Chapter 69: The Tycoon Next Door
The Nine-Tails attack had leveled nearly forty percent of Konoha’s residential districts. Housing was completely scarce. The waiting list for temporary shelters stretched into the thousands, and finding a secure, high-quality home on short notice was statistically impossible.
Unless, of course, your best friend was the matriarch of the Uchiha clan, and her eldest son happened to be a billionaire who owned a neighborhood in the center of the commercial district.
Less than twenty-four hours after the confrontation in the Hokage’s office, Kushina Uzumaki’s meager remaining belongings were being carried into a sprawling, heavily fortified luxury estate.
Standing on the second-story balcony of the massive mansion right next door, Ren Uchiha leaned against the marble railing, sipping a cup of imported tea.
Standing beside him was Kakuzu. The towering, masked treasurer was currently staring down at the red-haired widow and the sleeping baby with an expression of profound, existential financial dread.
"Do you have any idea," Kakuzu began, his voice a low, terrifying rumble, "what the collateral damage projections look like when you willingly house a Jinchūriki?"
"It’s a secure neighborhood, Kakuzu," Ren replied smoothly. "Think of it as community outreach."
"If that baby sneezes too hard, the resulting chakra shockwave will shatter three million Ryo worth of imported stained glass on this street alone," Kakuzu hissed, furiously tapping away on a small wooden abacus he had pulled from his cloak. "And the assassination attempts! We are going to have to double the patrol rotations. The overhead costs of guarding the Nine-Tails are catastrophic. Evict her."
"She’s a grieving widow, Kakuzu. Have a heart."
"I have five," Kakuzu shot back instantly. "And all of them are currently having palpitations over the property liability. Evict her."
"I can’t evict her. I already approved the lease," Ren smirked, turning away from the balcony. "Besides, keeping the village’s ultimate weapon heavily reliant on our real estate is a strategic monopoly. Relax. I’m going over there to get the paperwork signed."
Kakuzu gripped the marble railing so tightly it began to crack. "Make sure you include an ’Act of Demon Fox’ clause."
Inside the new estate, the spacious living room was a chaotic mess of cardboard boxes and hastily packed sealing scrolls.
Kushina stood in the center of the room, looking entirely overwhelmed. The adrenaline of the Hokage’s office had faded, leaving behind the crushing, hollow weight of Minato’s absence. She held baby Naruto tightly, unsure of where to even begin.
The front doors slid open, and Mikoto Uchiha walked in, carrying a basket of warm food.
"Kushina," Mikoto smiled gently, radiating maternal warmth. "I brought lunch. And reinforcements."
Stepping out from behind Mikoto was twelve-year-old Itachi. He wore a simple, dark casual tunic, and strapped to his chest was a premium, highly ergonomic baby carrier currently holding a wide-eyed baby Sasuke.
Itachi surveyed the chaotic room. His dark eyes darted from the stacked boxes, to the sharp corners of the furniture, and finally to the exhausted expression on Kushina’s face. His prodigy brain instantly assessed the tactical situation.
"Lady Kushina," Itachi said, bowing respectfully. "The environment is currently unoptimized for infants. Dust levels are high, and structural hazards remain unmitigated. Please, allow me."
Before Kushina could even protest, Itachi stepped forward, gently taking baby Naruto from her arms. He expertly swaddled the newborn, holding Naruto in his left arm while patting Sasuke with his right. He projected a terrifyingly intense aura of absolute ’Older Brother Competence.’
"I will secure the infants in the sunroom," Itachi declared, his face completely serious as if he were accepting an S-rank infiltration mission. "I have brought three distinct varieties of formula, sterile wipes, and a theoretical treatise on early childhood chakra development. They will not be disturbed."
Kushina blinked in sheer disbelief as the twelve-year-old ANBU-level genius smoothly marched into the adjacent room, already softly humming a lullaby to the two future demigods of the shinobi world.
"Is he... always like that?" Kushina asked, utterly bewildered.
Mikoto laughed softly, setting the food down on the counter. "He has taken his role as an older brother very, very seriously. Enjoy the break, Kushina. You need it."
"She does, but I still need her signature," a voice announced from the entryway.
Ren walked into the house, looking entirely out of place amidst the cardboard boxes. He wore a tailored, charcoal-grey suit. His right eye was noticeably clouded and milky—a stark contrast to his pristine left eye—but he carried himself with his usual untouchable arrogance. In his hand, he held a sleek leather folder.
"Ren," Mikoto greeted, an amused glint in her eye. "Playing the ruthless landlord today?"
