"A woman dressed as a shrine maiden?"
Yinyue's eyes lit up.
Doctor Nak's expression turned grave as he spoke in a low, solemn tone:
"For her to cure such a difficult infant illness, it means her control over medical ninjutsu chakra is incredibly precise. If we can invite her here, there's a good chance she could save this guy!"
The Uchiha's expressions subtly changed. The hope that had been shattered earlier slowly gathered once again.
Everyone instinctively looked toward Yinyue.
But Jaeger's face suddenly changed. Fear flickered between his brows as he hesitated before speaking:
"It's just that… she's a bit scary."
Nanpū asked in surprise, "What do you mean?"
Jaeger took a deep breath, steadied himself, and replied:
"When that woman came up the mountain, large patches of her shrine maiden robe were soaked red with blood. She was carrying quite a few rogue ninja forehead protectors. I suspect she really did wipe out the rogue ninjas around here."
The Uchiha were about to press further—
But Yinyue's sideways glance stopped them. He gestured for Jaeger to continue.
Jaeger's pupils contracted. As memories of his first encounter with that woman resurfaced, a chill ran through him:
"After she came up the mountain, she walked to our house and knocked very politely.
I opened the door.
The stench of blood hit me.
Under her white hood, her face was beautiful—but her glasses were stained with blood. Her eyes were half-lidded, and she wore a gentle smile. In her hands were several white bundles that kept dripping blood.
Her voice was soft. She said she wanted to stay the night and even stuffed a lot of money into my hands, asking me to take care of her meals.
At the time…
I wanted to refuse.
But reason told me not to act rashly, and my instincts told me she truly had no ill intent—she only wanted a place to stay.
So I forced myself to suppress my fear and led her to the unused wooden cabin on the right side of my house.
That night, she heard my child crying in pain and came over on her own initiative, curing him.
From that, I could tell she should be a good person.
That's why tonight, I took people out hunting—to catch some game for her as thanks. Normally, we never go hunting at night.
Captain Yinyue…
You mustn't tell her that I told you all this."
Yinyue nodded and asked, "The cabin one hundred meters away on the right after entering, with the light still on?"
The Uchiha's eyes trembled slightly. They hadn't expected Captain Yinyue to have already memorized the surrounding terrain the moment he arrived.
Even Mikoto—always known for her attentiveness—couldn't help but look at Yinyue in surprise. Even during her time as a full-time ninja, she had never been this meticulous.
Izumi clicked her tongue quietly, feeling a bit shaken. In the dark night, a blonde beauty drenched in blood, carrying severed heads… this looked exactly like the beginning of a ghost story.
"Yes." Jaeger nodded solemnly, as if he had steeled himself.
"Nanpū, bring people with me. Izumi, you all stay here," Yinyue ordered concisely.
He moved decisively, leading them out of the cabin. Outside, he looked toward the rugged mountain path—sure enough, candlelight still glowed behind the paper windows of that wooden hut.
The four of them turned into black shadows.
They arrived at the cabin door.
Bang—
Nanpū kicked the wooden door open in one swift motion.
The two subordinates behind him had dark lines forming on their foreheads, sighing inwardly—their captain really was as direct and decisive as ever.
Yinyue gave Nanpū a strange look and said calmly, "We're here to invite someone."
"Sorry… sorry…" Nanpū apologized profusely, even reaching out as if to close the door and try again.
But the subordinates had already followed Yinyue inside.
In the main room stood a wooden bathtub, its surface covered with pink flower petals, steam gently rising.
Water droplets were scattered across the floor.
Inside was a bed with clean bedding.
Beside it lay a neatly piled black-and-white shrine maiden robe stained with blood, along with two pieces of purple lace underwear embroidered with classical floral patterns and trimmed with hollow lace edges.
The room was filled with a faint orchid-like fragrance.
It was obvious—a woman had been bathing here. Hearing the disturbance, she had fled in haste, not even having time to put on her clothes.
Yinyue scanned the otherwise empty cabin. His gaze passed over the woman's clothing, and he reached a conclusion in his mind:
Solemn on the outside.
Secretly bold on the inside.
Good at disguising herself with kindness and benevolence—her methods no different from a ninja's.
"Where is she?" Nanpū asked urgently after scanning the small cabin.
