Chapter 19

Approaching the gates, he simply ran his hand over them, and the briefly appeared seal extinguished, and they swung open. Entering, we found ourselves in the middle of a small park leading to the house, bonsai trees were growing to full height on either side, trimmed bushes very similar to rose hips and barberries, small beds of some small blue-yellow flowers, and a bunch of other miscellaneous things.

I didn't look closer, as we stepped onto a small platform, covered with gravel, from which steps led to the entrance of the house. There was no sign of anyone alive inside. Interesting, such a huge house and for just one... Grandpa climbed the stairs, pushed the door aside, and upon entering, set me down on the floor.

"Well, here we are," he smiled, "take off your shoes and come inside."

Taking off my sandals, which had rubbed my feet quite a bit over the week of travels, I set them aside and, not waiting for the adults, pushed open the next door and stepped inside. It was dark. And crowded with...!

"Welcome to the family, Ryu!!!" suddenly the lights flashed on and the cry almost startled me.

Blinking several times, I stared. Holy crap — in front of me stood a real crowd of three or four dozen redheads. Children, teenagers, adults, and elderly of both sexes stood there, smiling widely at me, practically radiating joy!

And there were barriers on the house! That was my first thought.

"Um... hello," I stammered uncertainly and bowed.

"Kami, he looks just like Ryu in his childhood!" one of the women exclaimed, and these simple words seemed to burst the dam.

This horde of people rushed to greet me. Over the next twenty minutes, I found myself hugged and smothered by women almost to death, learned about the existence of second, third, fourth cousins, nieces and nephews, uncles and aunts, various grandmothers and grandfathers in four generations before grandpa, and even more various relatives.

But most importantly, each of them was genuinely happy to see me, despite having met me just a few minutes ago! Realizing that they were so happy to see me only because I was related to everyone, I almost cried in the most natural way, and my mouth stretched into the biggest smile life had ever produced! What can I say, a child's body equals emotional intensity.

"All right, let the lad rest and set the table," Ryudji finally intervened.

"Don't rush, Oto-san," the girl, who introduced herself as Tomoko, waved her hand, "everything's ready long ago, we were just waiting for you."

"Then what are we waiting for?! To the table!"

The ensuing merriment more resembled the celebration of some grand event rather than a family gathering, but from the snippets of conversation I caught, I understood it was a regular meal in this family. Not that I didn't like it, but compared to the Nara clan and the relatively quiet life with Saya, it was a completely different experience.

Thanks to Tomoko taking care of me, I ate like a boa constrictor and, tiredly nodding off in an attempt not to fall asleep, caught a piece of an interesting conversation between mom and grandpa.

"...the funeral ceremony has already been held?"

"Yes, we managed to bring the body home, so the cremation ceremony was held at dawn, and the ashes were entrusted to the ocean. His favorite sword was placed in the mausoleum, so tomorrow I'll accompany you to pay your last respects to the departed."

Hmm, the Uzumaki cremate their dead and entrust the ashes to water... Perhaps that's why Kabuto didn't resurrect anyone from the seal masters clan with his Edo Tensei technique, no even a particle of the deceased — no summoned soul.

But I'll do my best to ensure that the bespectacled guy is out of the game beforehand or doesn't have a chance to fall into Orochimaru's clutches at all. There's still plenty of time and opportunities to steer history in a different direction before the Third Shinobi World War, especially for someone who has reliable information about the future.

Mentally promising myself to do everything possible to save people who died solely because of utterly idiotic reasons, like envy and greed, I lost the battle against fatigue and, closing my eyes, drifted off to sleep.