But Hii Kōri's lateness wasn't actually intentional avoidance of Kakuzu.
Me? Avoiding him?
It was more because he had been working overtime for the past month, fully immersed in another extremely mentally draining task.
That was dealing with the physical conditions of the two hundred or so children recovered from Kirigakure's underground laboratory.
Over the past month, he had poured nearly all his energy into this extremely taxing work treating the batch of children "recovered" from Kirigakure's underground lab.
Those children used as containers for curses, ranging from about five or six to twelve or thirteen years old had all undergone various bizarre physical aberrations under the curse's influence, very much like humans modified by Mahito.
Amid long-term suffering and curses, the vast majority of the children's consciousness had become quite vague, and their vital signs were rather subtle.
Hii Kōri had no intention of returning them to Kirigakure. Although the curses had been cleared, Yagura would probably be happy to use these children, who had existed as sacrifices, as political ammunition to attack the darkest aspects of the Bloody Mist policy.
But after that, their ending would likely be dying quietly in some corner, or being "properly" disposed of.
After all, if Kirigakure had the means to deal with curse erosion, they wouldn't have been plagued so badly.
So he might as well keep them himself.
He had the means to potentially resolve this condition. If he saved them, they would be a group of Ninja Academy students and graduates. If he couldn't save them, he could use them to refine cursed objects. Either way, it wasn't a loss.
Thus began Hii Kōri's "overtime story."
The good news was, his technique was effective.
The bad news was, his technique was effective.
Palm Hatching: Regression. This was a cursed technique that restricted his technique to a certain extent, driven in the name of Rudra, "returning" the injured to their pre-injury state even regenerating severed limbs was no problem.
Because this effect wasn't based on Reverse Cursed Technique healing, it could be applied to others more easily.
But correspondingly, this technique's effect on chronic, long-term conditions was hard to evaluate.
For the living, the soul, spirit, and body are one entity. Even if only the body is "returned," it also affects the soul and spirit.
If used on long-standing conditions, while it could return the injury or illness to a pre-occurrence stage, it would also return the subject's overall state to that period.
Injuries, illnesses, physical training progress, cultivation progress... all physical-related factors from that period would be reset to zero.
Additionally, if the time span was too large, the continuity of the subject's memories would also suffer huge deviations due to the dislocation between body and soul.
So for Hii Kōri, who had mastered external Reverse Cursed Technique, Palm Hatching: Regression wasn't very useful.
In fact, this technique was merely a byproduct of Hii Kōri adjusting and developing his own abilities as evidenced by its somewhat rudimentary naming.
But for these children, it was just right.
The only problem was that each child had been eroded by the curse to a different degree, so they couldn't be treated all at once. Hii Kōri had to adjust the technique's progress individually based on each child's physical state.
If he was unsure, using the technique seven or eight times on a single child was normal.
The result was that over this month, just on these children, Hii Kōri had used his technique over a thousand times in total.
Of the two hundred-plus children, he had saved over 180. The remaining forty-plus had become completely brain-dead due to the disparity between physical state and spirit, ending up in a vegetative state.
Even the saved children, for the same reason, would need a considerable period to stabilize their consciousness.
So each time Hii Kōri finished adjusting a child's physical state, he also applied a barrier technique that could regulate their mental state and had a time-dilation effect. He then placed them in an independent space that Rashōmon had partitioned within its body.
It was also worth mentioning that the kidnapped clan members Rashōmon had seized were housed in another space and had already resumed normal life.
Kidnapped and placed in some unmanned village somewhere so what? Life had to go on.
In fact, a village situated on an endless meadow was far better than Kirigakure's environment.
Overall, this month of overtime hadn't been particularly tiring for Hii Kōri, but the monotony of the repetitive work was overwhelmingly tedious.
So while adjusting the children's physical conditions, he also tinkered with the kekkei genkai ninjas that Rashōmon had thrown into the material repository.
Unlike the civilians who hadn't demonstrated kekkei genkai abilities, these were ninjas that Rashōmon had knocked unconscious on the battlefield and swallowed into his body.
