As Masashi exited the Hokage Building, only Hikari and Haku remained by his side.

  Everythied to Yagura from Kiri would be arranged by Fugaku, who would apany them throughout.

  If anyone wao ask about the ret events in Kiri...

  Holy, it was Shisui who was the official envoy; any inquiries should go to him. Masashi was off the clock.

  Before leaving, he would first settle Hikari and Haku.

  Minato was a straightforward man. With a broad gesture in the Hokage's office, he told Masashi to hahings as he saw fit, whatever was ve.

  Sihat was the case, he decided not to hold back.

  Haku rodigy, and prodigies o be nurtured under close supervision.

  Although he hadn't mao recruit Kimimaro this time, it didn't matter. Every success ted. Colleg talented individuals required patienot haste.

  First, he would arrange aodations for the siblings, the a grand gift to the head, and finally have a celebratory drink with Tetsuka and the others.

  That was his perfe for the day.

  "I'll take you to meet a kind old grandpa," Masashi said to the siblings, keeping his voice gentle.

  Hikari and Haku, unfamiliar with their surroundings, still seemed a little dazed. Just moments ago, in front of Minato, both had been too nervous to evehe properly. Haku had kept gng at the floor, while Hikari's shoulders had remaiiff throughout the meeting.

  Although Minato roachable and cheerful with the vilgers in the vilge, outside the vilge, his niame, "Yellow Fsh," was earhrough tless battles.

  It represented a reputation fed in blood.

  Thus, despite his warm demeanor, they remaiense. Haku's nervousness stemmed from following Hikari's cues, but Hikari was genuinely afraid.

  The only Konoha ninja she wasn't scared of now was Masashi. Her feelings toward him were purely of gratitude.

  "Here, hold my hand," Masashi said, extending his hands to them.

  Hikari grasped it without hesitation.

  Seeing his sister's response, Haku also reached out and held Masashi's other hand.

  The se around them blurred, and the street vanished, repced by a house. Traditional Uchiha architecture stood before them, modest yet dignified.

  Realizing they had arrived somewhere else, Masashi let go of their hands and stepped forward to kno the door.

  This was the home of Setsuna.

  Since Fugaku would undoubtedly return home te tonight, arras for aodations had to gh Setsuna.

  Teically, with Masashi's current status within the Uchiha , he could have made the arras himself, but he preferred not to bypass protocol in matters involving operations.

  After knog, footsteps were soon heard from within.

  "Who is it?" The door opened, asuna appeared.

  Despite his status as an elder, he lived simply. His household sisted of his wife; his daughter had already married a.

  Physically fit and indepe, he had never employed any servants.

  "Oh, it's you, kid," Setsuna greeted loudly. "WIFE! Make some tea; we have guests!"

  "You old coot, always shouting. I'm not deaf, you know," an older woman grumbled as she appeared, breaking into a smile when she saw Masashi. "If it isn't little Masashi! What brings you here today?"

  "You're as eic as ever," Masashi replied with a grin. "I'm here to report to Setsuna-sama."

  "Sama? My foot. Just an old man," she teased.

  "What's wrong with calling me 'sama'? I am an elder," Setsuna huffed before turning to Hikari and Haku, who quickly bowed nervously.

  Reizing their bow as a traditional Kiri courtesy, Setsuna raised an eyebrow. "Our ways are different from Kiri's, but kindness speaks all nguages," he mused, studying the siblings.

  "First it was Suna, and now it's Kiri?" he remarked, eyeing Masashi. "I know what you're up to."

  "Fugaku-sama is too busy," Masashi said with a sheepish ugh. And you're more ameo my requests, old man.

  "Fine. You young folks handle your business. e in, all of you."

  "Setsuna-sama, Haku is a boy," Masashi crified, notisuna's fused g the child.

  "What? Well, Tetsuka's still ugly…"

  What does Tetsuka's looks have to do with this? Is this still about that time he actally ruihe flowers you were growing?

  Still holding grudges, eh? pared to this old man, Fugaku seems so magnanimous.

