Emotional intelligence * preferences

Madara was trying to hear more from Izuna about the past during this conversation.

But Izuna didn't give him that chance.

He seemed to be mindful that this was a conversation with outsiders, and only mentioned the naming of the village when discussing himself and Konoha. At other times, he simply echoed Hozuki Gengetsu's words, leaving no room for misunderstanding, so as not to make the other party feel neglected, nor to let the other party discover more information.

Excellent diplomatic skills.

Madara witnessed this scene.

He suddenly realized that his and Hashirama's worries had never existed in the first place. Izuna clearly understood where the boundaries were and how to be polite to strangers.

He said those things simply because he thought they were appropriate to say them. He only considered whether the problem could be solved, never taking into account or caring about the reactions of others.

He did this because he knew no one could do anything to him.

Just like he said, he's stronger than all of them. If he doesn't want to, what can anyone do to him? If he's in a good mood, he can listen to a few more words; if he's in a bad mood, he can just slap them away.

He underestimated Izuna.

But what can he do? He's Izuna's older brother. How can he stand by and watch Izuna be bullied? He can't even have that thought!

Aside from this, Madara was also concerned about another matter, which was the matter of the name of the Shinobi Village that Izuna had mentioned earlier.

This was the first time Izuna had brought up the past on his own initiative. Usually, they were afraid that Izuna would react impulsively and do something irrational, after all, there were precedents. The first time he saw Black Zetsu, he was so angry that he immediately activated his Mangekyō Sharingan to chase after him. When he saw Isshiki, he didn't even care about his own life and tried to forcibly keep that person.

Later, they subtly inquired whether Izuna might have had suicidal thoughts.

After all this turmoil, even Tobirama was somewhat wary, fearing that the child might do something rash and die. Therefore, they never really went to learn more about Izuna's past.

That suspicious-looking Mokushō, seems to be a breakthrough.

But he comes and goes without a trace. Before they came into contact with the Onmyōji's training system, they couldn't even remember him. Now, they don't know where he has gone.

Moreover, he used the lie that he had "forgotten the past" to fool them. The most crucial point is that they couldn't catch him, and they probably couldn't beat him either. Since they couldn't control him, they couldn't interrogate him, and whatever he said was true.

Izuna a little bit; perhaps Izuna 'll be willing to share this part of his memory?

Madara pondered how to bring up the topic of Izuna later.

There's one more thing.

Madara glared at Hozuki Gengetsu.

This guy has been chatting with Izuna for way too long! It's so presumptuous of him to talk so much to someone he just met!

He still has such a frivolous personality; if Izuna weren't still here, I'd really like to throw him out the window.

A chill ran down Hozuki Gengetsu's spine.

He glanced at Ban subconsciously, meeting Ban's dark, deep eyes. Ban's face was undeniably handsome, but the way he looked at him now was as if he were looking at an unpleasant insect—cold, chilling, and quite frightening.

Hozuki Gengetsu couldn't help but shiver.

He moved closer to Izuna and lowered his voice, "Um, Izuna, your brother is so scary..."

Izuna looked surprised. "Really?"

He turned to look at Ban.

Ban's expression changed instantly, from gloomy to doting.

When Izuna looked over, Madara was smiling slightly, his eyes as gentle as if he were looking at a furry little animal.

Izuna turned back with satisfaction, then looked at Hozuki Gengetsu with some displeasure. "What's so scary? Madara-nii is actually very easy to talk to. Don't be prejudiced against my brother like the others."

Hozuki Gengetsu could only silently mutter to himself, watching Madara's face darken once more. His ability to change his expression was astounding.

Also, bro, is it possible that your brother is only nice to you?

Hozuki Gengetsu cleared his throat and chuckled dryly, "Ahem, yeah, indeed, your brother is easy to talk to."

Izuna snorted, "I knew it."

Hozuki Gengetsu picked up his teacup, took a sip, and calmed himself down.

During the meal, guards from other countries also joined in the conversation.

As the second-in-commands of their respective Shinobi Villages, they had to maintain good relations with other Shinobi Villages. Moreover, this was a rare opportunity to speak with the strongest figures of the time, and they had to seize it.

Hashirama was surrounded by their respective superiors, so they couldn't get close. No one dared to approach Madara's side either.

Izuna is the only one who's easy to talk to, so of course we should take advantage of the time while Izuna's still around to get closer to him.

Social etiquette dictates that one should be shameless, and besides, interrupting is permitted in such situations. As long as one can join the conversation, several people will take turns getting involved.

Izuna was able to handle it.

He had attended similar banquets with his mother several times in his previous life, and he understood why these people gathered there.

