Compensation

He had indeed guessed it.

It's been so many years since the house owner appeared. Even after the house was destroyed for the last time, the owner still didn't show up. The village guessed that the owners might all be dead, so they took the house back and then sold it to the current bathhouse owner.

No, how did Madara buy that house back then?

Didn't anyone in the village register?

"It was indeed registered in the village." Seemingly noticing Ishigami's question, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed again. "But according to the village records, this house wasn't purchased by Madara Uchiha, but rather in the name of the Uchiha clan. However, the village didn't register the house's owner, probably for the convenience of gifting it. Later, the village contacted the Uchiha clan, but after an internal investigation, no one in the Uchiha clan had bought this place. And at that time, the relationship between the Uchiha clan and the village..."

"..."

Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could finish speaking, Ishigami roughly understood what was going on.

The Uchiha clan couldn't find out anything. At that time, given the Uchiha clan's situation, it wasn't appropriate for them to take action against the house. They figured if they did, the villagers would start gossiping again, so they simply left it alone.

When the village saw that no one claimed them, they assumed that no one wanted them and simply recycled and reused them.

Shi Jian stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi with a dark expression.

No, what should we do now that his master has appeared?

"Logically speaking, the previous announcement period has passed, and since no one has claimed it, this house does indeed meet the regulations for repossession." Seemingly sensing Ishigami's thoughts, Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled awkwardly, as if saying this to a child felt like bullying him. His old face still showed some embarrassment as he said, "But this was indeed a serious mistake caused by negligence on the part of the village, and here..."

With a solemn expression, he said, "Here, on behalf of the village, I apologize to you."

"..."

Seeing the Third Hokage actually stand up and bow to apologize to him, Shi Jian was stunned and didn't know what to say.

After apologizing, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Ishigaki and said with a smile, "As for the house issue... well, the village will provide appropriate compensation. However, since it happened so long ago and so suddenly, we'll need to discuss how to compensate. But rest assured, I will resolve it as soon as possible. What do you think? Of course, if you have any other requests, you can bring them up!"

"……All right!"

Shi Jian didn't say much about it. The Third Hokage had already said so, so he couldn't possibly close the bathhouse and build a new house for him here!

"Thank you for your understanding, child." Seeing that Ishigami did not refuse, Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief.

He smiled and shook his head, clearing his mind. Now that the deal was done, it was time for him to go home.

"I've finished soaking the food, so I'll be leaving now. Don't let the children soak for too long; remember to go home early."

After saying goodbye to Shi Jian, he turned and went into the changing room.

After a short while, he changed his clothes and walked out of the bathhouse.

Just as he was about to leave, Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped again, looked at the ANBU ninja who had suddenly appeared in front of him, paused for a moment, and then spoke in a serious tone.

"Tell Danzo that the child doesn't know anything, and that it might just be a legend. Warn him not to attack the children of Konoha without permission."

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

The ANBU ninja who received the order disappeared into the night.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took another puff of his pipe, glanced back at the bathhouse, and muttered to himself, "If such a family really exists, then... is it really just a legend?"

After saying that, he shook his head and walked towards the Sarutobi clan's territory.

Why didn't the teacher say more in the past?

Come to think of it, when the teacher accepted him and Danzo back then, he clearly said that he highly approved of them!

But then... not to mention after that, just one day later he was like a completely different person, and he called him and Danzo over and gave them a severe beating.

And later, whenever he was in a bad mood, he would make him go with Danzo to get beaten up.

And then there's Hashirama and Madara Uchiha... those two are just watching from the sidelines, looking smug, and sometimes they even wish they could beat them up too!

Why is that?!

……

On the other side...

Shi Jian had already opened the window and was looking at the other side with a pitiful expression, as if he had already finished complaining to the other side.

"Hmph, what's wrong with Konoha?" Madara Uchiha, having figured out what was going on, immediately complained angrily, "They even took the gift I gave to a brat?!"

Then, turning to look at Tobirama Senju, she said, "Could it be that you, you despicable scoundrel, are behind this?!"

"Hmph, Madara Uchiha, you're inherently evil. Don't try to shift the blame for your own mistakes onto others. Also, I just registered it, but it doesn't seem to have changed. Perhaps it's lost, or perhaps some other accident has occurred." Tobirama Senju snorted coldly, then pondered for a moment, his tone grave. "But thankfully, nothing has changed. If established facts change, who knows what might happen? For example, if Ishigami is taking a bath right now, would he still be taking a bath, and where would he be taking a bath if things had changed?"

At this point, he let out a long sigh of relief, "We really didn't think things through this time. In the future, we shouldn't rashly change anything that Shijian is going through unless absolutely necessary."

"?!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Jian was also taken aback.

To be honest, he really didn't consider that!

We don't know whether, when things that have been experienced are changed in the past, the past is a fixed history or a history that has suddenly changed.

"Didn't the Third Hokage already say that the village would provide compensation? Let's see how the village will compensate us!" Tobirama Senju changed the subject immediately. Considering that time was running out, he didn't hesitate and looked at Ishigami, saying, "It seems that my previous guess was correct."

They can increase their numbers, while the other side can extend the time. I just don't know if the time the other side can extend is also limited like this.

Unfortunately, there isn't enough data yet, so we can't know for now.

After thinking about this, Tobirama Senju shook his head again, intending to take advantage of these few minutes to ask Hiruzen and Danzo about their situation so that he could plan the next training session.

However, before he could speak, Madara seemed to have noticed something. His brow furrowed, and his Mangekyou Sharingan activated. He looked directly at an old, moss-covered fox statue by the pool and said in a serious tone, "Kid, go over there... that's right, to that fox statue!"

"???"

What's wrong?

Although puzzled, Shi Jian still walked over with doubt, and then, before he could say anything...

Then Ban's voice rang out again, "Seal formation: Chou-Yin-Wei-You-Hai."

The moment Shijian finished forming the hand seals as Madara instructed, a 'bang' sounded, and a pit appeared in front of the fox statue. A small box was buried in the pit, and Tobirama Senju, Hashirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha on the opposite side also noticed it.

"???" x4

what is this?