Chapter 87: Equivalent Exchange
"Proof."
Although she had already seen the Sharingan and was seven or eight-tenths certain of his identity, Yakushi Nonō—ever cautious—didn't blindly believe and maintained her guard: "I need to see Danzō's authentication code!"
She was a spy belonging to Root, so she absolutely needed to verify the proper code to confirm anything.
"Will this suffice?"
Uchiha Kazuki retrieved a scroll from within his robes and casually tossed it toward her.
As the scroll unfurled, a special coded pattern came into view. Yakushi Nonō's eyes trembled slightly as she unconsciously bit her lower lip.
"Your subordinate, the Walking Miko, greets Lord Owl!"
At this moment, Yakushi Nonō became certain that the Uchiha operative codenamed 'Owl' standing before her was indeed someone dispatched by Danzō himself.
The meaning behind a deep-cover spy who had been lurking in enemy territory for years being suddenly reactivated was painfully self-evident.
During her years operating within Kirigakure, she was constantly awakened by the same recurring nightmare in the dead of night.
In that dream, she received emergency recall orders from Konoha to execute an extremely dangerous mission.
The mission inevitably failed, and she fell dying in a spreading pool of her own blood.
Those precious children far away in Konoha would never see her return home.
But now, as that nightmarish scene manifested vividly before her very eyes, Yakushi Nonō felt her heart tremble violently. A complex mixture of emotions—tinged with profound sorrow—made her desperately want to refuse.
But the words caught painfully in her throat.
As a covert operative, refusing direct orders meant certain elimination.
Not only that, but if she dared refuse this mission, the orphaned children remaining at her orphanage in Konoha would also be systematically killed by Danzō as punishment.
"Yes, sir."
Yakushi Nonō lowered her head submissively, her reddened eyes struggling desperately to hold back tears of heartache and despair.
"Judging from your expression, you don't seem particularly willing." Uchiha Kazuki remained seated comfortably in his chair, scrutinizing her with obvious interest as he spoke in a deceptively light tone: "Yakushi Nonō, I've heard quite a bit about you from Danzō. You were the director of an orphanage, dedicating yourself to caring for many war orphans, correct?"
Every single undercover operative had exhaustively detailed records maintained—including their complete life history, ninjutsu specializations, personality traits, exploitable weaknesses, and psychological vulnerabilities—making it considerably easier for those in power to control and manipulate them effectively.
Yakushi Nonō's critical weakness was that group of orphaned children she had adopted and raised.
Danzō had precisely targeted this vulnerability, using the promise of continued funding for those helpless orphans as leverage to force Yakushi Nonō into carrying out increasingly dangerous espionage missions.
"Yes, sir."
Yakushi Nonō replied with hollow numbness: "May I inquire how exactly you require my cooperation?"
"No rush at all."
Uchiha Kazuki waved his hand dismissively and asked another question instead: "I heard you genuinely care deeply for those children. Can you tell me why that is?"
"Is this actually related to the mission?"
Yakushi Nonō frowned with visible reluctance, clearly unwilling to answer such a personal question.
"It has absolutely nothing to do with the mission."
Uchiha Kazuki smiled faintly: "But I want to know anyway. Is that acceptable?"
Looking at the infuriating person sitting before her so casually, Yakushi Nonō's eyes flashed with barely suppressed annoyance. Although she clearly wasn't willing, she still took a deep steadying breath and answered: "I love children. My parents both died in the war. I want to do everything within my power to protect the children who became orphans because of pointless conflict. Is that satisfactory, sir?"
She deliberately emphasized those last words to express her obvious dissatisfaction with this interrogation.
"Let me ask you something—do you want to break free from Danzō's control?"
Uchiha Kazuki didn't seem to care whatsoever about her hostile tone, relaxing further into his chair with his right hand resting casually against his cheek.
"What?"
Yakushi Nonō was visibly taken aback, seemingly not quite comprehending what she'd just heard.
"I'm asking if you want to break free from Danzō's control?"