Throughout the entire event, he was very supportive of everyone, and he could respond to anyone's remarks. Occasionally, when someone steered the conversation in an awkward direction, he was able to smooth things over and change the subject.

After several rounds, the guards' impression of him improved considerably.

So when the party ended, Wu stopped him.

"Izuna." Wu stopped him in the corridor, hesitated for a moment, and then said in a low voice, "That Hozuki Gengetsu just now was very attentive to you; he probably has ill intentions. Be careful."

Izuna looked at him with some surprise. "What's wrong with you?"

He sat right next to you and said so much.

"That's just casual conversation," Izuna said dismissively. "They didn't ask for information, and they didn't give anything. Is just chatting about everyday things considered ill-intentioned?"

Wu paused for a moment, speechless.

He paused for a moment before lowering his voice. "You don't know this. I've seen people like that before. He complimented a man's appearance and inquired about his preferences; he's probably gay. I've had one encounter with him, and he started spouting nonsense right away—it was extremely rude."

Izuna was completely bewildered.

Izuna stared at Mu's serious face, momentarily stunned.

Complimenting someone's appearance and asking about their hobbies—aren't these basic social etiquette? Knowing what the other person likes is essential for continuing the conversation; otherwise, you might end up making a fool of yourself with flattery, which would be incredibly embarrassing.

But then he thought about it again and realized something was wrong.

This isn't his old place.

This is the Warring States period, and there are no computers or the internet here, so the atmosphere isn't very open.

To praise a girl so directly is flirting; to praise a man so directly is provocation.

No wonder Wu came to tell him all this.

No wonder Ban Ge's side always had such an intimidating aura; it turns out that's why.

But... that's probably not what Huan Yue meant, right?

Izuna recalled the previous conversation. He didn't feel uncomfortable about anything. The only thing that struck him was that Izuna's pursuit of appearance seemed even more fanatical than some beauty bloggers, nothing more.

That means he wasn't actually wrong, but his actions were somewhat inappropriate in the current situation.

Thinking about this, Izuna stroked his chin and said, "Hmm, I don't think it's that serious. He's probably just someone with low emotional intelligence."

Wu frowned. "Low emotional intelligence?"

"I just don't know how to properly connect with people."

The cold-faced man was speechless. "He's such a grown man, doesn't he even understand this?"

Izuna curled his lip. "Some people will never learn that in their entire lives."

Wu snorted, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Izuna's statement.

Suddenly, Izuna noticed something: Muban was handsome.

He has a broad forehead, a high nose bridge, well-defined eyebrows and eyes, and skin that is fairer than most people, giving him the air of a cold and aloof nobleman.

Even if his looks couldn't compare to Sasuke, who was hailed as the most handsome man in Jump, he would still have a 200% head-turning rate in his past life.

In addition, we couldn't find the topic he mentioned...

Could it be that Hozuki Gengetsu spoke to him?

Having thought this through, Izuna asked, "He talked to you? I mean, like, talked to me?"

Wu fell silent.

Izuna laughed at this reaction, "Haha!"

He patted Wu on the shoulder. "No wonder you came to me with this. Don't worry, he was probably just complimenting you. Even if he really is gay, I have ways to make sure he has no offspring."

Wu opened his mouth, unsure how to react to those words.

Izuna wrapped his cloak tighter, waved to him, and walked towards Madara, who was waiting not far away.

Madarami Izuna walked over and asked, "What were you talking about?"

"It's nothing." Izuna wrapped his cloak tighter around himself and tied the straps in a knot at the collar. "Just a minor, fluffy problem."

"Furry..."

Could a problem really be described as furry? Izuna always came up with some strange adjectives.

Just then, Hashirama returned, letting out a long sigh as he walked, "Finally over... I've never had such a strenuous meal in my life..."

Izuna laughed, "Haha, there will be plenty of opportunities to experience it in the future."

Hashirama's face fell. "No... I don't want to be this tired every time..."

He slumped for two seconds, then clenched his fist, gathering his strength again. "But! For peace! I will definitely overcome this!"

Izuna raised his fist and shouted, "For peace!"

Hashirama: "For peace!"

The two people. "Oh, oh!"

Ban, watching from the side, couldn't stop laughing, "You two!"

Hashirama turned around and waved to him enthusiastically. "Madara! You come too!"

"I'll pass," Ban waved his hand. "Where do you want to go this afternoon?"

Izuna thought for a moment, "Hmm, does the Land of Iron have a food street? I'd like to go and have a look. And there are jewelry shops; I'd like to see if they have any antique jewelry I can Tsukimiyo Yoru."

Madara raised an eyebrow. "Find a place for Tsukimiyo to stay?"

