In front of a grand and opulent yet eerily sinister great hall—
Boom!
A sudden burst of white smoke appeared out of nowhere, and the figure of Fukasaku the Sage emerged.
He looked around carefully, immediately sensing the chaotic flow of natural energy in the area.
It was highly unstable, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.
Above the hall's entrance were three large characters: "Ryuchi Cave".
This hall was merely the entrance to Ryuchi Cave.
Though it was one of the three legendary sage regions alongside Mount Myoboku, it was completely different in nature.
Moreover, toads and snakes had always minded their own business, rarely interacting.
Fukasaku had only been here a handful of times in his life.
However, his son, Gamabunta, was acquainted with a serpent named Manda from Ryuchi Cave.
But their relationship was anything but friendly.
Fukasaku cautiously surveyed the area once more before pulling his cloak tighter around himself.
He was preparing to infiltrate the cave to investigate.
Yet, the moment he pushed open the grand hall's door—
ROAR!
A chorus of furious, vengeful howls erupted directly into his mind.
The sheer mental impact of the assault was unavoidable.
His entire body stiffened instantly, his eyes widening in shock.
In that moment, he saw it—within the endless darkness, countless twisted, ghastly faces emerged.
They shrieked.
They roared.
They lunged at him all at once!
Boom!
His body vanished in a puff of white smoke.
The heavy doors of the great hall slowly creaked shut once more.
When Fukasaku regained awareness, he found himself back home in Mount Myoboku.
His mate, Shima the Sage, was staring at him with deep concern.
"Dear…?"
"Are you alright?" Shima asked.
Fukasaku was still shaken. Just recalling what had happened sent a chill down his spine.
Was it genjutsu…? No, it didn't feel like that at all!
His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. "I… I think I saw ghosts."
"Ghosts?" Shima was stunned.
"Yes… Thousands of them. Tens of thousands…"
"Inside Ryuchi Cave, the entire place is filled with… evil spirits!"
...........
Makoto's vision was indeed ambitious, but there were still many obstacles in the way of realizing it.
At this stage, his idea was merely a preliminary concept, and the current technological level of the world was far from what he envisioned.
He could only take things one step at a time.
The reason he called Tobirama back was to have him research a method to extract the Tailed Beast from a Jinchuriki's body without endangering their life.
After much thought, Tobirama also recognized the potential benefits this could bring to the village, so he did not refuse.
Meanwhile, the red-haired boy who had been following Tobirama around seemed to have fully adapted to his presence.
Their relationship had grown much closer and more familiar.
The boy no longer called Tobirama "Daddy," likely due to Tobirama's strict discipline, and instead addressed him as "Lord Tobirama."
The research facility in the village was still at Tobirama's disposal.
He took Uzumaki Shirou with him and immersed himself in research.
On Makoto's side, after careful consideration, he ordered the Anbu to scour the nations for rogue puppet masters—whether they were wandering ninjas or missing-nin, it didn't matter, as long as their identities were kept hidden.
Puppet masters were a specialty unique to Sunagakure.
Some smaller villages had puppet users as well, but they had only grasped the basics, and these rogue ninjas were likely not much better.
Requesting to formally learn puppetry from Sunagakure was out of the question—such a request would be akin to them asking for Konoha's Sharingan or Byakugan.
Even if Pakura agreed, it would likely come at a significant cost to Konoha.
Friendship was one thing, but for people in their positions, personal relationships and political interests were entirely separate matters.
Makoto had no choice but to start with these lower-level puppet users, hoping that by learning the fundamentals, he could train his own villagers in the craft and gradually explore further.
If that didn't work, he would have to find another way to obtain knowledge from Sunagakure.
..........
At the Uchiha household
Itachi gazed at little Sasuke, who was sleeping soundly, lost in thought.
Mikoto's body had gradually recovered, and she was now capable of doing housework again.
However, she had already grown accustomed to the servants sent by Ayari, especially since she now had a child to take care of.
"Itachi, let's go have dinner at Lord Hokage's place," Mikoto suggested.
Hearing her voice, Itachi lifted his head to glance at his mother before lowering his gaze back to his younger brother.
"Mother..."
"Hmm?"
Itachi suddenly asked, "Sasuke... is he really my brother?"
Mikoto froze for a moment before quickly moving to sit beside him.
"Of course he is, Itachi. Why would you think otherwise?"
Itachi remained silent for a while, his head still lowered. "But… he's going to call Lord Hokage 'Otou-san' in the future, right?"
"..."
Itachi then continued, "Then… what will Sasuke call Tou-san?"
"..."
Faced with such a question, Mikoto fell into silence.
She had always known that, although young, Itachi was no longer an ignorant child—he would eventually notice these things.
But she had never prepared herself to answer.
"Kaa-san, does Tou-san… know about all of this?"
"Kaa-san, is that why Tou-san has been gone for so long? Is it related to this?"
Mikoto sighed softly.
She crouched down, gently placing both hands on Itachi's shoulders, and spoke in a warm voice, "Itachi… your father knows everything, and he agreed to it all. Your father… made a mistake in the past, one that unintentionally led to the sacrifice of your Uncle Tetsuhi and Uncle Inaho. That's why he was punished… and he has accepted it willingly, all this time."
"Itachi, the world of adults is very complicated. Sasuke... even though he calls Lord Hokage 'Father,' he is still your younger brother. Haven't you always treated Neji like your own little brother? Besides, Sasuke is just like you—he is my child too."
Itachi lowered his head, his small face furrowed in confusion.
His young mind struggled to understand—he couldn't comprehend his mother's thoughts, nor could he understand his father's.
Why would his father agree to his mother having a child with the Hokage?
Could this… also be a form of punishment?
Mikoto gently caressed Itachi's cheek and spoke softly, "Itachi, you must take good care of your little brother in the future. As his older brother, it's your responsibility to protect him."
This time, Itachi nodded seriously.
"I definitely will."
"Sasuke, Neji, and even Naruto and Hinata in the future—I will protect them all as their older brother!"
Mikoto couldn't help but chuckle. "Protecting so many—won't that be exhausting?"
Itachi shook his head. "I'm their big brother. Protecting my younger siblings will never be tiring."
After a pause, he suddenly asked, "Kaa-san… are you still Tou-san's wife?"
Mikoto was momentarily stunned before replying, "Of course I am."
Itachi continued, "Then… will you and Tou-san have another child together someday?"
"...You already have so many younger siblings. Isn't that enough?"
Itachi, however, insisted, "It's not the same… Or… does that mean from now on, you will only have children with Lord Hokage?"
"..."
Being questioned like this by her own son left Mikoto feeling embarrassed.
She quickly stood up and said, "Let's talk about this another time. For now, let's go eat dinner."
--------------
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