Chapter 67: Tsuru's Grandson Must Be Seriously Ill
Ryoichi stayed close behind Uchiha Madara.
He didn't dare leave the old man alone.
What if Madara suddenly changed his mind and decided to destroy Konoha? The possibility wasn't exactly zero.
As they returned to the Uchiha district, Ryoichi glanced back at the peaceful, harmonious village and couldn't help feeling a surge of emotion.
Another peaceful day.
To ensure everyone could enjoy dinner without incident, this old man had made an enormous contribution.
The merit—and hardship—of keeping Madara occupied was no less than the Hokage's own.
Clicking his tongue, Ryoichi hurried after the hunched figure walking ahead.
It was a pity such a tremendous achievement could never be made public.
I'll have to hint at it during the next elders' meeting.
---
"Why are there so many children here?"
Madara frowned slightly as he looked at the road ahead, where a crowd of children blocked the way.
Turning to Ryoichi, he asked,
"Oh, them?"
Ryoichi looked at the lively children without concern.
"They're all kids from the clan."
"Asuka taught the younger generation for a while."
"He's generous, always has delicious food, and tells entertaining stories."
"So the children treat him like an older brother."
"They gather around him almost every day."
Madara silently watched the carefree children before stepping around them.
Flowers reflected in a mirror...
The moon reflected upon water...
Beautiful illusions.
If the root of the problem wasn't solved...
True peace would never come.
---
That evening.
Madara reclined in his chair, still rubbing his temples as he recalled everything that had happened that afternoon.
The culprit behind all the strange events...
...seemed to have been found.
It was...
...himself.
Yet he was absolutely certain he had never done any of those things.
"Big Brother!"
"What story are we hearing today?"
The noisy voices from outside interrupted his thoughts again.
He looked across the street.
Children sat neatly in rows while Asuka stood before them like a proper storyteller.
For a brief moment, a glimmer of light flickered through Madara's clouded eyes.
...What exactly am I thinking?
"Cousin!"
His thoughts were interrupted once again.
Madara looked unhappily toward the suddenly-appearing Ryoichi.
After spending decades in solitude...
He was no longer accustomed to being disturbed every few minutes.
Ryoichi glanced across the street at Asuka and chuckled.
"Tonight we don't have to cook."
"Dinner's already prepared."
With his hands behind his back, he casually walked over to Asuka and skillfully held out two fingers.
Moments later...
Madara watched him return carrying two servings of fried chicken and steaming bowls of luosifen.
"..."
Ryoichi placed one bowl in front of Madara before taking the other for himself.
After blowing gently across the steaming noodles, he said casually,
"I don't know when it started..."
"...but there's a rumor spreading through Konoha."
"They say the Uchiha clan is boiling excrement to research powerful ninjutsu."
He snorted.
"A bunch of ignorant fools."
"They simply can't appreciate our happiness."
Madara silently picked up his bowl of noodles.
The smell drifting through the air...
...wasn't exactly pleasant.
Across the street, however, the children were eating happily without the slightest complaint.
Perhaps...
A world without war...
A simple, ideal world...
...really would allow everyone to smile.
Although...
The smell certainly was aggressive.
---
"Today..."
"I'm going to tell everyone a story about filial piety."
Slurping another mouthful of luosifen, Asuka looked over the children doing exactly the same before continuing,
"It's called..."
"Kong Rong Gives Away the Bigger Pears."
"I know that one!"
A little boy on the left excitedly shot his hand into the air.
Asuka blinked in surprise.
"You know this story?"
"I guessed it from the title!"
The boy proudly planted his hands on his hips.
"Kong Rong's parents argued every single day."
"One day they argued so badly that Kong Rong couldn't stand it anymore."
"So he shouted..."
"'Just get divorced already!'"
"That must be what 'giving away the pears' means."
"Big Brother..."
"Am I right?"
"...Right next to your head!"
The luosifen instantly lodged itself in Asuka's throat.
After finally coughing it out, he roared,
"It's a story about filial piety!"
"Not divorce!"
"The protagonist is a filial son!"
"Not some legendary unfilial brat!"
