As the sun set and the sky gradually dimmed, the city lights and the last refracted glow of sunlight in the sky reflected against each other—one taking the stage, the other stepping down.
But no matter how bright human lights were, they could only illuminate a corner of the sky; they could never shine over everything like the sun.
Konoha, having already stepped out of the terrifying shadow of the Nine-Tails' night, had returned to its former tranquility. The villagers enjoyed this rare peace, their attention shifting back once more to their own daily lives.
Murmured soliloquies, laughter and scolding, the clatter of pots and bowls, cats and dogs chasing each other.
As he strolled down the street, every sound around him clearly entered Makoto's ears.
With the growth of his body and the strengthening of his physique, his five senses had become increasingly sharp. Not only could he hear farther and fainter sounds, but the range of frequencies he could perceive had also expanded.
In the past, when bats cut through the night sky, he could hear the sound of their wings beating against the air. Now, he could even capture different kinds of sound waves.
Makoto didn't find it noisy; instead, he felt a quiet joy in his heart. It allowed him to feel the reality of the world.
When it came to his body, he had the same level of precise control as he did over chakra.
If he didn't want to hear something, he could adjust and block it out.
The same applied to his vision and sense of smell.
After returning to the ANBU Shadow Guard unit's activity room, washing up, and changing back into his own clothes, the Hayate Squad also happened to be returning from work.
Yamato: "Makoto, I thought you'd already gone home."
"My foolish little brother, your big brother here was waiting for you."
Yamato remained expressionless. After more than half a year of getting along, he had already grown used to Makoto's personality. In the past, he had still looked forward to truly integrating into this new family and sincerely calling him 'big brother.'
Now, he wasn't going to let someone have their way.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible. The Fourth Hokage-sama asked me to inform you to go to his house for dinner later."
"Alright, got it. Remember to go back and tell Mom. Honestly, after all this time, you've become a bit sly too—just like Yugao."
Yugao stepped forward and grabbed Makoto's arm. "Hey, if you want, I can call you Makoto-nii like before."
"That sounds great. Say it a few more times."
"Hmph, in your dreams! Who told you not to take me along on this mission? If next time you bring us along and help Kushina-senpai find one or two of her clansmen, then I might consider it."
Makoto: "Can't help it. I always pick whichever team—yours or Genma's—is available. As the leader of the Shadow Guard, I can't play favorites."
Hayate also explained, "Yugao, the Uzumaki Clan was wiped out long ago. The surviving members are extremely few—how could you just happen to run into them?"
Yugao: "Maybe others can't, but Makoto definitely can. I absolutely believe in him."
Hayate rolled his eyes. "That's not belief—that's blind faith."
"Yeah, so what?"
Hayate: "…"
If you're shameless enough to admit it, what else is there to say?
Yamato thought of the previous conflict with Root. He understood how that group operated, and couldn't help but worry. "I hope Danzo-sama doesn't do anything unnecessary."
He was a grateful person. Although he didn't like Root, Danzo had indeed pulled him out of despair and given him careful training.
As for who had caused that despair, Yamato had no memory and didn't want to dig into it.
Makoto: "I'm the opposite. I hope he does do something unnecessary."
Yamato: "…"
...
At the Namikaze household, as soon as Makoto arrived, he saw a certain someone transformed into a red octopus, hair standing on end in fury.
The two little ones, Naruto and Karin, were trembling in fear.
"Sensei, who made you angry this time?"
Kushina glared at her new target. "Makoto, good timing. Let me ask you—why did you let those bastards from Kusagakure go?"
Through her conversation with Kaori, she had already learned what the Kusagakure ninja had done. Right now, she wished she could charge over to their village and fire off a round, perfectly spherical Tailed Beast Bomb.
What? The Nine-Tails wasn't inside her anymore? No problem—she could just hoist Naruto onto her shoulder and fire one off anyway.
"Oh, that? No problem. If you want, Sensei, I can head over right now and throw out a few super-large-scale ninjutsu and erase that lousy village along with everyone in it."
Kushina froze. "Makoto… is that really necessary? I meant just dealing with the ninja who bit Kaori."
"And then? The survivors would definitely hate Konoha and completely side with Iwagakure against us. Might as well eliminate them all and remove future troubles entirely."
Kushina: "…"
Her disciple's thinking seemed a bit too extreme. How was she supposed to correct it? Could it be that the kind-hearted Red-Hot Habanero had raised a world-destroying demon king of a disciple?
Kaori spoke up from the side, comforting her. "It's fine, Kushina-nee. This was my decision. Being able to leave that village and keep Karin from walking the same path as me—that's enough."
Minato, having just placed the last dish on the table, also said, "Alright, Kushina, don't be angry anymore. Let's eat first."
