Asuma Sarutobi could not understand it. What exactly was the Will of Fire...?
In his view, if Seisui had acted in accordance with the Will of Fire, he should have encouraged Kojiro Inada not to lose heart and to keep striving to become a Konoha ninja.
But Seisui had not done that. He had directly paid for Kojiro Inada to open a shop.
Why? Why?
Why did Seisui encourage a dead last like Might Guy to move forward step by step, yet not encourage Kojiro Inada?
But when he saw Kojiro Inada's face filled with joy, Asuma fell into confusion.
Was not being able to become a ninja really such a happy thing?
Yet that heartfelt smile could not be faked. In other words, Seisui had done nothing wrong.
Asuma slowly crumpled the Will of Fire test paper in his hand into a ball. He stared unblinkingly at Seisui, then slowly exhaled a breath of stale air as his gaze grew resolute.
He had already decided that he would find a suitable opportunity to ask Seisui face-to-face what the Will of Fire truly was.
Compared to the hypocritical, uncomfortable scenes he had heard about and witnessed at home, Asuma trusted Seisui more—the one before him who had brought smiles to his friends and classmates.
"Seisui brat, I told you to help him, not to tell him to stop being a ninja." Tobirama Senju frowned, seeming somewhat dissatisfied.
"What good would that do? So he could become a ninja and go die?"
Seisui shook his head and slowly said, "A student so untalented that he can barely master the Three Body Technique—even if he puts in one hundred and twenty percent effort, he would be lucky to reach Chunin in this lifetime. More likely, he would remain a Genin for life."
"When war comes in a few years, people like him will be cannon fodder. He might not even leave a corpse behind on the battlefield."
"Tell me, Tobirama, does Konoha need another piece of cannon fodder, or does it need a shop owner who makes delicious tricolor dango?"
Tobirama Senju froze. He had not considered it from that angle.
But after thinking it over carefully, he felt that Seisui was not wrong. Still, something about it seemed strange...
Tobirama Senju fell silent. After a moment, he slowly nodded. "Perhaps... what you did was right."
"Learn from me properly, Tobirama." Seisui shrugged. "Of course I was right. Could it be that you, with your zero score, were right instead?"
"Evil Uchiha brat!"
"It's delicious, Seisui! You're a really good cook!"
At the Seisui household's dining table, Might Guy wielded his chopsticks like a whirlwind, his mouth like an excavator, launching a youthful assault on the lavish spread of meat and eating with great relish.
Before long, he had already wolfed down eight bowls of rice.
Seisui's table manners were more refined, but his appetite was not the slightest bit inferior to Might Guy's.
In truth, a ninja's strength could partly be judged by his appetite. Strong ninjas did not necessarily eat a lot, but ninjas who could not eat generally could not fight.
If they could not even eat, how would they have the strength to hit people?
Might Duy watched his son gorge himself with a cheerful smile, his eyes carrying sadness, gratitude, and embarrassment.
Unlike the still-childish Might Guy, Might Duy might shout about youth all the time, but he was still a mentally sound adult.
The food spread across the table included everything from red meat to white meat, from chicken, duck, fish, and goose to medicinal dishes. The nutritional balance seemed as if it had been carefully calculated.
To put it bluntly, even the Hokage's household probably did not eat much better than this.
Only then did Might Duy understand what Seisui had meant by room and board, and what kind of treatment it truly was...
"Uncle Duy, pick up your chopsticks. Why are you just watching?"
Just as Might Duy silently waited for Seisui and Shisui to begin eating first, Seisui smilingly placed a large basin of beef before him and handed him a bowl of rice.
"If you don't eat your fill, then work yourself sick and develop hidden injuries during training, I'll have to keep treating you. Do you trust me that much, Uncle Duy?"
"Don't be polite. Only when you're full will you have the strength to guard our home. This was part of the compensation we agreed on."
Might Duy blankly looked at Seisui, who seemed to be scolding him, and inhaled the aroma of the beef. For a moment, he felt dazed.
After struggling through Konoha for decades without ever being valued by anyone, Might Duy felt genuine respect and warmth from another person for the first time.
But Seisui was an Uchiha...
So what if he was an Uchiha?
Might Duy took a deep breath and nodded heavily at Seisui. Then he fiercely snatched the rib Might Guy had been eyeing, beat him to it with perfect precision, and stuffed it into his mouth to chew heartily.
"Father!"
"Guy, eating is also a form of training. If we do not treat Qingshui-kun's cooking with the spirit of youth, that would be a sin!" Might Duy burst into laughter and gave Seisui a thumbs-up.
"Don't worry, Qingshui-kun. I will definitely be a good guard for the Seisui family!" Might Duy put particular emphasis on the words "Seisui family."
"I've always believed in you, Uncle Duy." Seisui chuckled and returned the thumbs-up.
Seisui did not mind at all that Might Duy and Might Guy ate a great deal. On the contrary, the more they ate, the better.
Might Duy and Might Guy had grown up with limited resources. Once their hidden injuries were healed here and they had their fill, when their youth finally bloomed, they would probably kick to death more than just the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, or cripple only half of Madara Uchiha's body...
In any case, Seisui definitely would not be the one getting kicked.
It was only a few dozen tons of meat. Compared to the power of Night Guy, it was practically free. No one in Konoha was willing to make this round of angel investment, so of course Seisui would not let the opportunity pass.
Shisui, watching from the side, snorted. Though he did not think their family needed a guard, as a qualified younger brother, he would not question his older brother's decision.
But!
As for the food his brother made, Shisui resolved that he would eat more than everyone else!
Shisui stuffed himself until his face turned red and his neck thickened, glaring fixedly at Might Guy and swearing to eat even more than that glutton!
"Alright, Guy!"
After eating, Might Duy sprang to his feet full of energy. "Today's training is to wash all the dishes within three minutes, then mop the floor three times, and finally sweep the courtyard until it is spotless!"
"Oh! Got it, Father!"
"Oh, right, Qingshui-kun. Kakashi told me today that if you want to spar with him, go to Training Ground One in the village this weekend. He'll be waiting for you there."
Might Guy scratched his head sheepishly. The food had been so delicious that he had nearly forgotten to pass along his friend's message.
With that, Might Guy energetically began clearing away the bowls and chopsticks, chasing after Might Duy, who had already begun washing dishes, and joining him in the housework.
"Hey, I used to be the one who washed the dishes at home!" Shisui slapped the table. "No, I want to wash dishes too!"
Seisui smiled as he watched the three of them compete to wash the dishes, his eyes narrowing.
Kakashi wanted to spar with him. What did that mean? A challenge from a genius...?
Tobirama Senju watched the warm scene with a complicated gaze.
He wondered how Tsunade, all alone, was doing right now.
Second update complete--
I nearly got caught writing a novel by a coworker today.
Good thing I was quick-witted: "Bro, what the hell would I know about writing novels?"
But thinking about it carefully, that wasn't wrong either. What the hell would I know about writing novels!
Orz...
Before you continue