Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 5 Warm Winter

"You guys are really fast. Are we no longer in the Land of Water?" The moment he landed, Naruto realized that they were far from the mist, the humidity in the air had returned to normal, and there was the scent of the forest.

"Naruto-kun, you're here really early today." Shisui was still preparing tea and snacks. Today was the monthly follow-up appointment, and also the time for the two sides to exchange information. After going back and forth like this several times, Shisui had gotten used to Naruto's sudden arrivals.

Naruto peeked at the Rasengan that was gradually taking shape in Shisui's hand, knowing that this was another souvenir he was going to take back, and said, "Sasuke didn't go out today, and I don't have anything else to do."

Shisui was silent for a moment, then said, "Today is Itachi's birthday. Sasuke must be at home waiting to celebrate his brother's birthday."

"Oh, I see. No wonder you asked me what gift to give you." Naruto didn't see anything wrong with leaving his friends behind for his family, especially since Sasuke had told him beforehand that he didn't need to go to the river today. "Where's Tobirama? He doesn't seem to be around."

"Lord Tobirama went to investigate the place you mentioned. He'll be back tonight." Shisui's tone was slightly resentful. "After all, the Flying Thunder God Technique is really convenient."

Naruto scratched the back of his head and chuckled, steer the conversation towards Sasuke and Itachi. It was truly frustrating that having two companions who knew the Flying Thunder God Technique yet still not being able to learn it himself. After all, the prerequisite for learning it was being a sensory-type ninja with a massive chakra reserve, neither of which Shisui possessed.

Now, let's talk about Sasuke. Since their accidental yet deliberate encounter, the two boys have frequently trained together. Sasuke, being quite trusting, often confides in Naruto, complaining about his brother always standing him up, his father's strictness, and the strange atmosphere within the clan. So, even though Naruto doesn't plan to approach the Uchiha territory, he easily gathers some basic information. Itachi has been frequently leaving the village for missions lately, while few members of the Uchiha clan are venturing out. Clearly, the situation between them and the village has become tense again, suffocating twelve-year-old Itachi, forcing him to constantly run away. Naruto has never met Itachi, but he can deduce Itachi's current situation from Sasuke's demeanor. All he can do is comfort Sasuke and occasionally ask him to bring home a sweet treat. Shisui even asks the two boys to pass on snacks, which he does with great enthusiasm. Luckily, neither Naruto nor Sasuke are fond of sweets, otherwise, they'd be worried about whether they'd bring enough.

Itachi's gift set was ready, and Tobirama had returned, bringing with him a dark gold stone. The Second Hokage, as expected of the man who wrote half a book of the Scroll of Seals, had, in just over half a year, developed a genjutsu adapted to the Impure World Reincarnation technique, building upon the Transformation Jutsu. Judging from his demeanor, this handsome white-haired, red-eyed man bore absolutely no resemblance to Tobirama Senju on the battlefield of the Fourth Shinobi World War. Moreover, he looked perfectly normal; the cracks in his eyes and the dark whites of his eyes were gone.

"The information you provided is fine, but we can't determine the size of the mine." Tobirama fiddled with the stone, a rare smile on his face. After all, he was a leader who had built villages, and he had experienced the hardships of poverty for far too long. What did discovering a gold mine mean? Just thinking about it made him happy.

"Have you decided where to set up camp? Don't you want to explore a bit more?" Naruto asked deliberately.

"No, nothing much has changed."

Tobirama lost all interest at the mere mention of this. The system of one village per country had been in place for 57 years, yet wars hadn't diminished at all; in fact, the consolidation of clans within the ninja villages had actually expanded the scope of conflict. Nobles continued their decadent lifestyles, commoners still struggled to survive, and ninjas still fought to the death—hadn't anything changed? Moreover, he'd heard many things from Shisui that even Naruto didn't know, and he was furious with those four rebellious disciples. Don't tell him the Senju's decline was just a problem of one or two individuals; it was clearly a redistribution of power among the elite. He thought that with Tsunade around, the Senju clan could at least settle down peacefully, but what happened? The successive blows had robbed the once-cherished child of her fighting spirit, leading her to drown her sorrows in alcohol. In the past six months, he'd only caught a glimpse of Tsunade from afar, and the resulting disappointment had only intensified. He wasn't disappointed in his juniors' incompetence, but rather he understood deep down that Konoha had changed; his students had ultimately been corrupted by power, failing to retain their true selves.

