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The second before, Chen had still been waving, but the next moment, he vanished right in front of Orochimaru.

"How is this possible?!

The Flying Thunder God Technique?

Danzo, you bastard!"

Orochimaru roared. Having been toyed with twice by the same person, he was absolutely furious.

Orochimaru had already wondered why the Cursed Seal had been ineffective. Now that he had seen Chen use the Flying Thunder God Technique, he had a theory.

In Orochimaru's eyes, Chen had to be one of Danzo's men.

After all, the Flying Thunder God Technique wasn't something just anyone could get their hands on, but Danzo clearly could.

Besides, Danzo had once wanted to get his hands on the Cursed Seal, too. Put the two together, and poor Danzo was taking the blame once again.

Using the Flying Thunder God Technique, Chen appeared right beside Haku.

His sudden appearance startled Haku, but when she saw it was Chen, her anxious heart settled.

"Hold on tight. Don't fall."

As he spoke, Chen scooped Haku up and hurried off with Flash Step.

Although he had used the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape Orochimaru, Chen had no desire to run into him again. It was best to put as much distance between them as possible.

With Flash Step and the Flying Thunder God Technique, Chen left the Land of Water without a hitch.

Haku's identity clearly made Konoha an unsuitable destination, so Chen took her to the Land of Demons and entrusted her to Shion.

"Who is she?"

Seeing Haku behind Chen, Shion looked displeased. The air seemed to reek of jealousy.

"She's Haku, Yuki Haku. I brought her from the Land of Water.

"She knows a fair bit about Ice Release, so I'll leave her in your care from now on.

"Haku, this is Shion. From now on, follow her instructions."

Chen could tell why Shion was acting this way, so he explained everything outright. Haku quickly assured her that she would do as she was told.

Seeing this, Shion first ordered someone to get Haku settled, then gave Chen a searching look.

"What's the story with her? Weren't you going back to Konoha this time?"

"No. I went to the Land of Water specifically for Haku. She's from the Yuki Clan, after all, and has more experience with Ice Release.

"Although I can give people the power of a Kekkei Genkai, I can't teach them how to train with it.

"Unless something unexpected happened, she's the only one left from the Yuki Clan, so I had no choice but to bring her back.

"Haku's parents are both dead. Her father was even killed by her, so please do what you can to help her."

Chen explained what he knew about Haku. Shion, who had been a little displeased, stopped sulking and instead felt a great deal of sympathy for her.

Shion had lost her parents, too, so she understood Haku all the better—especially since Haku had even killed her own father.

"I'll let you off this time. How long can you stay?"

Shion really wanted Chen to stay, but she understood that he had things to take care of.

"I'm leaving right away. I've been away from Konoha too long this time. If I don't go back soon, something might happen.

"Next time I have the chance, I'll try to stay longer."

"Fine. I'll let you off this time."

Chen turned to leave. Saying goodbye always felt a little strange to him, so he tried to avoid it whenever possible.

"I think Shion may be jealous, but she doesn't seem to mind Haku becoming your woman. Want me to issue you a mission?"

"No need."

Chen was at a loss for words. He and Haku had only just met, so why did everyone assume they would end up together?

As far as Chen was concerned, Haku was simply grateful to him in a way that went beyond the ordinary.

"Don't be shy. If I issue the mission, won't that give you an excuse?"

"Not interested.

"System, don't mess around with this sort of thing.

"I'm not interested in Haku.

"By the way, wasn't Haku a man in the original story? Why has she become a woman?"

Chen was curious, too. On the way back with Haku, he had asked her about her gender.

As a result, Haku had thought he had some unsavory interests.

"Didn't I tell you?

"Your arrival has brought subtle changes to the entire world.

"It's not just Haku. Kimimaro was affected, too."

"Kimimaro? What do you mean?"

Chen was puzzled. He had only glanced at Kimimaro and hadn't even spoken to him, so how could he have affected him?

"Originally, Kimimaro had an extremely fervent admiration for Orochimaru. But because you escaped from Orochimaru, that admiration has changed somewhat.

"And that's not all. Haven't you noticed that Orochimaru got the Cursed Seal earlier than he should have?"

"Well..."

Hearing the system's explanation, Chen was stunned.

The Cursed Seal was actually natural chakra, and Orochimaru had developed his version using Jugo's bodily fluids.

Jugo and Kimimaro shared a special bond. Yet Kimimaro had only just begun following Orochimaru, while Orochimaru's Cursed Seal seemed to be complete already.

Now that he thought about it, something did seem off.

"Got it now? Most things haven't changed, but many have shifted because of your arrival.

"Some changes were directly caused by you, like what happened with Shisui. Others were affected indirectly, like the Cursed Seal."

"I didn't expect that. Looks like I can't rely entirely on what I already know from now on."

"Of course not. The only thing you can rely on is this system."

"..."

Hearing the system, Chen was speechless. He wanted to say that she was the least reliable of all.

But thinking of the possible retaliation, he ultimately kept quiet.

After all, you had to bow your head when you were under someone else's roof.

With the system's help, Chen returned home to Konoha without a hitch. After dispelling his Shadow Clone, he wore a complicated expression.

During Chen's absence, the Shadow Clone had carried on his "gifted education" and trained Sasuke relentlessly. Now Sasuke's liver nearly trembled whenever he heard Chen's name.

Chen didn't know whether Sasuke's strength had improved, but he figured at least Sasuke would stop thinking he was invincible every other day.

Besides that, Shisui had visited Chen once. After learning that it was only a Shadow Clone, he hadn't said anything more.

Another thing that worried Chen was that the Shadow Clone had put Sasuke through so much, yet Itachi still hadn't shown up.

Given how much of a brother-obsessed person he was, he should have come straight over as soon as he found out.

"Ding. System notification: Find Uchiha Itachi. Locate Uchiha Itachi within three days. Failure penalty: one complete bed linen gift set."

Hearing the penalty, Chen couldn't help letting his mind wander.

After all, he could hear the system laughing in the most lecherous way imaginable.

"System, could you stop laughing?

"I think that laugh alone could take out Madara Uchiha in one hit—and kill him instantly, no less."

"I'll laugh if I want. What are you going to do, tear out your ears?

"Even if you do, it won't help. I live in your mindscape. Unless you blow up your own brain, you'll still hear me.

"Hahahaha..."