Konoha Notes.

Chapter 470 Masks and Old Friends

Naruto's mind was so overwhelmed with too many things that it almost crashed.

He squinted.

The silver-haired, red-eyed man is the Second Hokage, so it makes sense that he looks familiar.

Is the fifth-generation older sister older than the father?

He compared Tsunade with Shuji next to her, and Tobirama Senju, then looked at Minato, who was covering the lower half of his face, and decided to address things one by one.

"Is the Second Hokage, like my father, also... a reincarnation... an impure... impure world resurrection?"

"That's right," Tobirama replied. "And I was the one who resurrected the Fourth Hokage using the Impure World Reincarnation technique."

"Huh? So that Second Hokage from Edo Tensei, was he himself?" Naruto tilted his head, struggling to piece together the logic in his mind. "No," Tobirama corrected, "Also, you can just call me Second Hokage. Since I already pointed out that your way of addressing Tsunade was inappropriate, it's even more so for me."

Naruto rested his index finger and thumb on his chin, clearly not having finished processing the information yet. He then glanced at Tsunade, carefully examining her face, which looked to be no more than twenty years old.

"But Godai looks about the same age as Shuuji and Dad."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade nodded in satisfaction and gave Naruto an approving look.

Shuji chuckled softly, "I'm a genuine twenty-year-old, Naruto. There's a significant generation gap between me and the Fifth and Fourth Hokage." Tsunade's eyebrows twitched. She glared at Shuji, her clenched fist slightly raised, then glanced at Tobirama Senju standing beside her. In the end, she suppressed the urge to punch him, only letting out a snort through her nose.

Shuji, seemingly oblivious to Tsunade's annoyance, turned to look at the bandage around Minato's face: "Speaking of which, Fourth Hokage, although you said you wanted to make some changes, why did you choose this look?"

"Wouldn't a mask like Kakashi's be suitable? I think there are one-piece masks available?"

"If you're worried about repeating the same character, how about a mask?"

"There are a lot of new and stylish masks in the venue area recently. Customization is also available, such as designs that only cover the left half of the face."

Minato thought about it seriously for a while, then shook his head: "It sounds good, but I'm afraid it will still be easy to be recognized."

"What about a three-quarter mask?" Shuuji continued, suggesting, "One that only shows the right or left eye. We could choose from wolf, tiger, or even demon masks—very cool styles."

Minato's eyes lit up slightly: "Three-quarters mask..."

"Look," Shuji said seriously, "the Fourth Hokage's past image was that of a young, precocious, and composed person. Wearing a mask would actually help change that established image and allow him to disguise himself as a completely new person. He could even change the style every day."

"The nickname can also change from Yellow Flash to Super Masked Man."

Naruto's attention was completely drawn in. He found the first half of the discussion about the masks interesting, but the last suggestion made him immediately speak up: "How lame! Shuuji-nii, that nickname is totally unacceptable!"

Minato also said seriously, "Yes, the title 'Super Masked Man' must not be used under any circumstances."

The Fourth Hokage pondered for a moment: "However, Phantom Gale Masked Man seems like a good option... no, the Hundred Transformations Fire Masked Ninja is still better..." "That's even worse, Dad!"

Naruto blurted it out without thinking. Minato showed a slightly hurt expression, but his eyes still shone with longing for the cool mask design. Tobirama Senju, silently excluded from the center of the conversation, watched the dialogue gradually veer off course and sighed silently.

He had no intention of lingering any longer, so he turned and walked straight into the front courtyard of the old house.

Fu was carrying a stack of dishes out of the kitchen when she saw the person approaching. She instinctively reached out to greet him, "Mr. Shuji, good evening..."

She recognized the person's face halfway through her sentence.

Fu stopped moving and quickly changed her form of address: "Is the silver-haired gentleman here to see Mr. Shuji?"

Then, seeing Tsunade following behind into the courtyard, his expression brightened again: "Good evening, Hokage-sama!"

Kankuro, who was setting out the tableware with her in the corridor, also looked up. He stared at Tobirama's face, initially puzzled and wary, but upon seeing Tsunade, he greeted her respectfully: "Good evening, Hokage-sama."

