Sunny and cheerful Konoha Genin

The footsteps coming from a distance became clearer and clearer.

Are they pursuers sent by the Iwagakure?

Jiraiya and Tsunade looked at each other. Due to the heavy wind and snow, they were unable to confirm more information.

"There is only one person on the other side."

Karin suddenly spoke.

She activated Kagura's Heart Eye, so she could sense it.

"He has chakra but not much. He looks like a ninja."

Is this child's perception so strong?

Tsunade was a little surprised.

"It's impossible for the Iwa Ninja to send only one person to chase us."

"Maybe it's a ninja who came here by chance."

Jiraiya analyzed carefully.

"But who would come here alone on such a cold night?"

"Could it be Deidara?"

Ito Toru suddenly felt a little guilty: "This used to be his secret base."

"what?"

Jiraiya was shocked: "You said this is where the bomber is?"

"Oh my goodness, if he comes back and finds us, won't he cause a huge explosion?"

"It can't necessarily be him. After all, he is being chased by so many villagers, and Yahiko and the others have been following Deidara."

"There's no way he could have snuck in here alone."

Toru Ito was also a little confused.

And just then.

The people outside seemed to notice that there were people inside and stopped.

Inside and outside the temple, everything fell into silence.

For a moment, the only sound was the sound of wind and snow.

"Excuse me....can I come in?"

After a brief silence, the person outside finally spoke first.

To everyone's surprise, it was a female voice.

It sounds quite gentle, but mixed with this gentleness is a bit of vigilance and uneasiness.

and……

For some reason, Toru Ito felt that the voice sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

"what?"

This time, Jiraiya was the first to react.

"I remember this voice! Nono? Is that you?"

he shouted toward the outside.

"Eh?! It's Jiraiya-sama?!"

Outside, Nono, who had his hand on the ninja tool bag, ready to throw the explosive kunai at any time and then run away quickly, was startled and made a surprised sound.

I didn't expect to meet a ninja from the same village here.

Because she was lost, she wandered in the cold and dark mountains for a long time and almost fell off a cliff.

I finally saw a place with light and followed it to find it.

I actually met a companion!

The next second, Jiraiya pushed open the door and confirmed that it was indeed Nono standing outside in the snow.

"Why are you here alone? It's so cold. Come in and talk."

"Ok!"

He kept greeting.

Nono also trotted in.

"Huh?! Ito? And Lady Tsunade! Why are you guys here too?"

She was pleasantly surprised to see so many familiar faces.

I even suspected that I was under an illusion.

It was not until Toru Ito handed her a bowl of cooked soup and she felt the aroma and warmth of the food in her hands that Nono finally believed the reality.

"Thank you! This is so blissful!"

She blew on it, took a small sip, and then her eyes lit up.

"Drink it well!"

The warm and fragrant soup went into her stomach, dispelling the coldness from her body and bringing a happy smile to Nono's face.

There is also a bonfire in front of me and my companions sitting beside the bonfire... In short, I feel very safe!

"Come on, everyone, have a drink too."

Ito Toru greeted everyone, and after everyone drank the broth, they felt much better.

"Thank you for the hospitality. I feel much better now. Below is the Iwagakure Village, right?"

"Yes, but I suggest you don't go down now."

"Huh? Why?"

Nono looked at Ito Toru with some confusion.

"Ahem... Well, something happened and the Iwagakure are frantically looking for us. If you go, you'll be right in the crosshairs."

"Uh……"

Nono's expression was a little strange.

I was thinking, what have you done to anger God and man that has made the Iwa Ninja go crazy looking for you?

It was hard for her to imagine.

"It doesn't matter. I came here to find you."

"Looking for us?"

"Correct."

Speaking of this, Nono's expression became serious.

"It was Lord Orochimaru's request. Do you remember the last mission I mentioned?"

When she spoke, she seemed a little hesitant, not knowing whether she should say it or not.

Because Nono suddenly realized that Jiraiya and Tsunade were also here!

"The last mission?"

Tsunade wasn't interested, but Jiraiya was full of interest: "You guys still have this thing? What's the final mission?"

“It’s about the roots.”

Ito Toru explained beside him: "Danzo once left a mission, but Jiraiya, you guys probably know what happened afterwards, right?"

"Ah, I've heard a little bit about it, but I didn't expect that sinister guy could be so resolute and decent in the end."

Jiraiya showed an expression of admiration: "Maybe I misjudged him before?"

No, you read that right, I was the one who helped him save face!

The corner of Ito Toru's mouth twitched slightly.

Danzo unexpectedly gained a good reputation because he died too early.

It’s really hard to evaluate.

"Ahem, but right now, Orochimaru should be the one in charge of the Root. Is it convenient for you to tell others about this mission? If not, Tsunade and I will leave for a while."

Jiraiya asked very considerately.

Nono also looked at Ito Toru.

"Of course it's convenient, there's nothing wrong with that."

Ito Toru was very upset.

Although if Jiraiya knew this information, he might be able to deduce something.

But at the current pace, the three ninjas will most likely not become enemies like in the original work.

In fact, in the original work, until Orochimaru killed the Third Hokage, the three ninjas were separated only because of their respective philosophies and did not attack each other.

All I can say is that things in this world are hard to predict.

"Then I'll continue."

After getting consent, Nono continued speaking without hesitation.

"Lord Orochimaru discovered some new things while sorting out his information recently."

"Lord Danzo has sent more than one team on this mission before."

"But—no one survived!"

"The people who were sent out all lost contact at the same time, and no news came back."

"So he asked me to remind you that if you find something wrong, put your own safety first."

"This is most likely a trap mission."

"That's right..."

Ito Toru was thoughtful.

To others, this might sound like a horror story, but to him it was no problem.

After all, Shigeo has a dual personality...

They might be talking fine one second, but suddenly attack the next, and it may be a Sage Mode attack.

The general dark areas are indeed difficult to withstand.

Even if you are well prepared, it is probably difficult to escape its clutches.

But Toru Ito is not worried about this problem.

Because, Kimimaro is in the team!

This is the person who was confirmed in the original work to have suppressed Shigeo!