Shuichi Takemoto naturally heard Gisei's voice from outside.
Seeing Gisei push the door open and enter, he struggled to sit up in bed, but his body refused to listen. Even straightening his upper body was a battle he couldn't win.
Seeing this, Gisei quickly ran over to help him up. "You can't even sit up anymore? Looks like you really don't have many days left."
Shuichi caught his breath. When he saw his son, Masamasa Takemoto, walk in behind Gisei, he immediately waved his hand, signaling for him to get out.
Masamasa glared at Gisei but didn't say a word, closing the door as he left.
"I got tired of living a long time ago," Shuichi rasped. "It's just that there are things I can't let go of, so I've been forcing myself to hold on."
"Is the clan really that important?"
"I have spent my entire life fighting for this clan. I can't just give up like you say."
Gisei sighed. "When you get old, you should rest properly. Look at what Uncle Masamasa has become under your pressure."
"He's a disappointment on his own, and his brain isn't sharp. I don't dare let him be the head of the house. Otherwise, believe it or not, he'd turn around and sell you out the first chance he got."
Gisei raised an eyebrow. "...It wouldn't go that far, right?"
Shuichi sneered. "Do not underestimate human stupidity."
"He's your son, after all. Saying that is a bit harsh."
Shuichi fell silent for a while, then let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Let's not talk about him. Yesterday, Anna said you agreed to marry her. Is that true?"
"False."
Shuichi laughed. "She wouldn't lie to me, but you, on the other hand, never speak the truth."
Before Gisei could defend himself, Shuichi continued, "That's fine, too. I originally planned for you two to marry anyway. It's even better if you actually have some affection for each other."
Gisei sighed. "Yesterday I had water in my brain. Anyway, let's just leave it at that. I came today to discuss something with you."
Gisei explained his idea of wanting to enter the Administrative Division.
Shuichi remained silent for a long time before finally speaking. "No problem at all. But I want to ask you one thing, and you must answer me honestly."
Gisei nodded.
"Did you actually see a path forward?"
"There are many paths. It's just that I chose the most difficult one."
After Gisei finished speaking, Shuichi stared at him for a good long while, then laughed, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Amazing. I didn't see even a single path. Sure enough, you are the best choice."
"The best choice might not necessarily be me. I might just cause the entire clan to vanish in smoke and ashes. Don't blame me when that time comes."
"It doesn't matter. As long as you treat Anna well, if the clan is gone, let her bear you a few more children. After a few generations, it will be a new clan."
Gisei smiled bitterly. "Didn't you just say you couldn't let go of the clan? How did you switch to talking about a 'new clan' in just two sentences?"
Just as Shuichi wanted to speak, he suddenly began to cough violently. Gisei hurriedly used medical ninjutsu to help stabilize his condition.
Shuichi gradually calmed down. After stopping the treatment, Gisei sighed. "This body of yours... saying you'll die tomorrow is entirely possible. It's only been a few years; how did you age like this?"
Shuichi laughed weakly. "Do you really not know, or are you pretending not to know? Of course, it's because of the butterfly seeds. Although they are sealed, the seal relies on my chakra."
"With my current body, where would I get the chakra to maintain the seal? One year passing for me is equivalent to several years for others. Being able to live until now is already a miracle."
Gisei fell silent. Mei's ability to manipulate life force could definitely help Shuichi, but Mei wouldn't do such a thing.
She didn't even care about Eisawa, let alone the Takemoto family that had already separated from the main branch. It was only because she had taken a fancy to him that she helped supplement his life force. In her eyes, everyone else was probably just food—alien species in the end.
"Yesterday Anna told me she wanted to train in the secret techniques, and I agreed. Grandpa Shuichi won't blame me, right?"
Shuichi shook his head. "She didn't tell me about this, but I could guess. Since she was little, I taught her to put the clan above everything else. This is my fault."
"I quite dislike those butterflies in Butterfly Habitat Valley, but I also understand that your path ahead won't be easy. Without power, there is simply no path to walk."
"If she wants to learn, let her learn. Anyway, you are going to get married; she will be able to help you a lot in the future."
Shuichi was probably tired; he waved his hand to signal Gisei to leave.
"Tonight I will gather everyone. You can speak to them yourself when the time comes."
Gisei nodded and turned to leave.
After waiting for Gisei to disappear, Masamasa pushed open the door and entered. "Father, I feel that..."
"Your feelings are not important. Go make the arrangements."
Masamasa was cut off by Shuichi before he could even finish his sentence.
He gritted his teeth and continued, "Father, since the family separated, we are essentially two families. We're putting so much effort into pushing him to power, yet I haven't seen even a bit of gratitude from him. We might as well..."
"Might as well what? You are acting very strange today. Did someone contact you in secret?"
Shuichi lay on the bed, a cold light flashing in his half-open eyes.
Masamasa knew his thoughts couldn't be hidden from his father. He hesitated for a moment before confessing, "Danzo told me that as long as I give up on Shiraishi Gisei, he will recommend me to the Hokage to enter the regular forces and serve as a unit commander."
Shuichi stared at him dead on and said coldly, "Do you think you are capable of being a unit commander? Or is it just that you can't wait to be the clan head?"
Masamasa's face flushed red, unable to speak.
"You..." Shuichi didn't know what to say, so he could only ask, "You didn't mention anything about him wanting to defect, did you?"
Masamasa hurriedly replied, "How could I possibly speak carelessly about such things?"
"That's good. Go make the arrangements."
Once Masamasa closed the door, Shuichi began to cough painfully again.
"No successor, troubles inside and out, really... cough cough... I don't know what the future will become. What a pity..."
...
Returning to the hospital and finishing his work for the day, Gisei went to the Takemoto house again.
As soon as he entered the door, he sensed that the atmosphere wasn't quite right.
There were too many people.
In the courtyard, inside the house, and all along the corridors, there were Takemoto family ninjas everywhere. Scanning the area, Gisei estimated there were at least a hundred people.
What was this for?
Anna pushed Shuichi out in a wheelchair, followed by over a dozen jonin from the Takemoto family.
Gisei wasn't very familiar with these jonin and couldn't be too presumptuous, so he could only ask Shuichi with his eyes.
Shuichi waved his hand, and someone behind him took out a map and handed it to Gisei.
Gisei opened the map and took a glance. It was a topographical map of Konoha, with an area heavily circled in red pen.
He was very familiar with that area. It was the place where he grew up, and also the ancestral land of the Butterfly Users.
"Your clan land is returned to you. It was yours to begin with; I have never touched it."
Gisei looked at the map with mixed feelings. Back then, Eisawa said he would dispose of the clan land; he didn't expect it to be in Shuichi's hands all along.
Now that Shuichi was returning the land to him, this favor was too heavy.