Chapter 76: Jiraiya, the Master of Emotions
Even though he had already burned the incriminating documents and applied the Cursed Seal, Danzo Shimura could not shake the feeling of deep unease. The matter of the seal had been conducted entirely behind Stelle's back; if she ever found out, there would be hell to pay.
Danzo decided it was best to avoid the office for the foreseeable future. A trip out of the village would be safer. That way, if another bombshell were to drop, he wouldn't be anywhere near the blast radius. He would be fine.
He retrieved the book Stelle had once given him as a joke—a thick, worn volume titled Postpartum Care for Sows—and brandished it as his excuse.
"I have made a decision," he announced with forced gravitas. "I will be dedicating myself to the development of Konoha's animal husbandry. I intend to expand the livestock farms to increase our village's income and contribute to our economic growth. For a time, I will be staying in the agricultural district outside the village. All documents should be sent there. If anything urgent arises, notify me via Ninja Hawk."
Without another word, Danzo Shimura was gone. He packed his bags and departed with such astonishing speed that Stelle was left momentarily dumbfounded in his wake.
'Damn,'she thought, a slow grin spreading across her face.'Danzo actually went to raise pigs. I was only badmouthing him a little bit back then.'
A few days later, Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Team 7 a new mission: escort a shipment of goods to the capital of the Land of Fire.
For a task this minor, Hiruzen saw no need to accompany them personally. The four of them were more than capable of handling it, and with a squad of Anbu shadowing them from a distance, what could possibly go wrong?
The journey was uneventful until they encountered a rival merchant caravan intent on sabotaging their cargo. A brief skirmish broke out. In the chaos, a small accident occurred, and Tsunade was caught in the blast of an explosive tag. The injury wasn't serious, but it left a nasty gash on her arm.
As a medical-nin herself, she knew a bit of rest and a quick application of healing jutsu would be sufficient. She sat cross-legged on the ground, preparing to treat the wound, when Stelle approached.
Stelle knelt beside her, produced a medical kit, and began to clean the wound with practiced efficiency. Then, she pressed her palm flat against the injury. A warm, green chakra bloomed from her hand, suffusing the damaged tissue with a gentle light.
Watching her take the initiative to heal Tsunade, Jiraiya felt as if he were seeing a whole new world.
"I thought you were really just a cold-blooded, emotionless person," he blurted out, a look of genuine surprise on his face. "But it turns out you do worry about your comrades. I knew it! How could anyone be that strange?"
Stelle offered him a placid, almost kind explanation. "Worrying about comrades is a consideration that does not enter my thoughts. Lord Hiruzen's mission for me was to protect the three of you. Allowing Lady Tsunade to be injured was my failure. I am simply taking responsibility for it."
"What?" Jiraiya's jaw dropped. "You… I really don't know what's going on in that head of yours! We're strong! We don't need your protection!" He threw his hands up in exasperation. She truly was an abnormal person.
Stelle's Medical Ninjutsu was exquisite. In just a few moments, the gash on Tsunade's arm had vanished, leaving behind smooth, unblemished skin.
Tsunade stared at her perfectly intact arm, her eyes wide with marvel. "You're amazing. You have five chakra natures, you learn every ninjutsu instantly, and you even know Medical Ninjutsu. I've never even heard of an Uchiha who knows Medical Ninjutsu. Who did you learn it from?"
Stelle's gaze flickered toward her.
'Since you're the one probing,'she thought dryly,'don't blame me for spinning another sob story.'"Is that an order?" she asked, her voice flat.'There it is again,'Tsunade and Orochimaru thought in unison.'The question about secrets.'
Whenever a topic touched upon something she couldn't—or wouldn't—say, she would always ask: Is it an order?
Orochimaru made the decision instantly. "It is an order."
Stelle began her performance, her tone as mechanical and detached as a puppet's. "It was one month before the final assessment of Root. The opponent I was assigned to face was my senior—the older brother who looked after me. We had the best relationship. If not for his care, I would have likely already died."
"In this battle, only one person could survive. If both of us lived, we would both be executed by the instructor. My brother was powerful. I was no match for him."
"But to give me a chance at survival, my brother taught me Medical Ninjutsu. He said that after the battle, I could use it to treat myself and delay my death until the instructor verified the results. Then, he would plead for me, and I might be allowed to live."
How could it be something so cruel again? The three of them felt a knot of distress tighten in their chests.
Jiraiya summoned his courage and pushed for one more detail. "So… you used Medical Ninjutsu to survive in the end?"
Stelle looked directly at him, her gaze frighteningly cold. "The rule of Root is that only one person survives. Just one. There are no exceptions. Only the strong who survive are worthy of being Root ninja."
"Our battle ended with both of us injured. Originally, the one who should have died was me. But my brother chose to die on my sword."
"As for me," she continued, her tone showing no fluctuation, "because I treated my wounds with Medical Ninjutsu, I was declared the top student of that class when the results were verified. I was given the codename 'Kinoe' and taken under Lord Danzo's personal tutelage."
As she spoke of this, it was as if even her deceased brother was now an irrelevant footnote. She merely glanced down at her own hand.
"He was my first companion."
Those black eyes, utterly devoid of emotion, paired with the bloody, inhumane story, were enough to make one's skin crawl.
"That's not right," Jiraiya suddenly growled, veins bulging at his temples as he took a step forward. "All of this is wrong! True companions never give up on each other! Just like me, Tsunade, and Orochimaru! We're people who can entrust our lives to one another. We trust each other completely!"
His outburst seemed to startle Stelle. A flicker of what looked like genuine confusion appeared in her eyes. "Companions…" She looked at her hand again. "Why would people entrust their lives to others?"
To the side, Tsunade leaned in and whispered to Orochimaru, "I asked my grandmother. There's no organization called 'Root' in Konoha. Only the Anbu."
"That was founded by my great-uncle and is currently led by the Hokage," Tsunade continued, her voice low and urgent. "It's absolutely impossible for such a bloody training method to exist."
"Exactly," Orochimaru murmured back, sharing his own intelligence. "The Hokage would never train a ninja who, upon encountering a villager held hostage, would kill both the villager and the target without hesitation." He paused, his snake-like eyes fixed on Stelle. "I heard her. She refers to Sarutobi-sensei as 'the Third.' She isn't a ninja our Konoha could have produced. But… I think everything she says is true."
The two of them glanced at the shouting Jiraiya.
"He doesn't actually believe Sarutobi-sensei's excuse, does he?" Tsunade complained under her breath. "Kou is an Uchiha with a three-tomoe Sharingan. Is it really possible for her mind to be in such disarray from some foreign genjutsu?"
A glint of wisdom appeared in Orochimaru's eyes. "No. Don't underestimate the intuition of a simpleton. He's actually been probing her all along. Most of the intel I've analyzed was obtained through Jiraiya's provocations." He smirked. "Let's grab that guy later and go find Sarutobi-sensei. I've discovered a lot of incredible things."
After the mission concluded, Stelle watched with immense satisfaction as the three young ninja dragged a bewildered Hiruzen Sarutobi away, their expressions a mixture of conspiracy and grim determination.
A cackling, creepy old man's laugh echoed in the privacy of her mind.
'What a simple way to collect emotions,'she mused.'I just can't stop.''Especially Jiraiya—how can one person possess such rich emotional fluctuations? He's practically a master of emotions. Just a little poke and he starts dropping gold coins for me. I'm really going to have to show off my skills now.'
Far in the distance, Jiraiya, who was already walking away, inexplicably sneezed twice. A sudden chill ran down his spine. Thinking he was about to catch a cold, he pulled his collar tighter around his neck.
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