  Still, Tetsuka was a good friend. Every time Masashi funted Fugaku's calligraphy, Tetsuka ughed the loudest and even showed it to others. When caught by Fugaku, he never betrayed Masashi, even taking the bme himself.

  That was brotherhood.

  Bringing Hikari and Haku into Setsuna's home, sipping tea brewed by the kind old dy, Masashi felt that nowhere pared to Konoha. The familiar st of green tea filled the room as they sat around the low table, the siblings gradually rexing in the warm atmosphere.

  Outside, he was a ninja. Here, he was just a kid.

  "The market district has ged quite a bit," Setsuna's wife said, refilling Haku's tea cup. "You'll find everything you here. The fish seller, old Tanaka, he gets fresh catch from the Land of Waves every m."

  Hikari perked up slightly at the mention of the try. "We passed through Wave on our way here."

  "Did you now?" Setsuna leaned forward, his stern expression softening. "Good people there. They've been trading with us sihe First Hokage's time." He g Masashi. "Speaking of old ties, I suppose you'll need proper aodations for these two?"

  "If it's not too much trouble, Setsuna-sama."

  "Trouble?" Setsuna snorted. "The empty house o Fugaku's has been gathering dust. Might as well put it to use." He pulled out a scroll and brush. "Besides, 't have him saying I'm not doing my part for the 's future."

  "The garden there is quite nice," Setsuna's wife added, smiling at Hikari. "I'm sure you'll make good use of it."

  Haku, who had been quietly sipping his tea with perfect manners, looked up with i at the mention of a garden.

  "They're adaptio our s," Masashi noted, watg Haku carefully handle his tea cup.

  "Just like you did with the Suna refugee," Setsuna replied with a knowing look as he finished writing the he location will help them ie faster." He hahe paper to Masashi. "Here. This should give you everything you need."

  Masashi accepted the key to the new home with fttery that had the old couple beaming. Theook Hikari and Haku to iheir new living quarters.

  A team of speople had already arrived to , arrange furniture, and ahe pce.

  By evening, Hikari and Haku could move in, without lifting a finger.

  The luxurious treatmehe siblings uneasy.

  Hikari found herself at a loss for what to do with her hands.

  The Uchiha was nothing like she had imagined. Everything about them trasted sharply with Kiri.

  In Kiri, the Uchiha were seen as powerful, aloof, and cold—a famed for their Sharingan and unparalleled abilities in battle, described as elega merciless.

  When she had beeo serve the White Ghost, she had assumed Masashi fit this description. She couldn't have been more wrong. Initially, she thought he was an exception.

  But even an elder of the treated her and Haku warmly.

  After today's experie seemed the entire Uchiha wasn't so different.

  They were kind and approachable.

  Feeling dazed, she followed Masashi into the house as he expihe yout, where to shop, and the monthly living allowance.

  "Don't overthink it," he reassured her, notig her uhe allowance is provided by the vilge. You're both sidered valuable talents, so this is standard treatment."

  "But I haven't done anything…" Hikari said hesitantly, her fiwisting in her sleeve.

  "Life works that way sometimes," Masashi shrugged. "It's not about what you've done, but what your aors did. The Yuki deserves this reition."

  Seeing that Hikari was rexing, he nodded in satisfa.

  "Just focus on living well and raising Haku. In a couple of years, he'll be ready for the Ninja Academy."

  Haku tugged at Masashi's sleeve and asked seriously, "But my parents weren't ninjas."

  "That doesn't matter. My parents weren't ninjas either," Masashi said, croug down to tweak Haku's nose. "We all have hidden potential. Some tap into it, and some 't. Your parents may not have had the ce to try fully in Kiri."

  Haku seemed to grasp the idea somewhat and nodded.

  "Alright, get settled. Later, I'll take you both out for dinner and show you around the neighborhood." Masashi said.

  "Masashi-sama, where are you going?" Hikari asked instinctively, then immediately regretted it. Why had she questioned him?

