Hidden Leaf Village,
Conference Room Five.
"Ah, Shiken, what is it this time? I just got back, you know? Go exploit someone else for once."
The one yawning as he walked in was none other than Inuzuka Ryoha, who had just returned from the Land of Hot Water.
Logically speaking,
I just finished handling something for you. You can't immediately drag me into another job, right? Even workhorses shouldn't be abused this hard.
"Ryoha, and who exactly do you want Shiken to exploit instead?"
Hyūga Hiyasu's cold voice rang out.
Kamito has serious business to discuss. Hideki just got back, so if we're not bothering you, should we bother me instead?
"Oh? Everyone's here already? Alright then, let's start."
"Business first."
Ryoha laughed awkwardly and tried to brush the matter aside.
But Hyūga Hiyasu kept staring at him.
The greatest obstacle to his peaceful slacking-off life.
Uchiha Kamito spoke first.
He really had been busy lately—so busy he barely had enough time.
"Shiken, whatever it is, just say it already. Stop wasting time, alright? I still have a ton of things to deal with."
"Me?"
"Yeah. Whenever we have meetings, you're always the one talking while the rest of us listen."
"Is that so?"
Aburame Shiken seriously thought about it for a moment.
Now that he thought about it, that really was true.
But this time was genuinely different.
"This meeting wasn't organized by me. Hideki has something he wants to say."
Hyūga Hiyasu: ???
Uchiha Kamito: ???
Inuzuka Ryoha: ???
That guy actually organized a meeting?
Senju Hideki: I feel like you people seriously underestimate me.
"Ahem."
Senju Hideki cleared his throat.
"Everyone, a few days ago I came across a stone. It was perfectly square and smooth."
At those words, the other four immediately perked up.
That sounded awfully familiar.
Uchiha Kamito: "Such a mysterious stone… would you kindly reveal its location to me? I shall retrieve it personally, keep it under strict protection, and care for it diligently."
Aburame Shiken: "Inappropriate. A mysterious stone of this caliber should naturally be entrusted to my care instead."
Hyūga Hiyasu: "Your opinions differ greatly, gentlemen. The safest place in the Hidden Leaf Village is undoubtedly the Hyūga compound. Not even moths can enter, nor mosquitoes escape. Naturally, I should be responsible for safeguarding it."
Inuzuka Ryoha: "That treasure belongs to me. How dare you all covet it."
"…Huh? Aren't you guys overthinking this? It's literally just an ordinary square-shaped piece of jade."
Hideki hurriedly explained.
"Hideki-kun is correct. It's merely an ordinary piece of jade, nothing valuable at all. Which is precisely why it should be entrusted to my care."
"Kamito, do you really think no one can see through your heart?"
Aburame Shiken shouted angrily.
"And you too, Hideki. Stop pretending. If it were truly just an ordinary piece of jade, would you keep emphasizing it over and over?"
Hyūga Hiyasu immediately added,
"Jade. Square-shaped. Perfectly square. There couldn't be a more obvious hint."
Ryoha nodded along in agreement.
Thunk.
Hideki casually tossed the square jade onto the conference table.
Shiken, Hiyasu, and Ryoha picked it up and examined it repeatedly.
Kamito picked it up and continuously rubbed the base, checking whether certain large characters had been engraved there.
Unfortunately, no matter how much he touched it, the only sensation he felt was smoothness.
Perfect smoothness.
"…Nope. It really is just an ordinary piece of jade."
Hearing Kamito's final conclusion, the other three visibly deflated.
"Oi, if it's just some lousy jade, why were you hyping it up for so long? Don't tell me you called this meeting just to show off the square jade you found."
Hyūga Hiyasu was deeply dissatisfied.
Was something this trivial really worth gathering everyone for?
You could've just bought us grilled meat and shown it off there. Did you really need to make such a huge fuss over it?
"If you gathered us here just to brag, then I think the two of us need to have a little spar."
Ryoha had already begun glaring dangerously at Senju Hideki.
You could never understand just how much resentment lived inside a man who had just returned from a business trip only to get dragged into overtime work immediately afterward.
Neither Shiken nor Kamito said anything.
They knew Hideki wasn't the type to confuse priorities so badly.
And if he really had lost all sense of priorities, then the two of them would gladly help him remember what "important matters first" meant—with a lesson written in blood.
"H-Hey, calm down a second."
Even Hideki realized the atmosphere was starting to go wrong.
Why are all four of you staring directly at me?
Weren't you guys fighting over the stone just moments ago? How did this suddenly turn into this?
Aburame Shiken: "Hideki, I think it'd be best if you got to the important part quickly. Because I can't guarantee what's going to happen otherwise."
"Mhm."
"Exactly."
"He's right."
"Well… mainly, I had an idea I wanted everyone to consider."
"An idea? Let's hear it."
As Shiken spoke, he quietly began thinking to himself.
This really is Senju Hideki… right?
No, better test him a bit more.
Ever since he came back to life, he'd been acting stranger and stranger.
"I was thinking… since we're transmigrators, why do we have to wait for all those final bosses to fully develop before fighting them? Can't we just eliminate the danger while it's still in its infancy?"
"Tch, and here I thought this was something serious. Didn't we already discuss this before? If things develop naturally, we'll have far fewer enemies to deal with. Besides, haven't we already turned Orochimaru to our side? That hidden late-game boss, dream-chasing Kabuto, basically won't even exist anymore. By then, our only enemies will be Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Madara."
Even as Hyūga Hiyasu said that, he still looked confused.
Hadn't this already been decided long ago?
What exactly was Hideki questioning?
Wasn't it because the plan had been crafted so perfectly that this period became a rare moment of peace within the plan itself—allowing him, Hyūga Hiyasu, to live such a leisurely life?
"That's true. Continuing with the original plan would definitely benefit us more, but…"
Hideki hesitated.
Because there was a very real chance this was entirely his own fault—that he was about to shatter the plans the other four had carefully established.
"Go on. We're listening. No, wait, we'll probably just reject it immediately, so don't pressure yourself too much."
"It's because of me. Shiken, the work you arranged for the Senju Clan was excellent. Minato helped us a lot too. Administrative offices, civil servants inside the Hokage Building… stable iron rice bowl jobs."
"But I realized something. The way for the Senju Clan to reclaim its former glory isn't by becoming bureaucrats."
"It's by accomplishing something even greater than the First Hokage."
"For example… unifying the ninja world."
"So that's why you brought this stone?"
Ryoha asked, though he already had a faint premonition in his heart.
"The eight characters may not be engraved on it now," Hideki said slowly, "but that doesn't mean they can't be engraved someday."