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Tagorihime was in high spirits. She suddenly asked, "Byakuya, do you even need other friends? Is having just me enough?"
The question was a little contradictory, but Byakuya understood exactly what she meant.
Good things should be kept for yourself!
In Tagorihime's eyes, Byakuya was her one and only good friend.
He couldn't help but chuckle. "The more I need to lay low, the more I need powerful allies. Otherwise, when something comes along that's beyond my ability, I'll be caught completely off guard. If you keep laying low until the very end and end up with nothing, that's not laying low anymore—that's just wasting your life. But allies have to be chosen carefully. If you fill your ranks with dead weight, that's not laying low. That's just being reckless."
"Is Pakura from Sunagakure one of your allies?"
"Not yet. The three from Akatsuki are so naïve it leaves me speechless. Pakura's naïveté is just because she hasn't run into the kind of cruel reality that will shatter her illusions. I think she'll meet it very soon."
"Oh." Tagorihime sounded a little disappointed.
So Byakuya could have lots of good friends.
While she only had Byakuya.
He caught the shift in her mood right away. Summoning beasts needed to be coaxed. Even Orochimaru's Manda required a hundred live human sacrifices every time he was summoned—that was also a form of coaxing.
"But she's my ally. My only good friend is you, Tagorihime."
"Really?" Her eyes sparkled instantly.
"I swear on my conscience."
"I knew it! You and I are the best good friends in the whole world!"
Byakuya laced his hands behind his head and yawned.
After all this time together, he had finally formed a real bond with Tagorihime. He no longer had to worry that she might suddenly turn on him and swallow him whole one day.
One hand on her stomach, the other on her emotions—both hands had to be firm, both hands had to be strong!
"Miss Tagorihime, could you keep watch for a while? My physical and spiritual energy are both in rough shape. I need sleep to recover."
"Go ahead and sleep. With me here, even the tuna in the sea won't be able to touch you."
She smiled sweetly.
She even scooted over and gently placed Byakuya's head on her lap so he could sleep more comfortably.
Even though the material of her blue-black dress was technically scales, the Dragon Ground Cave Transformation Jutsu made them feel soft yet tough, like the finest silk from another world.
Her body was cool, but not the uncomfortable chill of ice. It felt like cool summer water—refreshing in just the right way.
Byakuya sniffed. A faint sweetness came from Tagorihime. It wasn't her natural scent—it was her snake venom!
If he hadn't eaten the Snake Fruit from Ryuchi Cave, being this close to her for so long would have poisoned him to death.
Before long, Tagorihime heard steady, deep breathing from her lap.
The sound was soft, even quieter than the waves not far away, but to her ears it was deeply comforting.
She, who had grown up alone, had finally left Ryuchi Cave and found a good friend she could truly care about.
Her blood ran cold, but her heart felt warm.
There were some things Byakuya hadn't explained clearly to Tagorihime.
Besides Pakura from Sunagakure, he had already picked out a few others.
He thought of them as future comrades who could help him—or, more accurately, as "human puppets."
Kakashi Hatake was one of them. At the very beginning, when Byakuya's strength and talent were pitiful, he had worried that getting involved with someone second only to the protagonist would lead to unpredictable consequences that could threaten his life.
In reality, he had overthought it.
Until the timeline reached Naruto's growth period, Kakashi was simply a genius shinobi of Konoha. Perhaps because he was Sakumo Hatake's son, the village put heavy expectations on him to grow quickly, assigning him more difficult missions. But that wouldn't happen for another two or three years.
Right now, Kakashi was just a member of Minato Namikaze's team.
That was why, during one of his previous trips outside the village, Byakuya had deliberately tested Kakashi's strength.
His plan was to eventually turn Kakashi into one of his own "human puppets."
Just like Sasori—Byakuya wouldn't have to risk his life in every fight; he could simply control the Third Kazekage puppet and the others to do the dirty work.
Orochimaru had accidentally helped him.
Although he could never say it out loud, Byakuya was still grateful to Orochimaru for doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.
Grateful or not, his opinion of Orochimaru wouldn't change.
Among the current "Leaf Village mental patients," Orochimaru and Danzo Shimura were the only two who were truly insane to the bone.
When he returned to the village and collected his mission rewards, Byakuya's goals were crystal clear.
Earth Style ninjutsu—preferably from Iwagakure. No contest; when it came to Earth Style, Iwagakure's techniques were top-tier.
He also needed to learn the Hidden Mist Jutsu from Kirigakure. He had already figured out exactly how to use this strategically valuable D-rank Water Style technique.
With a summoning beast and his spiritual energy boosted by the system, he could now support learning basic Genjutsu. Once back in Konoha, he would pick up some entry-level illusion techniques—just in case.
Oh, and he should try making contact with Shisui Uchiha as well.
Byakuya was no longer the same person he used to be. One "Copy Ninja puppet" wasn't enough. Ideally, he wanted a "Mangekyo Sharingan puppet" too.
But that would step on Danzo's toes, so he would only make light contact for now. He had no intention of going as deep as he planned with Kakashi.
Actually, there was an even better Mangekyo Sharingan candidate than Shisui: Uchiha Itachi. In a single sentence— that kid was way too easy to brainwash. He followed orders without question. If told to kill, he would kill, even if the so-called "enemy" was his own Uchiha clan.
Byakuya had a dream.
He dreamed of Izumi. She was kneeling on one knee, calling him "Master."
The dream was so bizarre that he woke up immediately.
The sky was already bright.
The sound of waves filled his ears, and he still smelled that faint sweetness from Tagorihime.
"How long was I asleep? Your legs aren't numb?"
"I didn't count how long you slept. I don't really have a concept of 'numb legs,'" Tagorihime answered with a sweet smile.
The sun was already slanting westward.
The sea shimmered with golden light.
"It's already afternoon?"
"Mm-hm."
"Are you hungry?"
"I'm starving. I was waiting for you to wake up and cook something delicious for me."
This was the best part about his summoning beast: as long as there was good food, she would listen obediently.
"Then I'll have to trouble Miss Tagorihime to catch some more seafood."
She instantly perked up and dove happily into the sea.
She canceled the Transformation Jutsu mid-dive. The massive blue-black serpent's eerie, terrifying head disappeared beneath the sparkling waves first, followed by the rest of her metallic-scaled body.
Waves three or four meters high rolled toward the shore.
Byakuya used Storm Style Body Flicker to dodge them.
He shook his head hard.
Every time he watched the sweet girl turn back into the giant blue-black serpent, it still felt surreal.
The atmosphere went from cozy daily life to dark and sinister in an instant.
The seafood feast was once again pan-fried, stir-fried, boiled, and roasted.
Tagorihime ate until her eyes narrowed into happy slits, smiling the whole time.
"Having a good friend cook delicious food for me makes me so happy~"
"If you're happy, eat more."
After cleaning up the leftovers, they slept twice more.
Byakuya had mostly recovered. Even if he still couldn't compare to the Uzumaki clan's vitality, he had at least touched the edge of it.
He sat on the blue-black serpent's head as the pair sped toward the Land of Rivers.
He wouldn't stay long in the Land of Rivers. He needed to return to Konoha as quickly as possible to avoid any complications.
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