Konoha Year 65.
Spring.
After the New Year, everything gradually settled down once more.
Once Yuzuru had taken control of every town in the Land of Snow, he turned his attention toward the other small nations in the north.
Looking across the entire shinobi world, there were no longer many countries left that had yet to submit to him.
Hanare and Koyuki Kazahana, meanwhile, had become household-name female stars in Konoha. One focused on film and television, the other on singing, and both had gained an enormous fanbase.
Especially "Blue Bird," the song Yuzuru had written for Hanare. Calling it an overnight sensation that swept the land would not have been an exaggeration.
Most people didn't know the truth, but Kushina, Mikoto, and the others understood it perfectly well.
At first, he had only wanted to make Hanare famous as quickly as possible.
Instead, he had once again shown off outrageously in front of all his wives.
Worth mentioning was Sasuke's reaction after learning that Yuzuru had written "Blue Bird."
The boy had been so shocked his mouth could practically fit an egg.
Sasuke, who had always been full of confidence in himself, suddenly felt a little inferior in front of his father.
In response, Yuzuru had merely reached out and lightly pinched his son's cheek.
'Son, this is what you call knowledge. Just keep learning.'
Aside from that, he had already handed the data on Chakra Armor over to Orochimaru for research.
Given Konoha's resources and Orochimaru's intelligence, it likely wouldn't be long before Chakra Armor could be mass-produced.
It was like Saiyan battle armor.
It didn't mean much in front of top-tier fighters, but in mid- and low-level battles, it could produce excellent results.
There was nothing more suitable for equipping an entire ninja army.
And so the days passed one after another.
In the mornings, Yuzuru went fishing.
At noon, he went fishing.
At night, he still went fishing.
All in all, life was quite relaxed and comfortable.
That day, just like always, Yuzuru arrived by the river carrying all kinds of fishing gear, ready to show off his skills, when Yugao Uzuki suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Lord Yuzuru, the Hokage sent word. There's news about the Four-Tails jinchuriki, and he'd like you to come discuss it."
Yuzuru frowned. "I just finished setting the bait!"
"Then that's perfect, isn't it?" Yugao said with a smile. "Since Lord Yuzuru can't catch any fish anyway, just setting the bait is already enough."
"Who said I can't catch a fish?"
Yuzuru immediately shot back in dissatisfaction, "I just seal off all my senses so I can properly enjoy the fun of fishing."
Yugao nodded seriously. "That actually does sound right. Otherwise, if Lord Yuzuru breathed out one fire jutsu, who knows how many fish would suffer."
Hearing the teasing in her tone, Yuzuru narrowed his eyes.
"Yugao," he said, "do you know I'm in a very fiery mood right now?"
Startled, Yugao instinctively took a few cautious steps back. "L-Lord Yuzuru… what are you planning to do?"
"Cool off."
The moment he said that, Yuzuru swept her up into his arms in a princess carry.
"You've been provoking me this whole time. Today, I'll let you see the consequences of making me angry."
"L-Lord Yuzuru, I was only joking with you, and besides, the Hokage is still waiting for your reply…"
"Then if you don't want to keep him waiting too long," he said calmly, "you'd better put on a good performance."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yuzuru vanished from the spot with Yugao in his arms.
A long while later...
Yugao's hair hung loosely and messily over her shoulders.
She tugged her collar up high, covering her once fair and smooth neck.
Although she was exhausted, the smile on her face simply refused to fade.
After waiting so long, she had finally gotten her answer.
When she returned home and stepped inside, the first thing she heard was Anko Mitarashi's voice.
"Yugao, you're finally back. I just finished cooking—come eat with me."
Yugao waved her hand. "Anko, forget it. I'm not really hungry right now."
Anko blinked in confusion. "You already ate?"
"Uh... you could say that."
Yugao answered vaguely.
Anko stared at her.
Then, suddenly, her gaze sharpened.
She wrinkled her nose and sniffed once, and her expression changed instantly.
"Yugao, y-you... you... did you and Lord Yuzuru...?!"
Now that she had clearly been found out, Yugao could only nod honestly.
Anko gritted her teeth in outrage.
"Yugao! Didn't we agree we were going to do this together?! How could you just go ahead on your own?!"
"What was our agreement even supposed to mean to you?!"
Yugao said helplessly, "I didn't want to either, but Lord Yuzuru insisted..."
Anko's face immediately filled with grief.
Now she was the only one left who still hadn't been favored by Lord Yuzuru.
Could it be that she simply wasn't attractive enough?
Damn it. If Samui and Yugito found out, those two women would definitely laugh at her mercilessly.
Thinking of that, Anko stopped caring about appearances and directly dragged Yugao back into the room.
For the sake of her future happiness, she absolutely had to properly extract some precious experience and advice from Yugao!
————
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Meanwhile, elsewhere.
After getting dressed, Yuzuru headed straight to the Hokage Building.
When he saw Fugaku lowering his head as he worked through paperwork, Yuzuru got straight to the point.
"Fugaku, is there news on Rōshi?"
"There is. That guy seems to be in the Land of Artisans."
Yuzuru rubbed his chin and gave a slight nod.
The Land of Artisans was a nation composed of various craftsmen, and many famous smiths chose to settle there.
Its greatest claim to fame was the creation of all sorts of chakra-based ninja tools.
It was an island nation isolated overseas, much like the Land of Water or Uzushio Island.
At present, it was not yet part of his sphere of influence, so Rōshi appearing there made sense.
Seeing that Yuzuru had gone silent, Fugaku took the initiative to ask, "Yuzuru, should I send someone to capture him and bring him back?"
Yuzuru shook his head.
"No need. I'll go myself."
A Tailed Beast jinchuriki had terrifying destructive power.
If he couldn't be subdued immediately, the resulting damage would be enormous—and that was something Yuzuru didn't want to see.
Besides, if Rōshi were accidentally killed during the battle, then the Four-Tails would likely need over a decade to revive.
And Yuzuru had no patience for waiting that long.
After weighing it carefully, he ultimately decided to handle the matter personally.
Seeing that Yuzuru had already made up his mind, Fugaku could only say, "Jiraiya was the one who discovered Rōshi's whereabouts. These are his contact codes."
Yuzuru glanced over the strange symbols and silently memorized them.
Truth be told, although Jiraiya could be stubborn to a fault, his intelligence-gathering ability really was impressive.
With him keeping watch, Rōshi probably wouldn't get away.
"Fugaku, I'm heading to the Land of Artisans right now. You can start thinking about who should be placed in charge there."
Seeing how confident Yuzuru looked, Fugaku smiled and replied, "Yuzuru, what I like most is how you're always this confident."
"Don't worry. Even if you hadn't said it, I'd still do it."
"That's the tacit understanding between us."
The moment he saw Fugaku's expression, Yuzuru suddenly felt a chill run through him.
In this world...
There really was brotherly passion everywhere.
Looks like I'd better keep a little more distance from Fugaku from now on.
With that thought, Yuzuru directly activated Kamui and vanished from the spot.