It had been several days since Yakushi Nonō returned to the world of the Hidden Leaf.
Danzo had kept his promise, spending a fortune and even dispatching Root shinobi to help expand the orphanage.
The new orphanage was more than ten times the size of the old one!
Even if there were a few times the number of children, they could still live comfortably here.
Root had poured in a vast amount of resources, providing everything they needed.
The children in the orphanage could now drink the highest quality milk every day.
Meat, eggs, and other foods were in constant supply.
The children's once skinny bodies visibly grew stronger.
Yakushi Nonō knew that Danzo was trying to curry favor with her.
But the young girl was wise, always keeping a safe distance from Danzo.
Because Nonō knew very well where her current blessings came from.
It was the Great Divine who brought her this happy life!
Was Danzo trying to win her over?
No!
Nonō never thought so!
The one he was trying to please would always be the Supreme Divine!
The All-Knowing and All-Powerful, the One and Only, the Almighty!
“My God, may your glory endure forever, shining across all realms.”
The devout young girl, leading the children, bowed before a faceless humanoid statue.
This was a new rule established in the orphanage.
Every morning after waking up, every night before going to sleep, and after every meal, they would bow to the statue and sing praises to the Great Divine.
They thanked the Divine for their blessed lives.
With their beloved headmistress leading the way, the innocent children naturally followed suit.
Nonō naturally encouraged this.
She knew too well what would have become of her, and these children, if not for the Divine's mercy.
Forget simple prayers and hymns, even if one day, Lu Ming asked Nonō to sacrifice her life, she would do it without hesitation.
A true fanatic!
The daily morning prayer ritual concluded, Yakushi Dō, wearing a pair of round-rimmed glasses identical to Nonō's, asked a question that had been brewing in his mind for days.
He was a smart and observant child, naturally more curious than the others about the unknown.
Therefore, of all the children, Yakushi Dō was most interested in the Divine!
“Headmistress, why don't you carve the Divine's face? I heard those ninja brothers say you're a shrine maiden who serves the Divine, and you've seen the Divine's true form!”
“The reason is simple, because mortals cannot look directly at the Divine, Dō.”
At this point, Nonō recalled the awe-inspiring sight of Lu Ming casually creating a universe in the midst of desolation, and added, “Our God is the greatest existence in the world! If mortals dare look at the Divine's face, they will boom.”
Nonō made a gesture, “Their entire heads will explode!”
“Ah?”
Four-year-old Dō, hearing his headmistress' words, immediately opened his mouth in surprise.
In his world, the most powerful person he had heard of was the Hokage, followed by Yakushi Nonō.
But even the Hokage couldn't make someone explode just by looking at them, right?
“Just looking at the Divine for a second, and your head will explode? That's too, too, too…”
He stammered for a long time, but Dō with his limited vocabulary couldn't think of the right words to describe it.
He could only squeeze out a sentence, “Divine is so powerful.”
“Yeah, the Divine is the most powerful.”
Yakushi Nonō smiled and chatted with Dō for a while before letting him go play with the other children.
Then, she went alone into the orphanage's backyard, into the chapel built specifically for prayer.
Beneath the statue, three figures stood silently.
The one in the middle was even wearing the Hokage's hat.
Needless to say, Yakushi Nonō recognized who they were.
The girl walked forward slowly and gracefully.
First, she knelt and bowed respectfully to the statue, then she greeted the three.
“Good morning, Hokage-sama. Good morning, two advisors.”
“Good morning, Nonō.”
Having studied the statue for a while, the Third Hokage turned around, his face full of warmth and friendliness, completely devoid of arrogance, as if he were just having a casual conversation, “We're intruding, please don't mind us.”
“How could I? Hokage-sama. I haven't had a chance to thank you for approving my application to build the orphanage. If it weren't for you, these children might have starved to death on the streets.”
As mentioned before, Lu Ming would not tamper with or modify the minds of any of his believers or shrine maidens.
What they were like before they became shrine maidens is what they remained.
It was only natural that Yakushi Nonō, as a Leaf ninja, still showed a certain level of respect to the Third Hokage.
Of course, this respect only existed when Lu Ming was not involved.
If Lu Ming was involved, she wouldn't be so easy to deal with...................
If her bottom line was truly crossed, destroying the Leaf would be as easy as the flick of a wrist!
As a shrine maiden, she possessed power that seemed like that of a god to ninjas!
“Hehe.”
The Third Hokage smiled warmly and repeatedly waved his hand, sincerely stating that it was all Nonō's merit, that he had simply approved an application, nothing significant.
Besides, it was part of the Hokage's duty, something he should be doing.
It has to be said that the Third Hokage was much more skillful than Danzo.
At least he could talk nicely!
Unlike Danzo, who would kill your whole family if you disobeyed him, or resort to using important things from others to blackmail them.
That's why Nonō had such a hard time liking Danzo.
She didn't even kill him on the spot, which was pretty good!
“I'm relieved to see the children are doing well.”
With that, the Third Hokage gave Mito Menma a look.
He understood. At the right moment, he chimed in, “Actually, we're not just here to see how the children are living, there's a very important matter that requires your cooperation, Nonō.”
Here it comes.
Nonō thought to herself.
She had already figured out their intentions, she just hadn't brought it up.
After all, Danzo's public display of Wood Release in the Hokage's office had spread throughout Root and the upper echelons of the Leaf's various clans.
It would be strange if the Third Hokage didn't do anything.
But Nonō didn't care about this little matter.
In fact, she was supportive.
She had been thinking all this time, having received such great favor from Lu Ming, how could she repay him?
After much thought, Nonō decided the most reliable plan was to establish a church and spread the belief in the One and Only!
Only by making everyone in the world of the Hidden Leaf believers could she repay a ten-thousandth of the Divine's grace!
As for the name of the church, Nonō had already decided.
It would be called—
The Star Church!
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