Before long, Ryōsuke woke up naturally.
As expected, Terumī Mei had more 'assets' than Shizune, providing him with a much more fulfilling experience.
After all, in terms of strength, she was destined to reach the Kage-level in the future.
Her body was indeed very formidable.
There was still a lot of room for improvement in the future.
This was not to say she was better than Shizune; it was simply that each had their own unique charms.
Though they had done it many times, he was not sure if she could conceive.
However, that did not seem like something to worry about; he just needed to do it a few more times.
So, he decided to stay here for a while longer.
As for Haku and Zabuza, they would just have to meet up in the Land of Lightning later; there was no rush anyway.
Looking at Terumī Mei, who had already been awake for some time beside him, he spoke.
"Mei, do you want to stay with me for a few more days?"
Terumī Mei immediately nodded in agreement.
"Of course."
She could not be happier.
Mainly because she felt incredibly comfortable herself.
Who wouldn't want to be with the man they loved?
Although things had progressed at a lightning-fast pace—reaching the most intimate relationship in one go.
Becoming one in body and soul.
But since it had already happened, she had nothing left to hesitate about.
Ryōsuke smiled upon hearing Terumī Mei's words.
Over the next few days, Ryōsuke took Terumī Mei wandering around.
Eventually, they found a merchant ship bound for the Land of Lightning.
Initially, the ship's owner was a bit cautious seeing Ryōsuke's black-clothed and masked appearance, but in the end, he decided to yield and agreed to let Ryōsuke board.
This was because Ryōsuke had slightly released a burst of chakra, almost blowing the owner and the crew away.
The owner immediately agreed.
If he hadn't, things likely would have become very difficult.
During these days, he also shared his 'essence' with Terumī Mei.
This girl was truly worthy of being the future Fourth Mizukage; even now, she possessed such powerful strength to withstand the immense pressure he applied.
Now, he was bidding her farewell at the harbor.
"Mei, I'll see you next time."
With that, he boarded the merchant ship headed for the Land of Lightning.
From the shore, Terumī Mei watched the departing figure on the ship from afar.
Spending the past few days playing with Ryōsuke had been quite blissful.
His sudden departure left her feeling a bit empty inside.
But as she touched her belly, the sadness of parting suddenly vanished quite a bit.
She had thought that becoming one in body and soul was already rapid progress.
But this far exceeded her expectations.
Ryōsuke even wanted her to be a mother?
This really was getting everything done in one step.
She felt certain that she was carrying his baby in her womb.
That meant the two of them now shared an inseparable bond.
Although she already knew Ryōsuke's identity, she could go looking for him in the future.
She did not plan to leak this news to the villagers.
Because some in the village still hated the Uchiha Clan, as some of their relatives had died at their hands.
On the other side, Ryōsuke dutifully took the ship toward the Land of Lightning in the north.
He did not use a portal to travel north quickly.
Nothing happened along the way.
Within a few days, the ship arrived at the harbor in the Land of Lightning where he had agreed to meet Haku and Zabuza.
It did not take long to find Zabuza and Haku.
Looking at Haku now, Ryōsuke saw that her body seemed to have recovered even more; she no longer looked frail.
However, he felt like Haku had become a bit sturdy.
He asked with a smile.
"Haku, has Zabuza already started training you?"
Haku replied, "Yes, Lord God King. Teacher Zabuza has already started teaching me the Chakra Refinement Technique as well as basic taijutsu."
She was delighted, feeling that after learning the Chakra Refinement Technique, it was much easier to create ice crystals, and the crystals she made were larger.
Chakra truly was a miraculous energy.
Then she added helplessly, "It's just that taijutsu is a bit difficult and exhausting."
Beside her, Zabuza looked at Haku.
Haku had been able to learn the Chakra Refinement Technique in no time, which indeed surprised him. Not only was her Ice Style talent incredible, but her talent as a ninja was equally impressive.
He spoke up to remind her, "Although ninjutsu is important."
"But being a ninja isn't just about ninjutsu."
"You must also value taijutsu; it is even more critical than ninjutsu."
"If you are approached by a powerful ninja, then no matter how strong your ninjutsu is, it will be useless."
Haku said with a smile, "Teacher Zabuza, I understand."
"You're right, Teacher. Lord God King's taijutsu is very powerful. You couldn't compete with him in taijutsu at all and were subdued instantly."
"I will study taijutsu diligently."
Zabuza felt a bit speechless.
Although Haku seemed to understand the importance of taijutsu, there was no need to use him as an example like that.
In truth, his taijutsu was definitely considered strong.
But comparing him to the God King was a bit like bullying.
Given the God King's strength, Zabuza speculated that among Kage-level figures, there were probably very few stronger than him.
Ryōsuke, however, smiled.
"Then Haku, you must work hard and get your taijutsu in great shape."
Haku promised, "I will, Lord God King."
She would not let the God King down.
Ryōsuke then turned to Zabuza.
"I'm sure you know the purpose of coming to the Land of Lightning. It's to find the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki and extract the Tailed Beast. So, I'll need you to search for the Eight-Tails' whereabouts."
This was where Zabuza became useful.
With him doing the searching, things would be much more comfortable for Ryōsuke.
Zabuza had naturally guessed as much.
The two Tailed Beasts from the Mist Village had likely already been taken by the God King.
Tailed Beasts were the ultimate weapons of the Great Ninja War; a single person could rival a massive number of ninja.
Was the God King trying to seize such powerful forces to gain the military strength needed to achieve peace in the shinobi world?
Of course, the God King himself was already extremely powerful.
He responded, "Understood, Lord God King. However, I've just arrived in the Land of Lightning and am not familiar with this place. It might take some time to track him down."
The Land of Lightning was too far from the Mist Village, and there hadn't been many conflicts, so he was unfamiliar with the area and lacked intelligence.
Furthermore, information regarding the Eight-Tails was naturally kept secret.
Hearing this, Ryōsuke fell into thought.
A long time?
That might take quite a while, and he still needed to enter the Cloud Village later.
He actually knew of two locations where the Eight-Tails might be.
One was the Clouds-and-Lightning Gorge, where the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki might be training. In the original series, Sasuke had fought him there.
The other location might be on Turtle Island, which was situated at sea.
In reality, that island was literally on a giant turtle.
Finding it would not be an easy task.
Even if Zabuza or he himself looked for it, it would take a long time.
However, Samui should know about the island's situation. After all, Samui held a high position in the Cloud Village.
She should know the location of the island.
"Go to the Clouds-and-Lightning Gorge first to look for any signs of the Eight-Tails. See if you can find him."
"If you can't, then I'll look for him myself."