Uchiha Clan.
Courtyard.
Mirai Uchiha slowly approached Tsunade and Kurenai Yuhi.
Seeing them adorned in luxurious attire, Mirai Uchiha nodded in satisfaction.
After all, people are judged by their appearance, just as horses are judged by their saddles.
Once they'd shed their old, plain ninja attire, Tsunade and the others had elevated their beauty to an entirely new level.
Having so many beautiful women living with him—just seeing them every day was a visual treat.
Seeing Mirai Uchiha, Tsunade spoke first, "Mirai, why did you stay in Sunagakure for such a long time this time?"
Hearing that, Mirai Uchiha smiled, "There were some matters in Sunagakure that required my personal attention."
"Sigh...so busy."
Watching Mirai Uchiha's pretentious expression, Rin Nohara giggled softly and walked behind him, starting to massage his shoulders.
Mirai Uchiha closed his eyes in contentment, "Only Rin truly understands me."
Upon hearing this, Kurenai immediately stepped forward, "Mirai, let me give your legs a rub."
Konan meanwhile squatted beside Mirai Uchiha holding a tray of fruit and said, "Mirai, say 'ah.'"
Shizune, Mikoto, Sāra, and the others also gathered around Mirai Uchiha.
A gentle breeze carrying hints of fragrance passed by as Mirai Uchiha exhaled contentedly.
Now this is the kind of life a man should truly enjoy.
After a short rest, Mirai Uchiha gestured toward the women nearby before standing up and stretching lazily.
"I might have to go on another trip soon."
Hearing this, everyone's eyes widened in surprise, "You just arrived and you're leaving already?"
Mirai Uchiha sighed helplessly, "Now I'm only missing Four-Tails and Six-Tails to complete collection of all nine Tailed Beasts."
"The Jinchuriki of Six-Tails has vanished without a trace for years now. We've searched so long without finding him, so I'll go look myself."
After hearing Mirai Uchiha's explanation, expressions of concern appeared across Tsunade and the others' faces.
The entire future of the ninja world rested upon their man's shoulders—it must be an incredibly heavy burden...
At this thought, even Tsunade, who usually maintained her image as a tough senior sister, couldn't help but step forward and grab Mirai Uchiha's hand.
"Mirai, go ahead and do whatever needs doing."
"I'll be in Konoha, watching over your home."
"No matter how long it takes, we'll always wait for you right here at home."
Tsunade's words warmed Mirai Uchiha's heart.
That's what real intimacy means—having someone who knows your every thought and secret.
Gazing into the affectionate eyes of the women around him, Mirai Uchiha made up his mind.
[Team-building!]
They definitely needed a hardcore team-building session!
————
A week later, Mirai Uchiha headed southward on his journey.
His first chosen target was the Six-Tails Jinchuriki.
According to intelligence from Onoki, Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, had slipped away from Iwagakure while he was launching an attack on the village.
Later, Anbu members assigned to track him reported discovering traces of Roshi's battle atop a volcano in Artisan Country.
Judging from the significantly altered landscape, it was highly likely that Roshi had fought his enemy through full tailed beast transformation at that time.
Afterward, there had been no further signs of Roshi.
Based on this clue, Mirai Uchiha speculated that the Four-Tails had most likely fallen into the hands of either Obito Uchiha or Nagato.
Therefore, it would be wiser to locate the Six-Tails Jinchuriki first, and then go after Nagato to claim both the Four-Tails and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path in one move.
Once that happened, he would be able to revive the Ten-Tails and become its Jinchuriki!
Guided by the mutual resonance between tailed beasts within their bodies, Mirai Uchiha headed south until reaching the extreme southern edge of the Land of Fire.
This area was sparsely populated and mostly covered by dense primeval forests, with poisonous insects and ferocious beasts lurking everywhere, making it completely unfit for human habitation.
Floating in midair, Mirai activated his sensor abilities at full capacity.
Everything within a radius of hundreds of miles clearly appeared in his mind.
After a while, Mirai slowly opened his eyes. "Nothing. He's not here."
Upon hearing this, Q-style Kurama perched on his shoulder also closed its eyes briefly to sense around.
"Mirai, eastward direction."
Mirai nodded, continuing to fly toward the east.
———
Artisan Country.
An island nation located in the south of the ninja world.
Artisan Country didn't have any ninja villages and wasn't particularly large in size, yet despite being isolated overseas, it remained widely renowned throughout the ninja world.
The reason was none other than Artisan Country's long heritage of weapon forging.
Legend stated that six of the seven ninja blades belonging to Kirigakure were crafted by blacksmiths from this very country.
A man with shoulder-length hair, whose bangs covered one eye, stood before an unremarkable weapons shop, watching the artisan rhythmically swinging his hammer inside.
After working for a while, the blacksmith wiped sweat from his brow and spoke up: "Let me ask… why did you come here in person to forge a weapon?"
"I've forged countless weapons in my lifetime, but this is the first time someone's asked me to craft a simple bubble-blowing pipe."
"This kind of job—I guess only someone like me would take it on."
Ephemeral seemed not to hear the blacksmith's words, standing still with the same cold expression.
Unfazed, the blacksmith continued, "You could easily acquire the weapon you want from many other countries, right?"
Ephemeral replied indifferently, "I never had a fixed home anyway. All places are the same to me."
The old blacksmith was about to speak again when he saw a girl with golden hair running over.
"Master, I'm back!"
Ephemeral frowned. "Don't call me master. I never agreed to accept you as my disciple."
The girl seemed accustomed to the man's coldness and still wore a smile. "Please, just accept me already. After all, we both carry secrets no one else can know. That's why we can stay together."
Hearing the girl's thoughtless words, Ephemeral became even less pleased. "Hotaru, watch your words!"
The girl also realized she had said something inappropriate. After secretly glancing at the blacksmith, she obediently stood aside.
"Don't worry, old man like me isn't interested in other people's secrets."
The blacksmith took a sip of water and continued forging the weapon in his hand.
It wasn't until the sun was about to set that the blacksmith handed a uniquely-shaped blowpipe to Ephemeral.
"You try it."
Ephemeral put the blowpipe in his mouth, and one colorful bubble after another floated into the air.
Witnessing this scene, the old blacksmith couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "You're a trickster mage?"
Ephemeral didn't acknowledge the old blacksmith. He left behind a bag of coins before quickly pulling Hotaru away.
Seeing the urgency on Ephemeral's face, Hotaru couldn't resist speaking up, "Lord Ephemeral, do we really need to be this cautious?"
"No one here should know who we are anyway."
Without even turning his head, Ephemeral replied, "The reason I've been able to stay hidden for so long is because I remain vigilant under any circumstances."
"You should always remember that someone like us, once discovered, will likely face endless chasing and hunting."
"We can't stay in the Artisan Country any longer."
Hotaru couldn't help but sound disbelieving, "Lord Ephemeral, is it really that serious?"
"Even if we were discovered, with your strength, you should be more than capable of handling it, right?"
Ephemeral was just about to respond when he saw someone rapidly descending from a high altitude.
Boom!
The newcomer crashed down onto the ground like a cannonball.
"I've finally found you, Six-Tails!"
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