Danzō had returned.
Along with the Konoha shinobi troops, he had brought back the descendants of Sunagakure's senior officials.
The village had already made arrangements for the children, whose ages ranged from four to ten.
Seventeen children in total would be placed under the care of various shinobi clans within Konoha.
There were two reasons for this arrangement.
First, every major shinobi clan had children of a similar age. Living and studying together would make it easier for them to form bonds naturally.
Second, the shinobi clans had enough manpower to protect both sides, preventing any unfortunate incidents from occurring.
Since the matter of Sasori and his parents had been handed over to Kizaru by Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sasori was assigned to the Shimura clan.
"Kizaru-niisan… are Mother and Father really here?"
Holding a stuffed bear in his arms, Sasori stood beside Kizaru and looked up at him with expectation in his eyes.
"Of course."
Kizaru smiled lazily and walked into the Shimura clan compound with Sasori.
Inside the main residence of the Shimura clan, in a wooden house with a courtyard located beside Kizaru's own residence, Sasori's parents, Murasaki and Yūsha, were standing at the courtyard entrance.
They had been waiting anxiously for their son's arrival.
"Mother! Father!"
After following Kizaru across the path, Sasori finally saw his parents.
The moment he recognized them, he cried out and ran forward.
Tears spilled from his eyes.
He threw himself into his mother's arms with all his strength, clinging tightly to her leg as his small body trembled with sobs.
"Sasori…"
Murasaki gently stroked her son's head.
She wanted to cry as well, but her body, reconstructed from dust and ash, would no longer allow tears to fall.
Yūsha glanced at Kizaru with gratitude in his eyes.
Then he quickly withdrew his gaze, bent down beside his wife, and gently placed his hand on Sasori's back.
"Poor child…"
On Kizaru's right, Keiko, the housekeeper of the main residence and also Kizaru's assistant, had arrived at some point.
Kizaru trusted Keiko-neesan, who had taken care of him once before and now served him wholeheartedly, so he had briefly explained Sasori's situation to her.
"I'll leave the rest to you, Keiko-neesan."
Kizaru adjusted his sunglasses and spoke with a faint smile.
"I'll keep a proper eye on them."
Keiko gently wiped the corners of her eyes. Then, as if switching back into work mode, her expression became calm again.
After leaving the Sasori family's living arrangements to Keiko, Kizaru did not go out for a stroll. Instead, he returned to his residence.
Based on what Kizaru knew about his uncle, Danzō would certainly come to speak with him as soon as possible after reporting to Sarutobi-sensei.
Just as Kizaru expected, after he had spent more than an hour leisurely drinking afternoon tea at home, Danzō hurried back.
"Elder Naikaze of Sunagakure wants to cooperate with us."
Danzō sat down across from Kizaru and went straight to the point.
"Us?"
Kizaru smiled and poured a cup of hot tea for his uncle.
"Us. Not the village," Danzō emphasized.
"Isn't the village ours too?"
Kizaru asked with a smile.
Danzō laughed.
He liked that way of putting it.
"He hopes we will keep Sasori in Konoha permanently and support Rasa, the disciple of the Third Kazekage, in becoming the Fifth Kazekage in the future."
"Politics again…"
Kizaru's tone stretched lazily, carrying a trace of helpless amusement.
"How troublesome~"
Danzō continued, "He promised that once Rasa becomes the Fifth Kazekage, he will lead Sunagakure to fully side with Konoha. Aside from Sunagakure's independent administrative authority, they are willing to give up everything else."
Hearing that, Kizaru's smile deepened.
There was obvious mockery hidden behind it.
"If the village really wants those things, couldn't it take them whenever it likes?"
Danzō nodded in agreement and said with clear disdain, "There are always worms like this. For the sake of power, they are willing to betray the interests of their own village. Sunagakure has fallen to this state because it is filled with people like him. These are the people I despise the most."
Kizaru looked at his uncle with strange eyes.
For a moment, he truly wanted to say, Is that so?
According to Danzō's own words, in the original course of history, he would have been Konoha's greatest worm.
"However," Danzō said, "even a worm like him can still be useful. I plan to cooperate with him for the time being."
"How ruthless, Oji-san~"
Kizaru teased him with a smile.
"Hahaha!"
Danzō laughed proudly.
He seemed quite pleased with that evaluation.
"Cruelty toward the enemy is my gentleness toward the village."
Kizaru did not answer.
He only smiled and refilled Danzō's tea.
