Leaf Restaurant
Haru sat in his chair and observed everything around him. Most of the Uzumaki children were eight or nine years old. The older ones were twelve, while the youngest were only three or four.
These little Uzumaki really had never seen much of the world. One by one, they sat awkwardly in their chairs, looking all around.
Just crossing Leaf's commercial street had already dazzled them. It was like country children seeing a big city's prosperity for the first time. Back in the Uzumaki clan, they had already heard rumors about Leaf. Beyond the sea was Leaf, the most prosperous and freest ninja village in the ninja world!
Ever since Ashina returned to the Uzumaki clan with five billion ryo and personally witnessed Leaf's prosperity, he had completely transformed into the ninja world's number one Leaf supporter. Only the days spent in Leaf were good days. The Uzumaki clan could only develop better and better by closely following Leaf's footsteps.
In just a few days, Ashina had spread news of Leaf's development throughout the entire Uzumaki clan. The wide and clean roads, the complete electrical facilities, all kinds of new life-improving ninja tools. Everything that could be praised was praised to the skies.
Then he announced that the Uzumaki clan's children would be sent to Leaf to study. The opposition that should have appeared vanished completely under Ashina's arrangements.
Going to Leaf to study meant enjoying the best education and the best material life.
Oppose it?
Fifty billion ryo was enough to smash any objections flat!
The Uzumaki clan passed it almost unanimously and quickly sent their children to Leaf to study, then return to build up their homeland!
These children had been influenced by everything they heard inside the clan and had already tried their hardest to imagine life in Leaf. Even so, they were still shocked by Leaf's scenery. They had just arrived and were already given a large amount of living expenses. The money had been piled on the ground like paper.
Once they arrived at the restaurant, they finally witnessed what a life of luxury and wealth looked like. After all, this restaurant specifically served the nobles and wealthy merchants of the Land of Fire.
Haru looked around and was very satisfied. These were exactly the expressions he wanted.
First, break their old worldview. Then, through specialized education, reshape the worldview of these Uzumaki children. In particular, Leaf and the Uzumaki clan were so close that certain boundaries could be blurred.
Leaf and the Uzumaki clan were as close as brothers, one family. Was it not only natural for them to wear Leaf's emblem?
While studying in Leaf, they would establish bonds with Leaf's children. They might even find someone they liked. After graduating together, they might want to live in Leaf. Leaf was extremely welcoming, after all. Would the Uzumaki clan really try to tear apart young lovers?
If that happened, Haru would personally step in!
Mm. It was about time to serve the food.
Haru gave the restaurant manager a look, signaling that the dishes could be served.
The food was as delicious as ever. It was just expensive. Very expensive.
Back when Kakuzu wanted to make a good impression while entertaining major clients from the Land of Fire, he had once paid out of his own pocket and booked the top-floor private room. The instant he saw the bill for the first time, he instinctively pulled out a shuriken and pressed it against the manager's neck.
A black-market shop. This place was definitely a black-market shop!
The manager had nearly wet himself on the spot and hurriedly had someone bring over the restaurant's business license. Kakuzu examined it carefully before finally putting away the shuriken. So it really was not an illegal shop.
"Why don't you mark the prices on the menu?"
"Mainly because the customers who eat here don't care about the price!"
The manager answered while trembling.
Fortunately, Kakuzu had seen the world. Back when he made big money in the futures market, he had eaten fruit platters worth 8,888 ryo. He honestly paid the bill. However, in his heart, he swore he would never come here again unless he was using public funds to treat guests.
The business deal naturally went through too. Not because Kakuzu had invited them to dinner, but because of that gleaming shuriken.
Haru enjoyed the meal well enough. The only pity was that he did not drink. Considering that most of the people at the table were children, the only adults who could drink were Mito and Hizuki.
Haru had no interest in drinking only with Mito. If it were with Hizuki, that would be a decent choice.
Unfortunately, Mito would not allow that.
After the meal, Haru directly arranged for people to send all the Uzumaki children to their designated residence. Construction had started the moment Ashina left. Money, manpower, and land had all been supplied without hesitation, so the houses had been built extremely quickly. They were already ready for occupancy.
Haru planned to let the children have fun in Leaf for a week. There was no need to rush them into class.
