"Izayoi-kun, you're here!"
Izayoi brought Hanabi to the outside of the villa.
Before they even entered the door, a girl's voice reached their ears.
In a flash, Karin's figure appeared out of nowhere in front of Izayoi and Hanabi.
Her red eyes, the same color as her hair, stared directly at Izayoi. Then, as if she had discovered something, her face blossomed with a joyful smile.
"Mm, this time it's really me, the real one."
Izayoi nodded and smiled. "You've worked hard lately, Karin."
"Not at all, not at all." Karin shook her head repeatedly, her face full of gratitude. "Compared to life in the Grass Ninja Village, this place is like heaven. Even though I only went to the Sand Village to buy some materials for you, I get to live in such a nice house and receive such a generous reward. I really feel undeserving."
"No, you helped me a lot."
Under Hanabi's pouting gaze, Izayoi reached out and gave Karin a head pat, stroking her red hair that had become smooth and shiny compared to the previous dry state. He smiled and said, "In this world, there are very few people I can trust. You're one of them. I'm very grateful for the Grass Ninja Village's short-sightedness. If it weren't for their stupidity, I wouldn't have found my clansmen during the Chunin Exams."
"Hehe… Karin also feels very lucky to have met you, Izayoi-kun. I definitely won't let you down."
Karin very much enjoyed the head pat, smiling foolishly yet with a determined look in her eyes.
Watching Karin, who looked just a forehead protector short of having the kanji for "loyalty" on it, Hanabi's gaze showed some thought.
So this woman… is Onii-chan's clansman.
Looks like Onii-chan isn't cheating.
That makes sense. If it were cheating, he wouldn't have brought her along.
Thinking this, Hanabi's hostility toward Karin disappeared instantly.
After chatting with Karin for a while at the entrance, Izayoi brought Hanabi into the villa.
On the way, Izayoi had Hanabi and Karin get to know each other.
Upon learning that Hanabi was Hinata's younger sister—the one who had taken good care of her in the Forest of Death—Karin's impression of her improved greatly, and she treated her like a little sister.
"Hanabi, you can look around the villa with Karin-nee. If you get bored, you two can go out and play too." Izayoi patted Hanabi's head and smiled. "Onii-chan has something to take care of right now. Once I'm done, I'll come spend time with you both."
"Mm-hmm…"
The mature Hanabi nodded repeatedly with understanding. "Onii-chan's work is more important. Just having Karin-nee with me is enough."
"Then I'll leave Hanabi in your care, Karin." Izayoi smiled at Karin.
"Don't worry, Izayoi-kun. I'll take good care of her," Karin promised seriously.
So, Izayoi left Hanabi with Karin and went alone to a locked door.
After opening the door, a staircase leading down appeared in front of him.
Stepping down the stairs to the bottom, he arrived at a spacious underground room.
But right now, this basement was very crowded.
Rows of figures stood there in neat formation.
A quick glance showed there were nearly a hundred.
And that wasn't all.
In a corner of the basement, there was a table with several large sealing scrolls placed on top.
All of the figures wore the same uniform—black cloaks with red clouds.
Most of the figures had bandages wrapped around their faces and lifeless eyes.
They were all ordinary puppets, with a small portion being human puppets made from corpses.
Aside from members of the Kurokage clan, there were also some wandering ninjas the shadow clones had hunted during this time.
Looking at these puppets, Izayoi activated his Tenseigan and walked forward. While inputting chakra into the chakra cores—just like charging a battery—he muttered to himself:
"Whether the system has hidden mechanics depends on all of you. Whether these tags level up at hell difficulty or easy difficulty, it's up to you all!"
"But this next big gift, I believe the Akatsuki and 'Lord Danzo' will really love it."
After fully charging all the puppets in the basement and in the scrolls, Izayoi finally returned upstairs and took Hanabi and Karin out to play on Sakura Street.
On the way, Izayoi asked Karin about her health.
"Karin, how's your recovery coming along?"
"It's all good now. I feel full of energy." Karin once again showed a grateful smile and said, "It's all thanks to your treatment, Izayoi-kun, and the medicinal meals the shadow clone prepared for me."
