Shiraishi Gisei took a long leave from the hospital.
After two days of rest, Eisawa started dragging him out to make visits.
They met with more than a dozen heads of various ninja clans, both big and small. After that, they visited what remained of their own people.
The Butterfly Clan had long since splintered. Some smaller families still lingered under its name, though few were truly active in the clan's ways. Others had drifted away over the years, scattered and distant.
Altogether, it added up to a few hundred individuals.
They were no longer clan members in any strict sense, yet they were still connected to the Butterfly Clan by blood or heritage. Only Gisei and Eisawa remained of the main family—the last known line of true survivors.
Half a month slipped by quietly.
Finally, Eisawa brought him to the Takemoto family.
Takemoto Shuichi sat cross-legged on the veranda, smirking the second he saw Eisawa.
"Eisawa, you ready to die?"
Eisawa answered calmly, "Not dying, but honestly, I should be dead already."
He opened his clothes and showed Shuichi the seal on his stomach.
Shuichi took one look and lost interest. Instead, he turned to Gisei.
"You've lived here for over two years and this is the first time you've visited. That's rare."
Gisei rolled his eyes and said, "I'll come visit more in the future."
Honestly, he didn't like this old man one bit, but he kept up the polite act.
Eisawa glared at him, then said to Shuichi, "Uncle Shuichi, I'm here to ask you to keep managing the family property for us."
Shuichi waved his hand and someone brought out the business account books.
"Your family's assets were already handed to me by Yukihito. If you, Gisei, want to manage them yourself, just take them. If you want us to keep managing, fine too."
Gisei started flipping through the books, taking his time reading the details.
After a bit, he lost interest.
There were more than a dozen businesses—restaurants, ninja tool shops, barbecue places, traveling merchant groups—each run by their own people. No need for him to do much.
Annual income: anywhere from 20 to 50 million ryo.
The Takemoto clan just balanced the books once a year; all he had to do was show up.
"No need," Gisei said. "I'll keep bothering you in the future."
He genuinely didn't care about running the shops. With that much money, one person couldn't spend it all anyway.
Shuichi nodded, giving him a look that clearly meant something.
Eisawa just gave a weak smile and took Gisei home.
Once home, Eisawa handed him a passbook. "This is all that's left of the family fortune now."
Gisei looked at it, eyebrows raised. "A little over 30 million ryo?"
That was at best one year's profit. He'd just seen the account books—shouldn't they have at least a hundred million?
Eisawa said nothing, pulling out a thick stack of lists from his pocket.
"A clan isn't that simple. You think it's all income, no expenses?"
He handed Gisei a list. "These are our pension payments. Most of the money goes here. From now on, you'll deliver it in person every year."
Gisei scanned the list—name after name after name.
Just looking at it made his head ache.
Eisawa wasn't finished. He gave Gisei a material inventory. "This is what you'll need to raise your Summoning Butterflies. From now on, coordinate with Sadahisa in the merchant group."
Gisei just glanced at the bottom—total cost, over two million ryo.
He forced a smile. So much, just to raise three butterfly types. If he wanted more, the family's money wouldn't last long.
Eisawa sighed. "Back in the day, mission pay was our main source of income. Now it's basically just the two of us, living off what we've saved."
Gisei was quiet.
It made sense—a ninja clan needed to do missions to survive.
But in these past weeks, he'd seen for himself—very few actual ninjas were left in the clan.
Most of the mission slots given to them by Konoha had been taken by the Takemoto clan.
Even if he got them back, there was no one left to fill them.
At least the Takemotos didn't just take the money for nothing: every year, the family got their share for the missions on the books.
Eisawa patted his shoulder and said, "From now on, the old, weak, sick, and disabled members of the family will all count on your support. If you want to bring the clan back, pick out a few promising kids and teach them the secret techniques."
"If you don't want to do that, then just pass the secret stuff directly to your own kids. Let it go on from generation to generation."
After Gisei put everything away, he asked, "Are you putting your affairs in order?"
"Yeah. No need to pretend anymore." Eisawa nodded. "Half a year, maybe less, and my body won't hold out."
"You really can't fix it?"
Gisei's medicinal jutsu for food absorption and cell recovery had worked on himself, and he'd already shown it to Eisawa.
"So what if I learn it?" Eisawa said, smiling. "Maybe I get another year or two. It's exhausting."
Gisei was quiet for a few seconds. "I know. I'm just not used to it."
"You'll get used to it," Eisawa said. "Your medical ninjutsu is top-notch. With those skills, you'll make a name for yourself in Konoha soon. You'll be able to keep this family going."
He squeezed Gisei's hand. "Let's go—we still have things to do. To the Butterfly Habitat Valley."
Once there, and after visiting Lord Mei, Eisawa started showing off the family's library.
"The dozen or so bookshelves on the right are all about the five elemental natures. When you want to learn, help yourself."
"The five shelves on the left—sealing techniques. Behind those are all the texts for the secret arts."
"Way in the back is the clan's forbidden ninjutsu collection. Be extremely careful. Don't let lust for power cloud your mind."
Gisei walked along the shelves, checking each one. When he saw all the sealing techniques, he asked, "Why does the family have so much sealing technique material?"
"Your grandfather traded our family ninjutsu and some secrets to the First Hokage. A lot of the ninjutsu you see around the village started with us."
"Why trade for seals? Did we really need them?"
"Back then, a lot of old folks in the Takemoto family used butterfly larvae. When the families split, the larvae they left kept absorbing life force. Your grandfather swapped our jutsu to stop that problem."
Gisei nodded.
With everything settled, they headed back home.
Eisawa was just about to head to his room but then turned around. "There's some stuff you should know about Konoha. In the future, try to think before you act rashly."
"I know you don't like the Takemotos, but you should understand—they won't hurt you. We're blood after all. So give them some respect."
Gisei scowled but nodded. "Okay."
"And another thing—the Uchiha. Be very cautious with that clan. Avoid them as much as you can."
Gisei was surprised. "Why?"
Eisawa's face twisted with some old pain. "The Uchiha are proud, suspicious, and vain. Your grandfather lost to them when he aimed for Hokage."
"And both your parents' deaths… they're probably involved. At the very least, they betrayed us."
Gisei's eyes went wide. "What happened?"
"That mission was a joint op. Only the Uchihas and us knew the details. We were ambushed. I was the only one to make it out alive. The three Uchiha with us died too."
"The Uchihas pinned everything on me. I didn't argue since they'd lost people too. But the more I think back on it, the more it seems weird. There's no proof, though."
Gisei said coldly, "Does something like that even need proof?"
"Back then, things in Konoha were… odd. Maybe it wasn't the Uchiha. Lady Mito was the one who sent us, but…"
Eisawa hesitated. "Just be cautious with the Uchiha. They're isolated now, and their decline is just a matter of time."
Gisei looked grim. He'd always believed the Third or Danzo caused his parents' deaths, not that the Uchiha and Senju might have had a hand in it. What a joke.
He looked up at the sky and sneered silently to himself.
This village is truly rotten.
He didn't say anything else.
Eisawa ruffled his hair. "Don't get blinded by hate. What's done is done. Look forward, not back."
Then Eisawa turned and left.
Gisei stood in the yard a while, then went back to his room with a cold smile.
He had no intention of avenging his parents. Hell, he didn't even have the power to do it.
But his path was clear as day.