Chapter 655: Taking Off the Disguise

“No, even if the effect is the same, the value cannot be equal. The necklace I gave you was made by my grandfather.”

“My grandfather is the founder of Konoha, the First Hokage, and the God of Shinobi. Just these titles alone are worth who knows how much,” Lady Tsunade said with a serious expression.

“Then you don’t want this?” Muzuki made a move to take it back.

Lady Tsunade, with quick eyes and hands, directly took the light green crystal from Muzuki’s palm.

“Although yours isn’t as valuable as my grandfather’s, it can still offset some debt,” Lady Tsunade said, looking up after carefully examining the crystal.

From an objective perspective, the necklace Muzuki made has a lot of room for appreciation in value, and in the future, it might not be much worse than Senju Hashirama’s necklace, provided Muzuki doesn’t create more necklaces with identical functions.

“So, how many meals do I owe now?” Muzuki asked curiously.

Tsunade stroked her fair chin, deep in thought.

“Let’s just count by days, it’s simpler. Plus the interest on borrowing the necklace, let’s say one thousand four hundred and sixty-one days,” Tsunade replied after some thought.

The initial ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine days was just something Tsunade said offhand; she herself wouldn’t live that long, so how could she ask Muzuki to cook for her for such a long time?

One thousand four hundred and sixty-one days is roughly four years, a number Tsunade felt Muzuki could accept.

“That’s a long number,” Muzuki said with some emotion.

“I’ve already given you a huge discount. If you try to bargain further, the discount might not be just a number,” Tsunade, thinking Muzuki was trying to haggle, threatened while rubbing her fair fists.

Actually, this number was still above Tsunade’s bottom line, but given such a rare opportunity, Tsunade certainly wouldn’t back down easily, unless Muzuki truly made a very compelling argument.

“Then one thousand four hundred and sixty-one days it is,” Muzuki said with a faint smile.

Tsunade’s face instantly lit up with joy, her clenched fists relaxed, and she chuckled as she patted Muzuki’s back, acting like a good buddy.

“Lady Tsunade, your expression changes so quickly,” Shizune complained.

“What do you, a little brat, know? All adults are like this,” Tsunade said righteously, hands on her hips, chest out, and head held high.

What’s face worth? A few meals from Muzuki.

After noon, Muzuki returned home and read books until it was almost time for his scheduled meeting with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

At four o’clock, Muzuki arrived at the Hokage Office on time and knocked on the wooden door of the Hokage Office.

“Come in,” Hiruzen Sarutobi’s voice came from inside the office.

Having received permission, Muzuki pushed the door open and greeted Hiruzen Sarutobi: “Sandaime-sama.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi responded with a smile, putting down the documents in his hand.

Muzuki closed the door and walked forward.

“Given your excellent performance, Muzuki, both I and the Advisor Elders believe you have the ability to serve as Hokage Assistant,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said directly.

Muzuki gave a polite smile and nodded.

Normally, Muzuki should have shown a perfectly timed expression of surprise and joy, but Muzuki was too lazy to act that much anymore.

He used to act because he wanted to gain Hiruzen Sarutobi’s favor and establish a persona as a genius Ninja who understood The Will of Fire, which would better legitimize his strength.

Now, he no longer needed to. When one’s strength reaches a certain level, whether it’s reasonable or not doesn’t matter; what matters is that you possess that strength.

When he was weak, he needed to act for various reasons to sustain his life.

If he were still acting after becoming strong, wouldn’t all his hard-earned power have been for naught?

“The official appointment will be announced at the Jonin meeting one week from now.” Although Hiruzen Sarutobi found Muzuki’s reaction somewhat subdued, he continued to speak.

After all, Muzuki was the key figure who would make Konoha invincible in the Ninja World for the next few decades. No matter what expression Muzuki wore, Hiruzen Sarutobi could automatically rationalize it for him.

“With Muzuki’s intelligence, it’s normal for him to guess my thoughts,” Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly found a reason for Muzuki in his heart.

“Thank you for your trust, and that of the other high-ranking officials,” Muzuki said gratefully.

Putting everything else aside, Hiruzen Sarutobi truly trusted him now.

“It’s mainly because you are too outstanding; it’s hard not to trust you,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said, stroking his small beard with a smile.

“Oh, by the way, Muzuki, please give me a detailed report on the battle in the Land of Grass where you encountered someone suspected to be Uchiha Madara,” Hiruzen Sarutobi’s tone shifted, bringing up the matter of Uchiha Madara.

Although Muzuki had previously submitted a written report, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that listening to Muzuki’s personal report in detail might yield new insights.