The living expenses had already been handed out, so they had to spend money. Only after personally experiencing Leaf's infrastructure, commercial prosperity, and quality of life would these children wholeheartedly want to stay in Leaf.
"Hizuki, do you want to live with these children?"
After all the Uzumaki children had been picked up, Haru noticed that Hizuki had been staring longingly at their departing backs. She seemed to really want to live together with the Uzumaki children, so he casually asked.
As expected, Mito immediately stepped forward. Whenever Haru mentioned anything related to Hizuki, Mito had to think about it.
Actually, that step could be skipped.
She opposed it. She opposed it!
Haru was definitely trying to bypass her protection over Hizuki and find a chance to make a move on her!
"Hizuki is living very well with the Senju clan. I stay with her every day and carefully teach her sealing arts."
Mito spoke first, deliberately emphasizing words like "every day" and "with her" to remind Haru not to have any improper thoughts.
After hearing that, Hizuki lowered her head and did not say anything.
She was indeed happy living with the Senju clan. Compared to life in the Uzumaki clan, her material life was much better. Grandma Mito also treated her well, taking careful care of her daily life and teaching her sealing arts.
But the red hair and the Uzumaki name meant that deep down, Hizuki always felt like she was living under someone else's roof.
She stayed with Mito every day, remained in the small courtyard, rarely went out, and the person she interacted with the most and spoke to every day was Mito. Aside from Mito, there was only Tsunade.
Tsunade was still a child and loved secretly dragging her along to play cards and throw dice.
A bad habit. A pure bad habit!
Hizuki also needed friends her own age.
Now that the Uzumaki clan's children had arrived, her old friends and family had basically come too. A sense of belonging drove Hizuki. If possible, she wanted to live with them.
But Grandma Mito had already spoken, so she felt too embarrassed to say anything. After all, Grandma Mito had always been very good to her.
"Hey, Mito. You are not Hizuki. What I hate most is old people forcing their own ideas onto young people. I want to hear Hizuki's own wishes. She is also a child of the Uzumaki clan. If she wants to live together with her Uzumaki family, you should learn to respect the will of the younger generation."
Haru noticed Hizuki's reaction. It was obvious that she wanted to live with the Uzumaki children. A sea of red hair naturally gave her a sense of belonging.
Hizuki raised her head and looked at Haru in surprise. Lord Hokage was actually speaking for her at a time like this.
"Hmph. Fine!"
"Hizuki, do you want to live together with the Uzumaki children?"
Mito possessed the ability to sense emotions. After seeing Hizuki's reaction, she keenly felt the girl's feelings.
"Mm... Grandma Mito, I'm alone in the courtyard and don't have anyone to keep me company. Aside from you, Grandma... and Tsunade. She taught me how to throw dice. Oh, um... actually, I really miss my friends from the clan."
"But... Grandma Mito, don't worry. After I move over, I'll come visit you every day. I won't fall behind on my sealing arts training either."
Hizuki gathered her courage and spoke, but the more she said, the softer her voice became. She did not dare raise her head to look at Mito.
Mito was now a lonely old woman. Her husband had died early. Tsunade was still young and immature. Apart from her daily training, Tsunade only thought about where to get money so she could enjoy herself at the gambling house. Her son, Toma, handled clan affairs every day and had been busy with who-knew-what recently, barely showing himself.
A good child from her clan had finally arrived. Sensible and caring.
It was just a pity that Hizuki's surname was still Uzumaki. Wanting to live with her family and friends was not wrong.
Wait...
Did Hizuki just mention throwing dice?
Tsunade taught her?
She had not noticed.
It seemed Tsunade's allowance had to be cut again!
"Good child. If you want to go, then go."
Mito's eyes softened with affection. She stroked Hizuki's red hair and did not blame her for her choice.
"Mm!"
"Grandma Mito, I'll come keep you company every day!"
"No need. I'll go see you every day. It just so happens that I also want to build a relationship with the children of the clan."
Mito glanced at Haru. Although this was Hizuki's own choice, she still had to guard against Haru. She would not give him any chance to take advantage.
She had to accompany Hizuki every day. So what if Hizuki was no longer living with the Senju clan? She could simply visit Hizuki's new residence every day and also build a relationship with the Uzumaki children at the same time.
It was killing two birds with one stone!
