Naruto: I, the villain template, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 185 Bullshit fate, bullshit reality, bullshit responsibility

Click.

Shinji Uchiha closed the door, keeping the chill outside out, and his body was gradually filled with warmth.

"Shinji, go change into some clean clothes. We tried a new dish today."

A gentle voice came from the kitchen, and Shinji subconsciously looked up.

Although the room in front of me is not very big, the walls and floors are mainly ivory white, with light colors as the main tone and dark colors as the auxiliary tone, giving people a very bright and simple first impression.

The faint smell of cooking smoke wafting from the kitchen adds to the warm and inviting atmosphere of the house.

Despite having lived there for some time, Shinji Uchiha was still momentarily stunned upon seeing his completely renovated "home".

What did this place look like before that woman moved in?

Since his parents both died in the war, he moved away from the Uchiha clan's territory, returning the spacious but desolate house to the clan in exchange for enough wealth to allow a commoner to live a carefree life in Konoha.

The house he now lives in is the one his mother lived in before she married into the Uchiha clan; it's an ordinary house of about 80 square meters.

It's neither small nor large; it certainly can't compare to that mansion, but within this old building, it's considered quite large.

However, due to the long period of vacancy, the walls are peeling, the corners are covered with cobwebs, the gaps between the floor tiles are so large that a person could fit in them, the kitchen and bathroom are full of rust and stains, and all kinds of old furniture are covered in dust.

But at that time he didn't care, or rather, at that time he didn't care about anything.

After he lived there for a while, the floor was covered with leftover fast food packaging, and the rusty sink was filled with water and clothes that hadn't been washed for who knows how many days. Anyway, if the clothes got dirty, he would just buy new ones.

Moreover, because the lights and windows were not turned on for a long time, there was a strange musty smell in the room, and he was also permeated by this smell during that period.

In the words of those kids who like to bully others, the smell was like the smell of grandparents.

Decaying, old, dilapidated...

But everything changed when this woman moved in without any room for argument.

The trash in the house was all thrown out, the usable old furniture was refurbished as a keepsake, and the unusable furniture was replaced with new ones. The woman carefully decorated the entire house.

At the beginning, Shinji expressed his dissatisfaction because his peaceful and accustomed life was disrupted.

As a result, the woman retorted with the sentence, "You don't want the Uchiha clan to know that you're a genius who awakened the double tomoe at the age of six or seven, do you?"

Later on, I gradually got used to it.

Or rather, this is actually quite good.

Looking at the busy figure in the kitchen wearing an apron, Shinji suddenly felt the scene before him become blurry.

In his world, the environment of the house vaguely overlapped with his former "home," and the silhouette of that figure was also somewhat blurred, revealing the image of his mother busy in the kitchen and his father sitting at the table reading the newspaper with a serious face.

This was a scene that appeared every day in this room a few years ago. Although several years have passed, it has not been erased from Shinji's memory and often appears in his dreams. Now, it has strangely overlapped with the reality in front of him.

It felt like two compositions on rice paper were forcibly superimposed under a white light, the shadows of the woman and mother intertwined, indistinct and vague, and even the emotions began to overlap.

Shinji has always revered his father because, in order to maintain the purity of their bloodline and to ensure that the talents of their descendants are not affected, the Uchiha clan rarely allows members to marry outsiders.

This would inevitably provoke dissatisfaction from the clan elders and criticism from other members of the Uchiha clan.

After all, in the Uchiha clan, which believes in meritocracy and takes pride in its bloodline, no personal interest can supersede the collective interest, and every personal interest must give way to the collective interest.

Even under these circumstances, his father, an elite Jonin in the clan, ignored the advice and threats of his clansmen, friends, father, and elders after falling in love with his mother, a Chunin, and moved out of the clan's territory to marry and live with her.

Shinji was born here, and he grew up in this little house.

At that time, the war had not yet begun. They lived like any other family, in a home that was neither too big nor too small, with two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. The couple was loving, the children were cheerful and lively, and the family lived in harmony and warmth.

Until war broke out again, her father, an elite Jonin of the Uchiha clan, was conscripted by the clan to go to the front line of the battlefield, and she and her son moved into the clan's house.

But the one who knocked on the door again was the Uchiha clan chief, who looked regretful and saddened, and the keepsake belonging to his father in his arms.