“The situation was like this: we were pursuing a group of Iwagakure Shinobi when we encountered an ambush. During the battle, a black-robed figure suddenly rushed out…”

Muzuki recounted the entire battle from beginning to end, omitting some of the combat details, such as his own Izanagi resurrection.

“A Susanoo over eighty meters tall, powerful Chakra, terrifying large-scale Fire Release…” Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into deep thought.

It had to be said, with all these elements combined, he could indeed only think of Uchiha Madara.

Since the era of the Hidden Villages, among all the Uchiha Ninja he knew, none other than Uchiha Madara had been able to reach the level of strength Muzuki described.

“It’s a pity the Village doesn’t have Uchiha Madara’s physical information, otherwise confirming his identity would be simple,” Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his brow.

The Ninja suspected to be Uchiha Madara was dead, but whether this corpse was Uchiha Madara was still very important.

If it was Uchiha Madara, then naturally everything would be fine. Perhaps they could even obtain his secret technique for staying strong in old age from Uchiha Madara’s body; it was quite absurd that he was still capable of fighting at such an old age.

If it wasn’t Uchiha Madara, then the problem would be significant.

They had no intelligence on such a powerful Uchiha Ninja. Was the “Uchiha Madara” who cooperated with Danzo Shimura this person? Could the real Uchiha Madara still be alive? And what was the situation with the Uchiha of Konoha?

“Perhaps I can search through those sealed documents; maybe my teacher secretly researched him?” Hiruzen Sarutobi had an idea.

Senju Tobirama was very wary of the Uchiha, so he might have secretly researched Uchiha Madara.

“I’m done here, Muzuki. Go back and get some good rest. You’ve worked the hardest this time,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said, smiling at Muzuki, who was still standing in the office.

Muzuki first crushed the Mist Ninja forces, capturing a large number of Hidden Mist, and then killed Uchiha Madara on the Land of Grass battlefield, leading to the encirclement by the three great Ninja Villages. In two months, he accomplished great feats that ordinary Ninja couldn’t achieve in several lifetimes.

Leaving the Hokage Building, Muzuki returned home.

This time, he didn’t read books to research the Breathing Technique or refine the Yang Seal; instead, he took out a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to practice calligraphy.

Calligraphy was a hobby Muzuki had in his previous life.

However, after transmigrating to the Ninja World, Muzuki had much less time to practice.

It was fine when he first started at the Ninja Academy; he could steal some time to write during lunch.

Later, after his main body was no longer at the Ninja Academy, the time he spent on calligraphy significantly decreased.

Muzuki didn’t feel it was a pity, because a hobby is just a hobby. He would never let a hobby affect his improvement in strength.

…

The third day of Muzuki’s return to the Village.

Today, Muzuki didn’t go to Tsunade’s house to cook, because he had guests at his own home today.

“Hehe, Muzuki, you didn’t expect this, did you? I, Kushina, am back!” Kushina greeted Muzuki with enthusiasm.

“Muzuki, sorry to bother you,” Minato Namikaze said with a gentle smile.

Muzuki opened the door after hearing a knock and was momentarily stunned when he saw Kushina, then he smiled and welcomed them both inside.

The Shinobi World War had ended, so it was normal for Kushina’s training to temporarily conclude.

Actually, he had already visited Kushina on the first day he returned, but at that time, Kushina was still under restricted movement.

“I just returned today. When I was reporting my mission, I heard from Sandaime-sama that Kushina’s training could end, so I went to pick her up first,” Minato Namikaze said.

Muzuki nodded, which was about what he expected. Orochimaru should also be back in Konoha by now.

“It feels just like before.”

Kushina curiously observed Muzuki’s living room, finding that after more than three years, there was no change at all. The layout and furnishings were exactly as she remembered Muzuki’s house.

“Kushina, you haven’t been here for just over three years, not thirty years. What kind of changes do you expect?” Muzuki said, bringing over the tea set to brew tea for them, smiling.

Actually, it was mainly because Muzuki didn’t care about these things. Before he killed Uchiha Madara, he always felt a Sword of Damocles hanging over his head. Every day he was either thinking of ways to become stronger or planning how to kill Uchiha Madara. How could he have time to care about this?

“More than three years is still a long time. We’ve only known each other for just over four years in total,” Kushina held a differing opinion.

“Although the house hasn’t changed, you, Muzuki, have changed so much compared to before. When I first met you, you were still a Chunin teacher, and now Konoha is full of discussions about your deeds.”

Recalling Muzuki’s past, Kushina was filled with emotion.

She used to worry that her good friend was too weak and might accidentally die in some corner, so she tried every means to teach Muzuki Sealing Technique.

