Yakushi Nonō's words pierced straight into Yakushi Kabuto's heart like steel needles.
He staggered back several steps, his voice turning hoarse.
"How could this be? Look again—every so often, I always sent you my photos!"
Hearing him, Nonō's blood-loss-blurred mind finally began to understand.
Her pale lips trembled as she asked, "So… you're Kabuto after all…?"
"Director, you finally recognized me?"
Kabuto hurried back to her side, dropping to his knees as he asked anxiously.
Nonō shook her head. "No. I just figured out the truth."
She reached into her tool pouch and pulled out dozens of photos.
"Take a look."
Kabuto held the photos and flipped through them one by one.
The first few were indeed of him.
But the farther he went, the less they had anything to do with him.
Kabuto finally understood why Nonō said she didn't recognize him.
Because beyond the first few, the person in the photos had been replaced entirely.
"So that's how it is… In the end, even the only identity I had didn't belong to me?"
Kabuto sat down heavily.
The thing he treasured most was his identity—the meaning of his existence.
But now, he felt like a pathetic clown.
Even the one thing that grounded him had been stolen away.
What meaning was there… in living?
"Kabuto, don't be like this. I've already recognized you. No one can replace you."
Hearing Nonō's words, Kabuto snapped back to awareness.
She was alive.
As long as Nonō was alive, he was Yakushi Kabuto.
No one could take that away from him.
"How amusing. I didn't expect to hear such a bizarre story."
"That old fossil Shimura Danzō is as vicious as ever."
As Kabuto and Nonō reunited, Yuzuru Uchiha chuckled and applauded lightly.
Only then did the two return from their emotional reunion to the present.
Nonō looked at Yuzuru and spoke solemnly. "Regardless of everything, thank you for saving me."
Kabuto even bowed on the ground. "Lord Yuzuru, I owe you two lives."
One was his own.
The other was Nonō's.
If not for Yuzuru pulling her back from the brink of death, Kabuto couldn't imagine the despair he would be in now.
To kill with his own hands the woman he had always tried to protect, the woman who had been like a mother to him… the mere thought made him feel insane.
Yuzuru said calmly, "Don't thank me yet. You still might not leave here alive."
"Now—tell me your choice. Will it be death… or joining me, so one day you can avenge what was done to you?"
Kabuto was about to reply when Nonō spoke first.
"No matter whether I live or die, being able to recognize Kabuto again is enough for me."
"Please kill me. I won't betray Konoha."
Hearing this, Kabuto begged urgently, "Director Nonō, why would you choose that?!"
"If you submit to Lord Yuzuru with me, the two of us can finally escape Root!"
"After everything today, do you still intend to serve a monster like Shimura Danzō?"
Nonō shook her head with a bitter smile.
"If I betray Konoha, Danzō will never let the children at the orphanage go."
"Kabuto, they are just like you—they're the ones I care about most."
"From now on, follow Lord Yuzuru and stay alive."
Kabuto fell silent.
He knew Nonō's nature.
She would never save herself if it meant sacrificing the children.
"I never would've guessed that Yakushi Nonō, called the 'Walking Shrine Maiden,' would be such a naïve woman."
Nonō froze and looked at Yuzuru in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
Yuzuru met her eyes.
"Do you really think that even if you die here, Danzō will let the orphans go?"
"I was once a shinobi of Konoha. I know Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō far better than any Root operative."
"To Danzō, the orphanage is just a farm for raising disposable soldiers."
"As long as the orphans have value, he won't touch them."
"But once they no longer serve a purpose, he absolutely won't waste resources raising them."
"Whether you betray or not changes nothing."
Nonō tried to object. "Maybe… maybe he isn't that heartless. If I don't betray Konoha, he won't harm the children—"
"Then what do you call this mission?"
One sentence silenced her completely.
Danzō had ordered her to kill a 'spy who betrayed the village,' promising that if she succeeded, he would allow Kabuto to leave Root and live in the sunlight.
But the person she was ordered to kill… Was Yakushi Kabuto himself.
A cold-blooded man who enjoyed such cruel games—could he possibly feel even a trace of compassion?
Seeing Nonō waver, Yuzuru pressed on.
"Nonō, if both you and Kabuto stay alive, that is what truly protects the orphanage."
"You could even threaten Danzō. If he lays a hand on those children, you'll expose everything."
Kabuto quickly echoed him.
"That's right, Director Nonō! Only if we live will he hesitate to act against them!"
Nonō looked uneasy. "Would he believe our threat?"
"Relax. As long as he has the orphanage as leverage, he knows you'll never leak information."
Seeing Kabuto's hopeful expression, Nonō finally nodded.
"Very well… But I don't know if Lord Yuzuru will agree."
After all, if they couldn't provide intelligence, they had no value.
Even if they chose submission, that didn't guarantee mercy.
Kabuto realized this as well and quickly swore,
"Lord Yuzuru, both Director Nonō and I are elite intelligence operatives. Even if we cannot offer Konoha's secrets, we can serve you in countless other ways!"
Yuzuru's lips curled.
With Yakushi Nonō in his hands, he no longer had to worry about Yakushi Kabuto's loyalty at all.