"Since you've decided, Hizuki, go now. The Uzumaki children haven't gone far yet. If you catch up now, you might still be able to live next to your clan friends. If you're late, you may lose that chance."
"Go on."
When Hizuki heard that, excitement appeared on her face. Then she looked into Mito's eyes. Mito patted Hizuki's shoulder, signaling for her to hurry and catch up.
"Mm!"
Hizuki answered, then immediately jogged after them.
Mito watched Hizuki's back. Although she said she did not mind and could go to Hizuki's residence every day, she still felt a little lonely inside.
She had lived with Hizuki for so long that she had already grown used to having Hizuki's company. Now that they were no longer living together, there was still a sense of distance after all.
Fortunately, she still had little Tsunade.
"Lord Hokage, can you train with me this afternoon like before?"
Tsunade tugged on Haru's arm. Ever since Haru obtained the Mount Myoboku summoning scroll and the method to train Sage Mode, he had become too lazy to keep playing training games with Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru, acting exactly like a man who lost interest after getting what he wanted.
Jiraiya, just like in the original story, went to Mount Myoboku with Haru to learn Sage Mode. Orochimaru had been pinned down by Haru and forced to study ideological and political theory at school. He could not spend every day doing experiments with Tobirama anymore.
The recent Hashirama Cell experiments were very sensitive and had reached a critical stage. At Orochimaru's age, it was better not to let him come into contact with human experiments too early.
However, Orochimaru sent a clone to school every day while his real body secretly returned to the laboratory. With Tobirama covering for him, Haru still had not discovered it.
As for Tsunade, Haru did not bother managing her. She could do as she liked. Her graduation exam had already been arranged. With Tsunade's current strength, it would basically be a formality.
If she wanted to take missions, Haru planned to assign Sakumo to lead her. If she did not want to take missions, she could honestly return to the Senju clan and live off the family. Her family was not short on money at all.
Tsunade, however, was unwilling. If possible, she wanted to train with Haru.
Tsunade's slightly coquettish request had yet to receive Haru's answer when Mito immediately sensed something was wrong.
"If you want someone to train with you, you can ask Grandma."
Mito smiled without warmth. She had been staring at Hizuki all this time, but if Tsunade ended up being taken by Haru, that would be an enormous joke.
"No!"
"I want Lord Hokage to train with me!"
Tsunade had quite a rebellious streak. It seemed she had reached her rebellious phase and had developed a kind of instinctive resistance toward Mito's words.
Of course, it was also possible that she had a filter toward Haru.
He was handsome, held the status of Hokage, and was powerful. Layer upon layer of brilliance fit very well with what Leaf girls imagined in a boy.
The moment Tsunade said that, Mito's expression immediately became very ugly.
A grown daughter could not be kept at home?
No!
This was all Haru's fault. He had bewitched her adorable Tsunade!
Hehehe.
The corners of Haru's mouth rose. He had no particular interest in Tsunade. She was still a child, flat as a board, and Haru was not some creep who liked little girls. He only treated Tsunade as a little sister.
However, if this could irritate Mito...
That was quite interesting.
"Sure. I have time this afternoon."
Haru ruffled Tsunade's pale blond hair and agreed without hesitation.
"No!"
"Tsunade, go home!"
"Hizuki let it slip just now. Did you teach her gambling? I'm going to cut your allowance. Go home now!"
Mito grabbed Tsunade's ear, acting like an old-fashioned and stubborn elder. Tsunade, however, had long since grown used to this. Every time her gambling was discovered, it went exactly like this.
Daily routine!
Tsunade found an opening, broke free from Mito's hand, and ran off in a flash. As she ran, she looked back and shouted at Haru.
"Lord Hokage, I'll come find you this afternoon!"
"Sure!"
Haru smiled and answered Tsunade, then also ran off.
At a time like this, staying beside Mito would be too foolish.
He had to leave quickly!
Mito was an old woman. He could not hit her, and getting tangled up with her was simply a waste of time. His time was very valuable.
Mito stood there in a daze for a moment. She did not know whether she should chase after Tsunade and lock her up at home, or immediately go find Haru to settle accounts.
Not only had he secretly gotten close to Tsunade without making a sound, their relationship was even quite intimate!
Absolutely unforgivable!
(End of Chapter)
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