The System's Conscience is Impossible

Early the next morning, Chen woke up early. He went to Shion's room and, seeing that she was still asleep, gently kissed her forehead before leaving.

Even in his previous life, Chen was never accustomed to farewells, so he felt it was better to leave without saying goodbye.

Leaving the Land of Demons, Chen headed in the direction of the Land of Water.

Chen had left, but what he did not know was that the moment he turned away, Shion had secretly opened her eyes.

I will develop the Land of Demons and its shinobi village well while I wait for your return.

The Land of Water is completely surrounded by the ocean, and Kirigakure, in particular, had begun its "Bloody Mist" era because that unlucky brat Uchiha Obito was manipulating the Mizukage.

Therefore, entering the Land of Water was extremely difficult. Fortunately, Haku was not currently near Kirigakure, but in a relatively remote town in the Land of Water.

Chen did not rush in blindly; instead, he disguised himself as a refugee and joined a merchant caravan.

In the Naruto World, the Five Great Shinobi Villages appear peaceful on the surface, but in reality, there is war everywhere. Naturally, there are many war orphans and refugees.

Relying on his strength, Chen easily found a job carrying sacks within the caravan.

Such work didn't even pay money, offering only two meals a day, yet even this kind of job was something people fought over.

From this, one can see what a miserable world this truly is.

Following the caravan, Chen successfully entered the Land of Water.

After avoiding the inspections, Chen quietly slipped away.

Since he had already left a Flying Thunder God mark outside, he wouldn't need to go through such trouble if he wanted to leave.

Following the system's map, Chen quickly headed toward his destination.

Although the system had indicated that this mission was a "welfare" task, Chen didn't believe it at all; after all, that guy, the system, would definitely dig a hole for him.

After a day and a night of rushing, Chen finally arrived at the town where Haku was located.

At this moment, Haku was curled up on a bridge, and passersby seemed long accustomed to such sights. Forget about a living person; even if it were a corpse, no one would spare it a second glance.

"Truly a pathetic world."

Chen sighed helplessly. Compared to the peaceful and prosperous Huaxia of his previous life, calling this place hell would not be an exaggeration.

Wearing a mask, Chen walked up to Haku, but his stopping did not attract Haku's attention.

It would be no exaggeration to call Haku a living dead person now, as she had already lost the will to live.

"Eat."

Placing the food in front of Haku, Chen sat down opposite her.

Seeing the food, Haku instinctively clutched it to her chest, as if afraid that Chen would snatch it away.

Although she lacked the will to live, the instinct to survive still remained.

"Thank you."

"Where is your family?"

Although he knew Haku's situation, many things had changed, so it was still necessary for Chen to confirm.

Hearing Chen's words, Haku shook her head while eating, not answering him.

"Then, is there anywhere you want to go?"

The answer Chen received was still a shake of the head.

"Since that's the case, eat your fill and come with me. Become my companion."

"Can someone like me be needed by others?"

There was surprise in Haku's eyes, as if she were merely a speck of dust forgotten by the entire world.

"Of course, everyone has a time when they are needed."

As he spoke, Chen reached out his hand, signaling for Haku to take it.

"I understand. I will become your best tool, until the time you no longer need me."

Haku replied as such, while also reaching out to take Chen's hand.

However, Chen withdrew his hand at this moment.

"What I need is a companion, not a tool.

If you only wish to be a tool, then there is no need for you to exist."

As he spoke, Chen drew his Asauchi, waiting for Haku's choice.

"But, I... I am a person of ill omen. Becoming your companion will only bring you disaster."

"Then we shall destroy the disaster together. I believe in my companion, what about you?"

Haku hesitated for a moment, but soon nodded.

"Thank you. I am willing to become your companion."

Seeing this, Chen reached out and held Haku's hand in a friendly manner.

Just like that, the two little ones left the small bridge together, and not long after they departed, a man with bandages wrapped around his face passed by.

However, there was no one left on the bridge.

Chen headed toward the border of the Land of Water with Yuki Haku. Although he could use the Flying Thunder God to leave right now, long-distance teleportation consumed too much chakra, especially while carrying someone else.

"Ding, system notification: Yuki Haku submission mission complete. Obtained Frost Release Kekkei Genkai."

The system's chime rang out, and the mission was completed very smoothly, yet this made Chen feel uneasy.

Everything was going too smoothly—so smoothly that it felt abnormal.

One had to know that ever since he arrived in this Naruto world, the system had been trying to screw him over at every turn. How could it possibly let him off so easily this time?

Chen racked his brain, hoping to figure something out.

But as far as Chen was concerned, the only potential threat was Zabuza. Yet, since he had encountered Yuki Haku before Zabuza did, there was no way Zabuza would fight him over the boy.

Did I overlook something?

Chen was deeply puzzled, and his concern was not without reason.

Because in the original plot, after Zabuza took Yuki Haku away, they would encounter someone Chen was very familiar with.

As Chen walked toward the border with Yuki Haku, he suddenly felt a strange gaze upon him.

"An interesting brat, we meet again."

A sinister voice rang out, and upon hearing it, Chen felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

Damn you, system! Is this how you play? Why is Orochimaru here? Would it kill you not to screw me over?!

Looking at Orochimaru appearing before him, Chen really wanted to tear the system apart, but unfortunately, that was impossible.

"Can you blame me? In the original plot, Zabuza and Yuki Haku were supposed to meet Orochimaru. You forgot, so don't blame me."

Hearing the system's words, Chen suddenly remembered that Orochimaru had indeed visited the Land of Water and had even taken away the sole survivor of the Kaguya Clan, Kaguya Kimimaro.

More importantly, Orochimaru and Zabuza had indeed crossed paths, but the two sides had not engaged in battle.

Precisely because there was no fight, Chen had almost no impression of this event.

Fine, you win.

Chen was speechless, but it was useless to say anything now.

"I am truly lucky to meet one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, here. It is a real honor."

"Is that so? I wonder how you managed to escape last time?"

Compared to Chen, Orochimaru was more interested in why the Cursed Seal had no effect on him.

He had initially thought the Cursed Seal had failed, but his subsequent experiments had all been successful, which made Orochimaru realize that Chen was a special existence.