Tonight, there didn't seem to be anything important going on. After dinner, Hibari, Tsunade, Tobirama, Hashirama, and Mito all sat together in a room with a warm brazier, chatting.
Three years seemed to have brought no change to Mito Uzumaki. In Hibari's memory, she only showed signs of aging when Kushina Uzumaki arrived, and Mito knew her lifespan was nearing its end.
In any case, Mito still had a delicate face, looking just like Hibari's older sister, with a hint of heroism between her brows.
She glanced at Hashirama, who was cautiously holding a teacup and drinking, then slapped the table and said, "I heard you arrived in the village this morning, but it's already dark, and you're just now coming back. Hashirama, did you get so dazzled in the capital city that you don't want to come back to the Senju clan anymore?"
This morning, when Mito heard the news of Hashirama's arrival in the village, she was very happy. She personally cooked some delicious dishes, just waiting for Hashirama to return so she could serve him good food and drink. After all, they lived in separate places, sometimes only seeing each other once a month, so Mito missed Hashirama very much.
Actually, at first, the Land of Fire's Daimyō's palace had invited Mito to go to the Land of Fire capital city with Hashirama. However, they later remembered that Mito had seemingly become the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, and they quickly dropped that idea.
It was a joke. The existence of a jinchūriki has always been an unstable 'representative.' Just think of how the Eight-Tails in Kumogakure always rampaged; let alone the Nine-Tails, which was even more powerful.
Normally, Mito staying in Konohagakure was fine. Firstly, there were seals, and secondly, Konoha had many experts. Even if something happened, they could stabilize the situation and respond in time.
But if Mito went berserk in the Land of Fire capital city, it would be difficult to clean up the mess. After all, Hashirama no longer had his former strength, did he? If things went wrong, the Daimyō of the Land of Fire might even die under a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Furthermore, Tobirama was always busy with his duties as Hokage, and although Hibari was very capable, his seniority was too low, and he didn't have much say in the family. Therefore, Mito also had to stay behind to manage the entire Senju clan, so she ultimately didn't go to the capital city.
But it turned out great. She lovingly cooked a table full of dishes, just waiting for Hashirama to come back for dinner, but Hashirama, that unreliable fellow, actually ran off to the gambling den with little Tsunade as soon as he entered the village.
Today was different from the past.
Before, when Hashirama lived with Mito, his money was tightly controlled by her. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to steal Hibari's money notes.
Now that he and Mito lived in separate places, he naturally didn't have to hand over his money.
Living in the capital city, his food and expenses were taken care of, he held the title of general, and he received a considerable salary every month. And that wasn't all; with Hibari's business booming, he certainly had to show more filial piety to this old man. Otherwise, would he have been so attentive to the mining permits?
Thus, Hashirama, who had lived a lifetime of 'hardship,' suddenly became rich; with money in hand, he felt secure.
Today, as soon as he entered the village, he saw his 'like-minded' precious granddaughter coming to meet him. He was in an extremely cheerful mood, and the grandfather and granddaughter immediately decided to go to the gambling den to celebrate.
As a result, they didn't manage their time well, and by the time they realized it, it was already dark.
"No, how is that possible? I was just too excited when I got back, and besides... In short..." Hashirama, feeling guilty and somewhat incoherent, spoke until he saw little Tsunade sitting nearby eating pastries. He then quickly said, "I was just listening to little Tsunade... Don't blame me!"
Hearing this, Hibari, who was sitting by and watching the show, suddenly burst out laughing and said, "Don't say such useless things. Hashirama-jiisan, you and Tsunade are both the same; neither of you should complain about the other. If I were you, I'd sincerely apologize quickly and stop with this useless nonsense."
Tobirama also laughed at this scene and smoothed things over. Hashirama also quickly apologized, promising he would never go to the gambling den again or anything.
He had said such things countless times, but no one took him seriously. Mito just wanted an apology. Seeing Hashirama apologize, her anger also subsided considerably, so the matter was put behind them.
"Hashirama-jiisan, have my permits come through? Our entire Konoha village is waiting for these permits to come through so we can start work..." Hibari said with a smile, bringing up the matter.
Hashirama said with some amusement, "You talk as if our entire Konohagakure relies solely on you to survive..."
Hibari then became a little more serious and said, "It's not entirely a joke. The clouds of war are hanging over us now. My side is doing alright, but many merchants have already disbanded their teams, holding onto money and waiting for the war to pass before doing business. That means there are many unemployed people in our Konohagakure, and most of them are skilled fighters."
"Yes, these people have lost their income. It's fine for a short time, but over a long period, it's very easy for problems to arise. Once Hibari's mines start operating, although it's tough work, at least they'll have jobs and money to earn, and some of Konoha's hidden dangers will also be eliminated," Tobirama said softly.
