"Arisu, are you willing to take care of Kushina for a while?", Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was gentle as he looked at Arisu and asked.
Arisu frowned slightly, showing a troubled expression. "Fifth Hokage, I'm not a suitable choice."
"The great war is approaching, and I won't have any free time. Rather than me, it would be better to leave her with Lady Mito."
Arisu used that reason to refuse.
He did not want to interfere too much in the future conflict between Asura and Indra.
Otherwise, after he went to the Pure Land, Indra would probably accuse him of favoritism again.
He remembered...
The last time he went to the Pure Land, when Asura learned that he was the Uchiha clan's Great Elder, he kept complaining that the ancestor was unfair and favored Indra. "I, Asura, am also your disciple's descendant."
Indra also thought he favored Asura.
He said Arisu was always secretly helping Asura's reincarnations.
Arisu naturally was not angry about this. He only smiled.
This time, he would not interfere.
How Naruto and Sasuke turned out would depend entirely on themselves.
"I see. That's true, you really don't have much time…"
After hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen pondered for a moment and slowly nodded.
"In that case, I'll trouble you to make the trip and send Kushina to Lady Mito."
Sarutobi Hiruzen decided.
This child still needed to be examined by Mito herself.
The matter of Konoha's jinchuriki was extremely important. They absolutely could not casually choose just any Uzumaki child.
Arisu answered softly, bent down, and took Kushina's cold little hand, then turned and walked toward the Senju clan grounds.
"Kushina, my name is Arisu. You can call me Brother Arisu, or anything else you want."
Arisu lowered his head and looked at the little girl beside him, clutching the corner of his clothes and stumbling as she walked. His voice was very soft.
Kushina timidly raised her head and quietly asked, "Can… can I call you Brother Sage of Six Paths?"
Arisu suddenly stopped. His eyes instantly sharpened as he looked down at her. "Why do you want to call me that?"
The little girl shrank back from the sudden pressure in his presence. Her voice became as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
"When I stayed at the Six Paths Temple in Uzushiogakure, I saw a portrait of the Sage of Six Paths… I think you look very similar to the person in the painting."
The tension in Arisu's body immediately relaxed. The sharpness in his eyes faded and turned into a faint gentle smile.
'Children's instincts really were much sharper than adults'.'
He had only changed his hairstyle and adjusted his appearance a little.
"You can."
"If you want to call me Brother Sage of Six Paths, then call me that."
Arisu gently rubbed Kushina's soft red hair.
Kushina carefully tightened her grip around his finger. "Brother Sage of Six Paths, where are we going?"
"To meet someone who is the same as you."
"She's also from the Uzumaki clan. You can treat her like your own grandmother.", Arisu spoke slowly.
For Kushina, who had just lost her parents and had no one to rely on, an elder from the same clan was the best support she could have right now.
The two walked in silence the whole way and soon arrived at the Senju clan grounds.
The once lively and glorious Senju grounds had now become bleak and desolate.
Very few pure-blooded Senju remained.
Some had gone far away to the capital of the Land of Fire to seek official positions.
Some had grown tired of fighting and abandoned the path of a shinobi.
The rest had followed the arrangements made for them and completely integrated into the various households of Konoha, disappearing into ordinary life.
After a simple report at the entrance, the two walked into the old residence and met Uzumaki Mito.
Seeing the Second Hokage's wife again, Arisu could not help feeling an indescribable sense of emotion.
The elderly woman before him no longer had the elegance of her younger days.
Even with the Yin Seal maintaining her, she still could not resist the erosion of time.
Wrinkles covered her face. Her once long hair had already turned frost-white, and even her eyes carried the cloudiness of old age.
Arisu quietly sighed in his heart.
Time… really was the cruelest thing.
In a daze, it felt as if he had returned to that era filled with war once again.
Back then, he had still been Konoha's Great Elder and had personally arranged Hashirama and Mito's marriage.
Back then, Madara, Izuna, Hashirama, Tobirama… they had all been so young, full of spirit, believing that with nothing but passion, they could create an era of eternal peace.
Thinking about how quickly time had passed...
Arisu's eyes could not help turning red, and his nose felt sour.
It was not because of Uzumaki Mito, Hashirama, Madara, or the others, but because he felt overwhelmed by the thousand years of time itself.
Perhaps because he had lived through two lives, he could sense more clearly than anyone else how precious those seemingly ordinary moments were.
Back in the era of the Ninja Sect...
When Arisu sat alone on a mountain carrying the Six Paths Sword on his back and blankly watched the sunset, he would think that many years later, or perhaps a hundred years later, he would definitely miss this moment.
And that was indeed true.
As he watched the timeline get closer and closer to the original Naruto Shippuden story, Arisu could not help reminiscing about the ancient era.
He even missed those days in the Land of Ancestors, when he helped save the common people.
Clearly, more and more original characters were appearing, so things should have felt more familiar.
But instead, Arisu felt an indescribable reluctance.
Reluctance to see that era disappear.
He had already started feeling this way when the chaotic era ended.
"Brother Sage of Six Paths, why are you crying?", Kushina sensed the change in Arisu's emotions and quietly asked.
Arisu quickly restrained his emotions and gently said, "It's nothing."
The two walked inside.
Uzumaki Mito welcomed them with a smile.
Mito looked at Arisu in a daze and could not help sighing, "Hehehe, Arisu, you really do resemble the First Hokage a little. Even I felt absent-minded looking at you."
Arisu immediately put on a pleasantly surprised expression.
"Lady Mito praises me too much. How could I possibly compare to the First Hokage?", Arisu said modestly.
Mito smiled and waved her hand. Her gaze landed on Kushina, and her eyes softened.
"So this is Kushina. What a cute child."
Mito slowly stood up, walked in front of Kushina, crouched down, and gently patted her head.
Kushina shyly hid behind Arisu and secretly looked at Mito.
Arisu softly said, "Lady Mito, this child just lost her parents. Please take good care of her."
Mito nodded. "Don't worry. She is also a child of the Uzumaki clan. I will treat her like my own granddaughter."
Then, Mito took Kushina's hand.
The two walked to the bedside and began chatting casually.
At the same time, the Nine-Tails inside Uzumaki Mito impatiently started catching up with Arisu.
"Teacher! I knew it was you! You've started stirring things up again?"
Kurama spoke through consciousness with a grin.
Arisu's face darkened. "What do you mean stirring things up? I want to quietly observe the world while entering the game myself!"
Kurama laughed. "Stop joking around, Brother Arisu. Fooling your disciples is one thing, but don't fool yourself too."
Arisu lightly sighed after hearing that.
Seeing his teacher like this, Kurama felt a bit regretful inside.
'Did I hurt Teacher too much by saying that?'