HSU: Ch. 323

After finishing his talk with Madara, Masashi gave his time to Setsuna.

In front of Setsuna, Madara's words were still relatively reserved.

Perhaps, when facing an old comrade whose life was already at its final stage, even Madara had a more human side.

Even an Asura had compassion.

Leaving Setsuna's residence, Masashi took the children back home.

Today it was Pakura accompanying him to Setsuna's house, and at home there was still Hikari.

Saeko was ultimately still a student. Although her family background allowed her to receive far better home education than most of her peers, schooling was still indispensable.

The clan-style household education was clearly advantageous in developing individual strength, but apart from that, it was filled with disadvantages.

This was all thanks to the reforms during the Third Hokage's era, Hiruzen's changes to the educational system were still among the most advanced in the shinobi world to this day.

But there is no such thing as a once-and-for-all solution.

The Sarutobi faction had placed Konoha in a golden age from the First to the Third Great Ninja War, but afterward, it was all problems.

Madara's so-called once-and-for-all solution was even more absurd, downright anti-social.

Masashi had to think carefully about how to get through this.

Tearing things apart openly was definitely not an option. He would still have to exploit what he could.

Madara's brand of free preschool education was too good to give up.

After all, Masashi was a man who knew how to run a household, the art of life lay in making full use of resources.

Walking down the street, he held one child in each hand. Looking at his son, who seemed rather downcast, he thought he should cheer him up.

"Yosuke, do you like Madara's lessons?" he asked.

Yosuke thought for a moment and replied, "Yes."

Although Sasuke was always being scolded, the strange old man treated him well.

So, although in his heart he still thought of him as a weird man, Yosuke now also called him "Madara-jisan." It was strange, adults' titles were really confusing. Clearly, there weren't that many family ties, yet he had to call so many people "jisan."

This was one of his top ten mysteries of the year.

"Setsuna-jisan really likes you going to Madara's class every day. So, would you like him to keep teaching you before you officially start school?"

"Yes!"

Having settled his son, Masashi sent both children home and then headed to Fugaku's house.

As soon as he walked in, he saw chaos.

An angry Mikoto was chasing after Sasuke.

Facing the household's great demon king, Sasuke could only flee in panic, but not too skillfully, or else she would be driven to tears.

He was a good child, he couldn't make his mother cry.

He simply couldn't understand why his usually gentle mother would turn into a completely different person the moment she saw him playing with a brush.

Mikoto's thoughts, however, were very simple, her husband's embarrassment didn't matter, but her son's did.

This was more or less like how some parents could overlook their own shortcomings but wouldn't tolerate their children's failures.

"Masashi-nii, save me!" Seeing Masashi arrive, Sasuke leapt, clinging tightly to his leg.

Masashi: "..."

It seemed he had come at the wrong time.

No, he had come at just the right time!

"Mikoto, you can't do this." Masashi sighed, stepping forward to take away her household disciplinary tool, a roll of thick paper.

"You should use this instead."

From his sealing scroll, Masashi produced a special conflict-resolution tool he had prepared just for this family.

"This one is made of soft materials. It looks sturdy, but it's actually safe and won't cause internal injuries. If you use paper this thick, and something happens, it'll be bad."

Sasuke looked up in disbelief, still clutching Masashi's leg.

Mikoto, however, gratefully accepted the tool Masashi handed her.

"Ah, you're always so considerate. Fine, I'll use this from now on." She smiled happily, clearly fond of her new "weapon."

Sasuke trembled in fear.

You had to know, because the previous "weapon" had its flaws and wasn't professional enough, Mikoto was reluctant to use it harshly. Normally, she'd just give him a few symbolic smacks, relying mostly on her handwork, which only thickened his butt a little. Such minor injuries were nothing to him.

But now that she had a proper tool, wouldn't she beat him half to death?

"Mikoto, where's the clan leader?" Masashi asked, glancing around without seeing Fugaku anywhere.