Gaara did the same, addressing the two of them: "Good evening, Hokage."

Looking at the three children's reactions, Tobirama Senju commented calmly, "It seems that the only one who's truly clueless in this regard is Naruto." At that moment, Shuji and Minato also entered the courtyard. Minato had already removed the bandages from his face and was enthusiastically continuing the conversation with Shuji.

"The Fourth Hokage can have seven masks made, one for each day of the week," Shuuji said as they walked. "A wolf mask on Monday, a tiger mask on Tuesday, a tengu mask on Wednesday, a fox mask on Thursday..."

"Wear the Hannya on Friday, the Oonmi mask on Saturday, and a simple half-face mask on Sunday, my day off." Minato replied smoothly, clearly having already constructed a complete costume plan in his mind.

Shuji continued, "Furthermore, it can leave a Flying Thunder God seal on the inside of the mask, so even if it accidentally falls off, you can immediately return to the location of the mask."

"To become a champion of justice who is always accompanied by the mask."

Minato's eyes lit up even more: "A partner of justice who is always with the mask... that's a great concept and codename, Shuji." "That's really cool," Naruto nodded, also drawn in by the idea. "I... I want a mask too!"

"Alright!" Minato chuckled and patted his son on the shoulder. "Then let's order masks together, Naruto!"

When Fu saw Naruto enter, she hesitated for a moment before ignoring Minato Namikaze's presence. She first called out loudly, "Mr. Shuji," and then beckoned to Naruto, "Naruto! Come and help! We've prepared lots of delicious food today."

Naruto patted his stomach; he was already full. "I'm already..."

"They have fried pork chops and lobster!"

Naruto's expression wavered: "Lobster... well, I can eat a lot more anyway!"

He jogged towards the corridor.

Tsunade had no intention of participating in the mask discussion. She rubbed her temples and asked Shuji, "Where's the sake?"

"kitchen."

Tsunade walked toward the kitchen, and as she passed Naruto, she heard the blond boy whispering to Fu and Gaara.

"...Listen, Godai-neechan is actually quite old, she just looks young..."

"Naruto, don't you know?" Fu replied, "The Fifth Hokage was famous as one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha a long time ago." Naruto was surprised by his friends' lack of surprise.

Gaara calmly replied, "That happened more than a decade ago."

"Huh? Gaara, you found out about this too?"

As Naruto was speaking, he suddenly felt a chill, as if it were real, rise from behind him, causing him to shiver involuntarily. He stiffly and slowly turned his head.

Tsunade stared at him expressionlessly, holding something in her hand.

As she tightened her grip, fine powder fell softly from between her fingers. A faint vein throbbed in her temple, yet her voice was unusually calm, even gentle: "Naruto, could you please go and find Granny Momoka and bring me two jugs of sake?"

"Yes, yes! I'll go right away!" Naruto quickly slipped away.

Senju Tobirama was already used to seeing his granddaughter's childish behavior. He sat down at the stone table in the front courtyard, his gaze sweeping over Gaara, Kankuro, and Fu, before turning to Shuji and Minato, who had just sat down.

"Although from a practical point of view, Konoha and Kumogakure have a closer cooperation," Tobirama said slowly, "from a long-term perspective, you seem to be more focused on cultivating a relationship with Sunagakure."

"Because the Land of Wind is vast yet barren, Second Generation. Moreover, it borders even poorer and more chaotic regions."

"In contrast, places that appear tough but are actually wealthy are actually easier to deal with."

"Those who have nothing are often the most troublesome to deal with as enemies."

"Being numb to pain and no longer fearing loss makes it difficult to find any other effective means of restraint except for utter destruction. This insensitivity is the most troublesome thing."

Tobirama remained silent, gazing at the familiar old house, a place that had once belonged to them, only to be abandoned by him and his brother. Now, children from Konoha lived here, as did children from other villages.

Temari came out of the kitchen carrying dishes. She saw the two extra people in the front courtyard and Shuji sitting next to them. She paused for a moment, then naturally arranged for Naruto's sudden arrival as usual.

"Naruto, go get the sauce. Fu, we're missing two pairs of chopsticks."

"Kankuro, move the table a little over here."