Seeing that his younger brother Tobirama and Hibari were speaking so seriously, Hashirama didn't dare to delay any further. He quickly took out a document from the small bag behind him and handed it to Hibari, saying, "I really was thinking too simply. Here, take it. These are the documents you wanted. Not only the two iron mines in the north, but also an area near the Land of Rivers that might contain iron ore has been given to you. If you can mine it, then mine it; if not, you can make arrangements as you see fit."
"Oh, wow, why is the Daimyō so generous? Giving me a benefit for free?" Hibari took the document, glanced at it, and said with a chuckle.
Hashirama smiled and said, "Not long ago, the Daimyōs of the Five Great Nations gathered again and competed quite a bit. The economies of other countries have been declining, but our Land of Fire's commercial activities are very frequent. Not only has it not continued to decline, it has even seen some recovery, which made the Daimyō gain a lot of face in front of those other guys. He was very happy when he came back, and when I brought this up, he gave you this place too."
The Daimyō wasn't just eating, drinking, and having fun in the capital city all day. Although they didn't have much personal power, they were also responsible for communication and interaction between the countries.
Simply put, the Daimyōs of the Five Great Nations often gathered to eat, drink, play mahjong, and interact. However, these Five Great Nations had been locked in overt and covert struggles for a long time, and recent clouds of tension had darkened the atmosphere, so this meeting was naturally not very pleasant. They inevitably competed with each other.
And Hibari's Mitsumine Group had just allowed the Land of Fire's Daimyō to save face, so he was very happy when he returned and gave Hibari some benefits.
"Hahahaha, I like this Daimyō! I like someone who's so understanding. Tomorrow, I'll send someone to give him some good stuff too; it's only polite to reciprocate," Hibari said with a hearty laugh.
Then Hibari continued, "With this document, I can organize people to open mountains and mine tomorrow. Tobirama-jiisan, it's time to add to the achievements of your Hokage Residence. You can make an announcement tomorrow..."
Tobirama Senju also smiled and said, "Then I really thank you, young man."
The Mitsumine Group opening mines would certainly bring in profits for Hibari. Tobirama, on his end, would solve the unemployment problem in the village, providing a large number of jobs, which would bring him political achievements and prestige. Hashirama could also use these developments to make the foolish Daimyō happy in the capital city, also gaining benefits.
After this whole process, their Senju clan would gain both internal substance and external prestige, losing nothing at all. This shows how perfectly Hibari's establishment of the conglomerate and the Senju clan's development and transformation complemented each other.
With these important matters settled, Hashirama then asked, "Oh, right, how is Renge doing? Is the baby due these next two days?"
Mito smiled and said, "We've already asked someone from the Hyūga clan to take a look; it'll be in the next two days. It's a boy, and you can name him."
It seemed that when a prominent family had such an event, they would all ask someone from the Hyūga clan to come and take a look. Hibari felt like laughing hearing this. He had only joined forces with Hitenn to do these things when Hiruzen's family was having a child.
Now Hiruzen's eldest son was almost three years old; time really flies...
"A name?" Tobirama mumbled, stroking his chin.
As soon as he spoke, Hashirama immediately said, "You can't compete with me this time! You were the one who named Hibari, so this time, let me name him! I've already thought of it on the way here: if it's a boy, he'll be named 'Nawaki'!"
Hearing Hashirama's words, Hibari's lips curled slightly. It seemed what was meant to come would still come.
Actually, at first, Hibari always thought Nawaki would be Tsunade's biological younger brother. Later, he realized he had been mistaken; essentially, just as he was Tsunade's older brother, Nawaki wasn't born to Tsunade's parents either, but rather was the offspring of other people in Hibari's and Tsunade's uncles' generation.
But this didn't affect anything; he was still a younger brother.
Through Hashirama's 'reasoned argument,' he finally defeated Tobirama and seized the right to name this soon-to-arrive grandson.
Seeing this scene, Hibari was also very confused. The parents hadn't even said anything, so what were they fighting over? Was this a Senju clan tradition? Naming across generations? Was it for good fortune?
Hashirama, who had won, had a contented expression. Looking at Hibari, who had grown much taller, he seemed to recall something and asked, "Oh, right, Hibari, how is your Wood Release Kekkei Genkai training coming along?"
Hibari grinned, a smile spreading across his face, and said, "Without your interference, Hashirama-jiisan, my progress has been terrifying..."
As his voice fell, Hibari straightened his posture where he sat, clasped his hands together sharply in front of his chest, and chanted in a low voice, "Wood Release: Twin Blossom Technique!"
Following Hibari's words, a small bulge suddenly appeared on the wooden table where the teacups rested, and then two vibrant red wildflowers quickly grew out of it.
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