Konoha Hypocrite (Part-1)

Chapter 81: The Bathing Task, Discreet Inquiries

Half an hour later, the rescued children had eaten their fill, regaining some of their strength. Uchiha Tonan smiled, wiping the residual food off the little girl's mouth. He then said to the children, "Let's go, I'll take you to clean up."

The children had already lowered their guard against him. They followed him to a bathroom. Although it was said to be a bathroom, it was no smaller than a bathhouse. Tonan, after all, was the North City Guard's captain, which was considered neither too big nor too small an official in the Fire Capital. Even with a group of children dipping in, the bathing pool didn't seem crowded.

Since the children were all young, Tonan didn't separate the boys and the girls. It was unknown how much filth they were contaminated with because the pool turned black as soon as they entered the water.

However, Tonan didn't mind. In any case, the source of this pool was flowing water. After a while, when he felt they had dipped in enough, he began calling them over individually to personally help wash their bodies.

Looking at the little girl in front of him, he said in distress, "Poor child, you're so dirty."

The girl's mouth shriveled, and her eyes were filled with tears as she weakly said, "Lord..."

Tonan smiled and dotingly flicked her forehead with his finger, "No need to be so formal, call me Oni-san."

The sudden and unexpected gentleness made the girl, who had been frightened for the past few days, unable to restrain her emotions. She threw herself into Tonan's arms and sobbed, "Oni-san..."

Tonan smiled and lightly patted her back. He said to the children in the pool, "You all can address me as Oni-san hereafter, and just treat this place like your own."

"Boo hoo..."

"Oni-san..."

"Oni-san..."

......

After washing the little girl up, he used clean water to rinse her. "Alright, soak in for some more time. This hot spring water is good for the body."

Tonan put the little girl back into the pool and pulled another little boy out. While washing him, he asked, "What's your name?"

The little boy raked his brain but couldn't answer. He shook his head blankly. Tonan smiled faintly and asked, "You can't remember? It's alright. I'll find a sensei in a few days for you all and ask him to name you as well."

The little boy hesitated for a moment, and then moved his head closer and kissed Tonan's face, "Thank you, Oni-san..."

Although the little boy was not particularly sensible, he liked the man in front of him, who gave him a deep sense of security. Tonan gently rubbed the little boy's head, "You're really a good child." The water in his hand soaked the little boy's hair, and his big palm seemed to be able to wrap his entire head.

By now, Sarutobi Shinnosuke was informed about what happened in the morning and he hastily arrived at the North City Guard Residence.

Yoshiwara Ao greeted him and brought him to the living room. He poured a cup of tea and bowed, "Shinnosuke-sama, please drink tea and wait for a while."

Shinnosuke nodded and looked around, but couldn't see Tonan, "Has Tonan gone out?"

Ao smiled and put down the teapot. He pointed towards the backyard and answered, "Tonan-sama is bathing the orphans. Do you want me to notify him of your arrival?"

Shinnosuke touched his chin and shook his head, "No need, I'll find him myself." He got up and walked towards the backyard. In some aspects, Shinnosuke inherited Sarutobi Hiruzen's true qualities. Even though he was green in some aspects, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.