Uchiha Kazuki patiently repeated his question, his expression remaining gentle without showing any sign of impatience or irritation.
"I..."
Yakushi Nonō's eyes suddenly lit up with desperate hope, her heart stirring with possibilities.
But almost immediately, cold rational calculation overwhelmed that momentary flutter of hope. She forcefully stopped herself mid-thought, dropping to her knees with a heavy thud as her forehead struck the ground.
Cold sweat beaded rapidly across Yakushi Nonō's forehead. She bit her lip so hard it nearly bled, shaking her head violently in frantic denial. Her voice trembled with genuine terror: "No! Please believe me—I absolutely have no intention whatsoever of betraying Lord Danzō! Please, I'm begging you, please don't hurt those innocent children!"
In that single instant, countless possible scenarios flashed rapidly through her analytical mind.
The most likely possibility was that Danzō had deliberately sent this operative to test her loyalty—to determine if she could still maintain her resolve and dedication.
As a deep-cover spy infiltrating foreign territory, once she demonstrated any wavering loyalty, Danzō—given his ruthless personality—would have her eliminated without the slightest hesitation.
"Raise your head, Yakushi Nonō."
Uchiha Kazuki's voice carried a subtle note of genuine helplessness, his words imbued with hypnotic mental energy: "Don't worry—Danzō and I are absolutely not on the same side. That question wasn't any kind of loyalty test."
The hypnotic voice, carefully infused with soothing mental power, gently calmed Yakushi Nonō's panicked heart.
Her chaotic emotions gradually stabilized, and she slowly raised her head to look at the young man before her. In his surprisingly gentle eyes, she seemed to perceive no malicious intent whatsoever—but rather a warm, genuinely kind feeling that appeared bright, clear, and pure.
"Now then, can you answer my original question?"
Uchiha Kazuki's compelling voice pulled Yakushi Nonō back to immediate reality, carrying a seductive quality that seemed to resonate directly with her soul: "Say it aloud—what is it that you truly want?"
She hesitated momentarily, gripping her clothes tightly with white-knuckled fingers while biting her lip. Finally, she whispered: "I... I want..."
Although still clearly hesitant, she ultimately chose to believe in the mysterious young man before her. Almost afraid he couldn't hear her properly, yet simultaneously afraid her voice carried too far, she let her accumulated resentment toward Danzō—burning like a raging inferno—burst forth in a passionate shout: "I want to be rid of Danzō! I don't... I don't want to die here in this miserable place! I want to go back... back home to Konoha! Those children desperately need me!"
"Then let's make a deal."
Uchiha Kazuki leaned forward slightly, his hands crossed before him as his eyes directly reflected the desperate woman's image: "I'll solve this particular problem for you, and in exchange, you do me a favor."
Hearing this seemingly impossible offer, Yakushi Nonō looked startled, her pupils dilating as if she couldn't possibly believe what she was hearing: "That's impossible! Danzō is the supreme leader of Root—the Hokage's most trusted and influential advisor! You're just an ANBU operative! How could you possibly help me escape his control?"
How to solve it?
Of course, by addressing it directly at the source.
After all, his specialty involved analyzing the root cause of any problem and then dealing with it at its fundamental origin.
Just as he was about to elaborate his response to Yakushi Nonō, suddenly three distinct waves of naked killing intent—accompanied by intense chakra fluctuations—emanated from nearby.
"Hmm?"
Uchiha Kazuki raised an eyebrow with mild interest before sighing: "We'll have to continue this discussion later. It seems we have uninvited guests approaching."
"This is bad—someone's approaching at high speed!"
Yakushi Nonō also sensed it immediately—three powerful chakra signatures radiating undisguised killing intent were heading directly toward their location from the northwest direction.
"Wait just a moment."
Uchiha Kazuki rose slowly from his chair with practiced ease, speaking with perfect calm: "I'm heading outside to take care of some minor business. We'll continue our conversation when I return."
[End of Chapter 87]
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