Rasa fully immersed himself in the wondrous sensation of omnipotence, feeling like a true God. Several minutes passed without him noticing.
Finally, he slowly opened his eyes. His gaze held a sense of satisfaction, yet also a trace of regret as he shook his head.
It seemed that achieving his ideal Divine Kingdom in a single step was impossible.
After all, a Divine Kingdom fundamentally ran on the consumption of Faith Power.
Just maintaining it at its current scale required a constant, massive influx of faith.
To take it a step further, he would need to expand his faith base by at least ten times.
Thinking of this, Rasa took a deep breath and turned to walk into the distance.
The life-sized white statue floated automatically into the air, following closely behind him like a loyal servant.
Once he explained the statue's function to Ume, he would need to set sail for the open sea immediately.
Rasa calculated internally: once he captured the Immortal Jellyfish, he would return to the Ninja World right away.
Based on his estimation, Karura should be due to give birth in ten or eleven days.
Given the time dilation between the two worlds, he needed to return in three days to arrive two or three days ahead of schedule.
One day later.
In the coastal waters of Japan, a massive sailboat drifted silently on the blue surface.
The sea breeze blew gently, causing the flags on the mast to flutter.
Rasa stood on the deck, gazing quietly at the azure horizon.
Although Immortal Jellyfish were primarily distributed in tropical waters, those regions were simply too far away.
A round trip would take more than a day.
However, since there were traces of Immortal Jellyfish in Japan's coastal waters—albeit in much smaller numbers—it was worth the search.
Compared to the travel time to the tropics, spending a bit more time searching locally was nothing.
After watching the sea for a while, Rasa turned and sat in a deck chair.
"Chifusa, give me a massage."
He spoke softly.
The purple-haired girl standing nearby blushed instantly.
Chifusa Manyū lowered her head, walked quickly behind Rasa, and extended her hands to begin massaging his shoulders.
After a day together, Chifusa's Favorability had doubled again, reaching over 130.
Therefore, the current Chifusa was utterly obedient to Rasa.
During the voyage, she had dedicated herself wholeheartedly to cooperating with him in various "clapping games" to pass the time.
Meanwhile.
In the Ninja World, the date was November 28th, Konoha Year 46.
Rasa had been gone for three days.
The strange movements within the Hidden Stone Village had quietly been detected by the Kages of the other Great Villages.
In the spacious Raikage's office in Kumogakure.
Killer B, who had grown slightly taller and significantly more muscular, adjusted his signature sunglasses.
His gaze fell upon the document in his hand, and his brow furrowed.
"What the hell is Onoki up to?"
Killer B couldn't help but mutter under his breath.
"Has the old man gone senile?"
Since succeeding as the Fourth Raikage six months ago, Killer B had gradually changed, becoming more steady and introverted.
He was almost unrecognizable compared to the carefree, rapping goofball from the original story.
Yet, even with his new composure, the contents of the report shocked him.
Yugito Nii, sitting in the distance, heard B's mutterings and slowly lifted her eyes from her book.
Her heroic eyebrows raised slightly as she asked, "What is it?"
Killer B didn't elaborate. Instead, he tossed the file forcefully toward her.
"See for yourself."
He said flatly.
Yugito's hand shot out with feline agility, snatching the document from the air.
As she caught it, she reflexively shook her head, her beige braids swaying with the motion.
Then, she began to read carefully.
After just a few glances, visible confusion appeared on Yugito's exquisite face.
The further she read, the deeper her confusion grew, and her brows locked together tightly.
After finishing it with a frown, Yugito gently closed the file and placed it on the chair beside her, murmuring:
"Trying to complete this volume of engineering in six months... has Onoki lost his mind?"
Hearing this, Killer B rubbed his temples, shaking his head helplessly.
"A shrewd old fox like Onoki would never go mad."
Yugito picked up her tea cup, elegantly draining it in one go before setting it down softly.
"But the intelligence in this file..."
She trailed off, hesitant.
Killer B frowned, stood up, and walked slowly to the window. He stared quietly at the familiar scenery of Kumogakure, his tone turning grave.
"The intel can't be fake. But just in case, send a few more squads to probe the situation."
At this point, a flash of worry crossed B's eyes.
"If this is real, it proves there is some massive threat forcing Onoki's hand."
Yugito also stood up. Her long, straight legs carried her gracefully to B's side.
Her golden pupils clearly reflected the desolate view outside the window.
"A threat?"
Yugito frowned slightly, whispering:
"How could the Sand Village start another war in such a short time?"
"Logically speaking, Onoki shouldn't be so desperate. Wasting such immense manpower and resources to build towers of unknown utility... it makes no sense."
She continued her analysis, her voice full of doubt.
Killer B fell silent listening to her.
Yes, logically and emotionally, the Sand Village was unlikely to provoke another war less than a year after the Third Great Ninja War ended.
This fragile peace should hold for at least eight or nine years, if not longer.
Therefore, Onoki shouldn't be mobilizing the entire village to build these towers in such a frantic rush.
According to the intelligence report.
In less than a month, over four hundred civilian men in Iwagakure had died from overwork on the construction sites.
Even more shocking, a Genin had also collapsed and died from exhaustion.
Furthermore, the report stated that Onoki had forbidden anyone in the Stone Village from complaining about the project.
Any complaint, regardless of content, was met with severe punishment.
From any angle, this was completely irrational.
