Lord Shadow's Favor, Never Repaid

Chen said, "It's a pity. I didn't save Jiraiya."

Obito asked in surprise, "Oh? You didn't go witness the battle between Pain and Jiraiya?"

"I went, but after much deliberation, I gave up."

Obito asked curiously, "Why is that?"

"Obito, do you still remember Koshin Koji, the inner member of the Kara Organization I showed you in the genjutsu?"

"Of course I do. The one who played that Isshiki for a fool, right? His true identity is a clone of Jiraiya."

"That's right. Kara's lead scientist, Amado, created the clone using Jiraiya's cells. Koshin Koji was also his trump card for turning against Isshiki later on."

Chen was certain that Amado had found Jiraiya's remains and completed the cloning and modification of Koshin Koji.

It was precisely Koshin Koji's later actions that brought Isshiki's 'vessel,' Kawaki, into the ninja world's view and slowly revealed the entire Kara Organization.

"Koshin Koji's existence is necessary. Otherwise, Isshiki, lurking in the shadows of the ninja world, and the Kara Organization might not have surfaced for who knows how long, and the situation would have become uncontrollable. So, after much deliberation, I gave up on rescuing Jiraiya."

Obito said with emotion, "So you were already considering such a long-term situation back then..."

At this moment, Chen did not reveal that he hadn't saved Jiraiya but had collected the blood from Jiraiya's arm, which had been severed by Pain's Asura Path.

He hadn't directly taken the severed arm. Given that the Akatsuki of that era had a habit of using White Zetsu to dispose of corpses, if the missing arm were discovered later, it would expose the fact that a third party had been present, which would be detrimental to future actions.

To this day, Chen still hadn't used that blood to perform the Impure World Reincarnation on Jiraiya.

Jiraiya's connection to Mount Myōboku was far too close. His Sage Mode, which involved synchronization through the two great sages, could potentially expose some of Chen's secrets directly to the toad sages.

That was something Chen didn't want to see.

After all, the Great Toad Sage was the one who could truly foresee the future through dreams. It was better to maintain a sense of reverence...

"Mommy, meat buns, I want some~!" At that moment, Tsuki pointed at the Miura Meat Bun Shop along the street, drool dripping from the corner of her mouth!

The shopkeeper was a young woman with her hair in a bun. She glanced at the group and greeted them, "Your faces look a bit unfamiliar. Just moved here? Come try our shop's meat buns. We're an old establishment. I guarantee you'll be hooked after one bite!"

Hikari led Tsuki forward and placed the money down: "Two baskets."

"Coming right up~!"

"By the way, where's Grandma Miura?"

"Oh~! You know my grandmother~! Then you must be regular customers!"

The woman opened the steamer basket and quickly wrapped up the buns. "My grandmother passed away last month. After the Angel sent word, I came from the Hidden Rain Village to accompany her through her final journey. I felt her craft shouldn't be lost, so I decided to stay and take over the shop. Let me introduce myself, I'm Masako Miura!"

When Taoyuan opened, not all the people of the Hidden Rain Village were willing to come along, for various reasons.

"Ah, Grandma Miura..." Hikari's eyes showed regret and sorrow.

Masako, however, was quite calm: "Grandma passed without illness or pain, living over a hundred years. She died of old age. It was a happy funeral."

Hikari took the meat buns Masako handed over and asked, "Are you getting used to living here?"

Masako revealed a genuine, happy smile: "Mm, after coming here, I realized it's truly a wonderful place. Under Lord Shadow and the Angel's rule, the people live in peace and contentment, and the policies are far more humane than under Lord Pain's rule in the Hidden Rain back then."

"Before she passed, Grandma held my hand and kept saying, 'Lord Shadow's kindness can never be repaid.'"

"After living here for a while, my biggest feeling is that I don't have to be on edge and wary when I see unfamiliar faces... Ah, back home, I heard before I left that evil forces among the ninja were starting to infiltrate again."

Masako sighed: "Ah... Though it's no longer my concern, when will the Hidden Rain ever know peace?"

Back in the day, when Naruto and Konan parted ways, he had pounded his chest and promised he would become Hokage and bring peace to the Hidden Rain. Konan believed in him, even at the cost of her life.

But... years had passed, and the Hidden Rain remained that desolate, decaying gray zone where petty schemers thrived.

As the saying goes, only the drinker knows the taste of water—whether it's hot or cold. Konan didn't resent her junior for it, but disappointment was inevitable.

The Angel of the Hidden Rain was not the kind of woman who would betray her own stance and beliefs just because of a life-saving debt.

She had witnessed reality with her own eyes and willingly stood by Chen's side to share his burdens.

"We'll just wait here. Chen will definitely come back."

The method Naruto thought of was to wait for Chen at his home.

Sasuke frowned and said, "What if he doesn't come back?"

Naruto said firmly, "He will definitely come back! Sasuke, you're never home, so you wouldn't understand. This house has a strong sense of daily life! And it's clean and tidy. It's clear that the woman in the photo is just as good a homemaker as Hinata!"

Sasuke asked, "Is it possible he cleans it himself?"

"No way." Naruto said authoritatively, "A married man, no matter how family-oriented, can't cover every little detail sometimes."