One Uchiha sighed. "Even if she were here, Captain Nanpū, that kick of yours probably scared her off."
Nanpū immediately looked awkward and fell silent, turning to look at Yinyue's expressionless face.
Splash—
Yinyue lightly brushed his right hand across the surface of the bathwater. The petals instantly parted to both sides. Feeling the water temperature with his fingers, he reached an answer.
"She likely left shortly before we arrived," Yinyue said. Then he pressed his hand against the bathtub, focusing intently as he performed some kind of technique.
"Captain Yinyue, I'll take people to chase her—" Nanpū began, then froze, eyes widening.
The other two Uchiha also wore strange expressions.
Before their eyes, the bathtub beside Yinyue vanished into thin air—without any warning.
Their hearts cried out in shock.
As expected—Captain Yinyue truly knows the most mysterious space–time ninjutsu!
"She doesn't want to get involved, and she doesn't want to see us," Yinyue analyzed calmly. "Let's go. Trying to find a ninja who wanders freely across the shinobi world in this wilderness would take far too much time."
With that, he paid no attention to the shock on Nanpū and the others' faces and turned to leave the cabin.
As for the bathtub and its bathwater—
They now lay quietly within his storage space.
Yinyue already knew who this shrine maiden was.
He just hadn't expected—
Her to be at Kikyo Mountain.
Golden hair, round glasses, shrine maiden attire, outstanding looks, and mastery of medical ninjutsu—
This could only be the once-famous former Root member of the shinobi world:
Yakushi Nono.
Around the night of the Uchiha massacre—
She had not yet died.
As for why she appeared here—
By the time Yinyue and the others returned to the cabin, he already had a rough guess.
Seeing the four return empty-handed—
Izumi, Mikoto, and the other Uchiha's eyes dimmed. Even Jaeger felt dejected on their behalf.
Tamao suddenly burst out laughing.
"If I die, your burden gets lighter—so it's a good thing! Don't be too sad!"
The sorrow among the group deepened.
While the four were away—
Under Doctor Nak's guidance, Izumi learned some basic bandaging techniques. With materials provided by Jaeger, they fashioned a simple stretcher for Tamao.
Yinyue went to Jaeger's side and instructed him:
"We're leaving. Starting tomorrow, take your family and stay at an inn in Kikyo City for a while."
He didn't explain further.
Jaeger nodded solemnly, saying he trusted Yinyue, then hurried into the kitchen.
The Uchiha packed up quickly. Two of them lifted Tamao onto the stretcher and headed outside.
Jaeger came running out, arms full of food, calling urgently:
"Captain Yinyue—take these with you!"
Yinyue turned back.
Panting heavily, Jaeger carried ten jin of smoked wild boar meat and bags filled with chicken and duck eggs.
Warmth suddenly spread through the Uchiha's hearts.
Back in Konoha—
Even walking down the streets, they were met with cold stares from villagers.
Yet here, a refugee—because of their captain—treated them with genuine sincerity.
Jaeger shoved the food into Nanpū and the others' hands, then pulled out a sheet of rough paper from his chest and handed it to Yinyue with a sheepish grin:
"Captain, I don't know what mission you're heading for, but this is a map I personally surveyed of this region. I hope it helps!"
Yinyue didn't refuse his kindness. A slight smile curved his lips.
"Go back. Take good care of your wife and child."
Jaeger nodded with a smile.
Holding the bag of eggs, Izumi hesitated, then softly reminded him:
"Mr. Jaeger, we've taken away your Mist rogue-nin forehead protector. In the Land of Fire—even near the border—pretending to be a rogue ninja in the wild is extremely dangerous."
Jaeger scratched his head awkwardly.
"It was just a way to scare off bandits. But we'll try to grow stronger and stop relying on tricks like that."
Seeing he took advice well, Izumi nodded in satisfaction.
Doctor Nak also chased out after them.
Watching the group finally leave, he let out a long breath of relief.
Those walking disasters are finally gone—what a relief!
Under the pitch-black night sky, Yinyue and the others moved swiftly toward the northwest. With a few leaps, they blended into the darkness and vanished at the end of the mountain path.
…
In the desolate wilderness—
Under the moonlight in the forest, a mature woman with graceful curves sat atop a tree branch.
Her body was wrapped only in a snow-white bath towel.
(End of Chapter 20)