After a moment of silence, Killer B spoke softly:
"Then there is only one possibility: Onoki is being controlled."
Hearing B's words, a look of astonishment appeared on Yugito's flawless face.
She furrowed her brows, thinking for a long time before shaking her head.
"That's just your speculation. Onoki is a veteran powerhouse. It's unlikely he'd be controlled so easily, especially in his own base."
Killer B slowly clenched his fists. His tone became eerily calm, as if he were discussing something unrelated to him.
"What if it's the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
"Don't forget. Half a year ago, traces of a Mangekyō user appeared in both the Stone and the Mist within days of each other."
Hearing B's calm words, despite standing in the midday sun, Yugito felt a chill run through her entire body.
"Konoha is behind all of this?"
"Konoha is truly vicious!"
After speaking with a trembling voice, a red Chakra cloak began to bubble up around Yugito's body.
Clearly, her agitation was causing her to lose control of the Tailed Beast's power.
Seeing this, Killer B frowned and barked:
"Yugito! Calm down!"
Hearing the shout, Yugito shuddered. Clarity returned to her eyes, and the Chakra cloak began to fade.
Seeing her regain control, Killer B let out a breath of relief.
"In a while, I will send a formal request for a visit."
"I'll go personally to probe the situation and see the truth for myself."
The hospital in the Hidden Sand Village was bustling with activity.
Numerous Sand ninjas stood guard, patrolling the perimeter with high vigilance.
From a specially prepared delivery room, anxious, aged shouts could be heard intermittently.
"Karura, breathe deeply!"
"Don't be nervous!"
Chiyo, the elder of the Sand, stood by the bed, staring nervously at Karura's sweat-drenched face as she shouted instructions.
Standing opposite her, Shuang Uchiha, who was assisting with the delivery, looked up with a helpless expression.
"Lady Chiyo, please, keep it down!"
Sitting nearby with her arms crossed, Pakura—who also looked a bit tense—chimed in:
"Yes, Elder Chiyo. Sister Karura wasn't nervous at all, but your shouting is making her tense."
Chiyo wiped the sweat from her own forehead, a look of embarrassment on her wrinkled face.
"Ah, this old woman just got too caught up in the moment."
After saying that, Chiyo shut her mouth, though she continued to stare at Karura with nervous caution.
Ideally, a veteran like Chiyo shouldn't be this anxious.
But Karura—or rather, Rasa—was simply too important to the Hidden Sand.
If anything happened to Karura during childbirth.
Chiyo didn't dare imagine how Rasa would react when he returned.
Furthermore, Chiyo harbored a small misunderstanding deep in her heart.
She didn't understand why Karura hadn't called Rasa back for such a critical event.
When Chiyo had asked initially, Karura had only smiled and shaken her head.
Shuang Uchiha slowly peeled off her blood-stained gloves, picked up a tissue, and wiped the sweat from her face.
She stepped back, letting the surrounding female medical ninjas take over.
Although Rasa had asked her to come and help with the delivery.
Shuang realized now that she was largely useless here.
Though the Sand didn't have many medical ninjas.
They could still spare five or six experienced women for this.
All she could do was help hold Karura's legs.
She didn't even need to offer words of comfort.
Because Karura was calm and composed, not screaming once throughout the entire process.
After wiping her sweat, Shuang looked up and saw Chiyo's nervous expression.
She couldn't help but shake her head with a smile, whispering:
"Lady Chiyo, you worry too much."
"Although Karura is ten days early, physiologically speaking, it doesn't count as a premature birth."
Chiyo nodded, continuing to stare at Karura. She knew the basic medical knowledge, of course.
But knowing it didn't stop the worry.
Suddenly, a sharp, piercing cry erupted in the room.
The baby's wail was like a sharp sword, stabbing straight into the eardrums.
"WAAAAH—!"
The cry was like a sudden siren, high-pitched and full of power.
It exploded in the air, instantly filling the room and seemingly trying to break through every barrier, shaking everyone who heard it.
All other sounds in the room vanished in an instant.
Even the sounds of breathing were drowned out.
Only the continuous, strong cry of the infant remained.
A few seconds later, Shuang Uchiha was the first to react.
She carefully picked up the wrinkled, crying baby.
Checking the infant's gender, she spoke softly:
"Karura, it's a girl!"
Lying on the bed, Karura's face was soaked in sweat, and she looked weak.
Hearing those words, her eyes lit up instantly. Her voice was filled with relief and pride:
"It really is a girl... he was right..."
Shuang carefully wrapped the crying baby in a soft towel.
Then she handed the bundle to Karura.
Looking at the wrinkled little face.
Karura's eyes filled with love and maternal light. She nodded and whispered:
"Then, as he decided long ago..."
"This child shall be named Temari!"
Meanwhile, in the Uchiha compound in Konoha.
A dense crowd had gathered in front of the Clan Head's house.
Although everyone was trying to keep their voices down.
The buzz of hushed conversations still echoed through the courtyard.
Half a month ago, the Uchiha Clan Head had fallen suddenly ill due to old age and the resurgence of old injuries.
The timing of his collapse had caught everyone off guard.
In less than two weeks, he had reached a critical condition.
In a room heavy with the smell of medicine, Fugaku Uchiha knelt by the bedside, his head lowered slightly. His eyes were filled with sorrow, but hidden beneath it was a flicker of joy.