"The bead he's currently using won't last much longer," Izuna said, pulling the bead from around his neck. Sure enough, it already had some cracks. "It was just for emergencies. Now that things are done, we need to get him a decent one. I think there are quite a few old shops in the Land of Iron; maybe we can find something good there."

Ban thought for a moment, "It's definitely more convenient to choose here."

The Land of Iron originally started by forging Samurai swords for the Samurai, and its forging techniques have always been excellent. In addition, the Samurai era was also an era in which people pursued beauty, so there must have been many beautiful pieces of jewelry that have been passed down from that time.

Hashirama chimed in from the side, "I'll go too."

Izuna turned to look at him. "Hashirama- nii, you don't have anything else to do this afternoon?"

"That's all, that's all." Hashirama waved his hand. "You've finished supplementing the agreement, and it's signed. Let our Daimyo worry about the rest. I rarely come to the Land of Iron, so I should at least take a look around."

Izuna clapped his hands. "Alright, let's all slack off this afternoon!"

"Slacking off?"

It means being lazy!

Hashirama stroked his chin. "You know what, for some reason, that's actually quite fitting."

The streets of the Land of Iron are located in the lower city, stretching along the hillside, becoming more bustling as you go down.

The workshops of artisans from the Samurai era were all clustered in this area: Blacksmith Shops, sword shops, jewelry shops, and general stores. Signs were hung one after another, and snow fell on the signs, covering most of the characters.

Izuna walked ahead, looking around, peeking into every shop he could find.

The first few shops were sword shops. Izuna went in, looked at a few swords, chatted with the owner for a bit, asked some questions about forging techniques, and then came out.

The next store is a general store.

Izuna went inside and looked around, but didn't find anything interesting, so he quickly came out.

Further on, Izuna stopped in front of a small shop on the street corner.

The shop has a small storefront, but it's decorated very nicely.

The door panels were painted dark brown, and a copper lantern hung under the eaves, decorated with Cloud Patterns and cranes, which was quite elegant.

A wooden sign was nailed to the door frame, bearing the words "Ishimiya), the ink so faded it was almost illegible.

Izuna reached out and pushed the door, the hinges making a low, hoarse sound.

The shop was deeper inside than it appeared from the outside. Two rows of wooden shelves lined the wall, holding various sizes of wooden boxes and cloth bags.

A dark blue velvet cloth was laid on the counter, with several pieces of jewelry scattered on it: a silver hairpin, a pair of agate pendants, and a plain copper bracelet.

Behind the counter sat an old man with snow-white hair and brass-rimmed glasses, wiping a turquoise-encrusted ring with a cloth.

Hearing someone come in, he put down his ring and looked over his glasses.

"Feel free to look around."

Izuna hummed in agreement, moved closer to the counter, and looked down at the few loose pieces of jewelry.

Hashirama ran to the other side to pick out gifts for Mito.

Ban stood idly to the side, looking left and right, unable to understand why people would be so interested in stones.

After a while, Izuna seemed to have taken a fancy to something, and held up what he was holding. "Boss, how much is this?"

The shopkeeper glanced at Izuna with surprise and asked, "Sir, why did you choose this piece?"

Madara walked over and saw the true nature of what Izuna was holding.

A dull, grayish black stone, devoid of any color or texture.

Izuna, seemingly oblivious to their surprise, stubbornly asked, "Just tell me how much."

"This is Galena, nothing rare. If you want it, ten coins."

"Make a deal!"

Izuna placed the Galena on the counter and then bent down to look at the lower shelf.

"Boss, what's this blue thing?"

The old man glanced over his glasses. "Benitoite, not worth much. Eight coins if you want it."

"What about this one? This grayish-black one?"

"Secret Ore. Fifteen coins."

"What about that purple one in the corner over there?"

"Amethyst scraps, five coins."

Madara stood to the side, watching Izuna pick out stones one by one, his brows slowly furrowing.

These stones, in terms of quality and appearance, wouldn't even be considered scraps in a jewelry shop.

There was no carving, no polishing, not even a hole drilled. They were all grayish, some with mixed colors, and some were simply raw lumps of stone.

It has absolutely nothing to do with jewelry.

Hashirama also came over, looked down at the Secret Ore in Izuna's hand, then at the row of stones on the counter, and scratched the back of his head. "Izuna, are these for Tsukimiyo Yoru?"

"No." Izuna didn't even look up, rubbing the surface of a piece of Benitoite with her finger. "I'll find another place for Tsukimiyo."

"And these..."

"I like."

Madara and Hashirama glanced at each other simultaneously.

Did Izuna like these things before?