Chapter 350: It

Hahaha, an extra meal tonight!

Senju Hashirama's hearty laugh echoed through the forest; perched on his shoulder was an enormous wild boar, and his face radiated the joy of a bountiful harvest.

His luck was good today—he'd just stepped out and encountered a wild boar, enough meat for him and Madara to eat for several days.

He was pondering whether roasting or stewing would please Madara more.

He just left the woods, reached a stream, and intended to gut the boar.

But he ran straight into Lian Ye and Xuanwo Mizuto, who were arriving.

The three met and froze simultaneously.

"Uncle Hashirama, what are you doing here?" Lian Ye asked curiously.

But seeing the boar on his shoulder, he instantly understood—he'd gone hunting and just happened to run into them.

He wondered whether it was luck or misfortune.

He instinctively glanced at the sallow‑faced Mizuto Ayi, thinking Hashirama was doomed.

If blame is needed, blame Fat Cat; bring up whatever's on your mind.

Senju Hashirama looked at the suddenly appearing Mito and Lian Ye, and rubbed his eyes instinctively.

Was he dreaming?

How could he see Lian Ye and Mito?

Right, it must be a dream!

Xuanwo Mizuto's gaze first fell on her husband's hair dotted with grass and his dust‑covered clothes, then slowly shifted to the wild boar on his shoulder.

A dignified smile still graced her face, but the surrounding pressure grew ever lower.

"Hashirama," Mito's voice remained gentle, yet it made his body stiff, "What are you doing?"

Senju Hashirama was startled internally and flashed a flattering smile.

Crap, it's not an illusion!

"Mito, why are you both here?"

Lian Ye stared at the wildly incongruous scene before him.

The legendary God of Ninja, looking like an African hunter returning home, wore a silly and embarrassed expression before his wife.

For a moment he didn't know how to react, and could only silently shift his gaze to the babbling stream beside him.

"Hashirama, aren't you going to explain?" Xuanwo Mizuto said with a smile.

"Uh… this… Mito, what a coincidence, haha…" Hashirama forced a laugh, trying to tuck the boar behind him, but the boar's size and his movements were too conspicuous, "I thought the mountain boars looked plump… just, just thinking of improving our meals…"

Xuanwo Mizuto's smile softened further: "Improving meals? Improving yours alone, or improving a certain… 'friend's' meals?"

She deliberately emphasized the word "friend".

Fine cold sweat beaded on Senju Hashirama's temple; he had no idea what was up with Mito.

He could only look to Lian Ye with a pleading gaze.

But Lian Ye pretended not to see, his eyes fixed on the stream.

He thought it best not to get involved in the older generation's affairs.

If blame is needed, blame Fat Cat!

At that moment, Dao Ba licked his paws, eyes gleaming with anticipation as he looked at the two.

He loved watching such family feuds.

Hehehe, this is so interesting, meow!

The stream babbled, yet the atmosphere was far from calm.

"You hang out with Madara's ghosts every day; can't you just return to the Village?"

Xuanwo Mizuto's gentle demeanor vanished in an instant, her eyebrows knit, and with a precise hand she grabbed Hashirama's ear.

"Look at your living conditions; if you hadn't come here in person, I wouldn't have known how terrible they are!"

She was clearly genuinely angry.

He had thought his husband's living conditions were decent, but they turned out to be like a wild man's!

Now that it's like this, he's still only thinking about cooking for Madara!

Those who don't know might think Madara is his wife.

"Ow, ow, ow, Mito, take it easy, easy…" The God of Ninja, who once ruled the Ninja World, now tilted his head grotesquely, baring his teeth and begging for mercy.

He tried to explain, "I wasn't fooling around, Madara… uh, I was trying to stop him…"

"Stop what?" Mito's tone was both angry and urgent, "You're already old, yet you left the Village for decades because of Madara!"

Which husband's wife would abandon his family and leave home for ten years for a man?

The poor son thought his father was dead, and the poor grandchildren thought their grandfather was dead.

The poor younger brother thought his older brother was dead!

In fact, he hadn't died at all!

Lian Ye, standing nearby, was completely petrified, wishing he could crawl into a crack in the ground.

His gaze drifted—sky, earth, the stream—but he dared not look at the scene before him.

"I didn't see anything, I really saw nothing!"

If blame is needed, blame Fat Cat!

"But… Madara wants to destroy…" Hashirama kept trying to argue, but the pain in his ear changed his tone.

Xuanwo Mizuto cut him off, hand on her hip, aura fully unleashed.

"Feijian has been swamped with state affairs these years, and clan matters have also piled up! And you, you're here leisurely hunting boars!"

"Mito, listen to my explanation, I really have a hardship…" Hashirama's eyes looked pitifully at his wife.

He originally didn't want to tell his wife about the Moon's Eye, but now it seems he must reveal the truth.

Mito Clan, seeing her husband's serious expression, reluctantly suppressed her anger, let go of his hand, but her gaze still stared sternly at Hashirama.

Hashirama quickly rubbed his flushed ears, muttered as he set the wild boar down from his shoulder, and began to recount Ban's ambition.

"Lian Ye, is what he said true?" Mito Clan skeptically looked at Lian Ye.

She had reason to suspect that Hashirama was just unwilling to return to the Village, and thus fabricated a convenient excuse.

"This is true, Mizuto Ayi." Lian Ye finally had a chance to speak.

"Really, meow, only Lord Ban can bring peace to the Ninja World!" Fat Cat excitedly raised a paw, "Lord Ban is my idol, meow!"

Mito Clan, seeing even Fat Cat admit it, only then believed the authenticity of those words.

"You've been by Ban's side only to stop him from carrying out his plan…" Mito Clan curiously asked, "All these years, have you succeeded?"

"Not yet…" Hashirama awkwardly scratched his head, "But I feel it's close to succeeding!"

Lian Ye neither affirmed nor denied it.

Probably, by the time Lord Ban awakens the Rinnegan, Uncle Hashirama still won't have succeeded in persuading him.

Madara Uchiha could not abandon his own ideals because of Hashirama.

But he didn't say it, otherwise Uncle Hashirama would inevitably receive a hefty beating.

Xuanwo Mizuto stared deeply at Hashirama, and did not discuss the matter further.

Since it's her husband's obsession, she also couldn't forcibly intervene.

She could only hope Hashirama can soon stop Ban, then return to the Village to retire.

Being sixty years old in the current Ninja World is considered elderly; few ninja can die a natural death.

"Take me to see where you live," Xuanwo Mizuto said softly.

She wanted to see what kind of environment the two grown men lived in.

"Fine…" Hashirama could only lead the two toward the cave.

Lian Ye gazed at the distant cave, feeling a touch of emotion.

Indeed, it hits the spot—that's the feeling!

The legendary Mountain Top Cave Man!