"Find the one you love with all your heart
Find the one who loves you back
Say farewell to loneliness…"
Mo Ke hummed the tune cheerfully as he strolled toward his room.
Kakashi had shown up early in the morning, asking for a bit of chakra replenishment. Not bad. His Mangekyo still hadn't awakened, but he could already sense the power inside him stirring.
After giving him chakra, Mo Ke waved him off. Kakashi still wanted to ask about training methods, but Mo Ke drove him away without hesitation. Better to let him handle his own recovery exercises. Mo Ke had more important things to do, like waiting for Shisui's report.
Mo Ke wasn't some great ninjutsu master. He had nothing meaningful to teach Kakashi anyway. Unless he cut Kakashi down and turned him into a Shinigami.
Which he absolutely would not do. An immortal Shinigami was precisely the kind of thing even Orochimaru would drool over. Mo Ke wasn't giving that gift to just anyone unless he was completely sure they were his own people.
And besides, any proper transmigrator knew this rule:
The fewer people who know your abilities, the better.
Who knew what kind of insane anti-Shinigami counter-techniques the ninja world might invent if Reapers started popping up everywhere. This was a world where "if I believe hard enough, chakra can kind of do anything" was a real principle.
As for Kakashi, Mo Ke already had a clear plan. Once he took control of Root's research division, he'd give Kakashi a full enhancement package. Transplants, augmentations, cheats, the works.
He just hoped Root's research division actually had merit. After all, Danzo had worked under Orochimaru for years… yet the old fossil himself didn't seem to accomplish anything useful.
That thought alone worried him.
So Mo Ke began thinking about who else he could recruit. Suddenly, a perfect candidate popped into his mind.
The true number one scientist of the shinobi world: Senju Tobirama.
The man whose lore had been stacked so absurdly high he could compete with Vegapunk. Any mysterious ninjutsu with no origin? Just credit Tobirama.
A brilliant mind, but not easy to handle. Still, Mo Ke was confident he could manage him someday.
He certainly wasn't bringing Orochimaru back. That was never happening.
Night approached. The Uchiha clan assembly was scheduled for tonight. Shisui, following Mo Ke's instructions, had already revealed the power of Kotoamatsukami to Danzo.
As expected, after trembling in fear at first, Danzo's eyes immediately filled with greedy hunger.
His first command was simple. Have Shisui use Kotoamatsukami on Mo Ke, making Mo Ke obedient only to him.
Shisui replied with a calm "no."
Danzo tried threats, intimidation, promises—every method he had. Shisui refused again.
This time he waited a few seconds before saying "no," out of politeness.
Inside Shisui's body, where Mo Ke had hidden a ball of chakra to turn him into a pseudo-jinchuriki, Mo Ke watched the scene and turned green.
He waved his hand in disgust.
"Get out. Just go. I don't even want to hear whether you'd use Kotoamatsukami on Fugaku."
One more "no" and he'd die of brain hemorrhage.
Danzo's killing intent was so thick it nearly condensed into mist.
But as Mo Ke expected, without absolute preparation, Danzo wouldn't act yet.
Tomorrow, Danzo would definitely summon Shisui again to hear the results of the clan meeting. That would be the moment he tried to steal his eyes.
Good. Perfect. First handle the Uchiha, then deal with Danzo.
There was still time before evening. Mo Ke decided to take another nap.
Entertainment in this world was painfully poor. Every TV show was either praising the Hokage or the Daimyo. As if those two apes were worth broadcasting.
The radio only played slow, sorrowful songs that sounded like funeral chants.
If they had voices like Huang Ling, fine. But every singer sounded like they were mourning their ancestors. Terrible.
Mo Ke wondered if he should start holding concerts. That would satisfy his past-life superstar dream. And maybe, just maybe, Deidara and Sasori would finally understand true art.
Explosions move the heart? Does your boom shake the soul like my voice?
Eternal beauty? Please. If he recorded a folk-dance track on a metal plate and launched it into space, it might outlast the planet.
Yes… it was a real possibility.
As for training? What was that? Could it be eaten? Training a few hours a day already made him a top-tier transmigrator.
Besides, his two clones were grinding twenty-four hours nonstop under the tyrant Mo Ke. Why should the main body do anything but relax at the fountain?
He hummed again and walked. Suddenly he stopped, backed up a few steps, and stared at a door.
Kushina's door.
He rubbed his chin.
He wondered how her training was going.
Kushina had been in seclusion for a whole week. Except for coming out during meals, she stayed locked inside.
Mo Ke pressed his ear carefully to the door.
Nothing. Yamato had built this place too well. Soundproof.
He tried linking senses with the Nine-Tails clone inside Kushina.
And immediately froze.
That woman… she really wasn't a good person.
Unless she wanted to contact him, she kept her clone's five senses locked away with Adamantine Sealing Chains at all times.
Her reasoning?
She was afraid Mo Ke would peek.
Seriously? He was the Nine-Tails Heavenly Fox. Since when was he that kind of degenerate?
He wasn't even human. She was afraid a fox would watch her bathe? Was she insane?
Just as Mo Ke was fuming, the door suddenly opened.
Mo Ke, still bent over with his ear against it, lost his balance and fell straight forward—into something soft and indescribable.
Clouds. Was this clouds?
There was also a sweet scent.
He froze, keeping his forehead pressed forward to maintain balance, and slowly looked up.
Kushina stared down at him expressionlessly.
His muscles tightened. He prepared to teleport instantly.
If he died, he died. Better quick than slow.
Kushina looked tired. Her long red hair was messy, her beautiful face framed by the largest dark circles he had ever seen. Even a Shinigami body required sleep, food, and rest. And she clearly hadn't slept much.
She stared at him for a long moment.
It was long enough that Mo Ke's face began to twitch. He awkwardly pulled his head away.
She grabbed him by the ear and yanked him into the room.
Mo Ke pressed his back to the closed door, terrified.
"K-Kushina… it's not what it looked like… that was an accident. If you want compensation… maybe let me volunteer myself instead…"
Kushina didn't even look at him. She walked straight to the bed.
"Drop the act, Mo Ke. I've known you long enough. You've got a thief's heart but not a thief's courage. Get over here and help me already. I still can't condense a Zanpakuto and I am going insane."
She had sensed his clone waking up the moment Mo Ke used its senses earlier.
Which meant she knew he was bluffing. He really was just big talk.
Mo Ke sighed in defeat.
Some things never changed.
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