Worried that using the Byakugan to spy might disturb the sleeping Kaguya—Urashiki decided to infiltrate and search.
He hid behind the courtyard wall. Leaning slightly to the side. Observing with peripheral vision. He saw a blonde man wearing black boots and white gloves. Crouched on the ground pulling weeds.
According to Toneri's intelligence—that blonde hedgehog is called Minato Namikaze. A servant who does odd jobs for Kaguya.
Pulling out the last weed and placing it in a bamboo basket—Minato stood up. Wiped his sweat. And smiled contentedly with his clean face. "Alright~ guess it's about time to make dinner for Kushina and Kaguya-sama."
With that—he lifted the basket of weeds. And headed toward the back courtyard.
Whoosh.
Seeing this—Urashiki flashed into the courtyard. And entered the palace through an open window.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Rhythmic footsteps came from the stairway. He hid in the shadows. Holding his breath.
A group of puppets wearing exquisite kimonos with expressionless faces. Carrying trays in their hands. Descended the stairs.
Urashiki's eyes narrowed slightly. Tenseigan puppets.
Kaguya originally had no habit of using puppets. But over these years with nothing to do—she'd created many variations.
The powerful aspect of Tenseigan puppets was that they were given unique action patterns. And certain thinking logic.
As long as the user hadn't completely lost consciousness—even in deep sleep—the puppets would maintain their activities.
Toneri's intelligence didn't include this detail. So encountering them suddenly put Urashiki at a disadvantage. Fortunately—after the puppets came downstairs—they turned toward the other end of the corridor. And didn't discover Urashiki.
The puppets disappeared into the corridor's darkness. Urashiki climbed the stairs to the second floor corridor of the palace. And saw a room at the end of the corridor. With faint candlelight projecting through the door crack.
"..." Urashiki focused slightly. And walked over with light steps.
Stopping at the door—he pressed his back against the wall. And quietly peeked inside.
He saw a tall woman in a dark green dress standing before a candlestick. With her back to the door. Her waterfall-like red hair reached her knees. Particularly eye-catching.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
She was using a jade pestle to pound medicinal herbs in a jar. One strike at a time.
Over a thousand years ago—Kaguya learned this craft from Ryūshiki. Without resorting to the brutal method of plundering chakra—she could gently create the pills that the Ōtsutsuki treasured.
Initially—from cultivating and selecting raw materials to pounding medicine, extracting, and refining into pills—Kaguya handled everything herself. Seeing how hard Kaguya worked alone—Kushina and Minato volunteered to share the burden.
So Kaguya had Minato manage the medicinal fields. And had Kushina learn to pound medicine and extract. But Kushina's carefree personality made it difficult for her to handle the delicate work of extraction. So she was put in charge of pounding medicine. Tenseigan puppets handled the extraction to obtain semi-finished products. And finally Kaguya personally refined them into finished products.
During the pounding process—Kushina placed an inverted triangular filter vessel at the jar's opening. Then poured in a special medicinal solution Kaguya had prepared.
This step was removing impurities. Eliminating harmful components from the herbs. So it produced an unpleasant odor.
Hssss.
Urashiki—spying at the door—smelled that odor. His brow immediately furrowed. And he quickly covered his mouth. Inevitably making a small sound in the process.
Urashiki's heart immediately tightened. Gripping his red light fishing rod on guard.
But the person in the room seemed not to notice anything unusual. Urashiki relaxed. And continued spying.
After a while—Kushina finished pounding this jar of medicine. Wiped the sweat from her forehead. And muttered to herself. "After processing this batch—the medicine jars in the pill room on the third floor will be full again. After the Grand Martial Arts Tournament ends—Naruto should be coming to collect them, dattebane."
Said without intention. But heard with purpose. Urashiki smiled wickedly. And silently left.
Perhaps the allure of the pills was too great. He temporarily set aside even Kaguya.
In the pill room on the palace's third floor—Urashiki removed the sealing tag from a jar's opening. Seeing the bright red pills filling the jar before his eyes—he didn't hide his greed. "Incredible!"
He couldn't wait to reach his hand toward the red light fish basket at his waist.
"I knew it—there's a thief in the house."
But a female voice suddenly sounding behind him made Urashiki's hand freeze.
"Oh—so I've been discovered? Then I'll help myself to your chakra first!"
The next second—Urashiki turned with a sinister smile. The red light fishing rod in his hand swinging directly at Kushina.
Clatter.
But the Adamantine Sealing Chains emerging from Kushina's abdomen deflected the rod. And wrapped around Urashiki.
Urashiki was shocked. "This is...!"
Whoosh.
The chains pulled back. Dragging Urashiki before her.
"Such a big Ōtsutsuki—instead of planting trees—you're doing sneaky thieving work. You have no shame! I'll send you back to be remade, dattebane!"
Veins bulging on her forehead—Kushina grabbed the frying pan in her hand. And slammed it into Urashiki's face.
CLANG. BOOM.
With a crisp ringing sound—a white figure crashed through the wall. And tumbled awkwardly into the courtyard.
"Ugh—damn it—my head!"
Urashiki scrambled up with blood streaming from his head. Looking with an ashen face at Kushina—who had landed barefoot ahead and was now enveloped in crimson flames. He cursed. "You shrew!"
Whoosh. Startled by the commotion—Minato—wearing a pink apron—came to the courtyard. And saw this dramatic scene. "Kushina—what's...!"
Kushina said, "There's an Ōtsutsuki in the house."
Minato looked intently. "You're... Urashiki!"
On the first floor of the palace. In the room where the Tenseigan puppets had gone earlier. A bed was surrounded by light gauze. One could vaguely see a figure sleeping on its side.
Once Kaguya entered sleep mode—there was no way to wake her. But this was a habit gradually developed only in the past decade.
It had nothing to do with power. Only with peace of mind.
The standoff in the courtyard continued.
Urashiki stood up. The corners of his mouth holding an inscrutable smile. "You know my name. It seems my guess was correct. My clan's lost plow is indeed connected to Uzumaki Naruto."
"..." Minato's heart suddenly lurched. Due to information asymmetry—he still didn't know what was happening on Earth. So he naturally assumed Urashiki was a vanguard sent by the Ōtsutsuki to investigate Naruto.
Desperate to protect his child—a sharpness completely at odds with his gentle temperament rose in his eyes.
At this moment—he had only one thought.
Absolutely. Absolutely cannot let Urashiki leave alive.
Whoosh.
Removing his apron—Minato Namikaze said with no room for argument. "Kushina—stand back. I'll finish him here."
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