In an instant, from [Hozuki Castle], he instantly teleported thousands of miles away.
Back to [Homura Hidden Village].
This miraculous journey left Shinyu and her mother, along with Ryuzetsu, utterly astonished.
No one could've imagined it—such a magical and easy Space-Time Ninjutsu really exists!
And once they arrived at [Homura Hidden Village],
seeing this bustling and energetic village filled Shinyu and her mother with a sense of calm.
After all, no matter how strong one individual might be, it's impossible for them to protect a mother and daughter forever.
But a powerful village is different.
It can guarantee their safety much more sustainably.
Though, living in a full-fledged village
might require her to work tirelessly day and night again, offering her body to heal the wounded...
Still, as long as it protected her daughter,
it would already be enough—for her.
Shimoku glanced at Madam Huīyī, as if reading her mind.
He spoke then, to comfort her:
"Rest assured. There won't be many wars breaking out in our [Homura Hidden Village], nor will there be so many injured needing help."
"Even if there are, we have specialized medical ninja for that."
"There won't be any need…to use your bodies."
Upon hearing this, young Shinyu suddenly lit up, clearly overjoyed.
After all, she never wanted to see her mother suffer and struggle like that again.
Yet Madam Huīyī herself stiffened abruptly.
She was far more mature than Shinyu,
and better understood matters concerning dependency and mutual benefit...
You see, the only thing she had to give was her rare healing power.
If even that held no value here, then on what grounds would others protect her?
Just because she was pretty?
There's no such thing as a free lunch—the cost always comes due sooner or later!
That's exactly why she felt panic!
"Master Shimoku, please—I *can* do it! I can heal the injured, really, I..."
Shimoku shook his head:
"Don't push yourself. Your body is already near its limit; your life force has nearly been drained."
"If you keep exhausting it, you'll drop dead within days."
"So for now, just take good care of yourself."
"I know what you're worried about."
"Rest easy. Once you recover, I've got plenty of tasks waiting for you—you won't stay idle."
At this, Madam Huīyī finally relaxed, quickly bowing her thanks again.
"Thank you, Master!"
"Alright, I'll send someone to arrange accommodations for you shortly."
"As for Ryuzetsu, settle in first. Get familiar with our village before doing anything else."
"Oh, and one last thing."
"From now on, you don't need to worry anymore about being hunted or targeted by others..."
"Even if you are surviving remnants of the Uzumaki Clan."
"Once you enter [Homura Hidden Village], no one will dare harm you again—not even the Five Great Hidden Villages!"
"You may not yet fully understand the weight our village carries…"
"Just remember one thing."
"Right now, I control one-third of the Ninja World!"
"And soon—"
"I will be the one calling the shots across the entire Ninja World!"
Shimoku patted the three girls on their shoulders, proudly comforting them.
Then he dragged Mui along and held up the box, striding away directly...
Don't be misled into believing that the current Ninja World still maintains the balance of the Five Great Hidden Villages.
In reality, the power equilibrium and alliances have already completely changed...
Lord Madara, Hashirama, and Shimoku—
only these three factions can truly influence the shifts in world dynamics.
You could even say the world has been more or less divided among them three.
It's just that the veil hasn't officially been torn open yet.
As for those smaller ninja villages and minor nations—they've long struggled to protect themselves...
Who would dare challenge Tora face-to-face now?
Therefore, even the Uzumaki Clan survivors—who everyone secretly covets—are perfectly safe under his Hidden Village's protection.
...
After returning home, Shimoku immediately had Nonou show Shinyu and the others to their accommodations.
With ample experience managing servants, Nonou had become highly proficient in handling such tasks.
Moreover, regarding his young master,
bringing back various beautiful young girls from time to time had long become nothing out of the ordinary.
Later on,
Shimoku also placed [The Box of Paradise] inside his backyard, temporarily sealing it with a barrier.
Although this item held immense value, it wasn't advisable to send it over for Lady Serpent's research too soon.
After all, Lady Serpent already had numerous ongoing research projects.
He himself was also eagerly waiting for her to complete the modifications on the "Sharingan Camera"!
Couldn't risk handing it over too early and delaying her research schedule...
As for Lord Mui, the City Lord,
Shimoku couldn't be bothered with interrogation.
Instead, he directly activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and cast Genjutsu.
Soon after, he acquired the two jutsu he sought—[Fire Release: Heavenly Prison] and [Fire Release: Gōka Tengū]—directly from Mui's memories.
Then, Shimoku showed mercy.
Rather than killing Mui outright, he tossed him over to the minefield area,
to continue contributing labor toward the great mining endeavor.
...
Even though halfway through, he spent two days traveling around the Land of Grass,
Shimoku returned home significantly earlier than Konan.
After all, Konan still had the first batch of 200 technical envoys accompanying her.
Among them were many regular civilians.
They needed at least four or five days slowly trekking through mountains and valleys, stopping intermittently along the way.
Regarding this, Shimoku remained unperturbed.
After all, they were already in the bag—it was impossible for them to fly away before entering his mouth.
Even if they somehow escaped, he could snatch them back in an instant!
In any case,
nearly all the major village affairs had now settled into a smooth routine.
Thus, for the upcoming period of time,
he could finally spare some time to carefully plan the new movie script and design new styles of erotic lingerie.
At last—he could properly relax and rest a little.
Shimoku released two Fire Release techniques to heat the bathwater in his backyard.
Then he jumped right in and started soaking in the hot spring.
"Ahhh! So refreshing!"
"Bloody refreshing!"
He moaned pleasurably.
Anyone listening without knowing what was going on might think he was doing something completely different.
"Ah!"
"I forgot!"
"Maybe we should call Terumi Hazuki to help with the massage. Her skills are absolutely top-notch!"
"Never mind, I'm too lazy to get up."
"Next time then..."
Shimoku melted into the warm water of the bathtub, too relaxed to budge an inch.
Somehow, without realizing why,
every time he soaked in hot spring water, Shimoku would instinctively start counting money.
And so once again, he plunged his mind into the System, checking his current status and remaining coin balance.
[Host: Shimoku
Elements: Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Yin, Yang
Chakra: 1926 cards
Ninjutsu: Flying Thunder God Technique (S-Rank·Space-Time Ninjutsu), Eight Gates (S-Rank·Taijutsu), Baryon Mode (S-Rank·Taijutsu), Spirit Transformation Technique (S-Rank·Soul Ninjutsu)...
Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan (Eternal Mangekyō) → Rinnegan (39%)
Taijutsu: One Thousand Years of Death, A Thousand Flames Blades...
Special Skills: Chakra Extraction Method
Special Weapons: Dragon-Weaving Blade, Sealing Amulet (Legendary)
Current Balance: Coins]
His chakra had increased by 26 cards;
[Rinnegan] progress had advanced by 2%;
The coin balance remained basically unchanged.
Although last time when he went to Konoha, he'd brought back more than one hundred million as 'aid funds',
those were all banknotes from the Land of Fire, which couldn't be directly exchanged for coins.
Shimoku had already ordered someone to carry those bills, infiltrate the Land of Fire, and gradually exchange them for physical silver.
It would probably take several weeks before the conversion succeeded and the silver could be transported back.
He had no choice but to wait patiently.
However, looking at his shiny pile of fifteen thousand coins,
an overwhelming urge to draw for items surged within Shimoku once again.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>