Smack!
Across the street...
Ryoichi slapped a hand over his forehead.
Only now did he realize something serious.
These children's thought processes...
...were starting to resemble Asuka's.
"...Ryoichi."
Madara spoke slowly.
"What exactly happened to this clan?"
Although he'd collected countless pieces of intelligence over the years...
He'd never bothered gathering information about mundane matters.
Things like clan meetings...
He couldn't care less.
Yet somehow...
The clan seemed to have gone wildly off course while he wasn't looking.
"Ahem..."
Ryoichi coughed awkwardly before giving Madara a brief summary of everything that had happened over the past six months.
"..."
Madara remained silent for a long while.
Finally, he asked curiously,
"Why didn't you have him pursue Hashirama's granddaughter?"
"Heh..."
Ryoichi sighed.
"When Asuka was four..."
"Tsunade beat him several times because she was older."
"The conflict between them has never really been resolved."
"How could he possibly pursue her?"
"I suspect..."
"Even if Tsunade threw herself at him now..."
"...he'd slap himself twice just to make sure he wasn't dreaming."
Madara merely nodded.
He wasn't particularly interested.
He'd only asked because she'd happened to be Hashirama's granddaughter.
---
At that moment, Asuka's voice rang out again.
"Kong Rong was born into a respected family."
"He received an excellent education from childhood."
"When he was four years old, he always chose the smallest pear and left the largest ones for his older brothers."
His gaze slowly swept across the children.
Taking a deep breath, he continued,
"This story teaches us that humility is a virtue."
"And that we should honor our families."
"Be filial."
"Don't become unfilial children."
"..."
Madara curled his lip in disdain.
First...
He'd never heard this story before.
Second...
Whenever fruit was divided, he'd always given the larger pieces to Izuna.
---
"Ahem."
Asuka set his empty bowl aside.
His expression suddenly became serious.
"But..."
"If we extend this question beyond the family..."
"...the answer becomes completely different."
"The older brother is stronger."
"The younger brother is weaker."
"There are large pears and small pears."
"The larger pear represents greater benefits."
"The smaller pear represents lesser benefits."
"Since ancient times..."
"The strong have always obtained the greater share."
"The weak receive what remains."
"So..."
"What exactly is humility?"
"If the strong willingly surrender their greater benefits for the sake of the weak..."
"That..."
"...is humility."
Madara suddenly opened his eyes.
For the first time that evening, genuine interest appeared on his face.
Interesting...
This line of thinking...
...was surprisingly similar to his own.
Perhaps...
He should have prepared more backup plans back then.
Instead, he'd allowed himself to fall completely into darkness.
Without ever meeting Asuka personally...
He had already formed a one-sided opinion of him.
It seemed...
He had misjudged the boy.
Turning toward Ryoichi, Madara nodded faintly.
"Interesting."
"Mhm."
Ryoichi smiled warmly.
Excellent.
The boy has finally earned Cousin's approval.
---
Completely unaware of the old men's conversation, Asuka continued lecturing the children.
"Compared to Konoha..."
"We're like the younger brother."
"And compared to us..."
"The other clans are the younger brothers' younger brothers."
"We cannot hand them our pears."
"And they won't hand us theirs."
"It's not because we lack virtue."
"It's because..."
"We're not family."
Pointing dramatically beyond the Uchiha district, Asuka declared,
"Children..."
"It's time to make friends."
"As Konoha's foremost noble clan..."
"...what does being noble really mean?"
"It means making friends based on your own preferences..."
"...not social status."
"If nobody suits your taste..."
"...then go fall in love instead."
"..."
Madara stopped listening.
Tsuru's grandson...
...was definitely suffering from a serious illness.
Indeed.
His original assessment hadn't been one-sided at all.
If anything...
It had been remarkably accurate.
His expression darkened.
Looking toward Ryoichi, he said coldly,
"Pretend I never called him interesting."
"...Uh..."
Ryoichi's mouth twitched.
He slowly looked up at the evening sky.
He really shouldn't have expected anything from that child.
Somehow...
Everything always ended up taking a completely unexpected turn.