Shinji still remembers the pale, thin face of his mother when he asked her where his father had gone, yet she still managed a smile.

She said, "This is his fate, his responsibility, his reality."

Shinji was confused at the time, and later, the rope broke at the thinnest part, and his mother also died on the battlefield.

Shinji understands now, but what he wants to say now is...

Fate is bullshit, responsibility is bullshit, reality is bullshit.

From then on, he preferred to move away from the Uchiha clan's territory, to refuse the clansmen's good intentions, and to blend into the crowd rather than bear any "responsibility".

Isolate yourself until you rot.

"..."

"...Shinji?"

"Shinji!"

A muffled sound came from beside him, gradually growing louder, causing Shinji to open his mouth, his slightly unfocused pupils becoming clear.

The house layout was somewhat similar, yet different from before. He frowned as he looked at his woman, the warm yellow chandelier swaying gently...

"What's wrong? Are you sick?"

The pharmacist walked over with a spatula in one hand and placed the other hand on his forehead, asking in confusion, "With your constitution, you shouldn't be affected even if you get caught in the rain once."

"I thought you'd at least borrow an umbrella, but you came back in the rain! Are you stupid? I should have picked you up first..."

Hearing the nagging in his ear and feeling the warmth on his forehead, Shinji's pupils trembled.

The whole world became unreal, slowly rotating within the outlines of light and shadow, beautiful yet ethereal, like the reflection in a child's eyes peering into a kaleidoscope, making Shinji feel nauseous and disgusted.

He subconsciously raised his hand and slapped her hand away, then turned and walked towards the bedroom expressionlessly: "It's nothing, I'm going to change my clothes."

The pharmacist seemed unconcerned by his behavior and said with a faint smile, "Hurry up, the food will be ready soon."

Click.

Shinji went into his bedroom, but instead of changing his clothes, he went to the window and opened it.

Minato Namikaze was right; Konoha rarely experiences such heavy rain.

When I woke up in the morning, the weather was still fine. I closed my eyes for a short nap at school and when I opened them again, all I could see outside the window was rain pouring down, and the wind was sweeping away fallen leaves and creating ripples in the ditch.

However, unlike Minato Namikaze, this was not the first time Shinji had seen such heavy rain; it had rained just as heavily on the day of his father's and mother's funerals.

He thought he had long forgotten.

But ever since he was hit by the poison gas released by the Sky Legion's invasion, his parents' funerals have frequently appeared in his dreams.

"..."

The sticky raindrops, like spider silk, drifted onto his cheeks. He reached out to wipe them away, but couldn't get them completely clean, leaving only watermarks.

But the cold touch reminded him that he was in reality, not a dream.

Shinji believed he was standing in reality, with Konoha in the pouring rain before him, the cold, damp wind blowing on him, while warmth emanated from the kitchen behind him.

His father is dead, his mother is dead, but at least he is still alive, and he has someone he cares about who he can rely on. This is his reality, the undeniable reality.

He shouldn't dwell on the pain of the past; he should try to change things.

clap clap!

Shinji slapped his rain-soaked cheeks hard to clear his head a little.

After changing my clothes and stepping out of the bedroom, I saw a woman wearing an apron placing plates on the living room table. The plates were filled with freshly made, fragrant, steaming, and brightly colored side dishes.

"Don't just sit there, go get some rice." The pharmacist patted his head and ordered him without any politeness.

Shinji gave her a disapproving look, but still obediently got up and went into the kitchen, served two bowls of rice, and then sat back down at the table.

"This semester is almost over, right? How's your exam preparation going?" The pharmacist took off her apron and looked at Shinji, asking.

"Well, that's how it is," Shinji replied vaguely.

Although it wasn't the first time they had communicated like this, he was still a little unaccustomed to this kind of topic.

"The little money your family has now is enough for an ordinary person to live on for a lifetime, but you're going to become a ninja, and that money won't last long." The pharmacist glanced at him while holding his meal and reminded him, "If you do poorly on the exam, the clan might revoke your preferential treatment next year."

"Okay, okay, I'll study tonight."

Shinji didn't refute her statement that he would become a ninja, but simply sighed impatiently, looked at the bright red tofu on the plate, and asked, "What kind of dish is this? Where did you learn to make it?"

"That's a terrible way to change the subject."

