Land of Artisans.
Hot spring inn.
Yuzuru looked at Jiraiya, who was sprawled by the edge of the bath with a shamelessly sneaky expression as he peeked toward the women's side, and couldn't help saying, "Jiraiya, can't you seriously fix this habit of peeping on women while they bathe?"
"If you're really that itchy for it, why not just go find a hostess?"
Jiraiya turned back, clearly annoyed. "Do I look like that kind of guy to you?"
"I'm only gathering material right now. This is scholarly work. A brute like you, who only knows how to fight and kill, wouldn't understand."
"Besides, with my charm, if I really wanted a woman, the line would stretch from here all the way to the Land of Fire. Why would I need a hostess?"
Yuzuru let out a mocking laugh and said teasingly, "If you were really that charming, I don't believe you'd still be single."
The moment Jiraiya heard himself being questioned, he immediately retorted, "Nonsense! I just met a woman not long ago who was dead set on marrying me."
"Oh?" Yuzuru's interest was instantly piqued. "Let's hear it."
Jiraiya gave a smug snort, cleared his throat, and said, "Ever heard of a place in the ninja world called Nadeshiko Village?"
"Nadeshiko Village?"
At the name, something stirred in Yuzuru's mind, but his expression didn't change as he shook his head. "Never heard of it."
Jiraiya immediately launched into explanation. "Nadeshiko Village is built on two connected mountains. The entire village is made up of women, and they've always believed in the strong ruling over the weak."
"If you want to marry a woman there, you have to be strong enough to defeat her."
"I didn't know that at the time, so I ended up fighting the village chief."
"And I'm not bragging here, but in just a few moves, I took her down."
At that point, a trace of nostalgia appeared on Jiraiya's face.
"After that, the chief kept insisting she was going to marry me. But I was determined to travel the ninja world. How could I let one woman tie me down?"
Yuzuru asked, "So you just left?"
"Of course not." Jiraiya brushed back his hair with exaggerated flair and said, "To keep the chief from getting heartbroken, I made up a harmless little lie."
"I told her I already had a family, and the two of us made a promise that our future disciples could have a match one day."
"If my disciple loses, then they'll go back to Nadeshiko Village with her disciple and live there."
"If her disciple loses, then she'll marry my disciple and follow him from then on."
The moment Jiraiya finished speaking, he noticed Yuzuru suddenly scoot closer.
"Jiraiya, I've actually always wanted to learn the Sage Arts of Mount Myōboku. So… could you teach me how to train in Sage Arts there?"
"If you'll have me, I'd gladly become your disciple!"
Jiraiya froze for a second, then looked at Yuzuru and couldn't help sighing.
"If I had even half your shamelessness, I probably wouldn't have ended up like this..."
Yuzuru immediately pulled out a crystal ball.
"This is a medium for the Telescope Technique. I'm giving it to you."
Jiraiya took a deep breath and clutched the crystal ball tightly in his hand. "Then what else is there to say? We're brothers now."
"Don't worry. If the disciple of the Nadeshiko Village chief ever comes looking for me, I'll let you know."
"But let me say this first, I can't guarantee whether that disciple is pretty or not."
Yuzuru waved a hand and replied calmly, "Relax. I'm not that shallow."
There was absolutely no need to worry about Shizuka's looks or figure.
After settling that matter, Yuzuru found an excuse and left.
Judging by the look on Jiraiya's face, the man was already itching to try out the new jutsu he'd learned.
He had no desire to soak in a pool with a man who might strike a "one-legged stance" at any moment.
After leaving the hot spring inn, Yuzuru headed straight for the royal palace in the capital of the Land of Artisans.
The current ruler of the Land of Artisans was a ninja named Seimei, roughly at elite jōnin level.
Originally, he had been a guard hired by the daimyō of the Land of Artisans, tasked with protecting the daimyō's safety.
Later, after Yuzuru stirred up the wave of rebellion that toppled the daimyō system, Seimei had been among the first to cut off the Land daimyō's head.
So this ninja, who was very good at reading the situation, dropped to his knees the instant he saw Yuzuru.
Even though Yuzuru had come alone, Seimei didn't have the slightest thought of resisting him.
After all, this was the man who had shaken the entire ninja world and beaten the Kage of every nation into utter submission. His strength needed no explanation.
He said respectfully, "Lord Yuzuru, I am willing to lead the Land of Artisans in submitting to you."
Yuzuru merely nodded without much reaction and said slowly, "That's a good mindset to have. Saves me the trouble of wasting words."
"Here's what you'll do. Gather together all the household registries, ledgers, land records, and everything else for the Land of Artisans. Once my people arrive to take over, you'll come back to Konoha with me."
He froze. "I'm... going back with you?"
Yuzuru nodded and raised a brow. "Is there a problem?"
"Well, Lord Yuzuru..." Seimei forced a strained smile onto his face and said unwillingly, "I know the Land inside and out. How could a newcomer possibly be more useful than someone experienced?"
"Besides, if the people you send don't understand local customs, they might cause all sorts of trouble."
"You may not know this, but the people of the Land of Artisans are all craftsmen. Their tempers are... rather eccentric."
"So... could you allow me to remain here in the Land of Crafts?"
This was the place he had spent half his life building up. Naturally, Seimei didn't want to leave.
After all, even if he submitted to Yuzuru, the Land of Crafts was geographically remote enough that the emperor's reach would be far away.
Here, he could have whatever he wanted and do whatever he pleased, with hardly any restraint.
But if he went to Konoha, that would be a completely different story.
Unfortunately for him, Yuzuru rejected the idea without a second thought.
For nations conquered by force, it didn't matter much. Their local power structures had already been mostly uprooted, so leaving a few locals in power wasn't a big issue.
But for countries like this, which had submitted directly without resistance, if the upper management wasn't replaced, any future reforms would become an endless headache.
To avoid problems once and for all, there was no way Yuzuru would agree to his request.
Seeing that Seimei still wanted to say more, Yuzuru's voice turned cold.
"I'll give you two choices... come with me, or die."
The moment he said that, Yuzuru activated Kamui and vanished.
The fact that he had bothered to say this much already meant he was in a fairly good mood.
If the man still failed to understand the situation, then Yuzuru would simply kill him on the spot.
An elite jōnin, that was all.
In the ninja world of the past, that might have been someone every major power fought to recruit.
But under him, it was nothing special.