章 278: Chapter 278: The Uchiha's Invitation
"What's wrong with you two? Why is there blood on your faces?"
In the Senju Clan's territory, they had planned to visit the cemetery today, so even though there were no classes, Tsunade had woken up early. However, Tatsuma and Nawaki had woken up even earlier and were huddled in front of the washroom, discussing something.
Hearing Tsunade's question, Nawaki turned his head and said, "We were discussing shaving. The razor sensei gave us is too hard to use, and we accidentally cut our faces."
"You two little brats, what are you shaving for?"
Tsunade walked over, pushing the two aside in dissatisfaction, picked up her own toiletries, and began brushing her teeth and washing her face. Tatsuma, helpless, wiped his face with a wet towel draped over his shoulder, then used Medical Ninjutsu to heal the facial wounds.
As for Nawaki, he waved his hand and said solemnly, "I don't need it. A little pain just reminds me to do better! That's what youth is all about!"
Tatsuma didn't insist. Looking at the towel in his hand covered in foam and blood, he never imagined that, after living two lives, he would be stumped by a razor.
He wondered if the wounds on his face might cause further proliferation of the Divine Tree cells; if so, that would be terrifying.
The two of them waited until Tsunade finished her washing before cleaning the towel and applying some aftershave to their faces. Tatsuma wasn't sure if his face needed aftershave care after using Medical Ninjutsu.
But to be honest, he really liked the scent of the aftershave—the top note was a cool peppermint, the middle note a sweet citrus, and the base note a subtle wood chip aroma, much more pleasant than various perfumes.
After tidying everything up, Misha also prepared breakfast for the whole family. Today, Shizune wasn't there; she had been picked up by Dan the night before.
After all, Dan and Shizune were going to visit different ancestors from Tsunade and the others. After visiting the cemetery, they needed to bring the ancestors "home."
Dan will definitely go to visit his own parents and sister, who are Shizune's grandparents and mother. They need to be brought back to his own home and not to the Senju Clan's territory.
In the following days, the ancestors will stay at home until they are sent off again, so Shizune will have to stay home during this period.
Regarding whether ancestors will truly return because of a bowl of soul fire, Tatsuma believes that Senju Tobirama can actually disprove this. After all, his Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu is the real method to bring ancestors back.
However, with customs, even if one does not agree, as long as they are not vulgar or inferior, respect is still warranted. There is no need to create discomfort for oneself or others on such days.
After the customs are observed, everyone will return home to change clothes. Tatsuma also prepared the necessary items, and Tatsuma, Tsunade, Nawaki, and Kushina headed to the cemetery.
As for Minato, he will likely go as well, but he will go separately and meet up at the cemetery. Unlike Tatsuma and Kushina, Minato's connection with the Senju is not as close.
Tatsuma is Tsunade's disciple and the heir to Senju Tobirama's legacy, so he is going as a Senju descendant. Kushina, having inherited Uzumaki Mito's "legacy," will go as the heir of Uzumaki Mito, not as a Senju descendant.
Minato is Jiraiya's disciple, and there is no strong connection between him and the Senju. Although he has learned Sealing Jutsu from Uzumaki Mito like the others, it is sufficient for him to go as a junior, without needing to go as a descendant.
The Konoha cemetery is still quite crowded, especially on such a special day. Even Orochimaru took the time to visit, silently paying his respects in front of a weathered gravestone with illegible inscriptions.
Such occasions do not involve much socializing. After Tatsuma and the others completed their rounds of paying respects, they lit candles and returned home, using the candlelight to ignite the soul fire prepared at the Buddhist altar, thus completing the ceremony.
It was more elaborate when Uzumaki Mito was around, but now, neither Tsunade nor Tatsuma had the inclination for grand ceremonies. They planned to perform the soul fire sending ritual again in a few days, which would be sufficient.
The somewhat modest ceremony was still considered solemn within Konoha, given that Konoha is a ninja village with many ninja families. Not every ninja can rest during Obon Festival.
For most ninjas, visiting the cemetery and paying their respects is enough to complete the ritual. The specific day of the festival isn't crucial; it's sufficient to perform the ritual within a few days of Obon.
After completing the ceremony in the morning, Tatsuma left the clan's territory in the afternoon and found Minato. Seeing that Minato's clothes were not at all bright and his pants and sleeves had some stains, Tatsuma guessed that he had likely been to the cemetery that day. He didn't ask for details and went straight to the point:
"Tenko's birthday is the day after tomorrow. Did you receive the invitation?"
Minato nodded and said, "Yes, I just received it at noon. Did you get one too? Are you asking me to go buy a gift together?"
"That's right. Have you checked your mailbox? Sento should have sent an invitation last week, but we were out of town at that time, so I didn't notice."
"I didn't either. I usually only check my mailbox at the end of the month."
Hearing this, Minato walked to the hallway, found his mailbox, and took out a bunch of miscellaneous letters—some about ninja early shifts, some about ninja extracurricular training—clearly stuffed in during a mail sweep.
Finally, he found an invitation and looked troubled, saying, "Sento probably doesn't know that we were out on a mission. If he finds out we attended Tenko's birthday party but missed his own birthday party…"
"Let's go. We'll buy some gifts and make it up to Sento the day after tomorrow."
Tatsuma shrugged. He had decided this yesterday. The reason he hadn't bought anything yet was that Tenko had been pestering him, even wanting to know what Tatsuma had prepared for his birthday gift.
