Hii Kōri neither knew nor cared what people in other countries were thinking.
Four or five days passed in the blink of an eye under Hii Kōri's full-speed travel.
After registering at the main gate and setting foot on Sunagakure's soil again after a long absence, Hii Kōri wasted no time. He hurried straight to his workshop.
Before he even reached the front door, Konan, who had been waiting by the window, spotted him. She excitedly opened the door to welcome her teacher.
"Teacher, you're back."
The girl's short hair, blowing in the wind, looked like a small blue-purple flower. Then she threw herself into Hii Kōri's arms.
"Teacher." "Teacher!"
Nagato, who was cleaning the living room, and Yahiko, who was looking after Bunpuku, also happily waved at him, then continued with their tasks.
As Hii Kōri's disciples, the trio of Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan had inherited his "habits"—they almost never went out on missions.
For ordinary young ninjas, going on missions was essentially about gaining experience and accumulating combat experience. But having grown up in the war-torn Land of Rain and having done some "intelligence work" under Hii Kōri, they lacked nothing in terms of worldly experience.
As for earning commissions—that was even more unnecessary. Compared to the rate at which Hii Kōri burned through money for his research, the cost of these children's training was negligible. There was no need to make them earn their own money.
So these three children had been training and studying on their own here, following the plans Hii Kōri had prepared.
Although Hii Kōri couldn't predict exactly how much they would grow at each stage, dividing them into several rough categories was simple enough. Combined with a daily quantitative scientific schedule, this allowed them to study steadily.
While young, when the body is most malleable and the mind is still clear, the right approach is to study and train more. They shouldn't end up like college graduates whose bodies are so fragile that climbing a flight of stairs leaves them breathless, and who have lost the ability to solve secondary school maths problems.
Let the adults handle the dirty business of fighting and killing.
"...You've grown a lot, Konan."
After ruffling the girl's hair into a mess, Hii Kōri took her hand and walked into the living room.
The shadow rippled with his footsteps. Uchiha Hikari and Sasori were the first to emerge, followed by Tsunade holding Hii Ren.
Seeing Uchiha Hikari, Konan felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of crisis. She looked at Sasori with confusion, but he simply shrugged.
At the same time, Chiyo, who had been reviewing documents upstairs, also came down.
After receiving Hii Kōri's notice a couple of days earlier, she had pushed aside all her other work and concentrated on waiting for his return.
Although anxious waiting is usually excruciating, it depends on the situation. After confirming that her son and daughter-in-law could be revived, Chiyo — who had already avoided excessive ageing thanks to Hii Kōri's advice — had become radiant over the past few days.
"Oh my, if it isn't Princess Tsunade!"
In daily life, the old woman, whose mental age was essentially that of an energetic high school student, immediately flashed an infuriating grin upon seeing Tsunade holding a little bundle — the kind of grin known as the 'She-Devil' smile.
"Ah~ Could that be my Kōri's son? My adorable little grandson~?"
"Ha... you've got some nerve saying that—"
Veins visibly bulged on Tsunade's forehead. She stepped forward and retorted, "What do you mean 'my Kōri'? You're not related by blood, are you?"
"Damn brat...""Oh? What's that, you old hag pretending to be young?!"
"This is called being healthy in body and mind! And I'm not even fifty yet—how is that old?!" "Pfft~ 'I'm not even fifty yet' (laughs)~"
Facing Chiyo's provocation, Tsunade fought back without backing down. Her voice was so twisted—like Ado being called in to sing the Chibi Maruko-chan theme song—that it was almost twisted, making Hii Kōri's back itch.
Even during night battles, he had never heard Tsunade make such a sound.
Well, not that he couldn't understand.
After all, these two had faced off against each other more than once even before the Second Shinobi World War. They were old rivals in the realm of poison and antidote. For them to just exchange words and not immediately start a fierce poison session was already a very peaceful scene.
Only, Hii Ren didn't quite understand this.
Woken up by the commotion between his mother and grandmother, the little guy looked around, decided this was a good time to cry, took a moment to brew, and then burst out with a loud "Wah!"
Seeing Ren cry, Chiyo and Tsunade frantically began soothing the child, leaving Hii Kōri and Bunpuku shaking their heads.
After finally getting Ren to laugh again, Tsunade found a moment to give Hii Kōri a sharp glare—clearly meaning, "And you, the father, just stand there and watch?"
"My fault?"
To this, Hii Kōri's response was, "You two were going to argue—was I supposed to stop you?" Tsunade snorted twice, didn't answer, just held Ren and gently swayed.
A moment later, footsteps came from the workshop entrance again.
"Kōri~"
With light footsteps, Karura pounced on him from behind, affectionately rubbing her face against his.
"And Tsunade, welcome to our home."
Then Pakura followed, catching the sliding Karura, helping her land steadily, and greeting Tsunade gently.
As Hii Kōri's earliest lovers, Karura and Pakura actually had a high degree of acceptance toward Tsunade. They had known about her back when she was still a prisoner, and had even met her.
At this point, there was naturally no resistance.
"Ah! Is this Ren?"
But soon, Hii Kōri was abandoned by Karura and Pakura. The two women noticed the bundle in Tsunade's arms, and their attention was instantly locked.
Karura eagerly had herself Pakura use Scorch Release to disinfect her, then leaned in. Pakura, having done the same to, also approached.
"That hair color—it's yours, Tsunade-nee. Very pretty~"
Karura's enthusiasm caught Tsunade off guard for a moment. Then she relaxed a bit, adjusting her hold slightly so Karura and Pakura could see Ren's face more clearly.
"Don't let his looks fool you—when he was first born, this little guy was really ugly."
"Ah, I know. Just like Sasori back then!"
"?!"
