Chapter 281: Gaining Knowledge
The coincidentally arriving system prompt made Masahiko suspect for a moment that Orochimaru had discovered the existence of the system in his blood, but he immediately denied this point.
"Impossible. A thing like the system has already surpassed science, and it is not metaphysics either; it is probably theology."
Masahiko had never thought of exploring the origin of the system. In his eyes, this belonged to "God's power," and it was enough that he could use it. Moreover, the system was not sentient, which made him feel even more at ease.
"If it is not the system... then what is the power of destiny?" Masahiko was slightly distressed.
Opening his sensory abilities to the maximum, Masahiko still did not detect Orochimaru's chakra.
"He got away. Leaving after only saying half a sentence, you intentionally made your Old Ancestor uncomfortable, didn't you? Do not let me see you next time." Masahiko let out a long sigh. "If only the Fat Cat were here, its nose is so sharp..."
Thinking of this, Masahiko's expression froze. "I have already thrown the Fat Cat to Tenten for several hours. It won't cause any trouble, will it..."
"It shouldn't. Tenten seems to like cats quite a bit. Let me check Orochimaru's laboratory first; maybe I will find something."
Tenten's house.
The Fat Cat sat steadily on a dining table.
A delicate and pretty woman, her head covered in sweat, brought over a plate of fish from time to time, which was then swallowed by the Fat Cat in one bite.
On the other side, a burly man was rubbing Tenten's small head. "Tenten, where did you pick up such a cat?"
Tenten's face was full of grievance, and her voice carried a crying tone. "Right at the door of our shop, abandoned by a red-haired uncle."
The burly man pondered for a moment. "It is fine, maybe it is a good thing. This might be a legendary summoning beast. If you can contract it... but it is a bit too capable of eating."
The burly man looked at his wife, whose head was covered in sweat, and felt a bit distressed for her.
Tears welled up in Tenten's eyes. "If it doesn't get full and eats us too, what should we do? Father, let's go find the ninja lords."
"Meow~ This cat does not eat human flesh."
"Eh? It can talk?!"
The next day, Masahiko finally walked out of Orochimaru's underground laboratory.
After rummaging through it all night without sleep, Masahiko's face was glowing with health.
The laboratory had been abandoned a long time ago. Masahiko's only harvest was a document, a document he needed very much.
In the document, it explained in detail how to use cells extracted from elderly people to Reanimate them into their youthful appearances using Edo Tensei. This would be very helpful for Masahiko when he resurrected Hashirama and the others in the future.
If this measure was not taken, they would only be able to live for another ten or twenty years after being resurrected. Let alone Mito and Nanako, who died naturally of "old age," they would probably die again the day after being resurrected.
"Did Orochimaru purposely leave this for me?"
Masahiko looked at the newly risen sun, feeling satisfied in his heart.
"This guy at least knows to show filial piety to his Old Ancestor. Whatever that damned power of destiny is, I won't pursue it... No, I still have to pursue it. Otherwise, it will be too uncomfortable."
"Showing filial piety to his Old Ancestor is what he should do anyway." Muttering this sentence, Masahiko's figure vanished from the spot.
Ten minutes later, Masahiko appeared in Konoha Village again.
Near the 'Ninja Tool Legend Shop', Masahiko felt a slight headache. He did not sense the Fat Cat's chakra.
"Did it go to Tenten's house, or... was it taken to the Konoha Academy? Or perhaps, it ran out to wander around on its own."
"I should form a summoning contract. I didn't think of it before, but now I do not even have a summoning beast. It does not quite fit my status."
"Speaking of which, wouldn't summoning a Fat Cat lower my prestige?"
Thinking about these messy things, Masahiko arrived at the Hokage Building.
"Elder Masahiko, you have returned!"
Sakumo appeared beside Masahiko; he had been waiting for a long time.
"Mm, I will go up now."
In the Hokage's office, besides Hiruzen, Jiraiya was also there.
As soon as he saw Masahiko, Jiraiya spoke nervously, "Senior, did you find Orochimaru?"
"I found him." Masahiko nodded. Just as Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief, he continued, "Unfortunately, he got away."
Jiraiya's expression froze on his face. "Orochimaru could run away from right in front of your eyes?"
"What, you and Hiruzen combined couldn't beat Orochimaru. Is it weird that he ran away from me?"
Jiraiya opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
Masahiko looked at Hiruzen, who had been silent since he entered the room. "How about it? After so much time, have you thought about what kind of explanation to give me?"
Hiruzen smiled bitterly. "Which version of the story do you know?"
Masahiko pulled out a chair and sat down. "I heard you guys didn't let Minato and Kushina rescue the Land of Whirlpools, forcing Minato to resign from the Hokage position..."
"It was not like that." Hiruzen hurriedly interrupted.
"Minato resigned from the Hokage position on his own initiative."
Masahiko was startled and waited for Hiruzen's explanation.
Hiruzen coughed lightly twice. "At that time, when the Land of Whirlpools was attacked, the entire ninja world was paying attention. They were paying attention to whether the news of your death was accurate and whether our Konoha would send reinforcements."
"When the Cloud Village mobilized their ninja troops and marched toward the border of the Land of Whirlpools, the Rock Village and Sand Village simultaneously entered a state of combat readiness. They were waiting for Konoha to extend a helping hand, which would decrease our combat power, so they could take the opportunity to attack the Land of Fire."
"As the Hokage, Minato naturally knew this point, but the Land of Whirlpools couldn't be left unrescued..."
"At that time, he found me and said to me: because of his decision, Konoha would lose its immediate peace and fall into the flames of war again, so he wanted to proactively resign from the Hokage position."
Masahiko frowned. "There is no problem with Minato's decision. If he didn't go to support them, after the Land of Whirlpools fell, Konoha would face a siege from four countries. Why did he have to resign as Hokage?"
Hiruzen sighed. "Elder Masahiko, the current Land of Whirlpools should be able to simultaneously resist the attacks of two countries, it is just that the losses would be relatively heavy."
"And as the Hokage, the best choice should have been... to wait for a variable!"
"You actually spoke the truth. If it were you, you would have made that choice, right?" Masahiko said with a frown.
Hiruzen smiled bitterly and did not answer directly. "Protecting Konoha Village is the Hokage's most important responsibility!"
"Old man..." Jiraiya, who had been immersed in the blow of Orochimaru's defection, looked up with a complex expression.
"Then what happened after that? After the crisis in the Land of Whirlpools was resolved, what happened to make Kushina disagree with Minato returning?"
Hiruzen sighed. "This matter has to start with their child, Naruto Uzumaki."
"Wait, wait, Naruto Uzumaki. Why isn't it Naruto Namikaze?" Masahiko interrupted in surprise.
Hiruzen was stunned and exchanged a glance with Jiraiya. Jiraiya spoke softly, "Elder Masahiko, my surname is not Ji..."
"I know your surname is not... Hmm?"
"Minato is a commoner, and an orphan at that. Where would he get a surname? His name is just Namikaze Minato; it is not a surname Namikaze and a given name Minato."
Masahiko was dumbfounded.
"This really broadened my horizons..."
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