Siblings Reunited

In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

By then, Tokiju and Uchiha Hikari had arrived at the main gate of Yugakure.

Looking at the gate, which had barely any guards, Tokiju could only shake his head helplessly.

Yugakure was a ninja village that welcomed anyone who wanted to soak in its hot springs. After all, that was about the only thing it had going for it.

Oh, right. They also had a strange cult called the Jashin Cult. That thing named Hidan had come from here.

Tokiju casually said, "We're here for the hot springs," and walked right into the village without being questioned again.

After all, before arriving in Yugakure, Tokiju had placed seals on himself and Uchiha Hikari to prevent their chakra from leaking.

Unless they ran into someone from the Hyuga Clan with X-ray vision, or someone with an exceptionally rare Sensory Ninjutsu.

The sealing jutsu Tokiju had placed on them was practically unbeatable. Even the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan couldn't detect it.

Uchiha Hikari, who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, had personally confirmed this.

After all, Tokiju and Uchiha Hikari had spent several years together.

To gain an advantage when sparring with her, Tokiju had developed many sealing jutsu specifically designed to counter the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan.

There were seals that blocked sight, hearing, or other senses, and even ones that prevented intense emotional fluctuations. He had developed countless kinds of sealing jutsu.

It was fair to say that unless they ran into an Uchiha on Madara's level.

Tokiju could make any other Uchiha understand exactly why people said not to mess with him.

So, to these ninja from Yugakure, Tokiju and Uchiha Hikari were just two ordinary people without chakra. Naturally, no one paid them much attention.

After entering the village, Uchiha Hikari looked at Tokiju and asked, "Haven't you been going on and on about wanting to soak in the hot springs? So, are we going to find your sister first, or hit the hot springs?"

At that, Tokiju started seriously weighing what mattered more: his big sister or the hot springs.

But just then, a very unwelcome voice came from up ahead.

"Hey! Did you find that woman?"

"No! I saw her around here just a moment ago!"

"Damn it! Go search over there. We can't let her get away!"

With that, the group of men, who clearly looked like trouble, immediately ran off in another direction.

Watching them go, Tokiju grumbled inwardly, Seriously? You just ran off like that? You're looking for someone, aren't you? At least ask around! Why does it feel like you're just playing at this?

The scene before him was kind of like someone who kept talking about going out to have fun, but never actually moved from their couch.

And somehow, the scene felt familiar to Tokiju, though he couldn't put his finger on why.

So he kept staring in the direction the group had gone, frowning as he tried to figure out where that sense of familiarity came from.

But as he pondered, a little girl with pale blond hair tied into a short ponytail at the back of her head was staring intently at him.

From the deep furrow in her brow, she seemed to be locked in an intense inner struggle.

Tokiju didn't notice her gaze, of course. He hadn't yet awakened the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, a natural talent of the Uzumaki line.

Besides, before he had unexpectedly ended up in the Sealing Space, he hadn't learned any sensory-type ninjutsu.

On top of that, he had spent all his time in the Sealing Space since he was six, and hadn't met anyone besides Uchiha Hikari.

So Tokiju was now noticeably slow to pick up on people looking at him.

Fortunately, Uchiha Hikari was by his side.

She had naturally noticed the pale-haired girl's gaze right away, and she had also seen through the girl's Transformation Technique.

Once she sensed that the girl meant no harm, she immediately guessed who she was.

She casually nudged Tokiju with her elbow, signaling that it was time to snap out of it.

The nudge brought Tokiju back to his senses. He looked at Uchiha Hikari, still a little dazed.

Ignoring his confusion, Uchiha Hikari raised her chin and gestured for him to look ahead.

Following her gaze, Tokiju spotted the pale-haired girl.

The moment he saw her, Tokiju realized where that familiar feeling had come from.

Wasn't this exactly what happened when his big sister's creditors sent their lackeys after her for not paying her debts?

And the little girl before him looked exactly like his big sister had as a child.

Tokiju also recalled that in the original Naruto story, his big sister had always used this very trick to get away from her creditors.

And there was more: he had actually witnessed this ridiculous stunt himself when he was little.

It had just been so long that he'd forgotten about it.

Seeing it again now brought those long-buried memories crashing back into his mind.

After quickly replaying the memories in his head, Tokiju awkwardly scratched his cheek and said, "Ah, big sis. You're dodging creditors again? Can you take a break?"

At those words, the girl before him, Tsunade, immediately teared up.

Back when that brat Tokiju was still around, he would say the exact same thing whenever he caught her dodging her creditors.

She had always found it incredibly annoying.

But ever since Tokiju had mysteriously disappeared, Nawaki, her mother Mito, and her lover had all passed away one after another.

Now, every time she tried to escape her creditors, she longed to hear that familiar, infuriating complaint.

She had always believed that Tokiju had only disappeared; he wasn't dead, and there was still hope she might see him again.

But as time passed and the Second Ninja War and Third Ninja War came to an end, that hope in her heart gradually faded.

By now, she was little more than a living corpse, numbing herself with constant gambling.

Perhaps the only thing she had left to look forward to was raising her lover's niece, Shizune, into a fine young woman.

And so, on this day, she had been going about her usual routine: teaching Shizune, drinking to drown her sorrows, gambling, losing, and dodging her creditors.

Then she spotted a child in the crowd who looked exactly like her little brother.

At first, she thought she'd had too much to drink and mistaken someone who resembled her brother for him.

But then he said those words, the very complaint that had been branded into her heart.

She was sure now. She hadn't been mistaken, and it wasn't the alcohol. The person standing before her really was her little brother.

She didn't know why her little brother still had the body of a six-year-old, but that didn't matter.

The chance to see him again filled her with such excitement and joy that her Transformation Technique lifted without her realizing it.

Seeing Tsunade's true appearance, Uchiha Hikari was utterly stunned. That figure—how could it be so voluptuous? What on earth did she eat to grow that big?

Trembling, Tsunade pointed at Tokiju and asked, "Are you... Tokiju?"

Seeing Tsunade like this made Tokiju's heart ache. He quickly undid the seal concealing his chakra, letting his chakra and the Senju Clan's signature presence shine through without restraint.

Feeling that familiar chakra and the bond of their shared bloodline, Tsunade was certain that the person before her really was her little brother.

Without hesitation, she rushed toward Tokiju and swept him up in her arms, as if afraid he might disappear again the very next second.

Though the two huge mounds in front of him were making it hard for Tokiju to breathe, he still did his best to pat Tsunade on the back and say, "Big sis, I'm back. You've worked so hard all these years."

Tokiju's voice was very quiet, but Tsunade still heard him.

The moment she heard those words, tears as big as beans rolled down from the corners of her eyes, and she burst into loud sobs right there in the middle of the street.