"I'm home, I'm home."
Haru hummed a little tune as he walked toward his house. Home would always be his harbor from the storm. A good man had to care for his family. In life, only career and family were truly real. Director Wen's words were truly wonderful.
The pile of problems in the Leaf had left Haru mentally exhausted, but the moment he saw his front door, much of the anxiety and restlessness in his heart faded.
Bang.
Haru opened the door. Kaede and Rin were sitting on the sofa as they usually did when Haru was home. The floor was spotless, and fresh fruit was placed on the tea table.
Mm. Good wives and good mothers.
"Haru, you're finally back!"
Bankichi had been lying on his back with all four paws in the air, eyes closed, enjoying Kaede's daily belly rubs. The moment he heard the door open, his eyes immediately opened and looked toward the entrance. Then he quickly got up and leaped lightly.
No, a fat cat pounced into Haru's arms.
"Bankichi, I feel like you've gotten fatter while I was away."
"No I haven't. That's your imagination!"
Haru felt Bankichi's weight. Ever since he became Hokage, he had never sent Bankichi out on missions again. Bankichi spent every day lying at home in the sun, eating, sleeping, sleeping, eating, repeating the cycle every day. Since Haru saw him every time he came home, he had not noticed that Bankichi had become this heavy.
Now that Haru had returned from a business trip, he noticed it immediately.
It felt like Bankichi was developing in Garfield's direction.
Well, forget it. He could afford to raise him.
"All right, all right. Kaede and Rin stay home with you every day."
Haru stroked Bankichi's tail. A cat's tail was always so smooth.
"Master, welcome home."
Kaede and Rin walked closer to Haru, one on each side, and pressed against his arms.
"Mm, I'm back."
Haru affectionately rubbed their heads. After being sweet for a while, the three of them went into the bathroom.
Then, into his room.
Even heroes struggled to pass the beauty trial. Today, it was one against two.
Haru fought a great battle in the room and stayed awake all night.
Madara likewise did not sleep that night.
Alone, he crouched on a street in the Leaf, tirelessly reading the new edition of Will of Fire written by Haru and Tobirama under the roadside lights.
The new edition of Will of Fire was the culmination of the essence of the red ideology, worldview, and methodology from Haru's previous life, revised and improved by the master of ruthless pragmatism, Tobirama, then localized for the ninja world.
From an angle Madara had never considered before, it analyzed the origin of the ninja world's tragedies.
Low productive forces, a distorted political structure, the meaning of ninja existence. These ideas deeply impacted Madara's knowledge-starved mind.
Learning without thinking leads to confusion; thinking without learning leads to danger.
If one thought too much but read too little, it was easy to go to extremes. This was a common illness of the entire ninja world. After all, chopping people up did not require much reading. The Uchiha were especially outstanding when it came to going to extremes. For example, Madara and Itachi.
"Why must feudal lords stand above everyone?"
"Why must ninja become tools, carry out missions issued by nobles, and rely on payment to survive? Can they not live another way?"
"If productive forces really developed to the extreme..."
A world with highly developed productive forces, where ninja received good education, no longer clung to commissioned missions for a living, and engaged in productive work like ordinary people. A world where the ninja world developed to the point of distribution according to need, where everyone could obtain the material and spiritual life they wanted.
Would such a world become extremely fulfilled?
Could such a world truly appear?
Would a ninja world like that still be filled with constant war like it was now?
As Madara read the new edition of Will of Fire, his thoughts followed Haru's ideas step by step. Before he realized it, time had quietly passed.
The sky was already beginning to brighten. The sun had revealed its first edge, but Madara had not noticed at all. He was still crouched in the corner, eyes fixed on the words in the book.
"Sir, sir, do you want breakfast?"
"How pitiful. Homeless, huh? I have rice balls here. They're still warm. I can give you two for free."
The peddlers walking through the streets and alleys had gotten up early to prepare for the day. Early in the morning, one of them saw Madara, with half-white hair and one gray-white eye that was clearly blind. He was also holding the Hokage's book in his hands.
He was probably a refugee who had come to the Leaf.
How pitiful.
If one could help, then one should help. The Leaf valued kindness and righteousness.
"Hm? Rice balls... Thank you."
