had pulled him back from the brink of despair and given him and his mother a glimmer of hope face the unfathomable darkness of Konoha alone.
Menma quietly looked back at Kabuto, his face still expressionless.
Those dark eyes, like the calm surface of a lake, reflected the burning determination within them.
After a moment, he nodded slightly, a gesture that conveyed a silent approval.
(End of this chapter)