Since they had combat ability, they naturally couldn't be treated the same as the civilians.
Initially, Rashōmon had restrained them in various hard-to-move positions in a rather SM-like fashion. After Hii Kōri took over, he simply sealed them in barriers, just like the previously kidnapped Konoha ninjas.
Regular nutrient injections kept them from dying—very convenient.
Naturally, the results Hii Kōri obtained from these ninjas were far more valuable than those from the children, who still needed rest.
Seventeen vials of Kaguya clan marrow fluid, twenty-three vials of Yuki clan marrow fluid, twenty-four vials of Hōzuki clan marrow fluid—enough for over three hundred experiments of various types, along with viable tissue slices for six people's worth of reproducible physical inventory.
Also, over twenty bodies, ravaged and soaked with hatred, usable for crafting cursed tools.
And an equivalent number of Impure World Reincarnation subjects and practical experience with reincarnation techniques.
They say "killing and arson lead to gold belts"—in this day and age, that saying couldn't be more true.
Huge profit.
Hii Kōri stood on the terrace of the temporary residence, gazing at the port construction site's all-night lights in the distance. Uchiha Hikari and Sasori stood beside him, watching the rare night scene with interest.
For Hikari, who had lived in the Warring States period, nights were almost pitch black. And even for Sasori, who had grown up in this era, he had never seen such a brightly lit scene at night.
It's often said that humanity's most primitive, basic emotion is fear.
And "darkness"the symbol of the unknown and threat is the most fundamental source of fear.
When humanity's earliest ancestors obtained the light of fire, the course of civilization took its most basic step forward.
"Hmm... it's about time to go back."
The late autumn evening breeze carried a slight chill, prompting Hii Kōri to put on a looser haori over his yukata. He rubbed his brow, pushed his slipping glasses back up, and calculated his return date while looking at the night view.
With Kakuzu now in place as Ahaha-kun's bodyguard, and his other objectives in the Land of Water mostly accomplished, there was no reason to stay.
And if he wanted to leave, the two children, Sasori and Hikari, naturally had no objections.
Hii Kōri thought for a moment, then turned to look at Sasori beside him. "Speaking of which, Sasori, do you have any other plans after leaving the Land of Water?"
Although in Hii Kōri's eyes, Sasori and Hikari were still children, in this era, eleven or twelve-year-olds were already officially graduated ninjas from the Academy, and children from ordinary families were already taking on some of the burden of maintaining the household.
Sasori, having studied under Hii Kōri since childhood, was also more mature than other children his age. Treating his nephew, who was less than ten years younger than him, Hii Kōri was happy to treat him as an adult.
"Hmm..."
Sasori thought for a moment, then turned to look at Uchiha Hikari on Hii Kōri's other side.
The girl with the high seniority was happily sucking on a lollipop, her arms propped on the railing, swinging her feet in the air.
Probably due to habits formed from past experiences, Hikari really didn't like wearing socks. Even now, she was barefoot in ninja sandals, making one worry she might catch a cold or get a stomachache.
Sensing Sasori's gaze, Hikari turned and smiled at him, then scooted closer to Hii Kōri.
Sasori thought to himself, This Uchiha girl is practically glued to my uncle. No need to ask where she wants to go.
"I want to go back to the guild's headquarters first."
Sasori's expression didn't change—no sign of the silent roasting of Uchiha Hikari happening in his mind. "It's been nearly two months since the announcement of the Ninth Department, the Defense Section. As the acting director, I haven't shown my face at headquarters even once. I don't know the department's basic framework or personnel composition. That's... not good."
"Then I'll meet up with Nagato and the others. I heard Yahiko is going back to the Land of Rain soon, right?"
"That works. Akane is always reliable. She should have already set up a basic framework. When you get back, coordinate with the Administration Section first to understand the current progress."
Hii Kōri smiled and placed his hand on Sasori's head, messing up his nephew's hair, making his always calm, doll-like face show a bit of embarrassment.
