Relaxed Daily Life

"Remember this: the one who hurt you was Fuu Yamanaka!"

Fuu Yamanaka?

Everyone present remembered that name.

Then, with the smoke bomb Josuke threw, he vanished from the camp without lingering.

Carrying the goods, Josuke rushed back to Orochimaru's base without stopping.

He tossed the goods to Orochimaru.

"Here are the goods you wanted. Got them."

After saying that, Josuke stretched his waist.

Seeing his recovered goods, Orochimaru's eyes revealed a hint of delight.

"Thank you, Josuke. Tell me, what reward do you want?"

The more Orochimaru looked at Josuke, the more satisfied he became. What a pity Josuke had not joined him three years ago; otherwise, he would have taught him all of his Ninjutsu.

That inevitably left a regret in Orochimaru's heart.

Josuke shook his head. Even Orochimaru himself did not know what he needed. Josuke worked for Orochimaru purely because he was dedicated. Since he had become a Rogue Ninja—

He had to become a model worker among Rogue Ninjas.

Hehe.

"Nothing for now. Call me if anything comes up. I'll be going out for a walk in a few days."

With that, he returned to his room.

Outside, Orochimaru watched Josuke leave with a meaningful smile. Josuke and Sasuke were practically worlds apart. Why was it that the same tragic experiences—

Could shape two completely different people?

Orochimaru was becoming increasingly interested in Josuke.

Naturally, Josuke had no idea what Orochimaru was thinking when he returned to his room.

Instead, he was thinking about the main plot of the original Hokage story. Come to think of it, he only knew the general outline.

Next up, Orochimaru might get taken out. The Three-Tails was probably out of the question, since Guren and the others had already returned, looking thoroughly bedraggled.

No Tailed Beast, then so be it.

Oh right, should he let Orochimaru study that big hammer?

It did not seem all that useful in his own hands, did it?

With that thought, Josuke got up and went to Orochimaru's laboratory. Orochimaru and Kabuto were studying some red Chakra. Why did it look so familiar?

But Josuke could not remember where he had seen it before.

So, he took out a huge hammer made from the Three-Tails' eye.

After he injected a small amount of Tailed Beast Chakra into it, the hammer regained its vitality, and the eyeball on it kept looking around.

"I seized this while fighting those ninjas. I don't know what it's for. Can you figure anything out?"

Orochimaru stopped what he was doing and looked at the item Josuke had brought.

A trace of surprise flashed through his eyes.

"Is this Izumo Kamizuki's weapon?"

Orochimaru recognized the weapon's origin at a glance.

Josuke nodded and told him everything that had happened when he retrieved the weapon for Orochimaru.

After hearing it, Orochimaru burst into laughter.

"Those Konoha fools are simply wasting a treasure. They used a Tailed Beast's eye to make a weapon, then gave it to such a loser."

Orochimaru took the weapon from Josuke and examined it carefully. After pondering for a moment, he said to Josuke, "I can't make sense of it yet, but give me some time. I'll definitely figure it out."

His tone was brimming with confidence. Orochimaru believed that himself. After all, Lord Orochimaru was the number one scientist in the ninja world.

And his medical Ninjutsu was no slouch either. He might not have been as skilled as Tsunade, but he was still among the very best in the ninja world. That was Orochimaru's confidence.

Besides, the massive Eight-Tails horn behind him explained everything.

Josuke nodded.

"Alright. Let me know when you find something."

Then he returned to his room.

After spending a few leisurely days, Josuke suddenly had an impulse and decided to head to Konoha.

There was no need to disguise himself. The portrait on Konoha's wanted poster for Josuke was hideous beyond belief—there was no need to cover up at all. Josuke simply swaggered straight back into Konoha.

No one questioned him along the way. No one paid him any attention.

Following the tracks, Josuke arrived at the Uchiha Clan Land.

There was none of the ruined, desolate scene he had imagined.

What met Josuke's eyes was clan land filled with birdsong and blooming flowers.

Huh?

Where the hell had I ended up? Is this still my home?

Who bought our Uchiha Clan Land?

Josuke stared in disbelief, genuinely wondering whether his eyes had gone bad, and vigorously rubbed them.

The Uchiha emblem was indeed on the gate.

Josuke could only steel himself and walk in.

The world beyond the gate was equally brimming with spring. Flowers and grass bloomed in profusion. Josuke remembered that even back when the Uchiha Clan still existed, it had never looked this beautiful.

Only the thick dust inside some of the rooms spoke of its former glory.

Following his memories, Josuke returned to his home.

How long had it been since he came back?

Josuke seemed to return to the past... the helplessness of the Uchiha Clan Downfall welled up in his heart once more.

He pushed open the door.

Unlike the other houses, the interior was not covered in dust. The floor was spotless, clearly cleaned on a regular basis.

There was no dust in the corners of the windowsills either. A pair of shoes sat by the shoe cabinet in the entryway, instantly putting Josuke on alert.

Someone's inside!

Josuke thought.

He then softened his footsteps and made his way into the house step by step.

He swept his gaze around the living room and found no trace of any suspicious person, but it had been cleaned very thoroughly, which pleased Josuke.

His parents' room had never been opened since that incident. Sasuke and Itachi's rooms had been locked when Sasuke defected.

Josuke's own room, however, had not been locked. He had merely shut it normally, so he crept over to it.

The room had been opened. That made Josuke even more alert.

That damned thief had actually taken over someone else's nest. Just wait until I get my hands on you.

When he entered his room, holy crap—Josuke discovered that it was arranged exactly as it had been when he left.

The only change was probably the extra blanket and pillow that had somehow appeared on his bed.

A Chinese character I really like:

Huh?

What the hell is going on?

Not only did a thief break into my house, but it was a perverted thief too, QAQ.

The room was filled with a pleasant scent. Josuke felt like he had smelled it somewhere before, but could not remember where.

The bed was somewhat messy, and the blanket had not been folded. Clearly, whoever had moved in had taken this place for granted as their own home.

Damn it. Don't let me find out where you are.

There were no traces here.

Then there was obviously only one place left: the courtyard outside.

Josuke crept into the courtyard and abruptly pulled open the door.

There, he saw a sight he would never forget for the rest of his life.

The abandoned courtyard was overgrown with all kinds of beautiful flowers.

They breathed new life into the deathly colors of the courtyard.

The fragrance rushed at him, rich and sweet.

Yet compared to the lovely figure Josuke saw, even the beautiful petals paled into insignificance.

(This chapter really hit the mark. Honkai: Star Rail's new version is coming in a few days—time to fire it up!)