After confirming that Zabuza Momochi and Mangetsu Hōzuki had landed on the island on their own initiative—and weren't being chased like stray dogs—Naruto left the Uzushio Village building and dumped the administrative work onto Uzumaki Hōmen and Shisui Uchiha.
He had zero intention of wasting his golden youth buried under paperwork.
Strength first. Politics later.
As long as he remained powerful enough, he could steer Uzushio's direction whenever necessary. And no matter how "outdated" his ideas might be, they were still leagues ahead of the rigid thinking of the Five Great Nations.
Soon, Naruto arrived at the highest point of Uzushio Village, overlooking the settlement below.
The old Uzumaki patriarch used to claim Naruto lacked talent in sealing techniques.
What bullshit.
Naruto had sealed Mangetsu with Adamantine Sealing Chains like he was tying up groceries. That alone was elite jōnin level.
Clearly, the old man had either lied—or his pride couldn't handle being outclassed by a kid.
Unfortunately, the old patriarch was already dead, so Naruto couldn't drag him back to life just to ask, "Still think I'm untalented?"
The old man's only obsession had been restoring the Uzumaki clan's glory.
Naruto respected that.
But he wasn't Itachi Uchiha. He had no intention of self-sacrifice, tragic hero nonsense, or cutting off his own future for some twisted greater good. No self-destruction. No emotional suicide. And definitely no voluntary infertility.
He liked living.
After venting internally, Naruto felt much better. He looked toward the direction of Kirigakure and began calculating.
Economy wasn't an issue. The Land of Whirlpools sat on a major trade route. The Land of Waves had hijacked that advantage, but reclaiming it wouldn't be difficult.
The real issue was talent acquisition.
Konoha had already "donated" a batch of Uchiha refugees. That pipeline needed cooling time.
That left Kirigakure.
More specifically—
The Three-Tails (Isobu) and the Six-Tails (Saiken).
The Nine-Tails had once told him that if Naruto got close enough to the other Tailed Beasts, he could borrow fragments of their chakra. Officially, Kurama claimed it was because Naruto was "more pleasing to the eye."
Yeah. Sure.
Naruto wasn't stupid.
Kurama was nervous.
After seeing White Zetsu, the fox clearly realized that if the Ten-Tails revived, the Tailed Beasts wouldn't just die—they'd be swallowed like chakra snacks. No afterlife. No freedom. Just deletion.
Still, Naruto respected the fox's pride. If Kurama didn't want to admit he was worried, fine.
Naruto even knew which direction Kurama's tails flopped when he slept. That was enough blackmail material for one lifetime.
Of course, Naruto had no objection to absorbing extra Tailed Beast chakra.
Nobody hates getting stronger.
The problem was simple:
If he approached Isobu or Saiken, he risked attracting Obito Uchiha and Nagato.
One-on-one, maybe he could survive.
Both at once?
He'd get folded like cheap laundry.
His strength still hadn't reached true Kage level.
Ding!
A crisp notification echoed in his mind.
"Shisui Uchiha's favorability has reached 'Trust.' Reward granted: Sharingan Usage Experience. A gift from the deceased Shisui to the great Lord Mianma!"
Naruto's eyelid twitched.
The system was still dramatic as hell.
The reward turned out to be Shisui's Sharingan training memories.
Useful… but also slightly insulting.
He literally had Shisui working under him. He could've just asked.
Still, Naruto very much approved of the title "Great Lord Mianma."
He created a shadow clone to stand guard and activated the memory.
Training scenes flooded his mind like a violent slideshow.
Hours later, Naruto opened his eyes—
His Sharingan activated uncontrollably.
"...Shit."
For a moment, he nearly got dragged into Shisui's emotional residue. Fortunately, he regained control. The rejection from the Mangekyō had weakened considerably.
He could now turn it off at will.
Progress.
Still, until his eyes permanently adapted, he'd have to keep wearing colored contact lenses.
What a pain.
Naruto then began analyzing the system itself.
It wasn't just about favorability.
It was about recognition.
High affection plus acknowledgment.
The other person had to genuinely accept him and believe he embodied their expectations.
That explained why rewards were inconsistent.
Reanimated corpses didn't count.
Pure chakra entities were unclear.
The old patriarch should've qualified… but maybe obsession over clan revival diluted it.
Minato?
Naruto paused.
He'd test that later.
As for Hōmen… the kid still didn't fully trust him.
Maybe Naruto should've asked the old patriarch to smack some loyalty into him before dying.
Missed opportunity.
Meanwhile—
Inside the Mizukage Building of Kirigakure.
Obito Uchiha, wearing his "Madara" persona like a cheap Halloween costume, forced the Fourth Mizukage to sign yet another absurd decree.
The Mizukage seal pressed down.
An ANBU operative took the document respectfully.
He hesitated before leaving.
The Mizukage had secluded himself for years while the village rotted in chaos. It almost looked like—
A puppet.
The thought chilled him.
Impossible.
Kirigakure respected strength above all. The Mizukage was the strongest ninja after the Third.
A puppet?
That would make the entire village a joke.
He quickly suppressed the idea and left.
Obito watched silently.
To him, Kirigakure was nothing but a breeding ground for rogue ninja. The more chaotic, the better.
A perfect recruitment farm for the Akatsuki.
If there were awards for organizational dedication, Obito would've been Employee of the Year for the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Soon, another report arrived.
Kisame Hoshigaki, captain-level ANBU, had attempted to assassinate the Daimyō of the Land of Water—and failed. He defected immediately after.
The village labeled him an S-rank missing-nin.
Obito wasn't surprised.
This was part of his plan.
Push Kisame into a corner. Force betrayal. Let Akatsuki "recruit" him later.
Strategic treachery.
After dismissing ANBU, Obito considered guiding more talented ninja into defection.
Zabuza.
Mangetsu.
Promising pieces.
Mangetsu was troublesome, though. The Hōzuki clan had deep roots in Kirigakure.
Suddenly—
He sensed a familiar chakra underground.
A peculiar White Zetsu emerged.
"Madara-sama," it said flatly, "Zabuza Momochi and Mangetsu Hōzuki have disappeared. They've left Kirigakure."
Obito frowned.
"Defected? Where?"
"The last confirmed sighting was in the Land of Whirlpools. After that… nothing."
Obito's expression darkened.
"The Land of Whirlpools…"
"Did Shisui Uchiha capture them?"
He had already planned to ignore the Uzumaki-Uchiha remnants there.
But now?
The talent he wanted had walked straight into their hands.
Obito's mood dropped several degrees.
This was becoming… irritating.
Very irritating.
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