Sasori, who had been drinking barley tea with Bunpuku and enjoying Konan's failed attempts to subtly probe Uchiha Hikari—only to be utterly defeated by the "caveman's" super direct honesty—turned his head in confusion at his aunt's words.
Wait? What does this have to do with me?
Was I really ugly as a child?
Somewhat confident in his face, Sasori scratched his head in bewilderment.
"Ee-yah~"
Seeing new faces again, Ren's big amber eyes looked around. Sensing the goodwill from Karura and Pakura, he still wasn't afraid. He chuckled and made a few vague sounds, reaching his small hand out of the bundle and grasping at the air.
Although Ren could already say some simple words, he hadn't yet reached the point of fully understanding their meanings. He was simply imitating adult speech.
"Ah... so adorable—"
Karura couldn't help but murmur, her face showing pure delight. Carefully, she extended a finger and gently touched Ren's waving little fist. Ren immediately grabbed her finger, holding it tightly and giggling.
Pakura's eyes also lit up. She wasn't very good with babies, but the sight before her involuntarily softened her expression.
Seeing the three "daughters-in-law" gathered together with such harmonious atmosphere, Chiyo decided not to insert herself.
She walked over to Hii Kōri and asked quietly, "Brat, does your technique need any other preparations?"
"Preparations... just take out my brother and sister-in-law's bodies and thaw them."
Hii Kōri thought for a moment, then answered lightly. "And if we could have two large connected rooms, that would be even better. If there's a room like that downstairs, also prepare a stone slab big enough to block one of the doors."
He didn't use the word "corpses," but rather "bodies." This small detail greatly reassured Chiyo.
"You don't need to rest?"
Chiyo stood on tiptoe and reached up to touch the white hair on Hii Kōri's forehead, but didn't say more.
This adopted son of hers, driven by a momentary anger back then, had been willing to overdraw his lifespan to attack Konoha's camp. And now, for the sake of researching the reincarnation technique, he had paid how many more costs.
As his adoptive mother, she truly felt powerless.
Of course, if Hii Kōri knew what she was thinking, he would probably smile awkwardly.
After all, these new white hairs hadn't been added for the sake of researching the reincarnation technique. Moreover, according to his plans, this current body was no longer a necessity.
"It's fine. This level of consumption doesn't affect me."
Hii Kōri pretended that Chiyo was referring to the fatigue of hurrying back to Sunagakure, answering with a smile.
"Alright. I'll go prepare."
Chiyo gave him a deep look, then hurried toward the door leading underground.
"What's wrong? Feeling strange about soon having both parents again?"
Watching Chiyo—barely containing her excitement—disappear from view, Hii Kōri patted the slightly nervous Sasori on the shoulder, teasing him a bit.
"...Yeah..."
Sasori was silent for a moment, then exhaled a sigh. He then smiled. "When the time comes, I'll definitely give them an earful..."
Although it was just basic contact, the force transmitted from Hii Kōri's hand made Sasori feel extremely reassuring.
That was the hand of his uncle—who had taught him tirelessly, who had been with him longer than his parents ever had, and who was about to bring his parents back from another world.
"Ha. I don't think anyone's more qualified to do that than you."
Hii Kōri smiled peacefully, also feeling a sense of relief.
One of the things he had to accomplish was about to be done.
Time flew by.
About an hour and a half later.
"Pat-pat-pat—"
A faint, almost imperceptible sound, like that of a small maraca being shaken, approached from the upper floor of the workshop.
Hii Kōri looked up and saw a mechanical tanuki descending, aimed precisely at his head.
"Brat! When are you going to finish my new body?!"
The mechanical creature housing Shukaku's consciousness screeched as it tugged at his hair, as if ready to devour this contract-breaker alive.
Clearly, not having been seen beside Bunpuku earlier meant that this guy had been waiting in the underground lab. Jumping down from upstairs now clearly meant he had gone around, just to ambush Hii Kōri.
"Tanuki are canines. Are you also a dog?"
Hii Kōri grabbed the mechanical Shukaku, threw it to the ground, and stepped on its belly to keep it from moving around. "Keep your voice down, you big-tailed dumb pig. If you wake my son, I'll rip out your voice module!"
"...You have a son?"
Shukaku was first stunned, then lowered his voice and sighed. "Ah, how time flies. In the blink of an eye, you have a child..."
Thinking back, Shukaku and Hii Kōri had known each other for over a decade. Looking back, even he hadn't imagined that he could establish such a harmonious relationship with any human other than Bunpuku.
For a moment, even this best-tempered tailed beast felt a bit emotional.
"Mm-hmm. His name is Ren. A good child."
Seeing this, Hii Kōri released Shukaku's body, pulled him into his arms and patted his head. "As for you," he said, "don't rush. I'm back now. Once I've sorted things out downstairs, I'll create a new body for you."
"You know that's not what I meant."
"Then don't say it." "…"
Glancing at Bunpuku, who was already asleep in a rocking chair, Hii Kōri lowered his voice.
Shukaku didn't answer.
Hii Kōri didn't want to pursue the topic further. He picked up Shukaku and stood up, calling out to the others, "Let's go. About now, Mom should be just about ready. If anyone's interested, come watch."
"Sure, sure. I'm really curious about this technique you mentioned."
The Third Kazekage, chewing on dried fruit, responded vaguely. He poured the entire bag of mixed nuts into his mouth, brushed the residue from his hands, and followed Hii Kōri with enthusiasm.
"Mm-hmm. I won't disappoint you—"
"—What the hell? When did you get here?!"
Turning to look at the "Vegeta" behind him, Hii Kōri's face showed surprise.
"Huh? I've been here for ages. In fact, I never left today!"
Vegeta, whose hairline was already very safe, answered with even greater righteousness.