Madara looked at the rice balls in his hand, then looked at the peddler who had already walked away. Only then did he realize that morning had already arrived. He had actually spent the entire night reading.
When was the last time he had immersed himself in reading like this?
He could not remember.
"This book is somewhat interesting. Was it truly written by that junior Haru?"
For a moment, Madara felt as if a lifetime had passed. His thoughts had broadened greatly. Things he had not understood before suddenly had a thread to follow, giving him a feeling of sudden clarity.
So this world could be viewed like this.
Develop productive forces. Develop education. Change production relations. Overthrow the mountains pressing down on ordinary people and ninja. End the source of tragedy. Material scarcity. A completely new road.
Infinite Moon Reading.
Madara felt his head hurt a little.
Confusion.
It should be because he had stayed up all night. In the end, he was already somewhat old.
"Now this is difficult. My heart has actually wavered slightly."
Madara bit into the steaming rice ball and breathed in the fresh air of the Leaf. The street before him gradually grew lively, little by little filling the emptiness in Madara's heart.
When a person stayed alone in a dark underground cave, lost in wild thoughts and reminiscing about the past, they would definitely become gloomy.
"I originally planned to find flaws in Haru's logic, crush his heart, and let him clearly recognize the darkness of the ninja world. But the worldview, methodology, and future path of the Leaf mentioned in this book are truly flawless."
"Even I have become curious about such a future."
Madara was no fool. He could see the heaven-and-earth changes in the Leaf. According to the intelligence he had gathered, Haru had only been Hokage for one year, yet he had developed the Leaf to this extent. If he were given ten years, twenty years...
Could humans really end wars of mutual slaughter through highly developed productive forces, good education, and a complete system?
For a moment, Madara felt that even his invincible Mangekyo Sharingan could not see such a distant future.
Hashirama's broken and tattered theory, along with his compromising attitude, could be seen through to the end at a glance.
"If I had seen this book ten years ago, I likely would not have left the Leaf. This path is indeed worth walking and trying. But now I..."
Madara's heart was complicated. He had sacrificed too much for the Eye of the Moon Plan. He had abandoned the childish and laughable beliefs of his youth. Those were not worth worrying about.
But his own clan...
His Hashirama...
He had abandoned them all.
The sunk cost was too high. Madara truly could not accept that another broad road had appeared at this time. However, the attraction of the Eye of the Moon Plan was indeed decreasing.
Because Madara had not yet sacrificed everything for the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Haru had been trapped by his own fixed thinking. Madara at this moment had not yet reached the edge of death, nor had he awakened the most critical Rinnegan.
The chakra, life force, and eye power required by the Rinnegan were like a bottomless pit, constantly devouring everything Madara had while still looking unsatisfied. Even the undefeated Madara, who had dominated the ninja world, sometimes grew gloomy in the dark underground cave and questioned himself.
Would I fail?
It has already been ten years.
Why is there still no movement?
In the end, when Madara awakened the Rinnegan, he had been hanging on by a single breath, driven by his unwillingness to lose to Hashirama, finally forcing the Rinnegan out.
By that point, no matter how beautifully Haru described his theory, no matter how wonderful it sounded, it would not move Madara's heart. Madara would already be unable to turn back. He would be about to die of old age and would have bet everything on the Eye of the Moon Plan. Even if there were a pit ahead, Madara would grit his teeth and jump into it.
But now...
Time stood on Haru's side.
Madara was still young, merely past fifty. As long as he paused the process of feeding the Rinnegan's awakening, Madara might even outlive Onoki.
Danzo was still struggling on the front line of work in his seventies, charging down the road to become Hokage. Madara was not even sixty yet. Would living another sixty years be that difficult?
Perhaps a second spring, throwing himself into the cause of the ninja world's revolution, was still possible.
Especially since the most critical item, the Rinnegan, had not yet been obtained. After ten full years, there was still no movement. Whether it could actually awaken, Madara had confidence.
But it was only confidence.
He had abandoned much, but it was still only ten years of time. The sunk cost was large, but it had not yet reached the point of breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats.
For a moment, countless thoughts filled Madara's mind. He felt somewhat lost. The Eye of the Moon Plan did not seem as enticing anymore.
The Rinnegan had still not awakened.
