Shi Xiu and Kakashi finally returned to Konoha with the ransom.
As soon as they arrived in the village, Shi Xiu casually opened the box full of bills and pulled out a thick wad to hold in his hand.
Then Shi Xiu tossed the box containing the rest of the money to Kakashi and said lazily,
"Here, Kakashi. Take this money to Monkey. I got up so early this morning that I'm dead tired, so I'm heading home to catch some sleep! As for this wad of cash, consider it payment for my two missions."
After saying that, Shi Xiu gave Kakashi's shoulder a light pat to show his trust and entrust him with the money.
Then, without even looking back, Shi Xiu strode off, leaving Kakashi standing alone as he watched Shi Xiu's retreating figure, utterly bewildered.
However, instead of using the Flying Thunder God Technique to return home in an instant, Shi Xiu wandered leisurely through the streets as though he were out for a stroll.
As he walked, Shi Xiu took an interested look at the scenery around him.
After several days of repairs, the streets that had once been devastated by the Nine-Tails had been completely restored. There was practically no trace left of the destruction it had caused.
Thinking of the Nine-Tails reminded Shi Xiu of the system's earlier mission to adopt Naruto Uzumaki.
Although Naruto had indeed been adopted by him, in practice, he had been cared for all along by Minato Namikaze and his wife, resurrected through the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu.
At the thought, a hint of doubt arose in Shi Xiu's mind, and he couldn't help asking the system, "Hey, system, did I actually complete the mission to adopt Naruto Uzumaki or not? It's been so long, but I haven't received any notification about it."
"..."
The system fell silent for a moment, as if time itself had stopped.
After a long while, it finally spoke in a slightly stiff, utterly emotionless voice.
"After evaluation, the host did not personally care for Naruto Uzumaki. The host has therefore failed to complete this mission."
Shi Xiu was momentarily stunned by the verdict, but soon a sly smile appeared on his face.
In the eyes of outsiders, Shi Xiu might have seemed like a mysterious, lofty, and powerful figure. In reality, though, he was nothing more than a shameless goofball and chatterbox.
Shi Xiu promptly launched into his signature bluster. He looked at the system with a serious expression and began explaining earnestly.
"Oh, come on, system, think about it! I brought Minato and the others back using the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu. Now that they're back in the living world, doesn't having them care for Naruto count as me caring for him indirectly? Think it over. Doesn't that make sense?"
Before the system could respond, Shi Xiu pressed his advantage and kept on talking.
"Besides, dear system, all you asked me to do was adopt Naruto Uzumaki. You never explicitly said that I had to care for him personally! Right? So from that perspective, you can't say I didn't complete the mission at all, can you?"
After finishing his argument, Shi Xiu folded his arms and waited for the system's response with a confident smile.
The system fell silent again, but this time the pause lasted much longer.
Perhaps it was seriously considering Shi Xiu's specious reasoning and trying to find a flaw in it. Or perhaps it simply couldn't understand how he could be so shamelessly unreasonable.
In the end, however, the system said, "The host has completed the mission to adopt Naruto Uzumaki."
The man and the system stayed silent for a long while. Eventually, Shi Xiu couldn't take it anymore and spoke up.
Shi Xiu furrowed his brows and looked at the system suspiciously, asking impatiently,
"Hey, system, what's going on? I worked so hard to complete the mission. Where's my reward? Are you just going to let the matter drop?"
This time, the system answered quickly. Its emotionless electronic voice rang out,
"The host is already invincible. What reward could you possibly need? Besides, the host has copied over a thousand ninjutsu and so many Kekkei Genkai, and is immortal. What else could you want? One shouldn't be so greedy."
The system's emotionless words, delivered in its emotionless voice, cut Shi Xiu to the quick.
"Hey! System, you—" The system's words made Shi Xiu so angry that he nearly swore, but he managed to stop himself at the last moment.
After all, arguing with an emotionless system probably wouldn't get him anywhere.
However, just as Shi Xiu was about to give up, the system finally offered him a small reward.
The system's utterly flat voice rang out: "The host is rewarded with Life Sharing. The host may form a bond with another person, allowing the bonded person to share the host's lifespan. However, if the bonded person sustains a fatal injury, they will still die, and the host will remain unaffected. In addition, the bond cannot be formed with an abnormal life-form, such as one brought back by the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu."
Hearing this, Shi Xiu rubbed his chin and pondered.
The idea of sharing lifespans sounded quite interesting. If he found the right person to bond with, he could extend their life, in a sense.
A calculating glint flashed in Shi Xiu's eyes.
Eagerly, Shi Xiu asked the system, "So, system, how many people can I bond with right now?"
By now, Shi Xiu had already spotted a possible loophole.
If he charged an exorbitant price to bond with people who were old and near death, wouldn't he make a fortune and become unimaginably rich? Just thinking about it made him excited.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as he hoped. The system seemed to have anticipated that Shi Xiu would think of this, and immediately doused his attempt to exploit the loophole.
"At present, the host can bond with only one person. So please give up those unrealistic fantasies," the system replied, pouring cold water over Shi Xiu's plans and bringing him back to his senses.
Shi Xiu was a little disappointed, but it wasn't a big deal. He continued, "Can I leave the bond unused for now?"
"Yes!" The system replied without giving it much thought.
Shi Xiu nodded in agreement. He already had one or two potential candidates in mind for his first bond.
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, he had only recently turned down her feelings. He hadn't rejected her face-to-face, but if he suddenly went back and told her he'd changed his mind, it would feel awkward and embarrassing no matter how he looked at it.
Reina might even suspect that he had some ulterior motive.
His other candidate was the renowned Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, Gamamaru!
After all, the system had never said that he could only bond with humans.
Furthermore, if they really could share lifespans, perhaps Gamamaru could even regain his youth.
Shi Xiu wasn't particularly interested in Gamamaru's dreams that could predict the plot of the original story. But if Gamamaru could foretell things that had never been mentioned in the original story, that would open up an enormous range of possibilities.