"Haseo, then I'll head over there first. You take the child home..."
After arriving at the Uzumaki District, Tsunade said to Haseo like this.
"Sure thing." Haseo nodded.
Then under Ka-jin's guidance, she walked toward the other side of the street. Haseo, on the other hand, headed toward his own home accompanied by his daughter and Kushina Uzumaki who followed behind.
The return of Haseo's family didn't attract much attention—it had simply been too long since he'd last appeared in this village.
Even now, the Fourth Hokage remained merely a symbolic figure in everyone's memory... just like The First, both were distant legends.
Therefore, even if someone saw Haseo, unless they approached him closely, they wouldn't recognize his identity.
Originally, Haseo's house should have been accessed from the opposite side—the Hot Spring Town—but a long time ago, Tsunade had renovated it, changing the direction the front gate faced.
Now that they had brought their daughter home, such a renovation clearly demonstrated foresight.
Changing the door direction and adding a set of stairs here definitely looked like an illegal renovation. However, back then Haseo was the Hokage, so such actions posed no problem whatsoever.
When Haseo arrived downstairs at his house, surprisingly, instead of looking decayed and run-down, it appeared meticulously maintained—as if carefully tended. Even the wooden staircase leading upward was spotless and extremely sturdy... this must've been Kushina's doing.
Thinking about the timeline, it had already been eighteen years since Haseo left this house, and back then, he definitely hadn't hired any cleaning staff.
Once here, Haseo finally deigned to stand up from his wheelchair.
The Black Cat lightly leapt forward, landing first on the stairs before proceeding upward with graceful steps... even a cat could feel nostalgic when encountering familiar scenes.
Haseo stretched his arms, reached out to grab the cane resting behind the wheelchair, then gently patted his daughter's head, indicating for her to follow upstairs.
Kushina Uzumaki temporarily stayed downstairs.
Halfway up the staircase, Haseo suddenly paused his steps. From this landing where he stood, he could look up at the distant Hokage Cliffs... one, two, three; the same three giant heads still hung there publicly displayed.
"Feels strange how things stay the same when people don't..."
"It's people who keep things going"—those few words perfectly described how Haseo felt returning to Konoha.
"Father..." Niyu Haseo hugged her father's arm as she asked. "Were you and Mother raised here from childhood?"
At this moment, what she mainly felt was novelty and curiosity.
"You can't put it that way—it sounds like entrapment, like setting someone up on purpose.
As for myself… I guess you could say I grew up here, seeing as how the penthouse had been my place for years.
As for your mother… you should know I've always kept my feelings in check. In fact, we didn't get married until she was almost thirty."
"As for whether he was showing restraint or not—well, that can be set aside for now. Once again, Haseo had instinctively painted himself in a favorable light in front of his daughter."
"I understand, Father Lord."
"We carry the name Haseo, but Tsunade does not."
Hmm, Haseo's parenting sure does bear fruit.
"Well, your words aren't wrong, but don't say that in front of her."
With one sweep of his arm, Haseo picked up his daughter and tucked her under his armpit, then took a few steps to the rooftop, opened the door, and went inside.
Well… if the outside had been kept in such great condition, then naturally the inside would be even better. Looking at this scenery, even Haseo found it hard to believe that he hadn't returned home for so many years—it looked exactly as though he'd simply woken up that morning, left the house, clocked in for work, and come back on time that evening.
So who in their right mind would go through all the trouble to keep this place up for over a decade? There must have been endless emotions embedded here… Thinking thus, Haseo felt an unusual sense of guilt toward leaving Konoha.
Niyu Haseo struggled free from Haseo's arm and started running around the house, quickly inspecting every room.
"Father Lord, how long will we stay here?"
Though Konoha was completely unfamiliar to Niyu, she showed no hint of nervousness.
Viewed purely from a child's perspective, a lively and prosperous place like Konoha was ultimately more appealing than her father's isolated seaside house in the Land of Bears.
"We should probably stay for a while. Sure, if we're being honest, just based on why I came back to Konoha, we don't really need to stay long. But since we've come back, we still owe some duties… Can't just show up and vanish whenever we please."
Just after arriving here, Haseo hadn't really seen much damage caused by the internal chaos in the village, but that didn't mean it wasn't there. Right now, Konoha's strength was greatly weakened, so Haseo couldn't simply extricate himself and leave immediately.
"So you don't need to hurry; afterwards you can play and fool around here."
Originally, Haseo had planned to leave his daughter at home, but after returning, his mindset changed slightly, so he decided to bring her along next.
"Niyu, you will come with me next…"
Though his daughter was mischievous, she was also very sensible, clearly understanding what was important, what mattered most, and how to act accordingly. Therefore, after a few brief reminders from Haseo, she immediately understood what kind of attitude she should adopt.
Then, the father and daughter went downstairs together.
"Lord Haseo, this child…"
Kushina Uzumaki expressed doubts—this place they were going wasn't appropriate for a kid of that age.
"It's fine. Bring her along… It will be good for her to meet them."
Once Haseo made up his mind, Kushina didn't press further. Then the three continued forward down the street and soon arrived at their destination—a small courtyard located at the heart of the Uzumaki District.
This was where Uzumaki Shikou and her adoptive daughter, Uzumaki Yayoi, lived.
After entering the courtyard, Haseo soon saw Tsunade. Just as he was about to speak, she cut him off with a shake of her head.
Tsunade stepped close to him and whispered gently in his ear, "She's completely drained, time is up. What she's facing… is part of the natural course of life... beyond what medicine can change."
He already knew that answer, yet those words still silenced him completely. After a long silence, he could only exhale deeply before murmuring softly, "Is that so… I understand."
Then, a young Uzumaki shinobi on guard duty pointed them in the right direction. Haseo gently stroked his daughter's long hair, and the two started walking in that direction.
This... was something Tsunade couldn't ignore.
Tsunade's first instinct was to stop Niyu Haseo, but since Haseo had brought the child here…
Haseo entered a bedroom with his daughter.
No — "ward" was probably a better word for it.
The air carried a strong medicinal scent, and the moment he stepped inside, Haseo immediately noticed the terrible condition of Uzumaki Yayoi...
And lying on the bed, being cared for by her, was Uzumaki Shikou.
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