"He's in the study," Mikoto said casually. "He spoiled our son and then talked back, so now he's sulking inside."

"All right, I'll go find him. I've got proper business."

---

Leaving behind the loving yet quarrelsome mother and son, Masashi made his way familiarly to the study door. He knocked first.

"Who is it?" Fugaku's voice came from inside.

The voice of a man who'd been thoroughly scolded.

"It's me."

The door slid open with a clatter. Fugaku stood in the doorway. He first looked carefully behind Masashi, then leaned halfway out to glance both ways down the corridor.

"Come in."

"Alright."

Entering the room, Masashi noticed that the desk was completely bare, very unlike its usual state.

Fugaku slid open the door to the side tea room, where the kettle was already bubbling. So he had been here, drinking tea alone in frustration.

He walked in, sat down, picked up the kettle, and poured hot water into the teapot.

"Here, have some with me."

Masashi sat down across from him.

After a while, Fugaku lifted the teapot and poured Masashi a cup before filling his own.

"How was Setsuna?"

"Aki didn't show much in front of him, but when no one was around, she cried secretly. As for Setsuna..." Masashi sighed, "I think it's only a matter of days now."

"...Those two have always been like that." Fugaku let out a soft sigh.

"Actually, when you were little, the first one to recognize your potential was Setsuna."

"I know."

The two raised their cups and took a sip.

"Any changes with Madara?"

"Once Setsuna is gone, he'll definitely leave as well."

"That includes Black Zetsu?"

"Mm."

Fugaku refilled Masashi's cup, his brows furrowed tightly.

From Obito all the way to Madara now, the more he understood, the more dangerous it seemed.

Piecing together the scattered clues, he could clearly conclude that the Uchiha clan had walked to the very edge of the abyss.

Had Masashi not risen unexpectedly, things would never have ended well. And now, he could also conclude: the Nine-Tails incident was without a doubt a conspiracy aimed at the Uchiha, at least, that must have been one of its purposes.

The true mastermind, he feared, wasn't Obito at all, but Madara.

Obito was merely a high-level pawn, thinking he was making his own choices. But at that time, Madara should already have been dead.

That thought was terrifying.

"Could Setsuna... have known as well?" Fugaku suddenly asked.

"What?" Masashi didn't react immediately to the question, but soon caught on. "That shouldn't be the case, otherwise..."

Otherwise, it would be far too cruel.

The person he admired most in his life had, at one point, nearly destroyed the clan he cherished above all.

Still, since everyone's basic intelligence was shared, Setsuna might have had some suspicions. After all, as one of the elders deeply involved in clan decision-making, despite his obvious flaws in personality, his intelligence was never in question.

Masashi recalled all the moments he'd seen recently of Setsuna interacting with Madara.

It didn't seem that bad.

After all, Setsuna was never very good at hiding his true emotions from those he cared about.

"Let's not speak of this," Fugaku said. He didn't want the suspicion to be true.

Otherwise, Setsuna's life would have been unbearably tragic.

"Then let's make another assumption. Suppose Madara's original goal hasn't changed, after Setsuna passes, what actions will he take?"

"He should leave directly," Masashi replied. "Edo Tensei doesn't let him use his full strength. Staying in the village, he can't achieve his goals. But if he leaves, no one can stop him."

"Where do you think he'll go?"

"He'll definitely go to find Nagato. As long as Nagato uses the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, Madara can be resurrected."

In each other's eyes, Masashi and Fugaku saw something familiar.

Killing intent.

Nagato was innocent, yet the current Nagato had also caused many innocent deaths.

To protect Ame, to protect the Land of Rain, he had no choice but to sacrifice the happiness of people from other nations.

The Land of Rain's dream of becoming a great power was the most costly dream in the entire shinobi world.

"Looks like we're thinking the same thing," Fugaku said, raising his teacup. "The war has just ended. Mobilizing a large force is out of the question, we'll need an elite squad for this."