  "Just call me Masashi," he said. "Fugaku-sama invited me over. I'll be right back."

  As he stepped out of his room, he immediately spotted the house of Fugaku door.

  He g the sky. The sun was shining brightly.

  Visiting Fugaku's house in broad daylight, instead of sneaking around at night, felt a bit unusual.

  But it didn't matter; after all, Fugaku wasn't home.

  Masashi couldn't quite recall when it all started, but he had developed a peculiar habit of finding Fugaku's prized calligraphy pieces—hidden like treasures—and hiding them elsewhere.

  Things only got plicated ter whesuka became an unpnned partit, causing some of Fugaku's calligraphy works to scatter throughout the vilge. The chaos had an ued be—it added another yer to their training.

  It wasn't iional. Masashi usually joked about it casually.

  Holy, Tetsuka didn't get wrongly accused when he was scolded; he was always the one caught i, and he really did lose the calligraphy pieces.

  Every single piece that went missing had passed through Tetsuka's hands.

  Standing at Fugaku's door, Masashi knocked.

  After knog for a while, no one answered.

  "No one's home…" Masashi sighed. "Mikoto sure knows us well." She's probably tired of finding calligraphy in strange pces.

  With that, he casually climbed over the wall aered.

  Not a soul in sight.

  Sihat was the case, the game was on.

  The first stop was the study. This was Fugaku's favorite pce, where he spent most of his time and handled some -reted dots. It required a careful search.

  Entering the study, he activated his Sharingan and sed the room meticulously, not sparing a siami mat.

  He didn't find any calligraphy pieces but did discover a new hidden partment. Unfortunately, it was empty.

  Noted for ime, he thought, resuming his Sharingan-powered "search."

  This had bee an unspoken game between him and Fugaku sihey became familiar with each other. What started as a simple challenge had evolved into a plex training exercise for both of them.

  Whenever Masashi searched for the calligraphy, he would only use his Sharingan. If he couldn't find anything without toug, it meant he lost.

  Oher hand, Fugaku would only hide his calligraphy in shared spaces like the tea room, study, living room, or training room. Hiding them in private areas would t as his loss.

  One practiced using the Sharingan, and the other perfected the art of hiding. So far, Masashi was the ued champion.

  It was far more effective than regur training—it honed both the eyes and the mind.

  The only downside was Fugaku's calligraphy skills seemed to be locked at their current level. Despite all these years, there had been no improvement in his artistry, only in his hiding teiques. Masashi eve anxious on his behalf.

  Was this what they called developing the wrong skill set?

  A little secret Fugaku didn't know—Tetsuka also practiced calligraphy and was actually better than him!

  Otherwise, why would he always ugh so heartily every time? He genuinely uood calligraphy!

  Masashi had only discovered this secret st year and was utterly shocked.

  With the thought, "This might actually be challenging today," Masashi tinued expl.

  Fugaku's house was truly rge; otherwise, this game wouldn't have sted for years without a ge of venue.

  Before he k, Masashi realized it was almost five iernoon.

  Had he been searg this long? Aill hadn't found it?

  Impossible! This wasn't like Fugaku at all!

  As daylight began to fade, Masashi, though relut, had to face the truth.

  He had lost today. Not only lost—he had even run out of time.

  Admitti, he returo the courtyard.

  As expected, Fugaku was already there, leisurely sipping tea.

  Seeing Masashi step out, Fugaku's face lit up with a slightly smug smile. The victory clearly pleased him.

  "Fugaku-sama, where's Mikoto?"

  "She's at the Namikaze household. They're eating there tonight," Fugaku replied, gng at Masashi. "Went to Kiri and your skills deteriorated this much?"

  Wow. One win, and he's already showing off?

  Masashi now uood where Sasuke's "I think I'm good again" personality in the inal timeline came from.

  "What are you talking about? I just saw your house empty during the day and worried about spies sneaking in, so I came to i."

  "A loss is a loss. Nothing shameful about it," Fugaku said, finding the tea particurly delightful.