As Konoha's Fourth Hokage, he believed Makoto's approach was correct. Kusagakure was, at least on the surface, an ally of Konoha. Bringing Kaori back to Konoha was enough—Kusagakure wouldn't dare say much even if they found out.
If it came to killing, he also leaned toward Makoto's approach: eliminate all survivors, ensuring that no one could connect the village's destruction to Konoha.
That was exactly what had happened to the Sky Ninja Village when they had once attempted to invade Konoha.
Kushina said nothing further and began enthusiastically serving food to Kaori and her daughter.
Kaori maintained proper etiquette, but little Karin didn't care at all. She had never eaten such rich food before, and now she stuffed her cheeks full, devouring everything—leaving little Naruto beside her staring in shock.
Children in the shinobi world were different from Makoto's past life. At eight months old, Naruto could already eat the same food as adults.
Karin, who was almost one year old, had no issues at all. Given her previous living conditions in Kusagakure, she had never had the luxury of choice—having food at all was already good enough.
...
After dinner, the Namikaze family began discussing Kaori and Karin's future living arrangements, keeping Makoto around for input.
For now, Karin was still young and needed to focus on growing up, while Kaori's life force had been severely depleted in the past and required a period of recovery.
During this time, Kushina planned to teach her the Uzumaki Clan's fūinjutsu so that she could later join Konoha's sealing team.
As for living expenses before she started working, part could be covered by village subsidies, while the rest would be supported by the Namikaze family.
They weren't lacking money.
The troublesome part was housing. Staying with Kushina's family for a few days was fine, but long-term would definitely be inconvenient. Even if Kushina and Minato didn't mind, Kaori wouldn't agree.
The young couple was clearly in love—what would it look like for a widowed young woman with a child to insert herself into that household?
Minato was also Konoha's Hokage, the famous Yellow Flash of the ninja world. Did his reputation not matter?
Kushina said, "Let's just buy a house next to ours. I remember there should be some empty space there."
Minato: "That works."
Kaori, thinking that housing in Konoha—being the strongest force in the ninja world—wouldn't be cheap, suggested, "Kushina-nee, there's no need to buy. Renting a place is fine."
"That won't do. How can a rented place be called a home?"
Makoto suggested, "How about staying at Tsunade-sama's place? The space is large anyway, and it's very close to your house."
The Uchiha Clan and Hyūga Clan both lived in clustered settlements. The Senju Clan had once been the same.
The disappearance of the Senju Clan in Konoha wasn't some secret, nor was there any conspiracy.
It was mainly caused by two factors: the integration policies of the First and Second Hokage, and the heavy casualties of the First and Second Shinobi Wars.
That simple.
Later, a small group tried to recreate the glory of Wood Release and restore the Senju's former prestige—but they were all wiped out in Hashirama cell experiments.
After that, no one entertained such ideas anymore, and the Senju gradually disappeared within Konoha. Even Tsunade had abandoned the surname.
Now, Konoha was the Senju, and the Senju was Konoha—the two had become one. It was just that few people still used the "Senju of the Forest" name.
Their former clan grounds had also been abandoned, with only an ancestral residence left—the old home of the First and Second Hokage, now Tsunade's house in Konoha.
Kushina was extremely familiar with that place. After all, she had lived there for a long time as a child, receiving instruction from her grandmother Mito, until she moved out a few years ago to live with Minato.
Her eyes lit up. "Great idea! We're all from Mito-obaasan's clan—Tsunade-nee definitely won't object. But we should still inform her first."
"Mito-obaasan…" Kaori had never met Uzumaki Mito, but she had heard of her. After all, she was the woman who married the God of Shinobi and held great prestige within the Uzumaki Clan.
Thinking about how two such ancient clans, with familial ties between them, had ended up like this, a trace of sadness suddenly appeared in Kushina's heart.
"Hey, Minato… when you were out on missions before, did you ever meet any of my clansmen?"
Minato quickly went through his memories. "Well… I've met people with red hair, but they weren't Uzumaki."
"Makoto, now that Minato is Hokage, he definitely won't be traveling around like before. From now on… I'll be relying on you."
Makoto: "Sensei, are you planning to gather your clansmen and restore the Uzumaki's former glory?"
"Forget about glory. I just want them to have a more stable living environment."
"Got it, Sensei. I understand."
In the ninja world, not only the Uzumaki Clan had red hair. So long as they didn't display special abilities, they could hide somewhere and live ordinary lives.
After several generations of intermarriage with outsiders, unless a bloodline reawakened, it was hard for them to attract attention. Karin and her mother were exceptions—and that kind of rapid healing physique was practically made to invite disaster.
As for other Uzumaki survivors, Makoto actually knew of two.
Nagato, with his ripple-pattern eyes, was out of the question—his parents had been killed by Konoha ninja. No matter what, he would never join Konoha.
The other one, however, might be possible.
Though he wasn't sure whether she was currently on the summoning island in the Land of the Sea.
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---