"Someone has to make sure the ink dries," Ren deflected smoothly, ignoring his mother’s teasing tone. He walked over to the kitchen island, opening the folder and sliding a thick stack of papers across the marble counter toward Kushina.
"Standard commercial lease," Ren explained, tapping the paper with a silver pen. "The utilities are subsidized, and the perimeter is guarded by my private corporate security. The village ANBU have absolutely no jurisdiction here. You are completely off the grid."
Kushina stared at the teenage billionaire. She reached out to take the pen, but as her fingers brushed against the paper, her highly protective instincts naturally flared.
She cast her sensory net outward, just for a fraction of a second, sweeping over the room to gauge her surroundings.
The moment her chakra brushed against his, Kushina’s breath hitched in her throat.
Underneath the expensive cologne, the tailored suit, and the arrogant, civilian-tycoon persona... was a chakra signature she would never, ever forget. It was impossibly dense. It was heavy. It was the exact same miraculous, life-giving chakra that had radiated from the glowing green bean forced down her throat in the dying moments of the cave.
She looked up, her violet eyes locking onto Ren’s face.
She remembered the masked ghost who had materialized out of thin air. She remembered the man who had intercepted the space-time assassin’s kunai, blocking the blade from piercing her newborn son.
Kushina dropped the pen. It clattered loudly against the marble counter.
"It was you," Kushina said, her voice trembling but laced with absolute certainty.
Ren blinked, raising a perfectly groomed eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
Kushina didn’t hesitate. She stepped around the kitchen island, closing the distance between them.
"You were the masked man in the cave," Kushina stated, her eyes wide. "You intercepted that assassin. You gave me that medicine..."
Her eyes widened further as another piece of the puzzle violently clicked into place. "I should have known. Is that the same medicine you gave Nawaki years ago?"
Ren took a strategic half-step back, raising his hands in a placating gesture as he desperately tried to gaslight one of the most dangerous women in the village.
"You must be mistaken, Kushina," Ren said, his voice perfectly smooth and deadpan. "You’re exhausted. It’s been a long week. I am a registered civilian not a ninja."
Kushina stepped even closer, her violet eyes narrowing dangerously. She reached up and tapped her temple.
"Do you think I’m a fool?" Kushina demanded. "Your mask cannot hide you from me, Ren. I don’t see with just these eyes. I am an Uzumaki. Kagura’s Mind never mistakes a chakra signature."
Oh, shit, Ren cursed. She’s a sensor.
Across the kitchen, Mikoto Uchiha stood entirely still.
She listened to Kushina’s words. The masked man in the cave. The miraculous medicine.
Her "civilian" son hadn’t just been running a business. He had secretly thrown himself directly into a fight with an S-rank assassin who fought and escaped after fighting against the fourth hokage.
Mikoto’s elegant, collected demeanor instantly vanished.
She marched across the kitchen, grabbed Ren by his right ear, and pinched. Hard.
"Ow! Mother—!" Ren yelped, his cool tycoon aura instantly shattering as he was forced to bend sideways.
"You fought a space-time ninja?!" Mikoto scolded, twisting his ear just a fraction more, her Sharingan spinning dangerously to life in pure motherly fury. "You were in that cave?! You dare hide these reckless stunts from your mother?!"
"I wasn’t in any actual danger!" Ren argued, wincing in pain and trying to pry her fingers off his ear. "I had an escape route planned the entire time! I barely got a scratch!"
"You could have been killed!" Mikoto snapped, entirely unimpressed by his corporate jargon.
Ren, thoroughly outmaneuvered and currently being publicly disciplined by his mother, desperately tried to regain control of the situation. He pointed a stiff, perfectly manicured finger at the paperwork on the counter while still leaning sideways from the ear pull.
"Can we please discuss my heroics after she signs the property damage liability waiver?" Ren demanded, his voice cracking slightly. He glared at Kushina with his one good eye. "If you have a panic attack and those glowing adamantine chains of yours accidentally shatter my imported marble countertops, I am billing you, Kushina! Sign the paper!"
Kushina stared at the scene unfolding in front of her. She looked at the teenage billionaire, who had just saved her life and her son’s future, currently getting his ear twisted by his mother while aggressively demanding payment for countertops.
The heavy, suffocating grief in her chest finally cracked.
Kushina threw her head back and let out a loud, genuine laugh. She wiped a tear from her eye, picking the silver pen back up.
"You really are a heartless capitalist, Ren," Kushina smiled, signing her name on the dotted line.
"I prefer ’fiscally responsible,’" Ren muttered, finally managing to pull his ear out of Mikoto’s iron grip. He rubbed his reddened skin, shooting a wary glance at his mother before picking up the signed lease. "Welcome to the neighborhood, Kushina."
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