HSU: Ch. 313

"Is this woman really okay...?"

On the Hokage Rock, Masashi, who had turned off his mic, couldn't help but wonder.

He had always taken great care to protect his mindscape. After becoming aware of Kaguya's presence, he further reinforced it. Now, he could selectively open or close parts of his mind even in her presence.

It wasn't brute force, because no matter how strong he was, he couldn't overpower her. Instead, he relied on a mindset fundamentally different from the typical thinking in the shinobi world.

Genjutsu was a technical art. In terms of resisting genjutsu, the general approach in this world was: "I just won't accept your illusion."

If you fell into it, then you relied on brute willpower. If that failed, you hoped your teammates could bail you out.

But not every teammate was someone like Ōnoki. More often, they were like Mizuki.

That wasn't great.

Chakra, that all-purpose energy, had a feature: it could be digitized. Ninjas didn't really understand this concept, but it was second nature for the Ōtsutsuki.

However, the Ōtsutsuki clearly weren't computer users. Their idea of "digitization" was more like a massive, messy data dump.

Standing on the shoulders of giants, Masashi successfully constructed his own mindscape.

To use a simple analogy: it was like partitioning a hard drive.

That way, his "system" wouldn't easily crash.

As long as nobody accessed his "system partition," no one could force him into genjutsu.

That was how he sparred with Shisui back in the day.

But compared to Kaguya, Shisui was a genin.

Fortunately, she turned out to be more reasonable than he expected. He managed to temporarily appease her with some lighthearted entertainment.

But he wasn't letting his guard down. This woman was a dangerous figure who had been playing The Matrix centuries before it existed.

As for the Matrix trilogy and its related media, he had firmly hidden them away. That kind of content must never be seen by someone like her.

As for why he told her about the Pure Land and Hagoromo, it was simple.

Hagoromo might be a good person, but not necessarily his good person.

He wouldn't sacrifice his own loved ones for the sake of strangers. If protecting those close to him meant the rest of the world had to die, he would still choose to protect his own.

His heart was too small, only enough room for a few people.

So, sorry, Hagoromo!

Besides, his intel was no better than his mother's.

At least she knew what the Infinite Tsukuyomi was. Hagoromo couldn't even make sense of the Pure Land.

And when it came to Kaguya, all he had was her own narrative. He'd rather trust his own eyes and ears. The Kaguya he was dealing with now looked nothing like the one in the manga.

In the manga, she appeared as an enemy. They met, they fought, there wasn't much else to it. But the Kaguya he knew, while she openly expressed how much she enjoyed "stringing people up," didn't seem like the type to randomly lash out at everyone. Based on his probes, she was someone he could actually communicate with.

So he had no reason to take sides from the beginning.

Besides, a mother and son should really have a proper talk. He was just being considerate.

After running through everything in his mind and making sure he hadn't missed anything, Masashi resumed analyzing, and molding his new chakra.

Time passed, and as the sun began to set, he finally stood up from the Hokage Rock.

Then he used the Flying Thunder God Technique.

The only downside of mastering Flying Thunder God was that it made people lazy.

But currently, of the two living users of the Flying Thunder God in Konoha, one was Masashi, and he had two wives. The other was Minato, whose wife was worth two people. With such capable wives, that shortcoming was perfectly covered.

He teleported directly into the living room and happened to bump into Pakura, who had just returned from grocery shopping. Yosuke, was helpfully carrying the basket for his mom.

Masashi was very pleased that Yosuke was such a good boy. He gave his wife a kiss, hugged his son, and casually asked how his son's preschool progress was going.

Turns out Madara was really training the boy. Masashi didn't know what Madara was up to, but with such a top-tier teacher, he wasn't about to waste the opportunity.

Back when he wanted that kind of instruction, he didn't get it. Now his son was getting it, it was like fulfilling a dream through the next generation.

From Yosuke, he found out that Madara's training methods were quite similar to how he trained in his childhood in this life, starting with developing physical energy.

