Chapter 290 : Naraku: I found a treasure!
On their way back to the Uchiha Clan Compound, Naraku learned from Kakashi that Kana had invited them to dinner at her house that evening to celebrate Minato's succession.
Rin and Arashi were also joining the dinner.
Naraku happily agreed.
As for Kushina, she had moved in with Minato a few days prior, leaving her house for Kana.
She was probably spending a romantic evening with her fiancé and wouldn't have time to hang out with them, a bunch of minors.
"Then let's go visit Aunt Mikoto and Little Itachi first, and tell them we'll be home late tonight…"
Naraku muttered his plans to himself. As he passed Granny Ame's sweets shop, he saw two somewhat familiar faces inside.
—Huh, wasn't that…?
His staring at the shop made Kakashi mistakenly think he wanted sweets. With a helpless yet doting sigh, Kakashi stepped forward and ordered a few skewers of a new flavor of three-colored dango.
Granny Ame, seeing him again, chuckled and teased, "Oh my, isn't this Little Kakashi? Are you buying for Naraku-kun again this time?"
Kakashi nodded frankly, pointing at the dango in the display case and saying, "Yes, that's right. Please give me this one, this one, and also…"
Naraku was utterly exasperated.
—That's not what I meant…—Oh well, no harm in eating it.
He naturally walked over to Kakashi's side, and the man working there immediately recognized his savior.
"Ninja Lord! …Granny, I'm sorry, please wait for me for a moment."
He didn't bother with the packaging and quickly ran out from behind the counter, performing a dogeza in front of Naraku: "Long time no see! It's wonderful to see you safe and sound!"
Kakashi and Granny Ame were stunned, not understanding what was happening.
Naraku asked with a hint of hesitation, "You're from Mount Kikyo back then…"
"Precisely!" The man quickly nodded and called his wife over to greet them as well: "Wife, what are you still standing there for—"
"No need," Naraku was still a bit unaccustomed to the man's excitement and quickly changed the subject, "How is the child?"
"This…"
The man stood up from the ground, a hint of worry on his face, while his wife couldn't hide her sorrow and couldn't help but wipe her tears with her apron.
Naraku frowned: "What's wrong?"
"To be honest, we got separated from Ichiro on our escape, and we haven't found him to this day."
Returning to his wife's side to pat her on the back, the man, as the head of the household, showed no signs of breaking down or resentment. Instead, he maintained an optimistic attitude, explaining the situation while continuing to pack the dango.
"I believe our Ichiro is still alive. He's a very smart little kid, and he must be looking for his mom and dad everywhere right now…"
After some conversation, Naraku learned that they had been traveling extensively for a long time, searching for their child.
Not long ago, with no other options, the two came to Konoha, pooled all their savings, and posted a missing person mission.
After posting the mission, the penniless couple met the kind Granny Ame and were taken in to work at the sweets shop.
As Granny Ame put it, she was getting old and couldn't manage everything by herself; having someone to help out saved her a lot of effort.
The couple, grateful for the kindness, worked very hard every day and also took care of Granny Ame's daily life.
They planned to add more rewards to the missing person mission once they had some savings, to ensure a reliable Ninja squad would accept it quickly.
After bidding farewell to Granny Ame and the couple, Naraku walked down the street in thought.
From the first time he saw him, he felt the child looked familiar, but the situation was urgent then, and he didn't have time to think about where he had seen him before.
—Right, did the child's father just say he couldn't see things clearly from a distance when he was little?
—Nearsighted? And if you add glasses… Kakashi was afraid he would bump into something while distracted, so he held the steaming dango in one hand and pulled Naraku's arm with the other, keeping him close.
"Ah." Naraku came to his senses.
—If you add glasses, wouldn't he look six or seven parts like Yakushi Kabuto!?
"What did you think of, Naraku?"
"Kakashi, I remember there's an orphanage in Konoha that reportedly often takes in war orphans; perhaps there might be a clue…"
"Then let's go take a look," Kakashi suggested, "You're very worried about that child, aren't you?"
"But it's very far, otherwise I'll go by myself…"
"No, you won't."
Kakashi cupped Naraku's face and kneaded it vigorously, scolding him for not living up to expectations: "How many times have I told you, don't be like this again!"
"…Hmph." Naraku agreed repeatedly, his words slurred… At the orphanage, Director Yakushi Nonou personally received Naraku and Kakashi.
Since Danzo had died a few years ago, she had been serving as the orphanage director peacefully, without being forced to carry out spy missions.
Knowing their purpose, Nonou was also very happy. In her opinion, no matter how good the orphanage's conditions or how responsible the staff, they were not as important as a child's loving biological parents.
After listening carefully to Naraku's description, she confirmed that there was such a child in the orphanage.
"There is indeed a boy who matches the appearance and age."
"But I'm sorry, that child seems to have injured his head and can't remember much of his past."
"We've tried many methods, including Medical Ninjutsu, but the results have always been minimal…"
At this point, Nonou's eyes suddenly lit up.
Standing before her was the disciple of Tsunade, the Ninja World's top Medical Ninja, who had inherited her medical skills. Why should she worry about the child's amnesia?
"If I remember correctly, Naraku-kun's Medical Ninjutsu level is very high, isn't it? Perhaps he can cure this child's illness… Please wait a moment, I'll bring him over now."
Nonou immediately brought over the boy who matched the appearance and age for Naraku to identify.
From the first second the boy with round-rimmed glasses and short grayish-blue hair entered the room, Naraku knew he hadn't guessed wrong.
The couple's son, "Ichiro," was indeed "Yakushi Kabuto."
—The Uchiha Clan has truly found a treasure this time!
—This is Yakushi Kabuto!
—A top scientific research genius who can surpass Orochimaru in some aspects!
The boy also froze the moment he saw Naraku.
Although he had lost many memories, he always felt that the handsome young Ninja in front of him was very familiar, very similar to the blurry figure he had seen in his dreams.
In the dream he repeatedly had, a shadow stood quietly in the sunlight, exuding a gentle and steady aura.
Then, the figure bent down and gave him a precious weapon.
"Take it."
"Protect yourself."
The boy stared at Naraku blankly for a while, then suddenly pulled out a slightly worn-looking Kunai from his small satchel and cautiously spoke, testing the waters.
"Ninja Lord…?"
"It's me."
Naraku's eyes were gentle, and his tone of voice was as soft as in his dream: "Ichiro, I'm here to take you home."
…
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