Chapter 14 — Taking a Master
Early the next morning, Madara was still in the Hokage's office of Konoha Village (Zephyr's old office), busy dealing with the mobile blackboard he had gotten on credit yesterday. This would be Konoha's main source of income in the future.
A burst of urgent knocking sounded from outside, followed immediately by a cool, clear voice:
"That's rude. You're not allowed to knock like that!"
At the same time came the little brat's miserable cry:
"Ah! Sister Tsuru, I know I was wrong! Don't tug on my ear!"
Madara did not move. He continued fiddling with his task board and said in a low voice,
"The door isn't locked. Come in."
As soon as the door opened, Tsuru walked in with one hand carrying a gift while the other angrily pinched the little brat by the ear.
Seeing Uchiha Madara staring at her without saying a word, she suddenly realized that her current behavior was somewhat inappropriate. She quickly let go of Gion's ear, then gave Madara a slight bow.
"Greetings, Mr. Madara. Let me introduce myself. My name is Tsuru, and I am Gion's elder sister. Yesterday, I did not know that you had already become her master, and I accidentally offended you. My apologies. I hope you can forgive me."
Looking at the woman in front of him—who was still a head taller than him even while bowing—Madara felt a bit helpless inside.
What was wrong with the people in this world? Were they all taking growth hormones? Why was every last one of them so huge?
Those three old men—Garp and the others—were the same. They were all close to three meters tall, weren't they? Randomly pick any Marine and they would still be a head taller than him. Constantly having to look up at other people made the habitually proud Uchiha Madara extremely uncomfortable.
"There is no need to mind it. The matter of taking a disciple was merely Sengoku and the others making a joke. I only saw that she had a bit of talent and casually gave her some pointers, that is all."
Madara waved his hand casually, speaking in an extremely cold tone, as if he cared nothing for whether the little brat stayed or left.
Though it was only a face-saving line, the moment he said it, he regretted it.
The little brat's eyes reddened at a speed visible to the naked eye. Large tears welled up and looked ready to spill at any moment, making Madara's heart twitch, but he still kept his face expressionless as he said,
"If this is the extent of your resolve, then go back. Do not bring up the matter of becoming my disciple again."
The moment the little brat heard those words, she realized there was still hope. She hurriedly forced back her tears, wiped her face with her hand, sniffed hard a few times, and once she felt she had roughly regained control, she lifted her reddened eyes and gave Madara a big, foolish grin, looking like a little tabby cat.
Tsuru also recalled what Sengoku and Garp had told her.
'Uchiha Madara's strength is unfathomable. He's arrogant and proud by nature. In dealing with him, soft works better than hard. Since you're bringing a formal apprenticeship gift this time, be careful. Don't say anything excessive to him, or it may do more harm than good.'
'Madara himself places great importance on Gion, and Gion also likes Mr. Madara very much. It's just that this person's words often do not match his heart. You still need to be cautious. Even if he refuses, that's fine—but absolutely do not let the situation turn ugly.'
Tsuru came back to her senses.
There was still room to turn things around. Before the atmosphere stiffened again, she had to smooth things over as much as possible.
"Mr. Madara is right. Gion's temperament is still a little unruly. When we return, I will certainly educate her properly."
"But regarding apprenticeship—Gion holds very deep feelings toward you, and she has been making a fuss, insisting that it must be no one but you. So I ask that Mr. Madara put aside any past offense and accept this child."
Madara also let out a quiet sigh of relief.
He had been trapped by his own stubborn pride and left riding a tiger he could not dismount. Seeing that Tsuru had given him a graceful way out, he immediately took it.
"Mm. Very well, then."
Seeing Madara nod, Tsuru was delighted and quickly offered up the apprenticeship gift in her hands.
Madara accepted it with one hand and discovered that it was a calligraphy scroll.
Uchiha Madara was not an ordinary man—he simply unwrapped it on the spot and spread it open on the desk right in front of the two of them.
Justice That Covers the Heavens With One Hand
The writing looked somewhat strange.
It was clear at a glance that it had not been completed in one smooth flow. The brushwork lacked continuity, and some strokes were crooked and shaky. As a piece of calligraphy, it could only be described as thoroughly unqualified.
Tsuru's face turned green the moment she saw it.
