Chapter 467: Waiting Under the Tree for the Rabbit
"Time spares no one, I'm another year older. This year, the Great Ancestor is twelve years old." Clad in white, Masahiko stood amidst the fluttering snowflakes, deeply lamenting the passage of time.
Having finished their annual reunion dinner, a rare heavy snow began to fall over the Land of Whirlpools. Masahiko had spent less than half an hour laughing and chatting with his descendants before the entire landscape was wrapped in a silver coat.
The brat Naruto was the first to noisily demand a snowball fight. Tsukika, being at the age where she loved to play, was instantly tempted. But this clever little sprite wasn't about to lose; she dragged her big sister Karin into it to help teach her foolish brother a lesson... And thus, a grand and spectacular snowball battle commenced.
On one side were Tsukika, Karin, Haku, Toneri, and... Kushina.
On the other side was Naruto alone.
Naruto wasn't about to just take the beating. As he ran, he dodged right behind Masahiko. Then, he watched in utter bewilderment as a snowball curved around Masahiko's body in a perfect "S" shape, accurately smacking him right in the face...
This game was fundamentally unplayable.
Masahiko squinted and glanced behind him: "Come on, add the Great Ancestor to your team!"
Naruto took off running at top speed.
Where there is oppression, there is resistance. Subjected to everyone's joint tyranny, Naruto mounted an epic, moving resistance, though it ultimately ended in a complete rout.
The first day of Konoha Year 61 passed delightfully just like that, raising the curtain on a brand-new year.
The following day, Masahiko assigned a brutally difficult training task to all the children—Treading Snow Without Leaving Traces.
These words, which typically represented a profound realm of lightness kung-fu in martial arts novels, were entirely achievable in the shinobi world, but they demanded a superhuman level of chakra control. Leave alone the children, among the adults present, only Nagato could execute it effortlessly—and that was by utilizing Earth Style nature transformation to lighten his own body weight... Kushina and Minato were currently taking uneven steps, sinking deep into the snow with every stride.
"Their core fundamentals are all rather lacking," Masahiko chuckled. Closing his eyes, he focused his mind to carefully evaluate the state of his own body.
Having eradicated the 268 aging-inducing genes, Masahiko could vaguely perceive that a subtle shift had occurred within his vessel, but he hadn't been able to pinpoint the exact nature of the change just yet.
Until he thoroughly parsed out this physiological shift, he wouldn't dare perform the surgery on any of the juniors.
"Physical development has slowed slightly, but not by too much. Originally, I would fully mature at twenty; now, it will stretch to twenty-three or twenty-four at most. That's no impediment. As for other aspects..."
"Great Ancestor, Great Ancestor!" Tsukika's loud shout right beside his ear shattered Masahiko's train of thought. He squinted his eyes to look over.
"Look at me!" Tsukika threw her arms back, running a full circle around Masahiko like a little butterfly, before fixing her large, rolling eyes intently upon him.
Masahiko raised his eyebrows, glancing at the shallow layer of footprints on the ground: "Tsukika is amazing!"
"Mmm!" Receiving the praise made little Tsukika exceptionally happy, and she turned around to sprint toward Minato and Kushina.
"Tsukika's talent is excellent. Although a child's body weight is naturally light, being able to achieve this degree means water-walking shouldn't pose any issues for her at all. She's only just turned five, which doesn't lose out to Itachi back in the day... Then again, Kushina and Minato are both one-in-a-million geniuses, and even that brat Naruto's innate talent isn't bad..." Masahiko muttered.
Eh? Heredity! Masahiko was startled. Modifying and erasing genetic code... wouldn't that actively influence the traits passed down to future descendants?
In that case, if this anti-aging surgery is performed too frequently, wouldn't the world be packed to the brim with people capable of living past a hundred a millennium from now? Masahiko pursed his lips. Accidentally expanding his personal influence a thousand years into the future... he truly was a spectacular individual.
Right at this moment, a member of the Land of Whirlpools patrol squad suddenly arrived via Body Flicker. He reported something in a low voice to Nagato, who was currently practicing treading on the snow, before vanishing via Body Flicker once more.
