Chapter 149

Night.

Tonight was an unusual night. Although the sun had long disappeared and the bright moon had already risen in the night sky, the Land of Whirlpools was still brightly lit.

The cylindrical objects on both sides of the road seemed to be called streetlights.

These things had suddenly appeared last month. At first, no one knew what they were, until that night...

These cylindrical objects suddenly lit up, bringing light to the originally pitch-black Land of Whirlpools.

Now, every household had these things, but theirs were not called streetlights. They were called desk lamps. The old oil lamps had been discarded, as these desk lamps were cheaper and more convenient. There was no need to buy wicks or lamp oil anymore. They only needed to purchase chakra batteries.

"Dad, I want that!" A little girl pulled her father's hand and pointed at something nearby. "That candy!"

It was a candy shaped like a cute cat stretching.

"Okay." The man, around thirty years old, smiled and picked up the little girl. "Dad will buy it for you."

With a smile on his face, he took his wife's hand and headed toward the candy shop.

"You!" The woman looked at her husband and shook her head helplessly. "You spoil her! Eating candy at night will make her teeth hurt. I won't take her to the hospital if that happens."

"It's fine. Today is the festival, and it's rare to have a day off. Let's relax a little." The man smiled and shook his head. "Sorry, it's been a long time since I've spent time with you two."

"It's okay." The woman smiled and took the girl from the man's arms. She pinched the girl's nose. "Right, Yuko?"

"Yeah!" The little girl nodded seriously. "Dad is very busy! He has to earn money to buy candy for Yuko."

"You little rascal." The woman and man looked at each other and laughed, shaking their heads helplessly.

"Yes, you little glutton!" The man patted the little girl's head. "Dad will buy it for you now!"

Then, holding his wife's hand, he walked toward the candy shop.

Today was the festival, and it was rare for him to have a day off. It was time to spend some quality time with his wife and daughter. Other than when they got married, he hadn't had much time to accompany her. Even when Yuko was born, he hadn't been able to stay with her.

"Boss, how much for this cat-shaped candy?" The man picked up the cat candy and looked at the shop owner, who was still bent over making candy.

"Today is the festival, so it's only..." The boss raised his head and paused when he saw the man. "Officer Sosuke!"

"Hello!" Sosuke was also surprised but smiled. "How much is this?"

It seemed the shop owner recognized him.

"No charge, no charge." The boss shook his head. "How could I take money from Officer Sosuke? If it weren't for you that day, my foolish son might have..."

"Your son?" Officer Sosuke looked at the boss in confusion. Was this someone he had helped during duty?

"Yeah, Koichi. Dark-skinned, short hair." The boss scratched his head awkwardly. "That day really troubled you."

"Oh, you're Koichi's father?" Sosuke seemed to remember and smiled. "Is he doing okay now? You should keep an eye on him. Kids shouldn't play in such dangerous places."

Koichi—he remembered. A boy with no talent for ninjutsu. Because he couldn't become a ninja, he was upset and went to the edge of a cliff to clear his mind. But then he accidentally...

Got stuck on the cliff!

If they hadn't found him in time, he might have...

"Haha, after that day, I gave that boy a good beating." The boss laughed. "If he wants to be a ninja, he should persist like Shijo. What was he doing in such a dangerous place?"

"He's much more obedient now."

Sosuke shook his head helplessly. "Actually, it's not bad not being a ninja." He looked at the candy in his hand and snapped back to reality. "Right, how much for this?"

If his daughter hadn't tugged his sleeve impatiently, he would have forgotten about buying the candy.

"No charge, no charge." The boss smiled. "This is to thank Officer Sosuke for your help last time."

"No!" Sosuke shook his head. "That wouldn't be proper." He took out money. "Take this."

He simply handed the money to the boss. Otherwise, this would drag on forever. Today was an important day to spend with his wife and daughter!

"I'll leave the money here." Sosuke picked up his daughter and took his wife's hand, quickly walking away. "Wishing you good business, boss!"