If Tatsuma hadn't made up an excuse about giving Tenko a surprise, Tenko might have taken the "birthday gift" yesterday. It was a set of highly reliable ninja tools, commonly known as toys, that Tatsuma had prepared for Iruka.
Minato nodded and asked, "So what kind of gift should we get?"
"Tenko's financial situation isn't very good. The daily tasks at the Security Department don't pay much, and he has to support his grandmother and younger cousin, so his expenses must be considerable.
Let's get something useful but that Tenko and his grandmother wouldn't spend money on themselves. I'll get a set of teapots, and you can get some tea leaves?"
Tatsuma suggested. Minato had no objections and continued, "What about Sento?"
"Sento is much wealthier than us. We don't need to worry about the price or practicality. Just get something interesting, like a decorative item with a unique design, a potted plant, or even a fish tank with ornamental fish. We'll see what we can find later."
Choosing gifts is always a challenge, especially when the recipient doesn't have specific desires and the giver has a limited budget.
Tatsuma could only stick to his budget and offer some suggestions. Fortunately, Minato didn't have any ideas of his own and thought Tatsuma's suggestions were quite good.
It seems that as long as it's not a gift for a girl, Tatsuma's advice is quite reliable.
The two, being proactive, didn't delay once they had made their decision. They went shopping and Tatsuma specifically requested the same gift wrapping as yesterday.
The two days quickly passed, and it was time for Tenko's birthday party.
For a young person's birthday, it wasn't very grand. There were no elaborate feasts or "unimaginable joys" planned; Tenko simply invited a few friends to his home.
The guests included Tatsuma, Minato, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Sento and other peers, the squad captain from the Security Department who had taken special care of Tenko, and two friends of Tenko's younger cousin, Obito. That was all for the party.
"Tenko, happy birthday."
Tatsuma and Minato handed the prepared birthday gifts to Tenko. Tenko received them with a silly grin and then gave a provocative glance at Sento, who was waiting at the house.
Sento rolled his eyes but looked at Tatsuma and Minato with a resentful expression as they walked over.
Tatsuma glanced back and saw Tenko already chatting with his squad captain. He took the sealed gift scroll out and said:
"I'm sorry, Minato and I just returned to the village a few days ago and missed your birthday."
Minato also took out his gift and handed it to Sento. Upon hearing this, Sento's resentful expression disappeared. He took the two scrolls and tucked them into the green bodysuit lining, scratching his bald head as he said:
"I knew you two wouldn't forget my birthday. You must have been delayed by something. Only Tenko would try to stir things up between us."
"He's just joking around,"
Minato said with a smile on Tenko's behalf. At that moment, Tenko, having finished chatting with his squad captain, returned and introduced:
"This is my Squad Captain, Uchiha Yashiro. Squad Captain, this is…"
Uchiha Yashiro interrupted with a smile: "Tatsuma, Minato, I know you."
Hearing this, Tenko showed a puzzled expression. Tatsuma explained: "A few years ago on the battlefield, Minato and I were also taken care of by Yashiro-san and Fugaku-san."
Tenko then realized there was such a backstory; he hadn't graduated from the Academy at that time and was naturally unaware.
Yashiro nodded with a smile and said, "Fugaku, the Clan Head, has often been concerned about both of you over the years. If you are not too busy recently, I would like to extend an invitation from Fugaku for you to visit."
He then looked at Tatsuma, with Minato also smiling alongside him.
Tatsuma did not immediately agree. After all, the Uchiha clan is still a sensitive topic. He smiled and said, "Fugaku-san and you have taken care of us on many occasions. If there is to be an invitation, it should be me inviting you first. If I don't have any other tasks coming up, I will definitely host a banquet and invite you. I hope you will honor us with your presence."
An invitation from Uchiha and an invitation from Tatsuma carry different meanings. Tatsuma represents the Senju and can also represent the Hokage faction. While it might not be on equal footing with Uchiha as a whole, it is certainly comparable to Fugaku, the Uchiha Clan Head.
Whoever extends the invitation is the one taking the initiative. Even if a banquet is held, it should be Uchiha who is invited to the event.
The reason the event hasn't been finalized yet is that such gatherings are sensitive. If not handled carefully, they could become the subject of gossip and cause undesirable rumors, so Tatsuma must seek higher approval.
Additionally, Tatsuma really doesn't have the funds for a banquet right now. He would rather delay it if possible. Even if a banquet is necessary, he would at least need to secure some public funds for it.
Yashiro smiled and nodded. It was unclear whether he understood the underlying meaning of Tatsuma's words, but he simply said, "Then I will inform Fugaku, and we will await the invitation."
Tatsuma's smile remained unchanged, but he turned to Tenko and said, "Tenko, Minato and I brought tea leaves and teapots. It's just right for us to use them now. It wouldn't be very polite to serve drinks to your squad captain."
"Is that so?"
Tenko scratched his head, looked at his grandmother who was smiling on the side and had not participated in the conversation. His grandmother nodded and said, "Tenko, then you should make tea for everyone."
The slight awkwardness in the atmosphere at home quickly dissipated, but Yashiro continued to watch Tatsuma with an unexpectedly warm smile. Tatsuma wanted to find another topic to shift Yashiro's attention.
But someone else took care of it. Suddenly, Obito's voice rang out from outside the door: "Kakashi?! Didn't you say you weren't interested in coming?!"
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