Now, the only thing that could pique his interest was the person who had summoned him. The map in his hand was given to him by Naruto; he understood the blatant hints within, which only fueled his curiosity about Naruto's true purpose. He had already seen this world; even the bright, clean flames of light, like Shisui's, had almost been extinguished in the darkness of night. While considering changes, he also wondered what Naruto intended to do. The gold mine could guarantee initial funding, but its location in the Land of Rivers meant that large-scale mining would inevitably attract attention from all sides. Their identities destined them to be unable to move openly, so what was the purpose of guiding him here?

“The Land of Rivers is a nice place, the environment is great, and it’s a good place to live. I think refining gold shouldn’t be too difficult for you.” Naruto nodded happily and drew a few more circles on the map. “These places might hold some surprises, you can go and explore them when you have time. Also, please catch as many of those white things as possible.”

Shisui, of course, knew about White Zetsu. Tobirama never hid from others when conducting experiments, and given his constant travel and rudimentary conditions, he had the misfortune of witnessing the entire process of the only surviving White Zetsu being tortured to death that night. Of course, even after its death, Tobirama didn't stop studying the corpse, which was quite gruesome. So, that thing actually still existed?

Unlike Shisui's cryptic response, Tobirama frowned immediately. He knew Naruto's sole purpose in wanting White Zetsu, and said rather curtly, "Who else do you want to summon? If I'm not mistaken, my older brother returned that day too. With the God of Shinobi in hand, aren't you satisfied?"

Shisui stared wide-eyed at Naruto in disbelief.

"What, you miss him?" Naruto was not afraid of that scrutiny at all; he had been being looked at like that for more than half a year. "I also really want you two brothers to reunite, but can you guarantee that the First Hokage won't take action against Konoha now?"

"...I'm not sure," Tobirama answered honestly.

The Senju clan's demise isn't easily apparent on the battlefield, especially with a series of powerful enemies constantly appearing, leaving the Hokage with no time to focus on other matters. However, summoning the First Hokage at this time allows him ample opportunity to observe the current state of Konoha; the situation of the Senju and Uchiha clans cannot be kept secret from him. While the Second Hokage might not react strongly to hearing of the Uchiha's potential for a coup due to suppression, the First Hokage would most likely confront the Konoha leadership.

Tobirama even harbored a hidden personal motive. They were all clans from the early days of the alliance, so why was it that only the Senju suffered such a terrible fate, while the Uchiha managed to survive? That cannibalistic clan deserved a severe beating!

Shisui did have the idea of ​​letting the First Hokage take charge, but the thought of Itachi being forced to run away every day, and the looks of rejection he received from those people—all these things made him realize that arrogance and prejudice were ingrained in the Uchiha clan's very being. Only a major setback would awaken them.

Despite their different motivations, the three subtly reached a consensus. However, apart from Naruto, no one knew that Konoha was so ruthless as to go so far as to kill.

Tobirama and Shisui cleared the barren mountains in the Land of Rivers, while Naruto continued to return to Konoha to spend time with the children.

Naruto had no one to teach him when he was young, and his teachers didn't like him when he entered school, so his foundation was very poor, and it took him a lot of effort to catch up. This time, apart from not being used to his small body, he had no other problems and quickly became good friends with Sasuke.

Throwing shuriken? Easy. Just have Sasuke teach you a couple of times, and you'll hit the bullseye every time.

A sparring match? Even easier to say. Sasuke's fighting style is pretty random anyway, so just go easy on him, but he absolutely has to win!

