---Third POV---
Somewhere in the forest, Shukaku and Kurama were each looking for dry branches in the forest.
Shukaku moved swiftly, leaping around, darting through the woods, and soon collected quite a few dry branches.
In contrast, Kurama was much more unhurried. It strolled leisurely, gently curling its tail around one dead branch after another, and before long, it gradually approached Shukaku's side.
It stopped and asked, "Hey, what kind of relationship do you have with that brat exactly?"
There was an obvious probing tone in its voice. It couldn't understand why Shukaku, as a tailed beast, was obeying that little Konoha brat like some domesticated animal.
Shukaku paused, glanced at Kurama coldly out of the corner of its eye, and looked somewhat displeased.
"First of all, my name is not 'hey'. Second, even if I told you about my relationship with my partner, someone like you still wouldn't understand it."
"You think I can't tell?" With a flick of its tail, Kurama said firmly, "You've taken him as that person the old man spoke of before he died, haven't you?"
It had never forgotten the Sage of Six Paths' final words before his death.
Once, it too held deep hope that one day it would meet that blue-eyed boy, the one foretold to lead it to a new life. But over the long years, all it encountered from humans was fear and greed.
Those humans either saw it as a monster or coveted its power. No one ever truly understood it, nor was there anyone willing to treat it as an equal.
Shukaku sensed a strange tone in Kurama's voice. It frowned slightly.
Kurama looked up at the dense green leaves overhead, eyes somewhat dazed.
Slowly, it spoke, with a trace of barely noticeable confusion in its voice: "You and Saiken and the others... you all think that Konoha ninja is the one the old man spoke of?"
For once, Kurama showed hesitation. It had to admit that Ryouma was different from any human it had ever met before.
In that person's eyes, there was no fear, no greed, and no view of it as a harbinger of disaster.
Even though he could have easily stripped away its chakra, he still chose to spare its life, and even proactively promised that once the crisis was over, he would return its chakra.
This kind of trust and respect was something Kurama had never experienced before.
"If all of you really think that kid is the one from the old man's prophecy," its voice was slow, as if trying to convince itself, "then maybe... I can try changing the way I've always thought."
"I stopped caring about that prophecy long ago," Shukaku responded indifferently.
"What do you mean? Don't you want to know what the real power the old man spoke of actually is?"
Kurama found Shukaku's answer hard to grasp.
This stupid tanuki was practically tied at the hip with Ryouma now, shouldn't this be the perfect opportunity to rope it into the same camp?
"You're asking what I mean? Hah. I don't know if Saiken or Matatabi see their partners as that person the Sage mentioned. But to me, my partner is someone more important than dried fish, more precious than chakra, a family I must protect no matter what."
"Whether he is that so-called prophesied one or not doesn't matter in the least. I'm not interested in what real power is anymore. As long as I can stay with my partner like this, even if I lose my power and remain a tanuki the size of a teapot forever, I'll be happy."
Shukaku's tone was very calm, but Kurama could clearly feel the weight behind every ordinary word.
This time, it was Kurama who fell silent. It had thought Shukaku might've formed a strong bond with that Konoha brat, but it never expected that this lunatic tanuki, once always crazy and manic, could show such sincerity for someone.
Damn it, I'm so jealous!
No, not just jealous. It thought about how it had been imprisoned inside jinchūriki for decades, and compared itself to this dumb tanuki who lived such a content life both outwardly and inside.
It had to admit, it was feeling a bit envious.
---
By the riverbank beneath the waterfall.
"What took you so long?"
Even though Ryouma had been keeping an eye on Shukaku and Kurama the entire time, the two beasts were basically speaking in encrypted chat the whole way through.
So he actually had no idea that just moments ago, Shukaku and Kurama had engaged in a lively, emotional heart-to-heart.
Shukaku dropped the bundle of dry branches from its arms onto the ground, patted the dust off its body, and immediately started complaining.
"It's all because of this stupid fox, kept asking me stuff nonstop and distracted me from gathering firewood."
"It was just a couple questions. What, did that ruin your whole mission?" Kurama shot back defensively.
Ryouma saw Shukaku gearing up to argue again and quickly reached out and gently patted its head.
"Alright, quit the complaints. This is a rare chance to cook outdoors, don't spoil the moment."
With this surprise head-pat from Ryouma, Shukaku instantly deflated like a popped balloon and obediently sat down on the ground, looking like it was just waiting to be fed.
Kurama watched the interaction between the two of them, feeling extremely annoyed, this human and tanuki's happy little world was starting to hurt its eyes.
Crackle.
Ryouma carefully stacked the dry branches into a small pile, snapped his fingers lightly, and the campfire instantly blazed to life.
The flames danced in the air, crackling as they burned.
Soon, the aroma of grilled fish filled the air, stirring their appetites.
He pulled out the seasonings he had carefully picked from the market in a coastal town on the Land of Fire's shoreline last time, and evenly sprinkled them over the sizzling, oily fish.
As the spices were roasted by the flames, they released a unique fragrant aroma that blended perfectly with the fresh taste of the fish.
Shukaku had already impatiently grabbed a grilled fish and was munching away happily, its face full of satisfaction.
Kurama, on the other hand, seemed a bit lost. It silently sat aside, watching the lively scene in front of it.
Ryouma noticed its hesitation and smiled as he handed over a perfectly golden-brown fish.
"Have a taste."
Kurama hesitated for a moment, but ultimately accepted the fish and cautiously took a bite.
In an instant, the spices, cultivated over generations by coastal humans, burst across its tongue. The unique flavor made this fox, who had hardly known any moments of true enjoyment in life, unconsciously show a look of satisfaction.
Of course, there was no way it would admit that aloud. After finishing the entire fish in a few bites, it still complained in a picky tone, "Hey, this one's a little burnt."
