"Although I still don't know what effect this will have, being able to have a physical body again and see this world once more is already a tremendous kindness."
As he spoke, he glanced at Madara again.
"And Madara really does have a bit of a temper."
Madara Uchiha's gaze turned cold.
"Hashirama."
Hashirama acted as though he hadn't heard him and continued speaking on his behalf.
"He speaks harshly and always has a cold look on his face, but he isn't unreasonable."
"Most of the time, he just has a bit of a problem with how he expresses himself."
"If he offended you last night, please don't take it too much to heart."
Zhang Yu watched Hashirama earnestly explain things on Madara's behalf, then looked at Madara's increasingly dark expression. He finally couldn't hold back a laugh.
"Don't worry, I didn't hold it against him."
"After all, I'm the boss now. I'm very broad-minded."
Madara gave him a cold look.
Hashirama, however, was delighted.
"That's good."
After saying that, he turned to Madara, his tone suddenly growing cheerful.
"Madara, I never expected we'd get to work together after we died."
"Doesn't this count as another way of fighting side by side?"
Madara was expressionless.
"I never agreed to that."
Hashirama rubbed his chin.
"But since we're both working for the boss now, why don't you change your surname to Senju while you're at it?"
The tavern fell silent for a moment.
Zhang Yu slowly raised his head.
Good grief.
He actually dared to say that?
Madara Uchiha's face instantly turned pitch-black.
"Hashirama!"
Hashirama was still perfectly serious.
"Look, when we founded Konoha, wasn't our ideal to have everyone put aside their hatred?"
"Now that the Uchiha and the Senju are both in the past, what's the harm in changing your surname?"
Madara took a step forward, his voice as cold as a blade.
"I am Madara Uchiha, and my surname will always be Uchiha."
Hashirama scratched his head.
"Don't get so worked up. I was just saying."
"Is that something you can just say?"
"Then how about I change my surname to Uchiha?"
"In your dreams."
"See? You think it's inappropriate too, don't you?"
"Hashirama!"
The two went back and forth. Just moments ago, one had been the God of Shinobi and the other the Asura of the Ninja World, but now they were arguing like a pair of overgrown children.
Watching them gave Zhang Yu a headache.
If they kept this up, the two legendary figures would blow the roof off his tavern with their shouting before it even welcomed a customer.
He raised a hand and tapped the table.
"All right."
His voice wasn't loud.
But Hashirama and Madara both stopped at once.
Zhang Yu looked at them and said with a smile, "You two seem a little too close, don't you?"
Both of them froze.
Zhang Yu spread his hands.
"You called out to each other so naturally when you first met."
"One of you speaks up for the other, while the other acts like he can't stand him but keeps staring at him."
"And now you're even talking about changing surnames."
"Are you two really just archenemies and close friends?"
Hashirama's face turned red at once.
"Boss Zhang Yu, you've got the wrong idea!"
Madara's expression also visibly stiffened, and even his ears turned a little red.
"Ridiculous!"
Watching their reactions, Zhang Yu was laughing himself silly inside.
The two greatest powerhouses of the Shinobi World.
One was the God of Shinobi, the other the Asura of the Ninja World.
A single remark from him had made them both lose their composure.
If anyone else in the Shinobi World saw this, they'd probably start questioning their entire lives on the spot.
Hashirama hurriedly explained.
"Madara and I have just known each other since we were children. We ended up like that because we later took different sides."
"Our differences were about ideals, the paths we chose, and peace in the Shinobi World."
"It's not what you think."
Zhang Yu nodded.
"Got it. Soulmate-level differences."
Hashirama: "..."
Madara said coldly, "If you say anything that ridiculous again, I'm leaving."
Zhang Yu raised an eyebrow.
"Going out to recruit customers?"
Madara fell silent.
Hashirama looked at Madara, then at Zhang Yu, and asked quietly, "What does recruiting customers mean?"
Zhang Yu stood up and clapped his hands.
"That brings us to business."
"Since you two are employees of the Undead Tavern now, you have to follow its rules."
He pointed at the tables and chairs.
"First, no fighting in the tavern."
"Second, no scaring away customers."
"Third, you must cooperate with any work the boss assigns you."
"Fourth, no casually using large-scale ninjutsu in Konoha, especially Susanoo and Wood Release."
Hashirama nodded repeatedly as he listened.
"Of course."
Madara snorted but didn't object.
Zhang Yu continued, "Starting today, you two are this tavern's servers."
Hashirama's expression stiffened.
Madara remained expressionless, as though he had already grown numb to it.
Zhang Yu looked at Hashirama.
"The daily work is simple: greeting customers, serving drinks, wiping tables, and keeping order in the tavern."
The corner of Hashirama's mouth twitched.
"I have to serve drinks and wipe tables too?"
"Of course," Zhang Yu said matter-of-factly.
"Even Madara has to do it. What makes you think you don't?"
Hashirama glanced at Madara.
Madara sneered.
"God of Shinobi, accept reality."
Hashirama visibly sank into gloom.
He squatted in a corner, his back looking like a giant mushroom drenched by rain.
"I never thought I'd still have to work after I died..."
Seeing his familiar dejected appearance, Zhang Yu nearly burst out laughing again.
Madara, on the other hand, was in a much better mood.
Sure enough, as long as Hashirama had a share of the suffering, he could accept it more quickly.
After settling the two of them in, Zhang Yu opened the system interface.
A pale blue panel appeared.
[Host: Zhang Yu] [Identity: owner of the Undead Tavern] [Strength: ordinary person] [Gold coins: 1,100] [Employees: Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju] [Summons remaining: 0] [Current mission refreshed.]
Zhang Yu's gaze immediately fell on the mission tab.
[Daily mission: recruit customers] [Mission requirement: actively recruit at least five customers each day to enter the tavern and make purchases.] [Mission reward: gold coins calculated according to the number of customers and the amount spent.]
Zhang Yu's eyes lit up.
A daily gold coin mission for recruiting customers.
This was what could truly keep the tavern running.
If he relied solely on the thousand gold coins from the opening mission, he would run out sooner or later.
The daily mission meant the tavern had a steady source of income.
Zhang Yu opened the shop again.
This time, the shop interface was much easier on the eyes than before.
Rows of merchandise were neatly arranged.
[Basic drink recipes: 10 gold coins] [Ordinary beer: 10 gold coins per bottle] [Specialty baijiu: 20 gold coins per bottle] [Employee uniform: 5 gold coins] [Ordinary wooden cup: 1 gold coin]
Scrolling farther down, he found things that made his mouth water.
[Wood Release Kekkei Genkai: locked] [Sage Body: locked] [Mangekyō Sharingan: locked] [Rinnegan: locked] [Flying Thunder God Technique: locked] [Impure World Reincarnation: locked] [Eight Gates Released Formation: locked] [Tailed Beast Chakra: locked]
The more Zhang Yu looked, the more excited he became.
Good stuff.
It's all good stuff.
Wood Release, Sage Body, Mangekyō, Rinnegan.
Any one of them could send the entire Shinobi World into a frenzy to get it.
Unfortunately, they were all grayed out for now.
Not only were their prices hidden, but there were no unlock conditions either.
Zhang Yu stared at the grayed-out goods for a long while, with only one thought in his mind.
Make money.
I have to make money.