Oh?
Shinichi's heart stirred slightly. He immediately stepped forward two paces, crouched down so his line of sight matched the boy's, and pulled out two banknotes from his clothes, handing them to the boy.
The boy froze, his eyes staring fixedly at the two banknotes that were practically a fortune to him. Then his small hands trembled slightly as he accepted them.
Lowering his head forcefully, unable to suppress the choking sobs and excitement in his voice, he repeatedly thanked him: "Th-thank you, big brother! Thank you so much! You're really a good person!"
"What's your name?" Shinichi stretched out his hand, gently rubbing the boy's hair as he asked warmly.
"I don't have a name."
Hearing that, the brown-haired boy fell silent for a moment, then shook his head blankly, his voice becoming even quieter.
Ever since he could remember, he had been wandering and begging. He did not remember his father or mother, nor did he remember where home was.
"I see."
Shinichi smiled slightly, inwardly thinking that it was exactly as expected.
Jackpot!
One hour later, inside a suite at a high-end inn on Tanzaku Street.
Tsunade, Shizune, and Kurenai Yuhi returned carrying large bags filled with their shopping spoils, all wearing satisfied smiles on their faces.
However, when they pushed open the door to Shinichi's room, they unexpectedly discovered that besides Shinichi, there was another party in the room.
A somewhat nervous and timid-looking boy sat by the table, holding a steaming bowl of ramen and taking small bites.
He had already changed into a clean and tidy set of new clothes.
However, judging from his stiff sitting posture and clumsy eating movements, he seemed extremely unaccustomed to this feeling of cleanliness, warmth, and being cared for, appearing somewhat at a loss.
Hearing the door open, the little boy raised his head abruptly like a startled rabbit, with a small mouthful of noodles still stuffed in his mouth.
His slightly panicked eyes looked toward the three unfamiliar women at the doorway, and his body unconsciously shrank back a little.
"Shinichi? Who is this?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow, put down the shopping bags in her hands, and looked back and forth between Shinichi and the unfamiliar boy. Shizune and Kurenai Yuhi also leaned closer with curiosity.
Shinichi smiled and pointed at the boy as he introduced him: "Tsunade-sensei, Shizune, Kurenai, let me introduce him. This is…"
"Yamato."
That's right. This nameless, brown-haired, homeless child whom Shinichi picked up on the street was none other than the future Konoha ninja who would survive the Wood Style experiments, successfully obtain the power of Wood Style, and become known as Yamato.
At the same time, in the Land of Water, isolated overseas, at a port perpetually shrouded in thick mist.
A tall young woman with a cold temperament stepped onto the land filled with mist.
Two days later, at the third Hokage's office.
Tsunade once again acted like a hands-off manager, using the excuse that she would let Shinichi familiarize himself with the responsibilities and procedures of a Jonin instructor in advance. Not only did she throw the tedious task report writing onto Shinichi, but even the task of formally giving an oral report to the Hokage at this moment was also pushed onto him.
"… That concludes the entire process and final results of this mission to the Takumi Village in the Land of Takumi."
After the report ended, the office fell silent again.
Behind the desk, the third Hokage quietly listened to Shinichi's detailed account before revealing an extremely kind smile.
"I never expected such a change to occur in the Takumi Village. Fortunately, you all arrived in time and handled the situation decisively. Not only did you preserve Konoha's cooperative relationship with the Takumi Village and ensure the supply of important strategic resources, but you also helped stabilize the situation in an allied village. You all did very well. You've worked hard."
"Based on the nature of this incident, the level of involvement, and the final outcome, the mission rank for this assignment will be raised to S-rank."
S-rank mission!
Hearing this, Shinichi and Tsunade reacted calmly, while Shizune and Kurenai Yuhi, standing behind them, both wore excited, delighted expressions.
The two quickly exchanged glances, each seeing the excitement in the other's eyes.
"Since the mission has been successfully completed, you may all go and rest well."
"Yes! Hokage-sama!" The four answered in unison before bowing and leaving the Hokage's office.
After Team 10 left, the third Hokage's gaze returned to the documents on his desk. He picked up an application file regarding Yamato's identity registration.
Written simply on it was the child's background, encountered in Tanzaku Town, a nameless homeless child, named and brought back by Shinichi.
The third Hokage casually glanced at it twice before putting the report down and instructing the attendant beside him: "Go officially register this child into the village household records. Arrange the related welfare and basic education according to standard procedures."
Generally speaking, outsiders who wished to settle in Konoha had to undergo stringent identity verification, background checks, and even a period of observation.
Even children were no exception, though the process would be slightly relaxed depending on age.
But to the third Hokage, since this was a child brought back by Shinichi, he could not be bothered to conduct all those tedious investigations. It could be said that he was placing extraordinary trust in Shinichi.
Outside the Hokage Building.
As Team 10's Jonin instructor, Tsunade suddenly seemed to remember something before dismissing the team: "By the way, next month will be the Chunin exams. I know you are already a Jonin, Shinichi, so it's not suitable for you to participate in that kind of exam, but the Chunin exams are usually conducted in teams of three. On your side, you'll have to figure out a suitable teammate to form a team with these two little girls and participate in this Chunin exam."
She paused before adding, "As for the candidate, decide for yourself. As long as they're reliable."
"I understand, Tsunade-sensei."
"Good, then I'll leave it to you. Dismissed!"
A short while later, at the western part of Konoha, in an orphanage.
"That's basically the situation, director. I'll leave this child in your care."
"Don't worry, Shinichi. I'll take good care of this child."
"Then I'll trouble you, director." Shinichi bowed slightly.
"It's no trouble, you child, you're always too polite. When you have time, come back and visit more often."
"I will, director," Shinichi promised.
He gently patted Yamato's shoulder and quietly gave him a few instructions before turning around and leaving the director's office.
Walking out of the orphanage, the afternoon sunlight was somewhat dazzling. Shinichi slowly walked along the familiar streets toward his home.
Earth and water…
As he walked, Shinichi was also thinking about Yamato.
During the two days since returning to Konoha, he had privately conducted some basic ninja tests on Yamato, such as whether he could refine chakra and what his chakra natures were.
The results interested Shinichi quite a bit.
Yamato naturally possessed both earth and water chakra natures.
In fact, Shinichi speculated that Yamato might also naturally possess a Light nature, except that the Litmus Paper commonly used throughout the Shinobi World currently could not detect more hidden and special natures, such as Dark nature and Light nature.
This discovery also caused some associations and speculations to arise in Shinichi's mind.