Ryouma clicked his tongue twice and said smugly, "That's called perfectly crisped, okay? You don't know anything. Controlling the heat is an art, the slightly charred flavor is the essence."
---
The pleasant time of the picnic passed quietly. The air was still filled with the fragrance of grilled fish and the lingering warmth of the firewood.
With a light tap of his toes on the ground, the earth in front of Ryouma suddenly rolled up, gently burying the still-warm campfire.
"Let's go."
Taking the two tailed beasts with him, Ryouma pulled out a somewhat yellowed map of the Land of Whirlpools. After confirming the direction, he headed toward a mountain range marked on the map.
According to the notes left by Mito, there was a "Moonstone" vein on that mountain.
In the shinobi world, moonstone wasn't really considered a rare resource.
For example, the mountains that Iwa had previously paid as compensation to Konoha had many veins that produced this kind of ore.
Moonstone was usually regarded as a decorative gemstone, having no use besides being beautiful in appearance.
Therefore, mining there had always been sporadic, mainly to satisfy the collection hobbies of a few nobles and officials.
However, the moonstone veins in the Land of Whirlpools were different.
Within these moonstone veins, there would always be a few special branching veins that occasionally produced a rare type of black moonstone.
This black moonstone wasn't just for show. Not only could it serve as a high-quality medium for sealing techniques, but once ground into black powder, it became the most crucial ingredient for making sealing ink.
According to Mito's records, aside from this black moonstone, the other materials used in the ink were more or less the same wherever they came from, and substitutes could be used with only slight differences in performance.
But Ryouma was a bit of a perfectionist. If he was going to do it, he wanted the best. Everything had to meet the highest standards of the Uzumaki clan.
The island where the Land of Whirlpools was located wasn't small. He walked with pauses along the way, and after half an hour finally arrived at his destination.
It was a rather uniquely shaped mountain range.
From afar, its main peak towered prominently, with the summit jutting abruptly forward, then hooking back sharply at the tip, forming a shape that looked like a waning crescent moon.
Mount Sukuna.
That was the name marked for this mountain on the map left by Mito, though no explanation was given for the origin of the name.
When he first saw that name back in Konoha, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
He had no idea why the ancestors of the Uzumaki clan would name the mountain that way. Was there some demon... cursed spirit sealed up there or something?
But considering this was a special nation that had sealed many of the shinobi world's native monsters, maybe there really was.
He gently shook his head, brushing away the random thoughts in his mind.
He arrived at the foot of Mount Sukuna and paused before an ancient shrine, giving a slight bow. Then he turned and walked slowly into an old mine tunnel.
The tunnel was narrow and deep, its walls covered with the marks of time.
Black moonstone had an extremely limited yield. Even back in the days before Uzushio was destroyed, the annual output from Mount Sukuna amounted to only a handful of black moonstones, each merely the size of a child's fist.
Faced with the daily use by hundreds of members of the Uzumaki clan, plus the constant reinforcement of the various seals around the island, these precious stones were nearly always in short supply year after year, making it difficult to stockpile them.
This information was a core secret of the Land of Whirlpools. It was precisely because of this secrecy that, even after Uzushio had been destroyed for years, the veins of Mount Sukuna remained as they once were, untouched by large-scale damage or mining.
Over the years, black moonstone had quietly continued to form beneath this land, and the Kiri forces that once occupied this territory had remained completely unaware.
---
At the deepest point of the mineshaft, there lay a large underground cavern clearly carved out carefully by ninja hands. The ceiling arched high, and the rock walls were broad.
Scattered across the cavern walls were several faintly glowing ores that emitted a dim, ghostly light.
Standing on the cavern floor, Ryouma's sensory abilities fully activated.
Clearly, in this darkness, his vision was completely unaffected.
After a careful search, he soon discovered several pieces of black moonstone hidden in a few concealed spots, each surrounded by ordinary moonstone.
The ores lay quietly embedded in the rock, as if waiting for someone destined to find them.
And Ryouma was that destined one.
Extending a finger to gauge the depth of the rock layer, he ignited a streak of orange-red light at his fingertip.
Under the scorching heat of the intense fire chakra, the ordinary moonstone encasing the black moonstone quickly melted into liquid and dripped away.
Before long, Ryouma effortlessly extracted the first piece of black moonstone.
He carefully examined the pitch-black, ink-colored mineral in his hand and nodded in satisfaction.
According to the information his Rikugan had probed, there were a total of nine more pieces of black moonstone of equally excellent quality in this nearby branch vein.
He felt a surge of joy, this haul had far exceeded his expectations.
Just as he was about to continue mining, a sudden surge of pure malice intruded upon his senses.
Naturally, Kurama also keenly sensed that unmasked hostility. It frowned and said in a deep voice, "Hey, seems like something's moving around outside."
"Yeah, I sensed it too."
It wasn't just that malice, Ryouma's gaze had already pierced through the thick rock walls and locked onto the intruder's true form.
It was a burly figure about two meters tall, with a face on both the front and the back of its head, and two extra arms growing from its upper torso. These bizarre traits made it clear that it was no ordinary human.
And on this island, a monstrosity with such a grotesque form could only be one of those native demons.
Though why it had targeted him was a mystery. If it was simply after fresh flesh and blood, there were plenty of ordinary animals on the island to prey on.
Ryouma tucked away the black moonstone in his hand and prepared to go out and exorcise this uninvited guest.
However, in the very next instant, the ground suddenly shook violently as a gigantic serpent formed of solid rock burst through the ceiling of the cavern. Its massive jaws opened wide, aiming straight for him.
This kind of sudden ambush from above would certainly catch most people off guard, but for Ryouma, who had both Rikugan and Observation Haki, this sneak attack was no different from a head-on assault.