She had clearly inspected it last night. Originally, what had been inside was a calligraphy piece she had personally gone to Fleet Admiral Kong to obtain. How had it turned into something this unsightly the moment it arrived here?
Madara looked at the calligraphy before him and seemed to fall into thought.
Tsuru had just opened her mouth to explain, but Madara spoke before she could. Her heart immediately sank. She thought Uchiha Madara would surely feel insulted and become angry.
Yet instead, he slowly said to the somewhat guilty-looking little brat,
"Take it and have it framed. Also, write another one tomorrow with the words 'The Will of Fire' and bring it over. One will hang behind the desk, and the other on the wall to the left."
At once, the little brat's guilty expression vanished, replaced once more by a broad, silly grin.
Then Madara said to Tsuru,
"It is still somewhat interesting. I'll accept the sentiment behind it."
Afterward, he told the two of them that Gion could come again tomorrow for training. As for today, he still had matters to deal with. He did not say much more and simply ushered them both out.
Tsuru stared blankly at the calligraphy in Gion's hands.
That counted as successfully becoming his disciple?
She and Sengoku had spent the entire night thinking up strategies, and not a single one of them had been used. In fact, from the moment they entered to present the apprenticeship gift to the moment they came out, it had not even taken ten minutes.
When she first saw that so-called "calligraphy," Tsuru had felt as if her heart was about to leap out of her chest. Even now, she was still shaken by the way Uchiha Madara had displayed his terrifying might at the docks yesterday. If he had exploded in anger because of this matter, the consequences would have been dire.
Then, as if suddenly thinking of something, she turned to glare viciously at Gion, clearly preparing to settle accounts.
Gion also noticed Tsuru's gaze and hurried to explain before she could make a move.
"Ahem, ahem! Sister, don't hit me yet! Gion has something to say!"
Seeing Tsuru's face full of impatience, as if she simply wanted to beat her up to vent her anger, Gion quickly began explaining on her own.
"Vice Admiral Garp said that a person like Master wouldn't care too much about material things, so we should take the emotional route instead. It was Vice Admiral Sengoku who came up with all the bad ideas. Everything that happened last night was done by Vice Admiral Garp. It had nothing to do with Gion!"
Tsuru then recalled that she really had seen Gion scribbling away in the study last night. At the time, she had actually felt a trace of relief, thinking that the child was finally starting to act a bit more like a young lady.
Who would have thought it was for this?
And just moments ago, she had still been wondering how a little girl like Gion could possibly swap out the calligraphy right under her Observation Haki.
But the moment she pictured that old fool Garp sneaking around and secretly switching the calligraphy, the truth instantly became clear.
Grinding her teeth, she cursed,
"Garp, you bastard! Just you wait!!!"
Then she shot the little brat beside her—who wore an expression of this has nothing to do with me—a thoroughly irritated glare.
"First I'm going to butcher that old bastard Garp who doesn't know his place, then I'll apologize properly to Mr. Madara, and after that, I'll come back and deal with you, you little brat! Aaaahhhhh!!!"
With that, she abandoned Gion on the spot and stormed toward the Fleet Admiral's office in a murderous rage.
Watching how furious Tsuru was—so furious she looked ready to explode, with an ominous aura behind her that seemed to carry the shadow of Yama himself—the little girl silently offered a moment of mourning for Garp. Then she grabbed the calligraphy and ran off as fast as she could, already making up her mind.
First, she would go home and write the second piece of calligraphy properly, then get them both framed as quickly as possible, and after that, she would immediately run to Master and ask him to take her in.
For the time being, she absolutely could not go home.
With Sister Tsuru in her current state, if she dared spend the night there, then Master would probably have to abandon this disciple before she got beaten to death.
The moment she imagined that, from now on, she could openly and honorably inherit the Will of Fire and carry out her assassination attempts on Master, Gion's little heart began pounding with excitement.
A new life of fatherly kindness and filial devotion!
The future Admiral Gion was here!!!
After only taking two steps, Gion suddenly thought of something.
No, wait. Shouldn't she first go borrow that father-slaying, filial piety sword?
After all, that was the sword reserved for the future Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Even if angry Master broke it, she wouldn't feel the slightest heartache.
The moment she thought of this, Gion immediately turned and ran toward Sengoku's office.
The calligraphy could wait.
Inheriting Master's Will of Fire was the top priority!