Nagato appeared to freeze for a moment, after which he turned and walked briskly toward Masahiko: "Teacher, the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, has arrived. She just crossed into the borders of our Land of Whirlpools."
"Did she come alone?" Masahiko knit his brows.
"How did you know?" Shock washed over Nagato's face. "For the Fifth Mizukage to travel alone to our Land of Whirlpools on a day like this, I wonder what..."
"Let's go find out together." Masahiko waved his hand to interrupt, pacing toward the Uzukage Office.
Nagato paused, turning his head to signal Konan with a wave before quickly keeping pace with Masahiko.
In the distance, Kushina and Minato exchanged a look. Minato spoke thoughtfully: "It seems something has happened."
Kushina shrugged: "Which New Year passes without some sort of incident striking? Look at how thoroughly composed Great-grandfather looks; there's no need for us to worry."
Minato fell silent. After a brief pause, he shifted the topic: "Once we return to Konoha, I intend to take on a disciple."
Kushina paused: "Is it that young girl named Tenten?"
Minato nodded.
"She does possess space-time talent, and her appearance and personality are both quite pleasant. It's just a pity she's a fraction older than Naruto. Though that might be for the best; an older girl knows how to look after people, and Naruto is anything but a reassuring child..." Kushina rambled on endlessly.
Minato: "..."
Why did the conversation shift in this direction?
Inside the Uzukage Office, Nagato and Masahiko met the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi.
Mei Terumi was twenty-seven years old this year. Shaking off the slightly green, youthful appearance she had when she first assumed the mantle of Mizukage, she had now fully bloomed into her maturity, radiating a woman's natural charm and allure.
"Lord First Uzukage, has Senior Masahiko Uzumaki not returned to the Land of Whirlpools for the New Year?" Catching sight of Nagato, she spoke at a frantic velocity.
Nagato paused, subconsciously casting a sidelong glance at Masahiko. Mei Terumi's gaze systematically tracked over to land squarely upon Masahiko.
"This is...?"
Masahiko pursed his lips: "Shouldn't you rightfully be asking, 'Who is this little handsome guy?'"
Mei Terumi stood frozen, her emerald-green pupils dilating slightly: "Senior?!"
"Just call me little handsome guy."
Mei Terumi gathered the long strand of hair obscuring her eye: "Little handsome guy... Yagura has vanished!"
Masahiko half-closed his eyes: "I figured. Exactly when did it happen?"
"Last night..." Mei Terumi paused. "He invited me out to have dinner together, but..."
Masahiko let out a soft sigh: "Perfectly normal. The Akatsuki is actively capturing tailed beasts; as the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, how could Yagura possibly be spared?"
"Is it truly the Akatsuki? But given Yagura's raw strength, how could he possibly be captured this completely, without raising a single whisper of a commotion?" Mei Terumi's face was packed with deep urgency.
"If one desires to abduct someone, aren't there countless methods available? They could have drugged his food, Hidden Mist could house an active mole, or they could have even transformed into your appearance to lure him away," Masahiko teased lightly.
Mei Terumi's expression shifted slightly: "Senior, do you possess a method to track them?"
"I don't. I am also simply waiting under the tree for the rabbit."
Masahiko had long been prepared for Yagura's eventual capture. Ever since Yagura stubbornly refused to accompany him to the Land of Whirlpools, Masahiko had possessed an absolute premonition. With the enemy operating from the shadows, mounting a flawless defense was incredibly difficult.
He was currently treating Naruto as the "tree," waiting for the enemy to go blind and smash their own head straight into it. Back in the day, Kinkaku and Ginkaku had been reduced to absolute dust by Masahiko's Particle Style. If the enemy desired to harvest the Nine-Tails' chakra, they could only target Naruto or Kushina. Leave alone Yagura—even Killer B and Gaara could be strategically sacrificed to lure the enemy out. Once the threat was eliminated, he could simply find a method to resurrect them anyway!
"It's just a pity about that perfectly fine, legal shota," Masahiko shook his head. A legal shota... the Great Ancestor is incomparably more legal right now... exceptionally legal!
☆☆☆
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you