Yet, in just four years, Muzuki not only surpassed Minato Namikaze but even surpassed the Sannin.

The speed was so exaggerated that it would make some protagonists of Ninja novels feel ashamed.

“It’s a good thing you wear glasses, Muzuki, otherwise Minato wouldn’t even want to leave the house because of the embarrassment,” Kushina recalled their recent encounter on the road and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Just now, as they were walking on the Konoha main street, some Konoha residents called Minato Namikaze “Lord Mu Yue.”

Minato Namikaze was also quite famous in Konoha; Ninja rarely mistook him, but some unfamiliar residents still easily confused them.

Minato Namikaze couldn’t help but scratch his head. He never thought he would have such a day.

However, Minato Namikaze could understand. Muzuki’s contributions this time were too great, and Konoha was heavily promoting him. Things should normalize after a while.

Muzuki’s expression was subtle.

It was somewhat of an inversion of roles, mistaking Minato Namikaze for him, the transmigrator.

“That hateful old man Sandaime, making me bored for so long, and it turns out it was completely useless!” Kushina then angrily denounced Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Kushina could accept undergoing training to control the Nine-Tailed’s power, as it was her responsibility as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

However, after three years of effort and three years of incredibly boring times, it turned out that none of it served any purpose, which made Kushina feel that her efforts were meaningless.

For the sake of her training, she hadn’t eaten at Muzuki’s house for over three years!

Minato Namikaze shook his head, his expression becoming somewhat serious. “This is a good thing, Kushina. You should thank Muzuki for ending the war.”

Minato Namikaze had directly faced a Jinchuriki who could fully transform into a Tailed Beast, had fought against famous strong Ninja from enemy Villages, and had also suffered assassination attempts by elite enemy squads. He understood the dangers of war, and not going to the battlefield was the best possible outcome.

“Of course I know that, but one thing at a time, the old man Sandaime is just hateful!” Kushina stood firm in her stance.

It was only because Muzuki was still willing to make good takeout for Kushina; if it were someone else who hadn’t eaten Muzuki’s cooking for three years, even if Hiruzen Sarutobi died, Kushina would go to his grave to steal offerings to vent her anger.

“What do you want to eat today?” Muzuki, in a good mood from meeting his friends, prepared to make a grand meal.

He had met Kushina many times, and Minato Namikaze often too, but it had been a long time since the three of them sat together and chatted.

“Braised pork with preserved vegetables, squirrel mandarin fish, Mapo Tofu…” Kushina rapidly rattled off dish names.

“Mmm…”

Minato Namikaze covered Kushina’s mouth and looked at Muzuki with an apologetic expression.

Muzuki had just returned from the battlefield and was busy; Minato Namikaze felt bad troubling Muzuki. If his cooking wasn’t so inferior to Muzuki’s, he would have wanted to be responsible for Muzuki’s three meals for a period of time.

“It’s fine, no trouble. I should be quite relaxed for a while. We can slowly rotate through ten dishes per meal,” Muzuki said with a faint smile.

“Yay!” Kushina moved Minato Namikaze’s hand and cheered.

As there was still some time until dinner, Kushina suggested checking Muzuki and Minato Namikaze’s Sealing Technique training.

“Hehe, let Teacher Kushina see if you two have been studying diligently,” Kushina said with a smug expression.

She might not be as good as Muzuki and Minato Namikaze in other areas, but when it came to Sealing Technique, she had absolute confidence.

“Coincidentally, I’ve encountered some difficulties with a Sealing Technique I’m developing.”

Muzuki told Kushina about the difficulties he encountered while developing the Yang Seal.

Kushina’s expression gradually changed from “I am Konoha’s number one Sealing Technique user” to “this problem is a bit difficult,” and then to “who am I, where am I.”

“Ahem, Muzuki, as your teacher, I declare that you have graduated,” Kushina said with a serious expression.

Minato Namikaze glanced at it curiously, analyzed it a bit, and found he had no idea how to approach it either.

Although she verbally gave up, Kushina continued to wear a thoughtful expression, not even testing Minato Namikaze.

“You two sit for a bit, I’ll go cook.” Seeing that the Shadow Clone had bought the ingredients, Muzuki got up and left the living room.

“I’ll help,” Minato Namikaze got up and followed Muzuki into the kitchen.

He could help Muzuki prepare ingredients, lightening Muzuki’s burden while speeding things up.

“Give this to Kushina when you get back.”

When Minato entered the kitchen, Muzuki slipped the completed Chakra necklace into Minato Namikaze’s hand and explained its function.

Although he had a good relationship with Kushina, it was better for Minato Namikaze to give her a gift like a necklace.