Naruto clasped his hands together, his eyes barely suppressing his anger: "Uchiha Chen, the woman in his home—her virtue is probably on par with my wife's. Ah, that just makes me even angrier. She must not know what Uchiha Chen has been doing out there! Honestly, I feel sorry for her!"

Hearing Naruto praise 'virtue' several times, Sasuke walked over to the TV stand, picked up the photo frame, and studied it closely. The woman beside Chen was beaming with happiness.

"Naruto, don't you think this woman looks like someone?"

"Who?"

"I can't quite put my finger on it, but her eyes and brows feel familiar somehow..."

"Probably just your imagination. I'm sure I've never seen her before!"

"Mm, maybe..."

Sasuke set down the photo frame and pulled out the chair across from Naruto, sitting down.

"Then I'll go along with you. We'll wait here for now."

As they waited, he brought up another matter. "By the way, Naruto, during my patrol this time, I passed through Amegakure and noticed some troubling signs there."

"What's going on?"

"The population there has dropped off a cliff. I asked around—it seems that over the past few years, criminal factions have been taking root there. The people couldn't bear it anymore and have been moving away one after another."

Naruto's expression was unexpectedly calm. "Sasuke, you didn't step in?"

Sasuke said, "No. Over the years, I've seen too much of this out there. These evils festering in the shadows are like weeds—cut one batch, and another grows back. The root of the problem is the greed and desire in people's hearts."

A flicker of helplessness and gloom passed through Naruto's eyes.

"Yeah. After becoming Hokage, I realized that even the Hokage has plenty of worries and frustrations. There are so many things that becoming Hokage alone can't change."

"After all, the Hokage is just the leader of a single village. The authority only extends to managing that one village."

"Take the issue you mentioned with Amegakure, for example. Years ago, I asked the Feudal Lord for aid to help with post-war recovery there."

"The Feudal Lord was quite understanding and provided support for three consecutive years. But after those three years, the aid stopped. His reasoning was that even a great nation like the Land of Fire still had people starving in the fields, and there simply wasn't the surplus to keep helping other countries year after year. The three years of support were granted out of consideration for my contributions during the Ninja World War."

"He also specifically warned me that under no circumstances was I to overstep him and meddle in another nation's internal affairs."

"After that... Amegakure began its decline."

Sasuke remarked, "You've grown up too, Naruto. The you from back then would've probably gone straight to the Feudal Lord for a talk, no matter the cost."

Naruto gave a bitter smile and shook his head. He thought of a promise he'd made to someone now gone, and the guilt in his heart crept up like weeds again.

Once this matter with Uchiha Chen was settled, he'd send people to clean up the 'Mikami Faction' that was rearing its head in Amegakure. Consider it a small, insignificant apology to Konan, his senior...

"Welcome back anytime~!"

Tsuki bit into a meat bun, her small hand pulling one after another from the packaging bag and handing them out to the elders before her.

"Mommy, here!" "Daddy, here!" "Grandpa Madara, here!" "Uncle Obito, here!"

Madara and Obito accepted them with delight. Though they couldn't taste much, they still ate with relish.

Tsuki's bun burst with juice as she chewed contentedly, her cheeks puffed out. "Meat bun, oishii~ (So good~)!"

"Hikari, A-Chen..." A surprised voice called out from ahead.

Chen and Hikari stopped in their tracks.

In front of a fresh produce store, a slender, fair-skinned, beautiful blonde woman stood frozen mid-shrug, a bag of freshly bought vegetables in hand, staring at them in utter shock!

"Ah!!" Hikari froze for a moment, then joy lit up her face. She gulped down the rich, soupy meat filling in her mouth and rushed over to embrace the woman!

Obito was also surprised and confused. "Hey, isn't she that kunoichi from Kumogakure who got sealed into the Red Pot by the Gold and Silver Brothers back in the war? What's she doing here?"

Chen spoke formally. "Let me properly introduce you. Her name is Samui. She is the... widow of my younger brother, Uchiha Jin."

"Widow..." Obito wasn't sure he'd heard right and asked again, "Your brother, he married this woman before he died?"

Chen nodded. "Yes. From the moment Jin first laid eyes on Samui, he was deeply drawn to something in her demeanor. After the war ended, he pursued her, and three years of persistence won her over."

"My brother and Samui, like Hikari and me, tied the knot in the same year. However, she was already pregnant when they married."

"So they became parents earlier than we did."

"Wind and Flower—my nephew and niece, Yuki and Tsuki's cousins—are also students at the ninja academy in this village."

After Samui and Hikari finished their casual chatter, she looked at Madara and Obito behind Chen.

"Excuse me, who are these two...?"

During the Ninja World War, she and her younger brother Atsui had coasted through to the end inside the Red Pot, never once laying eyes on the war's instigators, Madara and Obito.

So... this astonishing duo standing before her—Samui had no idea who they were!

Hikari giggled. "Hehe, maybe it's better you don't know~"

"Mm~ Anyway, it's got to do with whatever A-Chen is up to, right? Men's business—I won't ask~." She brushed her blonde side bangs aside, slung an arm around Hikari's shoulder, and said, "Hikari~ Since we sisters-in-law are meeting, how about we take a bath together tonight, like old times~?"

If you can't find the book by searching the title, try searching the author's name—maybe it just got renamed!