Madara had brute-forced his way all the way to Yin-Yang Release.

His physical energy development method was probably the most solid of this era.

It seemed Madara was putting real effort into teaching Yosuke.

"Make sure you listen to him. You can't slack off in your training," Masashi reminded.

He trusted Yosuke, but still felt it had to be said.

Yosuke nodded seriously and promised he never slacked off.

After the reminders, Masashi chatted with Pakura about recent developments and his own deductions.

The Mangekyō Sharingan was important, but it might turn out to be a distraction. Eventually, that eye would return to the Uchiha clan anyway, Kakashi had promised to return it after his death.

It might take a while, but that time frame was acceptable for the Uchiha. Ninja clans usually had a long-term view of time.

Unlike Hikari, Pakura was a seasoned veteran. When it came to political intrigue in Konoha, she was the only one at home Masashi could talk to.

As a former Suna kunoichi, Pakura also had her own unique perspective on Konoha's internal power struggles.

"If we let Itachi take over, it should be relatively stable. He's practically Shisui's true successor. He just lacks a Mangekyō," Pakura said. "He's probably the only person both sides can accept. The only concern is if he loses control."

"We'll keep an eye on that," Masashi replied.

Anyone who understood knew what "losing control" meant. But really, it wasn't so much losing control, it was just Itachi's spontaneous brilliance.

This was a guy whose take on the Will of Fire made even the Will of Fire nervous. Though his direction had mostly turned around now, his version of that philosophy had grown even more... magical.

What others saw as instability, he didn't even consider a problem.

"I'm going back to my room to prepare. I won't be home for dinner, I've arranged a meeting with the clan leader and some relevant people tonight," Masashi said.

"Alright, go ahead. I've got things covered at home," Pakura nodded, then added, "But you all should be careful. Madara might show up to watch the meeting."

"He said that?"

"He told Yosuke he wanted to see the Uchiha clan's current level," Pakura still found this whole thing rather surreal, Madara's attitude toward Yosuke was just... bizarre.

"Fine, though I doubt that's really what he wants to see..." Masashi rubbed his forehead. If that old man decided to improvise during the meeting, things were going to get very lively.

But nobody could stop Madara.

After chatting a bit more, he went back to his room.

He first opened the "file" sent by Kaguya.

And what he saw stunned him.

It was actually the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack!

After examining it carefully, he finally let out a breath of relief. Of course, it wasn't that good to be true, it was a degraded version.

The true Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack required the level of Byakugan wielded by Kaguya herself. Even if an Uchiha awakened the Rinnegan, they wouldn't have the same level of insight.

Molding chakra to the extreme was one part. But perfect control, micro-adjustments in real time, those required the terrifying clarity of the Byakugan.

What Kaguya gave was just the most basic method for chakra optimization.

With this method, even though Masashi couldn't use the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, he could still unleash the same peak-level output that Hashirama once had.

In life, Hashirama and the revived Madara from the original timeline were the strongest below the Sage of Six Paths level.

To be fair, even Sasuke and Naruto couldn't actually defeat either of those two before they reached the Six Paths level.

They couldn't even beat the Edo Tensei versions.

However, after Masashi mastered this, he was now one step closer.

Kaguya... was definitely way more generous than Hagoromo.

"Thanks," he sincerely sent her a message of gratitude.

---

Meanwhile, in the mindscape, not only was Kaguya lying on a bed, she had also conjured up a bag of potato chips.

They were flavorless, since she had never actually eaten them, but based on Masashi's memories, she thought they seemed really satisfying to crunch on.

Hearing Masashi take the initiative to connect mentally, she raised an eyebrow.

That thank-you message was kind of basic. She felt it was a little lacking in sincerity. But since this was the first time, she reluctantly accepted it.

At least he was true to his word, he followed up after finishing his business, which counted as timely feedback.

Her response was haughty. "I got it. Don't bother me with trivial matters."

Mainly because she was watching a very interesting film at the moment and hated being interrupted.