"So, what plans do you have for the future?"
Izayoi asked, "We have enough materials now. We won't need to restock for a long time. Do you plan to keep living here and help me manage my assets, or continue the path of a ninja? Of course, no matter which you choose, I'll teach you ninjutsu and help you grow stronger."
"I'll do whatever you ask." Karin answered firmly, "Whatever Izayoi-kun wants me to do, whatever you need, I'll do it."
"I like that answer, but I want to hear your true thoughts." Izayoi reached out and patted her head again, smiling. "After all, you're not just my subordinate—you're my clanmate, my family. Whatever your choice, I'll help you make it happen."
Looking at Izayoi's sincere face, Karin's eyes became moist again, unable to hold back.
Whether someone is truly good to you, it's not about what they say or promise—it's about what they do.
Karin had seen with her own eyes the cruelty of the Grass Ninja Village.
She had even envisioned her future—most likely, she would end up like her mother, dying one day from extreme physical weakness.
If life in the Grass Ninja Village was hell, then this past period of time had been heaven for her.
After Izayoi's shadow clone took her from Konoha, he brought her to Sakura Street. Not only did he give her a big villa to live in, he also handed over the key to the treasury, allowing her to manage billions of ryo as she pleased.
When he found out she didn't know how to spend money, the shadow clone personally bought a huge amount of food and medicinal herbs, even hired a professional chef to make medicinal meals to nurse her weak body back to health.
On top of that, the clone took her shopping for clothes, even custom-ordering many beautiful outfits—some made from materials so expensive she couldn't afford them even after a lifetime of missions.
Even the jewelry in the vault was hers to pick from freely.
Once her health had mostly recovered, the clone taught her the basics of Konoha ninjutsu—which were more comprehensive than those in the Grass Village—including tree walking and water walking.
He even lent her Kurokage Raiga's lightning blade and guided her in learning Lightning Release chakra nature transformation.
After she mastered that, the clone planned to teach her the technique of using Lightning Release chakra to stimulate her cells.
So much care, so much trust—and all of it just for one trip to the Sand Village to buy materials.
He hadn't even followed behind her, showing no fear of her running off with the money.
That care and trust made Karin often cry in secret—tears of gratitude.
The girl's heart had long been captured by Izayoi. Just like White Zetsu or Kimimaro, she would give her life without hesitation if it could help him.
Izayoi was her sky, her god, her everything!
So after wiping away her tears, Karin looked up, smiled brightly, and said, "Izayoi-kun, I want to become a ninja."
Only by becoming an all-around ninja could she be more helpful to him!
Izayoi, naturally, didn't know what Karin was thinking.
When he heard her words, he grinned and said, "Alright, then I'll help you become one of the strongest kunoichi."
Just as the two of them smiled at each other, Hanabi suddenly asserted her presence.
"Onii-chan, what about me?"
Looking at his cute little sister-in-law, Izayoi couldn't help but pinch her cheek and smile. "Of course, Hanabi will definitely become the strongest kunoichi in the future."
"Hehe… I'm gonna tell Onee-chan that Onii-chan said I'll be even stronger!" Hanabi made a funny face and giggled, sticking out her tongue.
Izayoi chuckled smugly. "That's the future. Right now, your sister is definitely the strongest."
"Ehh… whyyy~!"
Izayoi suddenly mimicked Hanabi's actions from a few days ago—clutching his chest and pretending to be heartbroken. "Hanabi actually wants to trick Onii-chan… Onii-chan's fragile heart is shattered! It'll take at least ten—no, a hundred massages to fix!"
"Onii-chan, I was wrong…"
Hanabi immediately threw herself onto Izayoi, rubbing her head in his arms. Then she looked up cutely and said, "Hanabi promises, please forgive me, Onii-chan?"
"Onii-chan was joking. Come on, let's go look at cherry blossoms!"
Once again melted by his little sister-in-law's cuteness, Izayoi flicked her nose and pinched her collagen-filled cheeks.
Then he placed both hands under her arms, lifted her up and turned around to place her on his shoulders—entering ride mode—with Karin following, as they went to enjoy the cherry blossoms.