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The moment he heard the organization's name, Sawara Kiri's previously somewhat unfocused gaze suddenly sharpened.
Although he hadn't watched much of the Boruto storyline due to a certain unburnable object, he had learned about the future arc through some information on the internet in his previous life.
If he remembered correctly, it should have been during the process of fighting this organization, which was formed by Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.
At the same time, because the era of the version's chosen one had passed, even the Nine-Tails Naruto and Rinnegan Sasuke in their prime were no match for him.
Or rather, this was actually the true combat power the Ōtsutsuki Clan should possess.
Although his current strength was no less than old Uchiha Madara's, there was still some gap if he wanted to be compared to enemies of this level.
As if noticing the change in his gaze, Tsunade, holding a spoon, frowned slightly in confusion, asking, "Is there something wrong with this organization?"
"Should we send Anbu to investigate?"
Sawara Kiri thought for a moment, then nodded, "It's best if we can find information, but if not, there's no need to rush."
"Anyone bold enough to put a bounty on me probably has some backing."
He was certain that events like Uchiha Madara attacking Konoha Village did not happen in the original timeline's history.
Otherwise, with Sarutobi Hiruzen's strength, Konoha Village would not have survived until the Naruto and Sasuke era.
Sawara Kiri knew that this was because his appearance as a variable had pushed Uchiha Madara, whose plan was still in preparation, to the extreme, forcing him to resort to such a desperate measure.
Therefore, he also didn't want to push Ōtsutsuki Isshiki to that extent before he was ready—who knew how much of his combat power he had recovered now?
Hearing him say this, Tsunade seemed to let out a slight sigh of relief.
Thankfully, it wasn't another big problem.
Konoha was currently undergoing a period of major reform, and reforms in both economic and educational aspects would take years to count; if any more unexpected incidents occurred, she would probably have to let Kiri step in again.
Tsunade thought to herself, her gaze turning towards the young man in front of her, inadvertently softening a little.
Just like her grandfather, as the last inheritor of the Senju Clan, she actually loved this Village very much.
If she had a choice, she would never want to abandon this land that her ancestors had cultivated.
However, this immense pressure was not borne by her now; instead, it rested on the shoulders of this young man, making Tsunade's feelings towards him inexplicably complex.
It was clearly not the care of an elder for a junior, nor was it quite the concern between comrades like Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
Instead, it was somewhat like… a sense of reliance?
If Kiri weren't here, what would Konoha be like now?
Would she, suffering from hemophobia, have come out of the shadows so easily?
When powerful enemies like the Third Raikage and Uchiha Madara appeared, who would have stood against them?
Tsunade naturally had no knowledge of what happened in the other timeline, so these thoughts arose involuntarily, and that subtle sense of reliance grew stronger and stronger.
She thought to herself, her expression remaining calm, as she lowered her head to blow on the still-steaming meat porridge and brought the spoon to his mouth.
Sawara Kiri was not reserved; he ate with an "umm-umm" sound while thinking about how to deal with the enemies from the sky.
"You've truly worked hard, Kiri-kun."
While he was deep in thought, he suddenly heard Tsunade's somewhat sighing voice by his ear.
Sawara Kiri was startled by her words and looked up at her.
Then, he saw Tsunade meet his gaze directly, her eyes seeming to ripple with light, and her voice seemed softer than ever for the first time: "Whether it's matters within the Village or outside, if you weren't here, I…"
"Bang—"
Just as she was speaking softly, the hospital room door was suddenly pushed open forcefully.
Uchiha Megumi stood at the doorway, her expression urgent.
However, seeing the scene in the hospital room, the urgent expression on her beautiful face froze, and she stared blankly at the woman sitting by the hospital bed.
But the next moment, her gaze shifted back to Sawara Kiri, who was already able to sit up on his own.
"Kiri!"
"How are your injuries?"
The moment she rushed into the room, Sawara Kiri saw Tsunade's body jolt as if electrocuted, and she instinctively sat up straight.
When she turned her head and saw that the person who entered was Uchiha Megumi, even her originally fair skin seemed to suddenly lose some color, and her movements of holding the bowl and spoon seemed to stiffen; she sat there very awkwardly, neither standing nor sitting comfortably.
It wasn't until Megumi rushed to Sawara Kiri's front that she seemed to suddenly regain her usual self-awareness as a medical Ninja, clearing her throat: "Don't worry, only the injury on his right hand needs more rest; the rest is Chakra depletion, and he should be mostly recovered in about a week."
Even her voice changed from the soft sigh of the previous second to a businesslike coolness; all the emotions that had been revealed for that brief moment were reined back, as if nothing had happened.
However, her only response was Megumi's eyes, which had turned crimson at some point, sweeping over her like cold blades, filled with an extremely strong rejection.
Although Tsunade's expression remained unchanged, she felt inexplicably uneasy inside, and even more so, she felt that she must have been out of her mind to say such things to a young person so much younger than her.