Ninjutsu? Right now, Sasuke only knows one Great Fireball Jutsu, and he hasn't figured out the trick yet. He should start learning hand seals.

Sigh, when will the surveillance unit finally leave? He's so tired of acting. I almost forgot, even if the unit leaves, the Third Hokage will still sneak up on him from time to time, so he'll have to keep acting. Thankfully, the Third Hokage doesn't have the habit of watching him shower or use the toilet…

Life was so comfortable that it passed by too quickly. In the blink of an eye, only bare tree trunks remained in the forest. On the day the snow fell, Sasuke arrived carrying a small package. Half of his face was wrapped in a red scarf, and he wouldn't look ahead, but his hand held the package out in front of him.

"This is from your mother..." Sasuke's voice trailed off as he mumbled, "She said, 'Thank you for taking care of my child.'"

"Huh? Sasuke, what did you just say?" Naruto, who had already heard, teased his childhood best friend on purpose.

Sasuke sulked and slammed the package into his arms. "I said, it's for you! Take it!"

"Hahaha~"

Naruto lunged forward, and the two little ones rolled into the snow, starting another snowball fight.

Finally, the two of them opened the package together. Inside was a red scarf exactly like Sasuke's. Naruto deliberately wrapped the scarf around his neck haphazardly, which immediately drew Sasuke's disapproval. However, the little dumpling carefully tied the scarf around his neck, meticulously covering every vent.

So this is what a gentle person Sasuke is like at this moment.

Every encounter after reuniting with Sasuke was marked by Naruto's unwavering gaze. He stared almost greedily at Sasuke, a man he had never seen before, as if it could fill the void in his heart. Sometimes, he truly hated himself; even without changing his original intentions, the methods he used to achieve his goals were horrifying. He was as if he had been forced to split into two people, outwardly cold and ruthless, but inwardly screaming and crying.

He knew that he would soon lose Sasuke, who could be proud, angry, affectionate, and straightforward.

It was too late to go home in the snow, so the two children parted reluctantly. Naruto strolled home, a smile on his face, but his mood was anything but pleasant. He felt that if things continued like this, he would eventually release the First Hokage prematurely.

"Monster! Monster!" "What ugly eyes!" "She's crying, hahaha!"

A child's shrill voice pierced Naruto's ears. He glanced to the side and saw three little brats surrounding a little girl, laughing shrilly. Naruto frowned; he immediately knew who was being surrounded.

Hinata... his wife who bore him children, gave up her career, and willingly remained confined to the home, is someone he feels guilty towards.

Only by facing life and death can one truly see oneself. Naruto died countless times, and only at the very last moment did he realize that perhaps he didn't love her as much as he thought. He illuminated so many people, but the sun shines its light equally on everyone, and each person can only receive a ray of light that illuminates themselves.

But the moon can block out the sun's brilliance.

"Hey, who are you calling a monster?" Naruto tilted his head back, trying his best to imitate a spoiled brat. "Isn't that my signature title?"

"Ah! It's that monster!"

"Boss, let's go quickly..."

"Screw running! We're here to fight monsters!"

The three children, defiant of the odds, insisted on trying their luck, waving their fists as they came forward, only to be tripped up by Naruto and tumble together.

“…Stand up, you can defeat them.” Naruto neither approached nor moved away. He had decided to dedicate his life to this world, unable to reciprocate a love destined to be betrayed.

Then let's not let it come into being.

Little Hinata looked up with tears in her eyes, the light blurring Naruto's figure.

"A fist is more effective than tears."

Naruto ignored the three little brats struggling to get up and walked away without looking back.

"What, regretting not being a hero to save the damsel in distress?" Kurama noticed Naruto's strange behavior after returning home and immediately teased him. Usually, the little guy would start writing and drawing incomprehensible things as soon as he got home, making scroll after scroll, and he almost never stopped except for necessary rest and sleep. Now, however, he was sitting by the window in a daze until midnight.