He always enjoyed teasing this serious, somewhat rigid child. Children should show expressions befitting their age. If they were too cold, wouldn't they be just like he was as a child?
After coming to this world, hadn't Hii Kōri done all those terrible things and killed all those people precisely so that the people he cherished could smile peacefully?
And now, he was several steps closer to that goal. At least, Sasori got along well with Nagato and Yahiko—far better than the way he had been "raised wrong" by the old lady in the original story.
"I understand."
Although he felt a bit awkward, Sasori didn't try to get rid of Hii Kōri's hand. Actually, he also liked being close to his uncle; it was just that his personality made it hard for him to do things like aegyo.
Thinking this, he felt a pang of regret for Konan. Ah, why are you so well-behaved?
If you like Uncle that much, just act a little more clingy, right?
Now look—your niche's been taken over by an Uchiha.
Back before Sasori had formally started his studies, he had heard quite a bit of "ninja world unofficial history" from Hii Kōri. Although most of those stories now seemed to be made-up nonsense, regarding the Uchiha's emotional intensity, Sasori felt the stories might have been a bit too restrained.
But... asking about his plans at this moment...
Thinking this, Sasori looked up at Hii Kōri again. "Uncle, is there something you want me to do?"
"If we're talking about it, it's not just my business—it involves you and the old lady too."
"Wait?"
Sasori was first taken aback, then, as if realizing something, the usually calm eyes suddenly stirred with violent waves.
"Uncle, you mean—?"
"Ah. That 'could it be.'"
Hii Kōri stretched, looking up at the night sky. There was no moon tonight, and the stars were very bright.
"The reincarnation technique is almost ready. Isn't it time to let your parents wake from their long sleep and see you?"
Mataza and Shūko had died at the hands of Konoha's White Fang. Strange as it might sound, thanks to that, their bodies were very intact—only two wounds, on the throat and heart.
After the couple's bodies were retrieved from the battlefield, Chiyo had properly sutured the wounds and sealed them with a sealing technique. After the war, they were placed in the cold storage beneath Hii Kōri's workshop in Sunagakure.
Hii Kōri had said he would find a technique to revive them. Everything had been preparation for that goal.
"...What a long detour it's been."
Recalling the many efforts he had made for this, and how many people had been brought into it, Hii Kōri felt somewhat emotional.
Sasori lowered his head, his hands clenched tightly into fists, his knuckles white from pressure. His shoulders trembled slightly, and his breathing became somewhat hasty.
Upon hearing this news, he—who always displayed maturity beyond his years—finally showed an excitement befitting his age.
"...I'll handle the guild work as quickly as possible."
But after only a few seconds, he suppressed that intense emotion. He took repeated deep breaths, then looked up and spoke seriously to Hii Kōri.
His parents had been dead for three or four years now—no need to rush at this moment. Rather than that, Sasori felt it was more important to help his uncle with his work first.
"...You child."
Hii Kōri smiled and patted Sasori's head, not refusing his thoughtful gesture.
"Congratulations, little Sasori~"
Uchiha Hikari cheerfully walked over to Sasori, happily bumping his shoulder. Her expression held no trace of envy, only clear understanding.
Her Mangekyō Sharingan had awakened when her parents died in battle. If asked whether she missed her parents, the answer was certainly yes. But that didn't mean she would envy Sasori's impending reunion with his deceased parents.
In fact, precisely because she had a similar experience, Hikari could appreciate even more what a miracle the opportunity Sasori had received truly was.
And miracles cannot be forced.
For Uchiha Hikari as she was now, simply being by Hii Kōri's side was enough.
The next day, the three boarded a regular cargo ship returning to the Land of Fire.
It was worth mentioning that Uchiha Hikari, who had thought she had overcome her seasickness, arrogantly refused the motion sickness medicine and barrier Hii Kōri offered—and then, three hours after setting sail, was once again vomiting so much she couldn't see straight.
Whether she truly hadn't figured out her condition, or whether she was using this opportunity to be close to Hii Kōri for a while longer...
Who knows?