After exchanging information about Sunagakure, Danzō did not stay for long. He had just returned to the village, and there were still many accumulated matters waiting for him.
Unlike Danzō, Kizaru had been quite relaxed recently.
The Academy was on break, and the new semester would not begin until after the year ended.
The only things that truly interested Kizaru were the Sasori family's situation and the weekly sparring sessions between Shukaku and Kushina.
For the Sasori family, Keiko handled their daily needs, so there was no need for Kizaru to worry too much.
In terms of work, however, Kizaru did put some thought into it.
He suggested that Sasori's parents use one of the shops provided by the Shimura clan to open a ninja puppet shop.
Sasori's parents were both elite puppeteers with rich experience in crafting puppets.
Kizaru asked them to use puppet-making techniques as a reference and create movable puppet toys modeled after famous shinobi in the village for Konoha's children.
Faced with Kizaru's proposal, Murasaki and Yūsha, who had little business experience, discussed it for a while before deciding to give it a try.
To help the figurine shop become popular, Kizaru personally greeted several famous shinobi in the village and received permission for the couple to use their images.
After half a month of preparation, Sasori's parents prioritized puppet toys modeled after the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi; the Golden Flash, Kizaru; and the Sannin.
Just as Kizaru expected, when the toy shop opened, the puppet toys quickly became extremely popular among children.
The toys ranged from thirty to fifty centimeters in height. They were well-made, resembled the original shinobi closely, and had movable joints.
Because their preparations had not been enough, the shop was completely sold out by the third day after opening.
The booming business surprised Sasori's parents and gave them great motivation.
The dolls in the shop were not cheap.
The cheapest thirty-centimeter puppet toy cost one thousand ryō, while the most expensive puppet toy sold for five thousand ryō.
Officially, one ryō was equal to ten yen.
The first batch of puppet toys made by the couple totaled fifty pieces, and they sold for a total of one hundred and twenty thousand ryō.
According to the profit-sharing agreement Kizaru had made with them before the shop opened, the couple received fifty percent.
In other words, after only three days of business, Sasori's parents had earned sixty thousand ryō before deducting costs.
Considering that the shop had just opened and that they had not prepared enough stock, this profit was already considerable.
Sasori's parents were very happy to be able to earn money.
But they were not happy simply because they had money.
They were happy because they could earn money for their child.
Even if they were already dead, they still wanted to do everything they could to give Sasori a better life and leave behind enough family wealth to ensure that he could live without worry in the future.
Sasori was also very happy about his parents' new work.
He no longer had to feel lonely and sad because his parents left him behind to go on missions.
Now, he could stay with them every day and play with all kinds of interesting toys.
This kind of happy life was something Sasori had never experienced before.
If only I could bring Grandma Chiyo to Konoha too.
Then Father, Mother, Grandma Chiyo, and I could all live in Konoha forever.
That was the simple and innocent wish in young Sasori's heart.
Just as the Sasori family's life in Konoha gradually settled onto the right track, another matter led by Kizaru was also progressing smoothly at high speed.
Among the one hundred sick civilians who had been transplanted with Hashirama Cell No. 3, after one month of observation, all were stable except for one person who developed mild rejection symptoms.
The test subject who showed mild rejection was quickly treated by Orochimaru and Tsunade, and the rejection symptoms were resolved.
After one month of observation, it could be said that Hashirama Cell No. 3, developed by Orochimaru, had basically been confirmed to carry no major risk.
In response, Konoha's upper leadership, headed by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, also expressed their approval and passed the safety review.
Immediately after the safety review was approved, the two Konoha advisors left the village with the packaged finished nutritional medicine and headed to the capital of the Land of Fire to begin negotiations over sales agency rights.
Regarding these negotiations, the shinobi clans and shinobi in the village who had participated in the investment all held great expectations.
Everyone was waiting to share in this attractive fruit of success.
Compared to high-level missions that came with huge risks, this kind of stable, continuous, and considerable income was what the shinobi clans and shinobi of the village truly wanted.
It was a real iron rice bowl.
There was no need to risk their lives, and no need to expend too much effort.
They could simply wait at home for dividends.
No one would dislike such a beautiful thing.
At the same time, after Hashirama Cell No. 3 passed the safety review, Sakumo Hatake immediately brought his wife to the research institute to receive the transplant.
Sakumo Hatake's wife was due to give birth in a little over two months, and her body was becoming weaker and weaker.
If Hashirama cells had not been successfully developed, Sakumo Hatake could not guarantee whether his wife would be able to endure until the expected delivery date.