"Got it." Masashi nodded. "Leave it to me. I'll strike first."

He didn't like killing. But for the sake of the children, he would, if he had no other choice, slaughter the Ame ninjas.

It was time for a full-powered Shinra Tensei.

"Strike first? Do you even realize your current position?" Fugaku snapped. "The moment you set foot outside, the entire shinobi world will know. This needs long-term planning."

Long-term planning, my ass. His old illness must be flaring up again.

By the time they finished "planning," Nagato would probably already be molded into Madara's perfect pawn.

Exposing his movements was nothing. In Konoha's current state, the entire shinobi world already treated them with caution. Whether they struck or not made little difference.

But Masashi didn't argue.

He was a man of action.

Fugaku knew from looking at him that he was definitely planning to act first and report later.

He could understand. He had children too.

But right now, there was something even more important than assassinating Nagato.

"Let's talk about business. You've always wanted the village to implement a retirement system, haven't you?" Fugaku asked. "Now there's an opportunity. Do you want it?"

Masashi's ears perked up immediately.

He really was sick of meetings. In his life as Muzo, he'd attended more meetings than in his original life.

"Of course! I must! This is something that benefits everyone, I can't shirk it." Masashi put on a very solemn expression. "Tell me how."

"But this time, you have to conduct a proper meeting. No pre-meeting backdoor deals," Fugaku warned right away. "Your position is completely different now. Anything you do in public is directly tied to the village. If you want to convince people, do it with your proposal."

"That's easy. And don't slander me, I've never done pre-meeting lobbying," Masashi declared righteously.

A humane retirement system would surely win the support of the people of Konoha.

The very fact that this world lacked a proper retirement system was absurd.

It was about time.

The two chatted a bit longer.

---

After learning from Fugaku the exact time of the Hokage Council, Masashi was unceremoniously shooed out and told to go home and prepare his documents.

He didn't return to Setsuna's house yet, it was still early.

Instead, he went back home and dug out his old draft.

Looking at it now, the draft was indeed flawed.

Not only on income issues.

The eligibility requirements for internal retirement were also set far too low.

But before revising the document, he decided to consult on another matter first.

Sitting in his room, he assumed a standard meditation posture, entering his mindscape.

At first glance, his mindscape looked like some kind of bar, an Ōtsutsuki could drop by for a drink, but in truth, he was the one actively linking to others' spirits.

The only one who had truly entered his mindscape was Kaguya.

Hagoromo could only join via the tailed beast chat group he had set up through curse seal techniques.

Even so, he kept his "core" well protected, even from Kaguya. That had become a kind of mutual understanding between them.

In this sense, she was more principled than her son.

Whether she was a boss or not, she at least had standards, and he couldn't just disregard that.

Masashi "knocked" first.

Soon, Kaguya's response came, opening the "door" for him.

He stepped inside.

The room looked strikingly modern, very much like his old theater from Earth that he'd once spent a fortune to build.

Kaguya was lying lazily on a recliner, with a fruit plate beside her.

She gave Masashi one glance, then went back to watching the enormous screen that covered an entire wall.

"You said it was urgent, but you don't look urgent at all..." Masashi muttered.

She had been the one demanding he come quickly. And now she couldn't even be bothered to move.

"I do not fuss or panic," Kaguya turned her head slightly. "I am the progenitor of chakra. There is nothing in this world that could shake me."

Unshakable indeed. Because once she moved, everything shook.

"If you don't actually have anything pressing, I do have a question for you," Masashi said, sitting down nearby. "If someone's body is failing and they want to extend their life, is there any way?"

"Extend life?" Kaguya picked up the remote, paused her show, and replied, "That's simple. Gather the tailed beasts again, resurrect me, and once I cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi on him, he'll live forever."

Who wants that kind of immortality!

"No, I mean a normal way..."

"There is none. Just wait for death." Kaguya's expression soured immediately. The Infinite Tsukuyomi was her proudest creation, she could not accept anyone dismissing it.