Drowning in a Gentle Haven, the Only Beyond-S-Rank Rogue Ninja, a Sky-High Bounty of Ten Billion

Jiraiya had been forcibly kept at Mount Myoboku to cultivate Sage Mode on his own and could not return to Konoha for the time being.

Uchiha Shadian seemed to have lost himself in a gentle haven. He had stayed at the hot spring inn for several days without taking further action against Konoha. Even when the Nine-Tails secretly slipped away, there was no response from him.

At an inn in Shukuba Town, Nawaki and Shizune finally awaited Tsunade's arrival.

"Lady Tsunade, you're here? Have you settled Konoha's affairs?" Shizune asked impatiently.

"Not yet. Konoha suffered devastating losses in this upheaval."

"According to the statistics, more than thirteen thousand ninja died."

"Over two hundred thousand civilians died."

Tsunade spoke with a grave expression.

"Konoha's losses this time exceeded even those of the Third Shinobi World War."

"How could this happen?" Shizune asked in shock.

"What about my brother-in-law? How is he?" Nawaki could not help cutting in.

"Don't call him that. Shadian isn't your brother-in-law." Tsunade's face flushed slightly.

"Anyway, he brought me back to life, so I've decided he's my brother-in-law," Nawaki said. "Sister, it's not that I don't love Konoha anymore, but I feel like Shadian was forced into this. Konoha changed; they wanted to wipe out his entire clan, sparing neither the old nor the young. He only rose up to resist because he had no other choice. If you ask me, the real culprits are the Third and the three high-ranking officials. They're the ones who caused Konoha such heavy losses, and they don't deserve to hold power over the village any longer. Sister, you should take control of Konoha! You should be the Hokage. I believe that if you become Hokage, Shadian won't vent his anger on you anymore. Then, you can help him get justice, kill those guys who plotted against his clan, and I'll go help you persuade him to return to Konoha. Then you two can get all lovey-dovey and live a wonderful life together. Wouldn't that be great?"

"Shut up. What does a little brat like you know? Don't spout nonsense." Tsunade glared fiercely at Nawaki.

"Konoha is mobilizing its forces, drawing in every elite from across the Land of Fire to hunt down Uchiha Shadian. Anyone who encounters Uchiha Shadian is to kill on sight."

"He's the only rogue ninja whose threat level surpasses S-rank. His wanted posters have already been swiftly distributed to all the major nations, with a bounty of ten billion."

"Holy crap, ten billion? That's unprecedented! How much money is that?" Nawaki cried out. "Brother-in-law is seriously something else. Just as expected of my brother-in-law."

Tsunade glared at Nawaki, but she could do nothing about him. He had only just been resurrected and was still twelve years old. She had finally gotten him back and seen him again after so long; she had not even had enough time to spoil him. How could she bear to actually beat him?

"Watch what you say. Stop calling him Brother-in-law all the time. Nothing's even been settled yet! Be careful, walls have ears. Someone might hear you and claim that Shadian and I are in league."

Nawaki grinned. "Sis, isn't it just you, me, and Sister Shizune here?"

Tsunade said, "By your actual age, you're older than Shizune. Aren't you embarrassed to call her Sister Shizune?"

Nawaki retorted, "Sis, how can the years after my death count? In the Pure Land, time didn't pass, so no matter how many years went by in the living world, I was still only twelve when I came back to life."

"I'm twelve, while Sister Shizune should be over twenty, right? Isn't it perfectly fitting for me to call her sister?"

Tsunade asked, "You truly didn't feel time passing in the Pure Land?"

Nawaki said, "My appearance never changed in the Pure Land. The entire world was gray and hazy, with no alternation of sun and moon at all. So I'm certain that time is stopped in the Pure Land."

"I see. Then call her whatever you like. It's just a form of address." Tsunade did not continue dwelling on how Nawaki addressed Shizune and immediately let him call her as he pleased.

"Sis, can you find out where Brother-in-law is?" Nawaki asked.

"What are you planning?" Tsunade frowned.

"Sis, I want to take Brother-in-law as my teacher and have him guide my training." Nawaki's eyes lit up excitedly.

"Why do you want him as your teacher?" Tsunade asked.

Nawaki's eyes filled with admiration. "Because Brother-in-law is incredible!"

"He single-handedly beat Konoha until it could not fight back, then left calmly in the end. That kind of power is enough to rival Great-Grandfather's."

"If I can train alongside him, I'll definitely become a man as powerful as Grandfather someday."

Tsunade snapped, "He's now Konoha's only wanted criminal beyond S-rank. What are you thinking? If you really take him as your teacher, you'll become a wanted criminal of Konoha too."

"And given how utterly hostile Shadian's relationship with Konoha is now, and knowing that you're my little brother, it'd be good enough if he didn't kill you when he saw you again. And you expect him to accept you as his disciple? You really are a foolish little brother. No wonder you died on the battlefield during the Third Shinobi World War. Such a silly idiot—of course you got yourself killed!"

Nawaki immediately retorted, "I'm not an idiot! You're the idiot, Sis. Brother-in-law is so powerful, and he can even resurrect the dead. If you don't hurry up and win his heart, some other vixen will steal him away. Don't regret it when that happens."

"And Sis, think about this carefully. What if Brother-in-law can resurrect Great-Grandfather too?"

"With Great-Grandfather's power, do you think anyone in this world could still restrain Brother-in-law?"

"If Great-Grandfather returned to life while you stood with rotten Konoha and opposed Brother-in-law, I think Great-Grandfather would personally teach you a lesson."

"Furthermore, Great-Grandfather and Madara Uchiha were the closest of friends. If Great-Grandfather learned that the current Third Naruto of Konoha, in his greed for the power of the Uchiha Sharingan, had abandoned all morality and justice to order the total annihilation of Madara Uchiha's Uchiha Clan—killing every man, woman, and child without exception—do you really think that, given Great-Grandfather's temper, he would tolerate the existence of such people?"

"And what if Brother-in-law resurrected Madara Uchiha?"

"When Madara Uchiha saw that his clansmen had all been massacred, with power comparable to Great-Grandfather's, Sis, do you think anyone in Konoha could stop him?"

"So, Sis, stop being foolish! The only correct thing to do now is cling to Brother-in-law's thigh."

"Maybe if he's happy, he'll help resurrect Great-Grandfather, Second Grandfather, and Dad and Mom too!"

"Then our whole family could be reunited. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Tsunade's eyes widened as she stared at Nawaki in disbelief.

Shizune also widened her eyes, staring at Nawaki with disbelief written all over her face.

Seeing the stunned expressions in both their eyes, Nawaki waved a hand before them. "Sis, Sister Shizune, why are you looking at me like that? Do I have flowers growing on my face?"

Shizune said in astonishment, "Lord Nawaki, how did you think of all that?"

Nawaki said, "I just thought of it casually!"

Tsunade took a deep breath. "Resurrecting the dead goes against the heavenly cycle of reincarnation. It definitely isn't something that can be done so easily. How can it be as simple as you make it sound, Nawaki?"

"Shadian told me many years ago that he would help resurrect you. Yet he only fulfilled that promise after all these years. The process must have been extremely difficult, so it cannot be as easy as you say. Resurrecting Great-Grandfather, resurrecting Madara Uchiha... If people as powerful as them could be resurrected so easily, wouldn't this world fall into chaos?"

Nawaki said, "Anyway, I believe Brother-in-law can resurrect them, so I want to take him as my teacher. If I stay by his side, one day he'll be moved by my sincerity and help me resurrect Great-Grandfather."