However, the moment Uchiha Megumi's gaze swept over, a strong emotion inexplicably arose in her heart, and she glared back without hesitation, showing no intention of backing down.
Only after reacting did she step out of the hospital room.
"Kiri, that old woman from the Senju didn't do anything to you, did she?"
Megumi scanned Sawara Kiri's body and, finding that there weren't many wounds, spoke with a wary tone.
In fact, ever since the Sawara family moved into the Senju Residence, she had felt that something was off.
It was only after Kiri-kun displayed his supe talent and strength that she gradually relaxed—if Kiri-kun didn't want to, let alone Konoha, probably no one in the entire Ninja World could make him change his mind.
However, the moment she pushed open the hospital room door, Megumi's heart suddenly clenched again, and even her throat felt tight.
If Kiri-kun was unwilling, then of course things would be as she thought.
But what if Kiri-kun didn't want to resist either?
Just this faint thought instantly made the tomoe in the girl's eyes reflect, and that intense possessiveness made her even feel an impulse to lock Kiri-kun in her own basement today to recuperate properly.
"It's nothing."
Sawara Kiri also noticed the change in her expression, forced a smile, and waved his hand, "Lady Tsunade just came to visit the hospital room and share a few small pieces of information."
"No need to worry so much."
"That guy…"
Uchiha Megumi murmured softly, but seeing Kiri-kun's current appearance, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
Because they had followed Kiri-kun to the border of the Earth Country to deal with problems, their speed wasn't as fast as Kiri's, so after receiving Konoha's urgent military intelligence, Kiri had left all of them there, and it took a long time to confirm there were no other hidden dangers before they returned to the Village.
However, shortly after returning, they received news that Kiri had been injured in a major battle with Uchiha Madara.
If she could have been more useful, Kiri might not have had such a hard time.
If she could have been more useful…
Then she wouldn't have given that guy a chance to get close to Kiri-kun.
Megumi's eyes showed a fierce glint.
Sawara Kiri noticed her expression and immediately changed the subject: "Speaking of which, did you go back to the clan compound after you returned? I heard that part of the South City was also destroyed by Wood Release, and they're currently rushing to repair it."
"Fortunately, the Uchiha were on our side; otherwise, given my situation at the time, if Uchiha Madara had just used one Izanagi, I really wouldn't have known what to do."
"Hmm, I'll keep an eye on those old guys like Motozai." Lady Megumi nodded slightly, "If there's any trouble, I'll deal with it in advance."
"Dealing with it" naturally meant killing anyone who caused trouble for Kiri.
In Megumi's opinion, her greatest use to Kiri now was her identity and status within the Uchiha Clan.
Konoha would surely belong to Kiri in the future, and she had to protect this asset for him.
"There's no need to be so radical…" Sawara Kiri immediately showed a troubled expression.
So-called yandere, of course, is about extremism.
Either extreme love or extreme hate.
This balance was truly difficult for Sawara Kiri to grasp.
And this affection was directed at him.
While he was a scoundrel who wanted to have many relationships at once.
Sawara Kiri couldn't help but break into a sweat.
"Don't worry, I'll handle it."
Uchiha Megumi clearly didn't listen to him, stating very stubbornly.
"Yes, yes~"
Sawara Kiri reluctantly agreed.
After chatting by the bed for a while longer, seeing that Kiri-kun was getting sleepy, Megumi reluctantly turned and left the room.
However, before leaving the ward, the girl's gaze lingered on the empty bowl and spoon on the bedside table for a long time.
It was fed very cleanly.
That woman...
Besides being good-looking and having slightly larger assets, she didn't seem to have much else going for her.
Uchiha Megumi thought, looking down at herself.
She could barely see her toes.
...
The girl, whose inner thoughts were very complex, finally walked away, lost in thought.
This is tough.
Sawara Kiri looked at the girl's retreating figure, feeling a subtle sense of guilt.
It's already like this now; if he still wants to be friends with future little ones, he doesn't know what kind of difficulties he'll encounter.
If only he could switch systems.
Sawara Kiri thought to himself, looking at the empty '0' in the 'Inner Conflict' line on his panel, feeling very worried.
After this battle with Uchiha Madara, he discovered another one of his shortcomings.
Lack of large-scale offensive and defensive capabilities.
When facing an attack of Susanoo's level, Limitless could still play a certain role, but if it were to escalate to the level of True Several Thousand Hands, or the Ten-Tails Biju Bomb, he could completely confirm that the massive consumption brought by Limitless's defense would definitely not be sustainable.
But how to compensate for it?
Could he also become a Jinchuriki?
Just as Sawara Kiri's thoughts were complicated, Tsunade had already returned to her loyal director's office.
Due to Uchiha Madara's sudden attack, the entire Konoha Hospital was forced to work overtime. Now everyone in the hospital was incredibly busy, but the few seriously injured patients that ordinary medical Ninja couldn't handle had already been roughly healed by her. Now most people only needed rest.
Therefore, Tsunade became one of the few idle people in the entire hospital.
