Sharing Lifespan

Shi Xiu and Kakashi finally returned to Konoha Village safely with the ransom.

Upon arriving at the village, Shi Xiu casually opened the box filled with banknotes and pulled out a thick stack of cash.

Afterward, he tossed the box containing the remaining money to Kakashi with a nonchalant air and said lazily.

"Here, Kakashi, take this and hand it over to Monkey. I've been up since the crack of dawn and I'm exhausted, so I'm heading home to catch some sleep! As for this stack of cash, consider it my payment for these two missions."

Having said that, Shi Xiu didn't forget to pat Kakashi lightly on the shoulder, signaling his trust and delegating the task to him.

Immediately following this, Shi Xiu strode away quickly without even looking back, leaving Kakashi standing there alone, his mind in a whirl as he watched Shi Xiu's retreating figure.

However, Shi Xiu did not choose to use the Flying Thunder God technique to return home instantly; instead, he wandered through the streets with the leisurely ease of someone out for a stroll.

As he walked, Shi Xiu observed the surrounding scenery with great interest.

He noticed that after several days of repair work, the streets that had once been devastated by the Nine-Tails were now completely renewed, and one could basically no longer find any traces of the destruction it had caused.

At the thought of the Nine-Tails, Shi Xiu remembered the mission the system had previously issued regarding the adoption of Naruto Uzumaki.

Although Naruto had indeed been adopted by him, in reality, he had been under the care of Minato Namikaze and his wife ever since they were brought back via Reanimation.

Thinking of this, a trace of doubt surfaced in Shi Xiu's heart, so he couldn't help but ask the system: "Say, System, has my mission to adopt Naruto Uzumaki actually been completed? Why has it been so long without receiving any relevant notification?"

"..."

The system fell into a brief silence, as if time itself had frozen at that moment.

After a long while, it spoke slowly in a somewhat stiff voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

"After evaluation, the host has not personally cared for Naruto Uzumaki, therefore it is determined that the host has failed to successfully complete this mission."

Upon hearing this conclusion, Shi Xiu was slightly stunned at first, but soon revealed a cunning smile.

In the eyes of outsiders, Shi Xiu might always be that mysterious, aloof, and powerful existence; yet in reality, he was nothing more than a total goofball and a chatterbox.

Shi Xiu quickly activated his unique "bullshitting" mode, looked at the system with a straight face, and explained earnestly.

"Oh, come on, System, think about it! Minato and the others were summoned back by me through the Reanimation jutsu. Since they have returned to the present world, doesn't them taking care of Naruto count as me taking care of him indirectly? Think it over carefully, isn't that the logic?"

Before the system could respond, Shi Xiu struck while the iron was hot, continuing his relentless stream of nonsense.

"And besides, Lord System, you only asked me to adopt Naruto Uzumaki in the first place, you didn't explicitly state that I had to take care of him personally! Right? Right? So from that perspective, I can't be considered to have failed the mission entirely, can I?"

After finishing this speech, Shi Xiu crossed his arms over his chest, a confident smile on his face, and waited quietly for the system's reaction.

The system fell into silence once again, though this time the silence lasted significantly longer than before.

Perhaps the system was seriously considering the fallacious arguments Shi Xiu had just presented, trying to find a flaw; or perhaps it simply couldn't comprehend how Shi Xiu could be so shamelessly sophistical.

However, in the end, the system stated: "The host has completed the mission of adopting Naruto Uzumaki."

The man and the system remained in silence for a long while, until finally, Shi Xiu couldn't hold back and asked the system.

Shi Xiu frowned, looking at the system with a suspicious expression, and asked urgently.

"Say, System, what is going on here? I worked hard to complete the mission, so where is the reward? Are you just going to let it slide like this?"

This time, the system replied quickly, its emotionless electronic voice ringing out slowly.

"The host is already invincible, what more rewards could you want? Besides, the host has already copied thousands of ninjutsu and so many Kekkei Genkai, plus you have immortality—what more do you need? One must not be too greedy."

The emotionless system and its emotionless electronic voice deeply stung Shi Xiu's heart.

"Hey! System, you motherf..." The system's words made Shi Xiu almost blurt out a curse, but he managed to stop himself at the last second.

After all, there seemed to be no point in arguing with a system that had no feelings.

However, just as Shi Xiu was about to give up, the system finally offered him a small reward.

The system's calm voice sounded once more: "The host is rewarded with Life Sharing. The host may choose to bind with another person, allowing the bound individual to share the host's lifespan. Note, however, that if the bound individual suffers fatal damage, they will still face death, while the host will remain unaffected. Furthermore, the target of the binding cannot be an abnormal life form such as those brought back by Reanimation."

Upon hearing this, Shi Xiu couldn't help but stroke his chin, pondering to himself.

The concept of sharing life sounded quite interesting; it meant that as long as he found the right person to bind with, he could achieve a certain degree of life extension.

At this thought, a flash of shrewdness crossed Shi Xiu's eyes.

Immediately, Shi Xiu asked the system impatiently: "System, how many people can I bind with now?"

At this very moment, Shi Xiu had already keenly spotted a potential loophole.

If he were to charge a high price to bind with those who were on their deathbeds, wouldn't he be able to make a fortune and become wealthier than a nation? Just thinking about it made him incredibly excited.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned; the system seemed to have anticipated that Shi Xiu would have such thoughts and extinguished his little spark of trying to cheat the system without hesitation.

"At the current stage, the host can only bind with one person. Therefore, please discard those unrealistic fantasies of yours." The system's reply was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, sobering Shi Xiu instantly.

Shi Xiu felt a bit disappointed, but it was no big deal. He continued to ask: "Then, can I choose not to bind with anyone for now?"

"Yes!" The system answered without much thought.

Shi Xiu nodded slightly, indicating his agreement. As for this first binding target, he actually already had one or two potential candidates in mind.

One of them was Reina. If he could share his lifespan with her, all the worries that had been troubling him would be resolved.

However, just a short while ago, Shi Xiu had turned down her feelings. Although it wasn't a face-to-face rejection, if he were to suddenly turn back now and tell her he had changed his mind, it would feel quite awkward and embarrassing no matter how he looked at it.

Reina might even suspect that some ulterior motive was hidden behind his actions.

As for the other candidate, it was none other than the renowned Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, Gamamaru!

One had to realize that the system never explicitly stated that one could only form a bond with a human.

Furthermore, if Life Sharing could truly be achieved, perhaps there was hope for Gamamaru to return to his youthful state.

Although Shi Xiu did not have much interest in Gamamaru's dreams that could foresee the plot developments of the original story, if it could predict things not mentioned in the original work, the room for maneuver would undoubtedly become vast and filled with infinite possibilities.