Under her arrangement, the preparation of dinner proceeded smoothly.

Until Senju Momoka came out of the inner room.

The elderly woman was dressed in a plain-colored kimono today, her hair meticulously combed. She carried the last dish, her steps slow and steady. First, she carefully placed the plate in the right position on the table, adjusting the angle twice, before turning and walking towards the front courtyard.

Shuji and Minato Namikaze stood up at the same time and walked towards the Japanese-style room in the restaurant, leaving the space to the two of them.

Tobirama also stood up.

Tao Hua walked up to him and stopped. His face hadn't changed much compared to how she remembered him.

Time seemed to stand still for him, but it left deep marks on her.

"Tobirama-sama."

Tobirama gazed at his former subordinate and comrade-in-arms, now an old man.

"Peach Blossom".

"The food is ready," Tao Hua said.

Tobirama looked towards the dining room. Tsunade was sitting to Shuji's left, Minato opposite her, Naruto beside her, and the three siblings from Sunagakure and Fu were seated separately. The head seat at the table was empty, clearly reserved for him.

Tobirama Senju, always prioritizing efficiency, didn't refuse. He simply nodded and followed Momoka towards the restaurant. Sasuke sat in a chair against the wall in the chief's office, his half-revised report spread out on the low table in front of him.

The sky outside the window had completely darkened. The secret service building was much quieter, with only the occasional soft footsteps of staff on duty echoing in the corridor. The silver-haired director sat behind his desk, holding documents, but his gaze would occasionally drift towards Sasuke.

"It's good that you remember you have an internship position," Kakashi finally spoke, "but spacing out like this doesn't count as working."

Sasuke's gaze was still fixed on the report. How was he supposed to report this to the Second Hokage?

Did I get it right, or did I not?

"Anyway, I don't get paid." He replied with the same joke Shisui had made last time.

Kakashi put down the file, his one exposed eye curving into a smile: "I see, so you've reached the age where you need compensation." "That really startled me; I thought you were going to give up your job here."

Sasuke did not respond.

The office was quiet for a while.

"However, the amount of compensation for delivering documents still needs to be discussed, and a conclusion cannot be reached so quickly. If a strike is to be initiated before then, I can understand."

Another ten minutes or so passed before Kakashi spoke again: "If you're waiting for Itachi to go back together, I suggest you give up. He's dealing with complaints today, and it'll probably be quite late."

Sasuke frowned: "It's just a complaint, why send Itachi over?"

"Oh, that's because the other party is complaining about your clansmen, Sasuke." Kakashi leaned back in his chair.

"Some influential figures abroad believe that the Uchiha Special Task Force used illusion magic on their subordinates while on duty, and suspect that they used this method to falsify the mission results."

"A few cases wouldn't be a problem. But the cumulative number is quite high."

Sasuke said with absolute certainty, "They must have completed their mission."

This confidence was based not only on trust in the clansmen, but also on the fact that having spent so much time in the office, one naturally knew that if there were any problems with the Joint Affairs Bureau's teams on patrol, they wouldn't have waited until now to be discovered.

"Yes, yes, that's why Itachi went to see what was going on," Kakashi said.

After all, Itachi was both the assistant to the director and the young head of the Uchiha clan. His presence could represent the Bureau's position and also appease the Uchiha members.

Sasuke lowered his head and looked at his report.

"What is the point of doing this?" he asked, as if he were asking himself.

Kakashi looked at him, and the lazy look in his exposed eye faded somewhat.

"The action itself is meaningful, Sasuke," he said. "How things will develop, what kind of outcome they will lead to, and even whether they will ultimately turn out the way we want—these are all unknowns."

"But if we strive for a better outcome and try new things, then corresponding developments will occur."

"Action is planning, not the result, Sasuke."

"That's the meaning."

Kakashi Hatake looked at the boy in front of him and said seriously, "To arrive at a conclusion and then ignore everything that happened in between is a very serious form of laziness."

"Teacher, I never taught you this."

Sasuke's eyelids drooped. Kakashi had indeed never said these things before, or rather, never said them in this way. The silver-haired Jonin didn't seem to care: "Anyway, we can't slack off, Sasuke-kun."