  He put doweacup and stood up, his expression shifting to something more serious.

  "e with me. I o ask you something."

  "Alright."

  Following Fugaku into the study, Masashi watched as he stopped in front of a ndscape painting on the wall.

  The expression on Fugaku's face was filled with emotion.

  Masashi took a gnce.

  It wasn't anything special, just a cheap piece of decor. What was there to be emotional about?

  The moment, his jaw dropped.

  Fugaku touched the painting, and with a "whoosh," a pile of scrolls spilled out.

  Time-spainjutsu?

  That couldn't be right. Masashi had sed the area with his Sharingan earlier; there were no traces of time-space teiques.

  Then it dawned on him.

  Turning to Fugaku, he saw the leader's eyes transform into the Mangekyō Sharingan, with its distinct pattern beyond the three tomoe.

  Masashi stared in disbelief.

  Was this necessary? Was it really necessary to go this far!?

  "Eternal Boundless," Fugaku said. "That's what I . What do you think of this teique?"

  "Fantastic!" Masashi gave a thumbs-up. "Isn't this a bit overkill?"

  "What do you think?" Fugaku's expression darkened. "Finding them is ohing, but why show them to that fool Tetsuka?"

  "That was just a ce…"

  "And this was just a ce too," Fugaku said coolly. "By ce, I developed this dōjutsu and decided to put it to use."

  You're the leader. Whatever you say goes.

  "Use it sparingly, Fugaku-sama," Masashi advised, deg he'd have to take it easy in future games. Using Mangekyō Sharingan to hide calligraphy was simply too extreme. "Overuse could lead to blindness."

  "Don't worry. This level of usage won't cause perma damage." Fugaku nodded, feeling validated by Masashi's . "I know the Mangekyō better than you do."

  "Yes, yes, you're absolutely right." Masashi nodded like a peg chick. "Just try not to overdo it."

  "Hmm…" Fugaku didn't dwell oopic. He had more serious matters to discuss.

  "Today, I had a lengthy discussion with the Fourth Mizukage. Did you use Susanoo in Kiri?"

  Hearing this, Fugaku's expression grew serious. The atmosphere in the room shifted.

  "I did," Masashi admitted. There was no reason to hide it.

  "Still with three tomoe?"

  "Yes."

  Fugaku fell silent for a long time.

  He had to admit that Masashi's ability to use Susanoo had opened a new path of training for the Uchiha .

  Previously, the absenangekyō meant this path couldn't pare to traditional methods.

  But now that Susanoo had been unlocked, things were different.

  The greatest value of the Mangekyō Sharingan y in Susanoo.

  The Uchiha 's three legendary dōjutsu, also forbidden teiques, were Susanoo, Izanagi, and Izanami. Each with its own price to pay.

  "The faew challenges even though times are less dire than before. Your ability to use Susanoo is a blessing," Fugaku said, nodding. "After using it, did you experieny disfort in your eyes?"

  The Mangekyō Sharingan's overuse could lead to blindness—a basic principle every Uchiha aware of its existenderstood.

  But only those with signifit experienew that as long as one used only their unique Mangekyō teiques, blindness would take much longer.

  Rapid bliypically occurred from frequent use of Susanoo.

  The closer Susanoo came to its plete form, the faster the Mangekyō deteriorated.

  In short, Susanoo was the Mangekyō's ultimate strength—and its greatest curse.

  "I didn't feel anything unusual. Everything's fine," Masashi replied, especially pleased with this aspect.

  "Really?" Fugaku wasirely vinced.

  It wasn't about mistrusting Masashi but rather sidering that side effects might not ma immediately.

  Still, Fugaku thought it might be time to teach Masashi a certain teique.

  He was curious how far Masashi could go.

  "Are that pair of siblings settled in the house door?"

  "Yes, Fugaku-sama. The Yuki 's Ice Release is quite impressive. Be o them."

  "You don't o remind me. Go get them, a's have di Minato's house."

  "That's all you wao ask me?"

  "Of course not. Let's eat first. We'll talk afterward."