Just as Youya was packing his things into his backpack, the sound of footsteps—"ta-ta-ta-ta"—echoed again. However, this time, the footsteps were much lighter than Senju Hashirama's. They sounded like those of a child.
Youya ignored the sound and continued stuffing items into his bag.
"Bang! Youya-niichan! Bang, bang, bang!" A little girl with high pigtails pointed her finger at Youya and shouted.
Youya looked at the small child in front of him, speechless.
"Tsunade, your brother is packing. I'll play with you later, okay? Be good."
This was Tsunade Senju, the future Fifth Hokage. But for now...
She was just a little kid, only two years old. She couldn't speak clearly yet, but she already knew how to call people—her grandparents, her brother. That, at least, was something to praise.
Tsunade stood barefoot at the door, not paying any attention to what Youya said. She clearly didn't understand and continued reaching out with her hand, though this time, she stayed silent.
Youya sighed, zipped up his backpack, then walked over and picked up little Tsunade. She happily reached out and patted his face.
Youya sighed again. He knew exactly what she wanted.
He placed her on his shoulders and started running around the house. "Niichan!" she squealed with delight.
That evening, Tsunade's mother came by to pick her up. She bowed deeply to Youya, apologizing for any trouble. Exhausted, Youya waved her off, too tired to say much or see her out properly.
Afterward, it was time for dinner. Youya and Uzumaki Mito, who was in her thirties and at the height of her beauty, sat kneeling at a low table on the tatami mat. The dinner wasn't elaborate—just three dishes: one meat, one vegetable, and a soup.
In addition to being beautiful, Uzumaki Mito was also an excellent cook. Yet, Youya could hardly focus on the food, as the presence of his master's beautiful wife made him feel uneasy. He knelt at the edge of the table, wary and anxious.
Mito hadn't touched her chopsticks yet, and, naturally, Youya didn't dare to eat either. They both sat in silence.
But while Mito sat straight-backed, Youya was slouched, his head nodding as he struggled to stay awake.
"If you're tired, go ahead and eat. Then you can sleep," Uzumaki Mito said softly.
Relieved, Youya began eating quickly, shoveling rice into his mouth.
Mito, her eyes closed, seemed unfazed by the sound of him eating. She continued sitting still, perfectly composed.
After some time, she broke the silence. "Did Hashirama see you today?"
Youya froze, glancing guiltily at Mito. Her posture hadn't changed; her eyes were still closed.
Swallowing hard, Youya replied respectfully, "What do you wish to know, Mito-sama?"
Mito repeated herself. "Did your master visit you today?"
Sweat started forming on Youya's forehead. He hesitated, unsure whether he should lie and help his master keep secrets from his wife. After weighing his options, he finally bowed his head and confessed, "Yes, Mito-sama. He came to see me today."
Mito didn't move. She simply responded, "Good. You didn't try to lie to me. That's a relief."
Youya's cold sweat increased. In his mind, he was already offering up silent prayers for his master.
"What did he want from you?" Mito continued.
Gritting his teeth, Youya answered quickly, "Master asked me to use my powers to help him avoid his creditors! I refused him, of course! But then he tried to bribe and threaten me. He said if I didn't help, he wouldn't let me eat. He even promised me a day off tomorrow so I wouldn't have to deal with Uncle…"
Mito finally opened her eyes, her gaze sharp and focused. "Is that the truth?"
Youya pounded his chest in exaggerated sincerity. "Every word is true!"
Mito's eyes narrowed in mild disbelief. "And you gave in that easily?"
With a cough, Youya answered with a pitiful look, "I was starving, and he refused to feed me unless I helped. I didn't want to go hungry…"
Uzumaki Mito sneered at him, clearly annoyed, but she waved him off. "Fine, eat and then get out."
"Yes, Mito-sama," Youya replied eagerly.
In no time, he finished his meal and slipped out of the room, heading straight to the bathhouse.
As he bathed, he hummed Naruto's theme song, "Homecoming," playing with a little yellow duck as he sat contentedly in the bathtub. For a moment, everything seemed peaceful.
That was until a sudden scream startled him, nearly making him drown in the bath.
The screaming continued, and Youya, clutching the yellow duck, shivered. His master's wife was, indeed, terrifying at times.
After finishing his bath, Youya went straight to bed, silently mourning Senju Hashirama for a few seconds before drifting off to sleep.
---
The next day, Youya ventured to the basin west of the village. His unique ability allowed him to extract gold from the ground, though only from a depth of up to one kilometer for now. As his powers grew, that distance would surely increase—but reaching the mantle was out of the question.
After collecting some gold, Youya took out a scroll, bit his finger, and sealed over two hundred kilograms of gold inside.
It was still not enough. Finding a vein, even a small one, would be incredible. A small vein could yield dozens of tons, while a large one could yield thousands. That would solve so many problems.
No wonder Senju Hashirama once lamented to him: if only Youya had been around earlier, he wouldn't have had to sell the tailed beasts to fund Konoha's establishment.
Although Konoha was founded with the help of the Fire Nation more than ten years ago, the support they received wasn't enough to make it a thriving village. Building a village—and maintaining one—costs a lot, especially for ninjas.
Ninja training, for example, is a costly investment. A wealthy ninja can hire skilled chunin or even jonin to train them, which is considered a mission, requiring a good reward. It's much different from training on your own.
And ninjas need tools, scrolls, and other equipment—all of which costs money.
It's not hard to see why someone like Tenten, who deals in ninja tools, would become rich. Every ninja is a potential customer.
If Youya had been born fifteen years earlier, Senju Hashirama wouldn't have needed to sell the tailed beasts for Konoha's startup funds.
The original Five Kage Summit was, in a way, a business negotiation. Hashirama framed the sales as an effort to seal dangerous beasts, but if the tailed beasts were truly that dangerous, why not simply destroy them? Surely, the God of Shinobi had that power.
Selling the beasts provided other villages with their own form of deterrence. It was like a nuclear arms deal. The Land of Lightning, for instance, had been eager to buy them all, eventually settling on two—purchasing the most powerful Eight-Tails and also picking up the Two-Tails.
As for the Kazekage, while he loudly proclaimed they didn't need to buy the tailed beasts, the truth was clear: he simply didn't have the money. If he had, wouldn't he have bought one like the Land of Lightning did?
The original Five Kage Summit wasn't as grand as it appeared. It was, at its heart, a distribution of spoils. Hashirama provided the beasts, others paid for them, and the Kazekage… well, he was just broke.
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