"What's wrong?"
Shizuka Nadeshiko's weak, sleepy voice came from beside him.
Yuzuru shook his head with a smile.
"It's nothing. Get some rest first."
Shizuka obediently nodded and buried her head back under the blanket.
Yuzuru laughed softly before vanishing from the room with the Body Flicker Technique.
After leaving the Everlasting Imperial Palace, he called out directly:
"Yugao!"
The moment his voice fell, a woman with long purple hair instantly appeared before him.
"Lord Yuzuru..."
Even though she had long since become his woman, Yugao Uzuki still served as his personal guard.
And the way she addressed him had never changed.
After correcting her several times to no effect, Yuzuru simply let her do as she pleased.
He immediately asked, "Yugao, you know Hayate Gekkō, right?"
She nodded at once.
"Of course. We were neighbors growing up. Before I met you, I often sparred with him in swordsmanship."
"Speaking of which, I think today is actually his wedding day."
Yuzuru raised a brow.
"Oh? How do you know?"
Yugao smiled and explained,
"He sent me an invitation some time ago. I didn't plan on attending, though. I only had someone send a few gifts in my place."
She had always known how Hayate felt about her.
That was why she had cut off contact with him long ago.
Even now that he was getting married, she still didn't want to attend.
Even the slightest possibility of causing her man to misunderstand was something Yugao refused to risk.
"Coincidentally enough, the person Hayate is marrying is a member of our Uchiha clan."
"So from now on... I guess he can be considered married into the Uchiha clan."
Yuzuru had already learned about this through the system, so he simply nodded.
"Every member of the Uchiha clan is exceptionally good-looking. And now that the Uchiha are unquestionably the number one ninja clan in the world, there are probably countless people who want to marry into the clan."
"Hehe... That's true. But I still think Lord Yuzuru is the most handsome."
Hearing Yugao's words, the corners of Yuzuru's lips curved upward slightly.
He flicked her lightly on the nose before beginning to think about the power of the Transparency Release.
Its ability was to erase one's presence and appearance—in other words, invisibility.
If he could obtain it and combine it with Kamui, the effect in actual combat would definitely be far greater than simply one plus one.
Lost in thought, Yuzuru soon arrived at the Hokage Building.
Although the entire ninja world had been unified under the Divine Nation, he had still preserved the positions of the Five Kage.
After all, it was a defining feature of the Naruto world. Without the title of "Kage," things would feel strangely incomplete.
The moment Fugaku saw Yuzuru enter the office, he immediately stood up.
"Yuzuru, I was just about to go look for you."
"What is it?"
"We've received information. The whereabouts of the Six-Tails jinchuriki have been discovered."
————
————
Southern Divine Nation.
In the region that once belonged to the Land of Bears, Yuzuru appeared out of thin air.
According to Fugaku's information, the Six-Tails jinchuriki had last been seen in a town within the former Land of Bears.
Thinking about it, Yuzuru could not help but feel somewhat proud.
The Land of Bears had once been a remote and impoverished small country, with most of its territory covered in untouched forests.
In the past, trying to obtain information about the Six-Tails jinchuriki there would have been nearly impossible.
Even if someone got lucky enough to encounter him, it would still take considerable time to send the information back.
By the time reinforcements arrived, the target would already be long gone.
But now, after his massive infrastructure reforms throughout the Divine Nation, any inhabited area could be reached by his network of influence.
A single phone call was enough to relay important intelligence back to the heart of the Divine Nation in an extremely short amount of time.
This...
Was the power of technology.
As Yuzuru strolled through the streets of the town, he quickly lost interest.
There was simply nothing special about the place.
Entering the inn where the Six-Tails jinchuriki had stayed, Yuzuru headed directly toward the target's room.
But just as he stepped onto the stairs, he heard a woman's startled cry from inside.
"Y-You... who are you?!"
The next moment, a man's mocking voice rang out.
"Hotaru, I've been chasing you for a long time. I finally found my chance."
"Hand over the Tsuchigumo clan's secret technique right now, or I'll kill you!"
Seeing the man before her, Hotaru's pupils suddenly shrank.
"I remember you. You're Byakuro!"
"Hahahahaha! That's right!"
The man laughed wildly before snarling,
"Since you know who I am, then obediently hand over the secret technique."
Hotaru shouted angrily,
"In your dreams! My grandfather personally entrusted it to me before he died. How could I possibly give it to a traitor like you?"
"Then don't blame me for what happens next."
After speaking, Byakuro formed a hand seal with one hand.
Hotaru had just been about to resist when she suddenly felt her entire body go limp.
A black "Control" mark had already appeared on her arm.
Byakuro sneered coldly.
"Once you're hit by this jutsu, you'll become a puppet I can control however I want from now on."
As she watched Byakuro approach her with a twisted grin, Hotaru shut her eyes in terror.
Yet the pain she expected never came.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw a tall, slender man already gripping Byakuro by the throat.
Byakuro's face was red from suffocation as he struggled to speak.
"U-Uchiha Yuzuru?! H-How are you here?!"
Uchiha Yuzuru—the most exalted emperor in the ninja world.
Why would someone like him suddenly appear in a run-down inn in such a remote area?
And more importantly...
Why was he attacking him?
Crack!
The only response Byakuro received was the crisp sound of bones snapping.
Yuzuru naturally had no interest in answering any of his questions.
This ambitious traitor who murdered his father, betrayed his village, and dreamed of using the Rage Heaven technique to rule the ninja world was better off dead.
Bang!
After tossing Byakuro's corpse onto the floor, Yuzuru turned and looked toward Hotaru, who was kneeling on the ground.
She had long brown wavy hair, and her emerald eyes shimmered with tears.
She wore a short purple vest, while the pale arm exposed outside bore the "Control" mark.
At a glance, she gave off an extremely pitiful and delicate feeling.
After looking her up and down, Yuzuru could not help wanting to laugh a little.
The girl before him had once jokingly been called the woman who carried the instruction manual on her arm.
Now that he was seeing her in person, it really felt rather unique.
Compared to Yuzuru, however, Hotaru was terrified out of her mind.
The man before her was Uchiha Yuzuru!
Although he had just saved her from Byakuro, who knew what kind of intentions someone of his status might have?
After all, whether it was herself or her absent teacher Utakata, both possessed things coveted by countless people.