The pharmacist saw through his little scheme, but still smiled slightly and said, "This is a new dish I learned. I heard it's a new dish from the Land of Rain. Why don't you try it? It might be a little spicy."

Shinji's face flushed slightly, but he calmly sat down, put his hands together and said, "I'm starting to eat," before taking a bite of the dish with his chopsticks.

After taking the first bite, he paused subconsciously, glanced up at the pharmacist, and then didn't look up again. The only sound in the living room was the sound of him wolfing down his food.

"Eat slowly, don't just eat fried rice, Mapo tofu is also very good."

The pharmacist sat quietly opposite him, watching him with a gentle tone, sipping a cup of hot water, but seemingly deep in thought behind his glasses.

After Shinji swallowed a mouthful of rice and paused for a moment, the pharmacist smiled slightly and asked, "How does it taste?"

"...Very good." Shinji wiped his mouth and whispered, "I'm starting to wonder if you're a chef or a doctor!"

"I'll take that as a compliment." The pharmacist smiled and shook his head, placing the water in his hand on the table. "By the way, why are you so late today? If you had come back any later, I would have had to go out to pick you up from school."

Shinji swallowed another mouthful of fried rice, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "I ran into a friend and we chatted for a bit."

"You have friends?" The pharmacist raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Does it surprise you that I have friends?

Okay, I really don't have any friends...

Thinking of this, Shinji's face darkened, but he stubbornly retorted, "Of course I have! Minato Namikaze, do you know him?"

The pharmacist didn't say whether he believed it or not, but just smiled and said "Oh," then rested his chin on his hand and asked, "What were you talking about?"

"...That well-behaved student got into a fight with someone the other day."

Shinji hesitated for a moment, but still explained, "I asked him, and he didn't seem too keen to talk about it, but I could tell it was probably because someone had insulted someone important to him."

Speaking of important people, he slightly raised his eyelids and glanced at the pharmacist in front of him, only to be met with a pair of gentle, smiling eyes, which made his expression freeze slightly, and he subconsciously looked away.

"Speaking of this, I think I know a little about it."

Looking at the shy boy in front of him, the doctor, unusually, did not tease him, but simply chuckled and said, "I heard that the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Lady Mito from the Uzumaki clan, also had a child from the same clan studying in Konoha."

"That child must be your friend, someone Minato Namikaze values."

Upon hearing this, Shinji's embarrassment dissipated, and he frowned slightly.

As one of the victims of the previous Sky Legion's terrifying invasion, and as a former member of the Uchiha clan, he naturally had heard of the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Mito Uzumaki.

That woman was the wife of Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, the God of Shinobi, the First Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and a princess of the Land of Whirlpools. Her strength and experience ranked among the top in the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

Unfortunately, this legendary female ninja had her reputation ruined not long ago.

Because, in that invasion, the one who caused the greatest loss to Konoha was not the Sky Army, but Mito Uzumaki, who, as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, suddenly went out of control and went berserk.

Countless people in Konoha were torn apart by their wives and children, and their families were destroyed because of her during that terrifying invasion. They still haven't recovered.

Even after that, when Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, announced that the First Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Mito Uzumaki, had committed suicide at Konoha Hospital due to overwhelming guilt, it did not completely quell the anger and resentment of those people.

If a "sinner" like this, nailed to the pillar of shame, still has young members of his clan attending school in Konoha, one can only imagine the amount of malice they would have to endure.

However, it has nothing to do with him.

Shinji lowered his head and ate a few mouthfuls of fried rice. The pungent spiciness hit his head, causing sweat to break out on his forehead. He hissed and gasped for breath from the spiciness.

"It's still a bit too spicy for you."

The pharmacist handed over a few sheets of paper, his eyes crinkling with a smile that seemed to be on purpose, and said with a laugh, "The hot water is ready. Take a hot shower after you finish eating, so you don't catch a cold from the rain."

Shinji lowered his head without saying a word and nodded.

Meanwhile, from a tree outside the window, watching the warm and harmonious scene inside the room, Afei chuckled and said, "Their relationship looks really good."

Beside him, Madara Uchiha's gaze was somewhat deep, and a smile gradually appeared on his expressionless face: "Tobi, you did well."

That brat might actually be able to bring back the Mangekyou Sharingan, which hasn't appeared in the Uchiha clan for decades.

(End of this chapter)