"This is…!"
Isamu looked up at the Hokage Monument carved into the mountainside. Where there had once been only three faces, there were now four.
The newest belonged to the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
"So it really has been more than ten years…" Isamu murmured. "Konoha has changed quite a bit."
As he walked through the village streets, he took in the larger buildings and bustling crowds. Everything felt both familiar and strangely distant.
Before long, he noticed he was being watched.
"Seriously?" he muttered after sensing the chakra signatures following him. "Actual enemies sneak into the village all the time, but I get spotted ten minutes after arriving? Did they put a tracker on me or something?"
The white robes of the ancient Indra lineage naturally drew attention.
Rolling his eyes, Isamu activated Kamui and vanished from the street.
"Huh?"
Two masked ANBU appeared at the exact spot where he had disappeared.
"Where did he go?"
"That looked like Space-Time Ninjutsu…"
The second ANBU's expression changed dramatically.
"Damn it! Hurry and report to Hokage-sama! An unknown shinobi with Space-Time Ninjutsu has infiltrated the village!"
The two immediately rushed toward the Hokage Tower.
Watching them leave from a nearby corner, Isamu slowly reappeared.
"Tch. Two complete amateurs," he scoffed. "Getting scared by a little Space-Time Ninjutsu. If you think you can keep tabs on me, you've still got a long way to go."
After wandering through the village for a while, Isamu finally arrived in front of his own home.
Looking at the enormous gate, he nodded in satisfaction.
"The entrance is even grander than before. Looks like Senba has been living pretty well all these years."
Then he sighed.
"Though in the end… they're just material possessions."
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A short while later, the gate opened.
Standing there was a woman in her thirties.
"…Who are you?" she asked cautiously.
What the…?
Who is she?
Don't tell me that brat Senba actually sold the house!
Isamu immediately pictured his son squandering the family estate like a prodigal.
Suppressing the urge to complain, he politely asked,
"Excuse me… is this Uchiha Senba's residence?"
"It is Lord Senba's residence," the woman replied suspiciously. "What business do you have here?"
"So I came to the right place."
Isamu nodded.
"I'd like to see Uchiha Senba. Please take me inside."
As he spoke, he stepped toward the entrance.
"Wait!"
The woman quickly blocked his path.
"Didn't you hear me? This is Lord Senba's residence. Even if you want to meet him, I have to report it first. You can't just walk in!"
She looked thoroughly dissatisfied.
"That's a bit much, don't you think?"
"…Fine."
Not wanting to argue with an ordinary woman, Isamu waved his hand.
"Go ahead and report it."
"That's more like it."
The woman nodded proudly.
"This is Lord Senba's home. No outsider enters without permission."
She then ordered two guards to keep an eye on Isamu before heading inside.
Watching the pair assigned to monitor him, the corner of Isamu's mouth twitched.
Unbelievable.
I have to ask permission to enter my own house?
And they even assigned guards to watch me?
That brat Senba has gotten awfully full of himself.
Just wait until I see you.
I'm definitely smacking you a few times.
Since he couldn't very well vent his frustration on innocent servants, he mentally placed the entire blame on Senba instead.
A few minutes later, the woman returned.
Walking behind her was a dignified woman in her early thirties.
After reaching the gate, the servant pointed toward Isamu.
"Madam, he's the one asking to see Lord Senba."
The elegant woman stepped forward politely.
"Sir, Senba is occupied with work today and cannot receive visitors at the moment."
"If you have something important to tell him, you may tell me instead. I'll pass along the message."
"Would that be acceptable?"
Hearing her voice, Isamu frowned.
She looked… strangely familiar.
Touching his chin, he searched through his memories.
A moment later, realization dawned.
Looking at her carefully, he asked,
"…Are you Uchiha Mikoto?"
"What kind of manners are those?"
The servant immediately became indignant.
"How can you address Madam by her name so casually? Even—"
"That's enough."
Uchiha Mikoto gently interrupted her.
"It's only a name."
Turning back to Isamu, she smiled politely.
"Yes, I'm Uchiha Mikoto."
"May I ask what you wanted to discuss?"
Even as she spoke, she couldn't help studying the man before her.
For some reason…
He felt incredibly familiar.
Yet no matter how hard she searched her memory, she couldn't remember where she had seen him before.
The feeling was strangely unsettling.
After receiving confirmation, a smile appeared on Isamu's face.
So it really is her.
Looks like Senba and Mikoto really did end up together.
Judging from her appearance, she was at least thirty years old.
That means I've been gone for fourteen or fifteen years.
Still… she actually didn't recognize me.
Have I changed that much?
In truth, it wasn't surprising that Mikoto failed to recognize him.
More than a decade had passed, and memories naturally faded with time.
More importantly, Isamu's appearance hadn't changed in the slightest.
He still looked around thirty years old.
But according to the current timeline, he should have been around fifty-five.
Who would ever suspect that a man who looked thirty was actually over fifty?
On top of that, Isamu's temperament had changed dramatically.
Back then, Mikoto had only ever seen his consciousness projection, never his real body.
With all those factors combined, it was perfectly understandable that she failed to recognize him.
"Hey!"
Seeing Isamu lost in thought, the servant frowned.
"Madam asked you a question."
"Why aren't you answering?"
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