After holding him for a while, Nono'u patted Saiki's back. "Alright, that's enough. Let me go."
Saiki felt a bit of second-hand embarrassment for playing the "spoiled child" card, but he had no other choice.
Reluctantly releasing her warm embrace, he put on a pathetic face and whispered, "I'm sorry, Sister Director. You... you won't run away and leave me, will you?"
Nono'u felt a wave of helplessness. Looking at his "pitiful" face, she reached out and gently ruffled his hair. "I'm not angry, and I won't leave you."
After a moment of thought, she added a stern condition. "But what happened tonight... you must never tell a soul. If you do, you aren't allowed to come back here ever again."
Saiki had no intention of bragging about being a bastard, but Nono'u's words were a tacit acceptance of their new reality.
He shook his head vigorously. "I promise! I won't say a word!"
Striking while the iron was hot, Saiki used his cute appearance to push the envelope.
"Sister Director... can I sleep with you again in the future?"
The moment the words left his mouth, his heart began to hammer. He was effectively bringing the "taboo" back into the open. He was terrified she'd pull a Tsunade and vanish.
Nono'u was caught between shame and anger. The brat was so young, yet his mind was already filled with such wicked thoughts!
She wore a look of pure exasperation, but even her anger was soft. She gave his head a playful, gentle smack.
"What are you thinking?! You're far too young for such dirty thoughts! Stop daydreaming and forget tonight ever happened!"
Being called "small" irked him. Saiki muttered under his breath, "I'm not exactly small, you know."
Nono'u heard him. Whether she caught the double meaning or her own mind went to a dirty place, her face flushed red again.
She gave his head another smack, more serious this time. "What did you say?! I'm really going to get angry!"
Looking at the flustered Nono'u, Saiki didn't back down. In fact, he grew bolder.
He knew that if Nono'u gave him the "cold treatment" now, it would be over. That would be even harder to fix than Tsunade running away.
But her current reaction—bashful and flustered—showed she had already subconsciously accepted him.
Faced with her mock-anger, Saiki reached out and grabbed the hand she had resting on her lap. Nono'u tried to flinch away, but Saiki's grip was absolute.
"Let go!" she hissed, struggling for a second. When she couldn't break free, she looked at him with a mix of fear and anger, worried he was going to go berserk again.
Saiki locked his eyes onto hers, his gaze steady and intense. "Sister Director, I meant what I said. I love you. I'm not letting go."
Faced with that burning stare, even the hardened yet gentle woman couldn't hold out. She averted her eyes, her voice trembling. "Relax your grip... I'm angry, do you hear me?"
Perhaps their lives as ninja left them with a hollow void inside. Even facing a boy like Saiki, Nono'u found herself unable to truly resist.
Seeing she was softening, Saiki moderated his tone. "Sister Director... please tell me. Why did Danzo come here today?"
Saiki had been distracted earlier, but he hadn't missed Nono'u's distress. When he had asked her about it in the afternoon, she had clearly been hiding something.
Setting aside the fact that Nono'u was now "his" woman, their years of history meant Saiki wouldn't let Danzo anywhere near her. He knew exactly how badly Danzo had screwed over Nono'u and Kabuto in the original timeline.
He could take his time with their romance, but the Danzo problem needed an immediate, decisive solution.
Startled out of her emotional deadlock with Saiki, Nono'u took a moment to process the question.
"It was nothing... he just wanted to discuss Root business," she replied, her voice lacking conviction.
They say love lowers a woman's IQ; the normally wise, calm, and intelligent Nono'u was now visibly struggling to maintain her facade.
Saiki reached out and took both of her hands, pressing them against his chest. He forced her to look at him and spoke with absolute gravity.
"Sister Director, look at me. Please, tell me the truth. I don't want you to be in danger. If you won't tell me, I'll go find Danzo and beat the answer out of him myself."
Staring into his eyes, she realized he wasn't joking. She knew Saiki's personality; if he said he'd do it, he would.
With a heavy sigh, she finally yielded. She recounted Danzo's threat and his twisted plan.
Danzo wanted Saiki in Root, but he couldn't get past Hiruzen Sarutobi. So he wanted Nono'u to help him stage a "betrayal" where the orphanage and Tsunade were used as tools to make Saiki hate the Hokage, driving him into Root's arms "voluntarily."
As she finished her story, Saiki fell into a deep silence.
Danzo's scheme was undeniably clever, but Saiki had read the script. He knew exactly who Hiruzen and Danzo were. He wasn't about to fall for a trap, regardless of whether Nono'u told him or not.
But the sheer malice of the plan still disgusted him.
After a moment of thought, Saiki offered a cold smile. "Don't worry, Sister Director. This is an easy fix. I'll go to Hiruzen Sarutobi and handle this myself. Since I'm the 'monstrous genius' they all want, they're going to have to pay a very steep price to keep me happy."
Nono'u gasped at Saiki's blatant disrespect, using the Third Hokage's personal name.
"Saiki! You cannot refer to Lord Hokage so casually!" she whispered urgently, looking around as if someone might be eavesdropping.
She knew the darkness of the village better than anyone, yet she still maintained a deep-seated respect for the office of the Hokage.
Saiki's expression remained flat. "Why not? They're just a bunch of old fossils. They want the benefits without paying the price. Life doesn't work that way."
Nono'u went silent. Saiki was right.
The funding the village provided the orphanage was a pittance compared to the lives of the children they sacrificed. And yet, the leaders still wanted more.
Reality was that cold and that simple.
Saiki wasn't just complaining; he was reminding Nono'u that everything was a transaction.
If it was a transaction, Saiki refused to play the role of the humble servant. He absolutely despised Hiruzen's "kind grandfather" act.
Finally, Saiki sighed and comforted her. "Sister Director, stay out of this. I'll go see Hiruzen, and then I'll deal with Danzo."
"But...!" Nono'u tried to object, but Saiki cut her off.
"No 'buts.' I'll solve it. I promise I'll be safe. Your safety is the only thing that matters to me."