"After all was said and done, I was just a selfish person!"
"Everything I did was simply to keep the people around me safe."
At noon, after sitting by the waterfall all night, Uzumaki Jiuming sighed softly. He slowly rose to his feet, stretched his limbs, then headed back to his home.
No one had come to disturb him all day. When he returned, Uehara Akina was preparing lunch, with Kisame helping her. Seeing Uzumaki Jiuming come back, Kisame put down the plate in his hands and looked at him.
"Lord Jiuming, you sat there all night. Is there something you can't figure out?"
"If there's anything you need me to do, just say the word."
There was no warmth to be seen in Kisame's shark-like face, but Uzumaki Jiuming could feel the concern in his words.
"It's nothing. I was just thinking about some things from the past."
"I've simply reaffirmed my goals."
"I'm going to see Shisui. You two carry on." Uzumaki Jiuming waved and started to leave.
"Kisame, are you happy with the life you have now?"
But when he reached the door, Uzumaki Jiuming suddenly stopped and turned back to ask Kisame. Kisame was clearly taken aback. He glanced at Uehara Akina beside him, then looked back at Uzumaki Jiuming and nodded.
Though he said nothing, Uzumaki Jiuming understood what Kisame meant. He smiled and left.
In the dojo, Shisui Uchiha sat cross-legged at the edge of the training floor, watching the two fighters with a grave expression. Beside him sat a boy and a girl: Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga, who had visited Uzumaki Jiuming's home that morning. Hinata, who was staying at Minato's house, hadn't returned to the Hyuga Clan that week. Instead, she had come here with the two brothers.
In the middle