Yasuka was undeniably a handsome man.
His features were refined, bearing a gentle and refined elegance akin to a piece of flawless jade, and his demeanor was completely poised, proper, and generous.
Countless wealthy women had tried to use their fortunes to win Yasuka over, but the vast majority of them were unilaterally shut down by Tsunade.
That’s right—this legendary deadbeat gambler not only owed Yasuka thirty million taels, but she had also meddled in his marriage prospects on more than one occasion.
If it weren’t for their past friendship, Yasuka would have certainly…
Well, truth be told, facing Tsunade’s monstrous strength, there really wasn’t much he could do.
Every single time, he would be firmly restrained by Tsunade, who would then lean in close and complain that those women simply weren’t good enough for him.
And right after that, he would invariably be dragged off to work by Orochimaru.
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing her dazing out, Yasuka assumed she had been frightened, so he called out to her softly once more.
“Huh?
I…
I…
I’m fine…
Thank you, big brother.”
By the time she finally snapped back to reality, her childish little face had already flushed crimson, looking like a lovely little tomato.
“It’s good that you’re fine.
My name is Yasuka, and the one who just helped you is named Naruko Namikaze.”
Yasuka explained gently.
Now that Naruko’s identity had been publicly announced, she had naturally changed back to her father’s surname, though she didn’t particularly care either way.
“Thank you…
I…
My name is Hinata Hyuga.
It’s a pleasure to meet you!
Big brother, and…
Naruko…”
Hinata’s voice was soft and sweet, incredibly endearing.
Yasuka reached into his bag and took out a few small tomatoes he had prepared for Satsuki, handing them over to Hinata.
Right at that moment, a ninja materialized.
Or rather, he had been hiding there all along, deliberately choosing not to show himself until now.
“Milady, it is time to return.”
The ninja was well aware of Yasuka’s status, so he didn’t dare to act too aggressive.
“Um…
Big brother, Naruko, goodbye.”
Hinata clutched the small tomatoes Yasuka had gifted her and waved goodbye to the two of them.
Witnessing this scene, Yugao silently noted down that Yasuka had managed to charm yet another little girl.
Ino Yamanaka from the flower shop, Tenten from the ninja tool shop, Satsuki who frequently ran over, and Naruko and Haku at home.
Even though Yasuka hadn’t done anything remotely inappropriate, the fact that so many little girls actively gravitated toward him proved that he was exceptionally popular with children.
After this brief interlude, Yasuka brought the girls back home to enjoy a lively sukiyaki dinner, though Yasuka himself didn’t eat much.
Once the girls had eaten and drunk their fill, Yugao suddenly drifted off to sleep.
Naruko immediately began tinkering with the Flying Raijin.
She had already mastered the Rasengan, but the Flying Raijin was still a work in progress.
Undeniably, without the restrictions of the Nine-Tails and with the guidance of Minato’s firsthand experience, Naruko’s growth rate was terrifying.
Afterward, Yasuka went to Shisui’s room to accompany her for a separate serving of sukiyaki.
The Snake Talisman allowed her to remain completely undetected, but it also meant she couldn’t communicate with anyone else.
Aside from Yasuka, only Haku and Naruko were aware of her existence.
However, to Yasuka’s surprise, Shisui’s mindset remained incredibly positive throughout, never sinking into paranoia due to the isolation.
Watching her happily munching on the sukiyaki, Yasuka could only marvel that simple-minded people truly carried their own blessings.
The following day, Yasuka headed out carrying his medicine box, accompanied by Haku, Yugao, and the invisible Shisui.
Naruko was left at home under the protection of the Anbu, so he didn’t need to worry too much.
Though, the specific Anbu assigned to protect Naruko had a full head of white hair and didn’t look entirely normal either.
Yasuka had a habit of periodically visiting local orphanages to provide free medical treatment and donations.
Originally, he had wanted to see if he could use this to farm some system progress.
But over time, it simply became a habit.
War was a cruel thing, and children were always the greatest victims.
He knew he couldn’t change the entire world, but he would always do whatever was within his power.
The director of the orphanage was a beautiful woman with long, brownish-yellow hair, dressed in sister’s attire and wearing square-framed glasses.
Seeing Yasuka arrive, she was both pleasantly surprised and somewhat flustered, doing everything she could to host him properly.
However, the conditions of the orphanage were exceptionally poor, which only made her hospitality feel all the more strained and embarrassing.
“There’s no need for formalities.
I came here to treat the children, not to be pampered.”
Yasuka cut through her anxious hosting.
He knew exactly how difficult it was to run an orphanage in the ninja world.
Because of this, he held immense respect for those who managed to persevere.
“Thank…
Thank you…
You may call me Nono.
Please follow me.”
Nono remained polite and cautious around Yasuka; she was simply too terrified that he might leave.
The last time Danzo was forced to compensate Naruko, Root had suffered a massive blow to its vitality.
Since there were losses, they had to be recouped from elsewhere.
An institution like the orphanage, which brought far more liabilities than benefits, was immediately cut off from all funding by Danzo without a second thought.
Over the past few days, Nono had been running ragged everywhere, desperately using medical jutsu to earn money just to barely sustain the children’s minimum baseline for survival.
There were times when she herself doubted if she could keep going.
But…
whenever she saw the children’s smiles, she would invariably find the strength to pick herself back up.
Even though she had come from the deepest, darkest depths of Root, she still desired to protect these newly sprouted, fragile leaves.
Yasuka worked with incredible efficiency.
Every single time, he could pinpoint the exact root cause of a child’s illness and write down the precise medicinal herbs they required.
Staring at the densely packed characters on the paper, Nono looked even more embarrassed, but Yasuka stated that he would cover the cost of these medicines himself.
Furthermore…
“They need food.
Malnutrition is the true underlying cause of these illnesses.”
“I’m sorry…”
Nono lowered her head.
How could she not know that?
But…
with their funding cut off by Danzo, what could she possibly do as a ninja who originated from espionage?
Even if she wanted to take on missions, what would happen to the children?
Who would watch over them?
“You’ve already done an incredible job.”
Yasuka’s tone softened significantly.
He could see that the children at the orphanage genuinely loved Nono, and even though life was harsh, it hadn’t dulled their spirits.
He wasn’t some saint, but he possessed a kind heart.
Moreover, by spending money on the orphanage, there was always a chance he might alter the fate of some heavyweight character, which would bring him benefits.
Yasuka comforted himself with this logic.
Though he had long stopped expecting a random orphanage to produce a hidden genius, he wasn’t short on money anyway, so he was perfectly content to offer aid.
“Thank you.
No matter what, thank you so, so much.”
This woman, who was once known as the “Wandering Miko” and possessed a legendary life as a spy, looked thoroughly exhausted today, like an ordinary, vulnerable woman.
She took off her glasses to wipe them, her beautiful eyes constantly clouded with worry.
“Do you have something weighing heavily on your mind?”
Yasuka didn’t know Nono’s full history, but he could sense that she was a woman filled with stories.
“Me?…
I have a child who is still out there.
I really don’t know how he’s doing right now.
That child is clearly…”
As Nono spoke, her voice began to choke up.
She wasn’t a qualified director; she hadn’t been able to take proper care of all the children belonging to the orphanage.
“Sigh…
I’m sorry.”
Yasuka gently patted Nono’s delicate shoulder.
The two of them continued to chat back and forth like this, finding themselves to be surprisingly compatible.
Gradually, the conversation shifted away from sorrowful topics, turning into shared laughter brought about by lighthearted banter.
However, Yugao, Shisui, and even Haku felt somewhat…
uneasy about this.