"Hey, hey, this is too much." The candy shop owner held the money, trying to return it, but other customers stopped him. He had no choice but to accept it. "Today's the festival, everything's 20% off!"

"Everyone, enjoy the candy and be happy!"

...

"Whew." Sosuke stopped and let out a sigh of relief, smiling helplessly. "That almost made me break my principles!"

"Pfft!" The woman couldn't help but laugh. "You!"

"Haha!" Sosuke grinned foolishly at his daughter. "Come on, Dad's tired. Let Dad have a bite!"

"Okay!" Yuko held up the candy seriously. "But Dad can only have one bite!"

"You little rascal!" The mother tapped her daughter's head. "So stingy!"

"Because it's Yuko's!" Yuko pouted unhappily.

"Okay, Dad will only take one bite." Sosuke smiled and nodded. He leaned down and took a bite of the candy. "So sweet!"

So sweet!

Back then, when he followed the clan leader out of Hell Valley, he thought they would just be used as tools. But as long as they could leave that awful place, it didn't matter. Yet, he never expected...

Life here was so good!

Here, he met the woman he loved and had a lovely daughter.

And all of this started in the Land of Whirlpools.

"I heard there's going to be a war." Looking at the peaceful, happy scene, the woman nervously turned to her husband. "Isn't living peacefully enough? Why does there have to be a war?"

"Yeah, there's going to be a war." Sosuke nodded, then smiled. "Don't worry, I'll protect you and our daughter. And I believe the Land of Whirlpools will be fine. No one can destroy the Land of Whirlpools."

If anyone tries to ruin this, I'll stop them with my life!

...

"Is there going to be a war?" Yakushi Nono looked worriedly at the red-haired boy beside her. Back when she was brought here, both of them were just children. But now, they had grown taller and older, especially this boy in front of her...

Back then, he was about the same height as her. Now, he was a whole head taller.

And...

He had also become more handsome.

She glanced at Uzumaki Jun, then blushed and turned away. "Will the Land of Whirlpools be..."

"Don't worry." Uzumaki Jun smiled at Yakushi Nono. The once malnourished girl with yellow hair had now become beautiful. He had heard she had a great talent for medical ninjutsu under Kyoko's guidance and was now capable of handling things on her own. "The Land of Whirlpools will be fine. Just like how I promised you back then that life here would be good."

"Believe me, the Land of Whirlpools will only grow stronger!"

"Yeah!" Yakushi Nono lowered her head and whispered. "I believe you. I've always believed you."

Uzumaki Jun didn't notice Yakushi Nono's unusual reaction. He simply smiled as he watched the two red-haired girls happily running around with Kyoko in the distance. "So, go and have fun too. Leave the rest to me."

"No, I like it like this." A trace of disappointment flashed in Yakushi Nono's eyes, but she smiled. "This is fine too."

Suddenly...

Uzumaki Jun stopped and frowned as he looked to the side.

"What's wrong?" Yakushi Nono asked in confusion. "Is something the matter?"

"Yeah." Uzumaki Jun nodded helplessly. "The police chief invited me for tea."

"The Chinoike clan leader?" Yakushi Nono frowned. "If you're busy, you should go."

She knew that even though he wasn't an adult yet, the fate of an entire country rested on his shoulders. So he was always busy.

"Sorry." Uzumaki Jun apologized. "I promised to spend today with you all..."

"Have fun. I'll be back soon."

This was a headache. Today was supposed to be a day off to spend with the girls. What did the Chinoike clan leader want that couldn't wait until tomorrow?

If the matter wasn't serious, he was definitely going to give him an earful!

"It's fine!" Yakushi Nono smiled. "I'll keep an eye on them."

"Yeah!" Uzumaki Jun turned and waved back at Uzumaki Kushina, who had suddenly waved at him. "I'll be back soon!"

Hmph!

Chinoike clan leader...

I'll beat you up first!

[You might have missed but there was time skip few chap before. In chap 140, it was end of year 29 konoha, in chap 143 it was end of year 31]