Out on the open sea, Wen Lan stood on the deck, the wind whipping against his cloak.
Behind him, Uzumaki Si stood timidly, her posture cautious and reserved.
Wen Lan had not wiped out the Hidden Grass Village.
His objective had been achieved—that was enough.
Kusagakure was weak, but just as their leader had said:
to move against Kusagakure was equivalent to declaring war on the other four Great Ninja Villages.
Wen Lan wasn't afraid of fighting the Four Great Villages— but only if there were sufficient benefits.
Provoking powerful enemies without profit was pure idiocy.
According to what Wen Lan knew, Uzumaki Si was already pregnant— the child was almost certainly Karin.
As for who the father was?
That went without saying.
Some nameless Grass ninja, obviously.
Wen Lan glanced sideways, his gaze sweeping over Uzumaki Si's frail back.
The sea breeze lifted her red hair, revealing a pale, exhausted face beneath.
"You should go rest in the cabin. You don't need to stay behind me all the time,"
Wen Lan said calmly.
"Once we visit the Land of the Sea, we'll head back to Konoha."
"Yes… Lord Wen Lan," Uzumaki Si replied softly.
In truth, she was deeply lost.
In Kusagakure, she had been treated like livestock, drained day after day.
Over time, she had grown numb— like a puppet with its strings cut, nothing more than a walking corpse.
When she learned she had escaped that hell, she felt happiness.
But after the joy came confusion.
She didn't know what to do anymore.
Didn't know what she could do.
She only knew that the life growing inside her belly might be her only remaining anchor— the final reason for her to keep living.
The sea breeze grew colder as the sun sank into the horizon.
Wen Lan stared into the distant sky, blood-red clouds reflected in his eyes.
The next three days of sailing passed peacefully.
After arriving in the Land of the Sea, Wen Lan explained the situation to the local authorities.
They handed the person over without hesitation.
First:
The Land of the Sea had never treated Honoka like livestock.
They had merely borrowed her sealing techniques.
Second:
If an absurdly powerful underworld boss showed up at your doorstep demanding someone— would you dare refuse?
Moreover, the Land of the Sea's summoned beasts were also affiliated with the Five Great Nations.
It was a neutral land bound by international treaties.
When Honoka learned that there were still other Uzumaki survivors, she happily followed Wen Lan without hesitation.
When Wen Lan brought the two women back to Konoha, they completed the registration process and went straight to Namikaze Minato's home.
As Wen Lan approached the area, he sensed a gaze watching him.
He looked over and saw a small figure standing there—
Kakashi, wearing an ANBU mask.
Wen Lan ignored him and knocked on the door.
"Coming!"
Kushina's voice rang out as she opened the door.
"Wen Lan, you're back already!" she said in surprise.
Then her gaze fell on the two red-haired women behind him— and she froze.
"Aunt Kushina," Wen Lan said, "these two are also Uzumaki clan members. You should meet them."
Kushina instantly covered her mouth, emotions surging as tears welled up.
"T-this is really…"
Her voice trembled as her eyes moved back and forth between them,
as if trying to engrave their faces into her soul.
When the Uzumaki clan was nearing annihilation, those of their generation carried a certain instinct— the ability to sense fellow clan members at close range.
Kushina could clearly feel the shared chakra, a resonance that reached deep into the soul.
Her fingers trembled as she gently touched their arms, as if afraid this was all a dream.
"…Welcome home."
Those two words didn't affect Honoka much.
But for Uzumaki Si, they shattered the dam.
Tears poured down her face.
Only she knew how bitter those years had been.
She thought she had cried all her tears away in the darkness long ago—
yet now they flowed uncontrollably.
The bond of blood, combined with the word home, made her whole body tremble.
In that instant, it was as if she could hear the breath of her lost homeland— distant, yet profound.
Kushina and Honoka hurriedly comforted her.
After bringing the two women inside, Kushina turned to Wen Lan and bowed deeply.
"Wen Lan… thank you."
Wen Lan waved his hands quickly.
"No need to thank me. You've always treated me well, Aunt Kushina.
And besides—my mother and you were best friends. Helping you is only right."
Though his words were simple,
Kushina knew exactly how dangerous this journey had been.
The Uzumaki physique and sealing techniques were legendary in the ninja world— they were living treasures.
Back when Uzumaki Mito was still alive, even Sarutobi Hiruzen had secretly searched for Uzumaki survivors—
and found none.
Yet Wen Lan had brought back two.
The effort, danger, and risk involved were beyond imagination.
"Alright," Wen Lan said, waving casually.
"I should head home and get some rest."
"Oh—right. Minato should be taking over as Hokage soon, yeah?"
"Yes," Kushina nodded.
"He's in the middle of the handover with the Third Hokage.
Less than half a month left."
"Good. Then I won't be going anywhere for a while."
Wen Lan returned home.
Yagura was, as usual, playing with water.
When she noticed Wen Lan, she froze.
"You're back! I—I didn't make dinner for you today!"
Wen Lan smiled.
"It's fine. I'm not hungry."
"I'll take a bath and rest for a bit."
"Okay."
Days passed quietly.
According to Fugaku, there were fewer and fewer intruders sneaking into the Uchiha district— though not zero.
Occasionally, shadowy figures still lingered at night, attempting to probe the clan's defenses.
Honoka and Uzumaki Si gradually adapted to life in Konoha.
Kushina personally taught them sealing techniques.
Uzumaki Si, weakened from years of chakra extraction and now burdened by pregnancy, often struggled during training.
As for Honoka…
Her sealing talent was honestly terrible.
Kushina lost her temper more than once— but ultimately endured it.
Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato were doing alright.
They rarely left the Uchiha district, and whenever they did, at least two Uchiha jōnin accompanied them.
Fugaku stated clearly:
Only when Nagato reached jōnin level could he move freely— and even then, he still couldn't leave the village.
As a result, the three trained harder than ever.
Inuzuka Hana only came looking for Wen Lan twice before burying herself in training.
Wen Lan's Kage-level strength had made her anxious— afraid she wouldn't be able to keep up, afraid she might become a burden in future missions.
Might Guy's father, Might Duy, had fully recovered.
Every day, Wen Lan trained his body with Might Duy and Might Guy.
At night, he returned home to complete system tasks.
Finally—
Wen Lan completed all stages of Thunder Breathing and unlocked his third Breathing Style:
Stone Breathing.
When he began training it, Wen Lan was stunned.
There were no sword-slash techniques at all.
It was pure body tempering.
Which perfectly matched the old joke from his previous life:
"Stone Breathing? There's no technique—just brute strength!"
Only by tempering the body to Kage-level could one be considered successful.
What did that mean?
It meant training your physical body to the same level as Kakashi or Might Guy—
only then would you pass.
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