After confirming with Tsunade and Orochimaru that transplanting Hashirama cells would not harm the child in her womb, Sakumo Hatake's wife accepted the transplant.
After the transplant was completed, for safety reasons, she was directly admitted to Konoha Hospital.
After one week of observation, Sakumo Hatake's wife showed no rejection symptoms, and her health improved significantly.
Not only that, after Tsunade performed a prenatal examination, she also discovered that the vitality of the child in her womb had become even stronger.
When Kizaru learned this news from Tsunade, his first thought was that perhaps the future Kakashi would no longer be limited to being evenly matched with everyone.
In the original course of history, Kakashi had outstanding talent and strength, but he had one weakness.
His chakra reserves were lacking.
Whenever Kakashi fought someone, he was often short on chakra.
On one hand, this was because of the Sharingan Obito had given him. On the other hand, Kakashi's own chakra reserves were not especially high to begin with.
According to official data, Kakashi's chakra level was only six, which could barely be considered above average.
Now that an unexpected factor like Hashirama cells had interfered, Kakashi's future chakra reserves should be much higher than they were in the original course of events.
"What are you laughing at?"
Tsunade put down the prenatal examination data in her hand and looked curiously at Kizaru beside her.
"I just thought of something interesting."
Kizaru replied with a smile.
"Kizaru, Sarutobi-sensei's child is about to be born."
Tsunade reminded him while walking in front of Kizaru and slipping her hands into the outer pockets of her white coat.
"Ooh… time really does pass quickly~"
The future was becoming more and more interesting.
Standing beside Tsunade with a smile, Kizaru looked forward to how the ninja world would develop from here on.
"The expected delivery date should be the day after tomorrow," Tsunade continued.
Kizaru smiled and nodded. Then he looked at Tsunade and knowingly asked, "A boy or a girl?"
"A boy."
With Konoha's medical technology, checking the gender of a fetus was not difficult.
"Tsunade-neesan, do you like boys or girls?"
Kizaru looked at Tsunade with a smile as he asked.
"Me?"
Tsunade thought about it for a moment before saying, "I like both."
"I hope our first child is a girl."
Kizaru said it as if he were joking.
"Girls aren't bad either."
Tsunade answered instinctively.
Then she immediately realized what she had just said.
Her cheeks flushed red, and shame and anger surged in her heart.
"You bastard! Who said I'm having a child with you?!"
"That is really sad…"
Kizaru's voice stretched out lazily.
"Then I suppose I can only find someone else~"
"Go to hell!"
Tsunade clenched her fists.
An invisible flame of anger seemed to rise from her entire body.
With one swift step, she rushed in front of Kizaru and punched the wall beside him.
Boom!
The wall collapsed.
Kizaru glanced sideways at the ruined wall, then looked back at the furious Tsunade.
He immediately said, "I'll only have children with you."
"Fix the wall."
Tsunade withdrew her fist, crossed her arms in front of her chest, and spoke coldly.
"I'll find someone to repair it."
"Hmph."
With a cold snort, Tsunade turned around and walked back to her desk, clearly unwilling to deal with this infuriating man any longer.
"Tsunade-neesan, let's have dinner together tonight."
Kizaru followed her and stopped behind her.
"I want to drink. I want to gamble."
Tsunade was still angry, so her tone was sharp.
"Then let's go. My treat."
Hearing that Tsunade wanted to gamble, even Kizaru, who had managed to accumulate a small fortune, felt a faint pain in his heart.
After all, when Tsunade gambled, it could hardly be called gambling.
She was practically doing charity.
Tsunade turned her head and gave Kizaru a sideways glance. Then she took off her white coat and threw it onto the table.
"Let's go."
"It isn't time to get off work yet."
Kizaru kindly reminded her while looking at the crooked clock hanging on the wall beside the desk.
"I'm the director. I decide when I get off work."
Tsunade said it domineeringly.
After saying that, she reached out, took Kizaru by the arm, and prepared to leave.
"How unreasonable~"
Kizaru, who was being dragged along by the arm, complained lazily.
"You're one to talk, Principal. Do you think I don't know? You arrive at work at ten and leave at three every day."
Tsunade snapped back at him.
"Ooh… then it seems we share the same bad habits. We really do work well together."
Kizaru smiled as he spoke in a teasing tone.
"If you don't know how to talk, then shut up."
Under the gazes of the hospital staff and patients, Tsunade half-dragged and half-held Kizaru as she quickened her pace and left Konoha Hospital.
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