In that world, people also ate fruit, but in her view, it didn't compare to the chakra fruits cultivated by the Ōtsutsuki clan.

Still, the people themselves were quite interesting.

Much more so than the people of this world.

Although that group called the "Celestial Dragons" was really getting on her nerves, she was tempted to hit them with an Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack.

Sure, she strung people up on trees, but she also gave them the best dreams while they were there. After all, as someone who considered herself truly noble, exploiting the lower class didn't give her any sense of accomplishment. Showing mercy, on the other hand, was a nice way to pass the time.

The world back then was primitive and boring, after all. Thus, the legend of the Rabbit Goddess was born.

---

Back in the real world, Masashi listened to Kaguya's response and felt utterly speechless.

If I don't say anything, you complain.

If I do say something, you still complain.

Women!

Then he pulled out his notebook and jotted down another line: "When Kaguya sends a gift, make sure to respond with thanks. Late replies don't count."

He didn't know if this was her original personality, but from his point of view, she was definitely becoming more... human.

After finishing the note, he tucked the notebook back into his inner pocket.

It already had several pages filled with notes on how to properly communicate with her.

What a pain... he hadn't taken little notes like this in years.

Notebook packed away, he patted his chest and looked up at the sky. It was about time. He teleported again using the Flying Thunder God to the commercial district.

Konoha's nightlife had officially begun.

The commercial street was brightly lit. The northern commercial district was the first area to resume operation, it was Konoha's main tax base and home to its most upscale consumer spots.

For example, the restaurant where the Uchiha clan had reserved a private room had connections to the Sarutobi clan, it was the highest-end establishment under their name.

But the development loan had been handled with a discount through the Uchiha clan. So Masashi could enjoy premium in-house wine typically reserved for the Sarutobi's exclusive VIPs.

As the initiator of the gathering, he arrived first.

He didn't have to wait long before the Namikaze couple arrived.

Kushina looked absolutely radiant today.

Minato, on the other hand, looked like he hadn't had enough sleep.

Definitely the result of too many meetings.

Right after the couple arrived, in came Fugaku and his son.

"Hokage-sama, Masashi-nii," Itachi greeted them, addressing those he thought most important first.

Though he hadn't awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan yet, his skills were still solid. As Masashi began to resolve his own internal issues, he had started to formally mentor Itachi.

Their teacher-student relationship was now official.

Masashi smiled and returned the greeting, while Kushina took a serious look at Itachi.

The fact that Itachi was attending this dinner meant he would be representing the Uchiha clan in the upcoming battle, they didn't expect Kakashi to agree to the Uchiha's proposal.

The current Itachi looked like a polite young man. But Kushina had heard of his reputation as a fanatical devotee of the Will of Fire.

Famous for leaving no corpses behind when he worked.

Strikingly similar to a young Masashi.

Observing him up close now, Kushina could only think: You really can't judge someone by appearance.

Look at this boy, delicate features, quiet demeanor, who'd guess he was a total menace out in the field?

Footsteps echoed from outside again. Before the door even opened, Guy's signature laughter was already flooding the room.

When the door swung open, Guy was chatting and laughing with Shisui, with a cool-faced Kakashi following behind.

Kakashi immediately spotted Itachi.

Even through the mask, everyone could sense his brief moment of hesitation.

"Kakashi-senpai," Itachi greeted calmly and politely. "You look very well."

Wow, you're polite, Kakashi thought.

He was wary of Itachi, maybe even a little afraid, but only under the premise that they were comrades.

As a genius himself, he had no lack of confidence in his abilities. He didn't think he was any weaker than Itachi.

Being a jonin meant they were both elite among elites.

And Kakashi was one of the absolute best among the top-tier jonin.

He had almost perfectly inherited his father's talent, and he was a tactical fighter, just like Itachi.

In his heart, he really wanted to know which of them was stronger.

"Don't just stand there, take a seat," Fugaku interrupted their silent stare-down.

These two kids looked like they were at a farewell dinner.