บท 179: Chapter 179
Kaito has been back in Konoha for a while now, but during this period, he's avoided making any trips to the security division.
The reason is simple: he genuinely fears "social death." Even though he's already shown his manuscript to Jiraiya and made the resolution to have Jiraiya take the blame if need be, the fear persists.
For a modern person like Kaito, sometimes, he'd rather experience actual death than face social humiliation. After all, you wouldn't have memes like "I'd rather confess to a crime than have people see my browser history" in his previous life for no reason.
While not that extreme, Kaito still genuinely dreads the prospect of social ostracization, especially in front of his friends. He's still mentally preparing himself for it—unsure when he'll actually be ready. For now, he dares not face Yaneko.
But sometimes, the world works in mysterious ways. Kaito thought he was effectively dodging Yaneko, but never in his wildest dreams did he imagine he'd run into her halfway through his errands.
Yes, the person walking straight toward him is Nara Yaneko. And clearly, Yaneko never anticipated meeting Kaito here either, judging by her rigid posture.
The last time she saw what Kaito had written, it had been a significant shock. She never imagined someone could write something so explicitly. Not just explicit, but also detailed in every way, making her think thoughts she'd rather not entertain.
Though she doesn't want to dwell on it—after all, she and Kaito are just normal friends and teammates—this line of thought only makes her more uneasy. Most troublingly, Kaito hasn't shown up at the security division for days, as if he's avoiding something.
"Could it be that he has some important business to attend to?" Yaneko mused. She's held her questions back, even from Nara Shikaku, making her increasingly restless.
Yet, her ninja sense of duty perseveres. She's continued doing what needs to be done, even if it leaves her uneasy. Today, she has to deliver documents to the Hokage building, so she took a secluded route to avoid crowds, only to coincidentally run into Kaito here.
The atmosphere becomes slightly awkward, and their silent eye contact only intensifies the tension.
But Kaito, after all, is a transmigrator; he's got a bit thicker skin.
Taking a deep breath, he manages a forced smile and finally breaks the silence: "Yaneko, what brings you here?"
The moment he opened his mouth, Kaito almost wished he could slap himself. What nonsense was he spouting?
If this were his past life, a girl might've turned and walked away by now. Who'd want to engage in this aimless chatter?
Fortunately, this world isn't littered with such trivialities. Yaneko furrowed her brows but nodded anyway.
"I'm delivering documents to Lord Hokage. After all, I'm still employed in the security division."
Yaneko's words left Kaito feeling a bit helpless. She not only stated her business but also managed to throw a bit of shade at him.
He's aware that his actions are somewhat inappropriate for a division chief, so he doesn't rebut.
"I've been a bit busy lately. Ask your uncle for the details if you're curious."
Kaito internally adjusted his emotional state. Then, he walked over to Yaneko with a smile and spoke softly.
"Speaking of which, I've only been back in Konoha for a short time."
"Is that so? Seems you're quite the busy man," Yaneko noted.
Observing Kaito's actions, the familiarity made Yaneko feel slightly uneasy. However, her keen mind quickly caught on to something.
"Somebody's following you. Who dares?"
"Mitarashi Anko, and another guy from the Anbu, although he, like Kakashi, has already left the Anbu."
Kaito didn't plan on keeping secrets from Yaneko unless absolutely necessary.
"Mitarashi Anko used to be Orochimaru's disciple, as you may know. She received quite a bit of unjust treatment after he left. But that's not the point. The point is that Orochimaru left something in her. I'm a little interested in that 'something,' so earlier at Kakashi's gathering, I promised to help her. Little did I know, she'd actually follow me.
As for that Anbu guy, he's a friend of Kakashi's. You should know his specific identity; he's that Wood Style test subject."
Kaito spoke in a hushed tone, but the information was rich. While Yaneko was surprised to hear Kaito had attended Kakashi's gathering, that wasn't the key point.
The crucial information lay in Kaito's interest in what Orochimaru had left in Anko, and, of course, the matter of that experimental subject.
To speak seriously, this experimental subject had indeed been exploited like a pawn in a game.
Although his subsequent performance hasn't been bad, nobody knows what he's really thinking—especially his current act of tailing Kaito, which raises all sorts of questions.
Yaneko is still Yaneko, grasping at once why Kaito was walking in this particular area; he probably wanted to lure these two out and see what they were up to.
However, her own appearance has complicated matters somewhat.
"Looks like I can't escape this, can I?" Yaneko sighed resignedly. "Really, running into you never brings any good. You'd be better off ignoring me."
"You're one of my best friends; I couldn't do that," Kaito said, unperturbed. "Besides, I'm not particularly concerned about him."
If Yaneko and Kaito's relationship appears too strong, if anyone really plans to harm Kaito, they're likely to target Yaneko.
Capturing Yaneko to pressure Kaito wouldn't be anything extraordinary in the world of ninja.
As Kaito pointed out, ignoring Yaneko probably wouldn't have caused any issues, especially given that intelligence reports indicate they're on good terms. But to avoid complications, those who were really following him wouldn't easily mess with others.
However, once Kaito spoke, the situation changed, particularly as he lowered his voice. No one would know what they were discussing.
"You're something else, really," Yaneko glanced at Kaito, who still exuded the same confidence, giving her an unchanged sense of his character.
For some reason, Yaneko's dissatisfaction seemed to fade at this moment, although she still shook her head.
"What do you plan to do?"
"Simple, but there's something I need to say before that."
As he spoke, Kaito reached out and held Yaneko's hand. He felt her tense up slightly, but like before, she offered no resistance.
This action reassured Kaito completely. Taking a deep breath, he began to speak in a low voice as they walked.
"About that thing you saw last time. I really wanted to say, even prepared to say, that it was written by Jiraiya, because, honestly, he could indeed produce such a piece. But for some reason, upon seeing you, I felt I couldn't utter that lie. I must admit, that 'thing' was actually written by me."
Kaito's words paused ever so slightly here, as he distinctly felt his hand being clasped back by Yaneko, who even began to squeeze a bit.
However, this in turn utterly relieved Kaito. After all, a reaction is a good thing.
"But I did have a reason for writing those things. I made a bet with Jiraiya. I even told him to his face that his 'Make-Out Paradise' wasn't well-written, and he remembered that."
"So, you wrote this because of that?"
Yaneko obviously knew about the incident. How could she forget when Kaito even ended up fighting Orochimaru over it?
However, that didn't seem like a sufficient reason for him to have written this. And to do it so proficiently? Truly leaves one speechless.
"He bet with me, promising that if I won, he'd grant me one request."
Kaito chuckled lightly, then continued at a leisurely pace.
"In order to win that promise, I naturally had to give it my all. As for the contents, don't forget, I am a mission ninja after all..."
//
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