How annoying.
The rice balls were delicious.
Chew, chew.
Madara did not know whether he should return to that dark underground cave and keep grinding away at the Rinnegan, or directly reveal himself to Haru.
Your ancestor is not dead. Now the dead has returned. Your ideas are very interesting. Your ancestor will help you sweep across the ninja world, grow bigger and stronger!
Hashirama's path did not work. Its end could be seen at a glance. I cannot see the future of your method, but I, Madara, want to try it.
If it really does not work, I still have Plan B.
Continue grinding for the Rinnegan!
"Please move aside. Move aside... sir."
Just as Madara was struggling with his thoughts, a passing pedestrian interrupted him. There were more and more people on the street now. Shouts reached his ears. Workers heading to construction sites and sweatshops walked in groups of twos and threes. Their eyes revealed a look Madara had rarely seen.
Hope for the future.
Work hard, and today at noon, I can eat rice balls again.
In twenty years, that pretty house will belong to me.
I heard the first batch of new houses is already finished and about to be topped out. I wonder which lucky people will win the lottery and move in first.
How wonderful.
Those eyes.
Madara liked them very much. When was the last time he had seen eyes like that?
It seemed to have been when the Leaf was founded, when that light had shone in the eyes of his clansmen.
A poster suddenly fell from Madara's hand.
Immigrate to the Leaf and live in new Leaf housing!
The image of an exquisite and beautiful new-style apartment immediately attracted Madara's gaze.
Maybe he should live in the Leaf first.
He still had plenty of time.
Trying to awaken the Rinnegan did not necessarily require staying in a dark underground cave.
If he lived in the Leaf, who could discover him?
He could also continue observing Haru and the Leaf's development.
Neither side would be delayed.
Two roads. Which one to take?
He needed time to think.
For now, Madara temporarily gave up on the idea of persuading Haru. He had not even found flaws in the theories in the book. If he directly faced Haru and debated the future of the ninja world, he would only humiliate himself.
He had not even awakened the Rinnegan. His method did not seem very persuasive either.
After making up his mind, Madara picked up the poster and followed its directions to the sales office, planning to buy a small house of his own.
Hokage Residence.
"I'm a little thirsty."
Haru slept until noon, unsurprisingly skipping work for half a day. A short separation was better than a new marriage. Thunder and fire had collided, and it had been one against two. It was impossible not to fight until nothing was left.
He was the dignified Hokage. What was wrong with skipping work for half a day?
After working so hard for the Leaf, could he not enjoy himself a little?
Had he ever delayed paying his subordinates' salaries?
Haru opened his drowsy eyes, climbed out of bed, found a cup, and replenished his water.
The room was in complete disorder. One could imagine just how fierce last night's battle had been.
"Wow, what a big moon... No, that's the sun. It's already noon?"
"I've already skipped work for half a day. Forget it. If I skipped it, I skipped it. I don't need to clock in for work anyway. Since I've already skipped half a day, what harm is there in skipping another half?"
"How many stable days does the Leaf have left? How long can I still enjoy this gentle home? If I can enjoy a moment, then I might as well enjoy it."
After passion came emptiness. All the annoying matters in his mind surged up again. Even if tomorrow were the end of the world, he could not miss a single day of life he should enjoy. Haru somewhat gave up and honestly returned to bed.
Last night, Chiyo had thoroughly enjoyed strolling through the Leaf's night market. Her room was filled with large and small shopping bags. In the end, she had still failed to resist a woman's natural desire to shop and emptied her wallet. As one of the Sand Village's higher-ups, Chiyo did have some savings.
However, most of what she bought was useless.
Beautiful, gorgeous, luxurious, useless. The standard features of luxury goods.
One had to know that Kazekage Mosa had already been working in the gold miner position for a long time early in the morning, then returned to the Kazekage office to complete the Kazekage's daily work. If he knew Chiyo had spent money like this, he would probably immediately drag Chiyo to the gold miner position and make her help him pan for gold dust.
Hokage Office.
"Why hasn't the Hokage arrived yet?"
Chiyo waited in the Hokage Office for a long time, but she never saw Haru appear.
However, she did wait for the Leaf's gold-medal business negotiation expert.
(End of Chapter)
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