She rested one hand on the table, supporting her cheek, her gaze fixed on the human meridian structure chart on the wall opposite her office, her eyes involuntarily wandering.
When a person is idle, they can't help but overthink, and their thoughts become unbridled.
At this moment, Tsunade's mind was naturally filled with the scene, or rather, the scenes, from just now.
Sawara Kiri was a very special person to her.
Tsunade could truly feel that her entire life trajectory had been distorted by him alone.
Whether it was her hemophobia, the reforms within the Village later, or even the external wars and that young man's ideals.
If it weren't for the huge age gap, Tsunade felt that her process of gradually moving from acquaintance to understanding to love with him wouldn't be surprising at all—or rather, many families in the Ninja World are formed this way.
"Damn it."
"He's just so much younger."
The moment she thought of Uchiha Megumi unhesitatingly bypassing her and directly pouncing on Sawara Kiri in the ward just now, everything seemed so natural.
Just thinking about it made her a little angry.
"Mere childhood friends..."
"Just a little younger!"
Based on the Senju's inherited experience, Tsunade was confident that even when they grew old, she would still maintain her current appearance, no! Even younger!
The Strength of a Hundred Seal wasn't just for show.
However, when she realized what she was thinking, her expression froze, and she immediately rubbed her fine golden hair with both hands in frustration, gnashing her teeth in annoyance:
"Damn it!"
"Doesn't this just turn me into a lustful woman thinking about men?!"
"Or a serious shotacon?"
"Is it because I'm getting old? Thirty is clearly still a very attractive prime age, isn't it?"
Clearly, a woman's concern for her age is something ordinary people can hardly imagine—especially when it comes to matters of marriage and relationships.
"Thump!"
Just as she was muttering in annoyance, the office door was pushed open loudly once again.
This time, Tsunade's reaction was even greater than before; she almost jumped out of her chair, and the chair legs scraped against the floor with a creaking sound.
When she looked up, she saw Sawara Yuki walking into the room, holding a stack of medical records.
But as soon as she entered, she immediately noticed Tsunade's inexplicable appearance and asked in confusion:
"What's wrong? More injured people sent in?"
"You! This! Guy!"
Tsunade suddenly got angry for some reason, pounding the table and saying bitterly: "Knock! Knock on the door, do you understand? Show a little respect to your young and beautiful teacher!"
"Nya nya nya~"
Yuki stuck out her tongue at her, closing the door with a look of disdain.
Tsk.
Is she on her period, to be so irritable?
As things in Konoha gradually settled down.
Within the Land of Wind's great desert.
A man with only a single tuft of long hair on the top of his head sat quietly at his desk, looking down at the various materials he had collected, his expression calm and indifferent, yet very patient.
The photos attached to these files showed Sawara Kiri in various different appearances from childhood to the present.
Jigen read quietly, one after another.
It was a long time before he finally absorbed all the content.
"Not only his strength, but also his wisdom is so extraordinary?"
"For a mortal's aptitude, it's already excellent."
"Even surpassing those two men from decades ago."
Jigen murmured to himself.
The people from decades ago, of course, referred to Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
The reincarnated Chakra of Indra and Ashura, for ordinary Ninja, was naturally undetectable, but for someone of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, it was insignificant.
After all, the Ōtsutsuki Clan inherently possessed similar abilities.
The two sons of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo inherited only the most basic of basics.
Unlike normal people whose souls return to the Pure Land after death.
All members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, after death, transform into a special energy, or in Sawara Kiri's previous life's terms, a piece of information, attaching themselves to certain specific individuals—this existence was named 'Karma' by the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
Once sufficient conditions are met, these deceased Ōtsutsuki Clan members can use this data to revive in the bodies of these attached individuals.
Just as Ōtsutsuki Isshiki is now.
That year, when he was ambushed by Kaguya and his life was on the verge of perishing, it was the body he is now attached to, a monk named Jigen, who passed by him.
This allowed him to find a glimmer of hope for revival.
However, this body was not strong enough, completely insufficient to unleash his power before death.
To recover energy and find a suitable reincarnation vessel, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki had lingered in this world for over a thousand years, witnessing all events from ancient times to the present.
Even so, upon witnessing the emergence of such a low-ranking race called 'Sawara Kiri' in the Ninja World, his heart couldn't help but stir.
He even went to Konoha personally to observe.
There was indeed no residual Chakra of other Ōtsutsuki Clan members in that young man's body.
In other words, this was the best and purest vessel he had encountered in a thousand years.
"Lord, should we now infiltrate Konoha and prepare to act?"
Before him, a tall man knelt quietly at the desk.
Upon hearing Jigen speak, he immediately responded and asked.
"No, there's no need to rush for now."
Jigen's expression was calm: "If I'm not mistaken, that child is only sixteen this year, right?"
"Let him grow a little more."
"This vessel is not yet ready for harvest."
The tall man immediately assented.
When he looked up.
A pair of emerald green pupils slowly emerged from the shadows.
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