"New life?"
Kimimaro stared blankly at Yuzuru, murmuring the words over and over.
Since he was very young, he had been imprisoned in a dungeon. Everyone had told him that the meaning of his existence was to fight until the very last moment as a human-shaped weapon.
Yet the man before him was telling him… to embrace a new life.
Kimimaro did not know what this so-called new life meant, but he could feel the gentleness in the other's eyes.
He couldn't help asking, "My lord, what is the meaning of life?"
"The meaning of life is simply living. As long as you're alive, you'll always encounter all kinds of interesting things." Yuzuru pointed at the flower in Kimimaro's hand and smiled. "Just like how you met that flower, and how I met you."
"All kinds of interesting things…"
The numbness in Kimimaro's eyes gradually gave way to faint glimmers of light. He looked up and said in a low voice, "My lord, may I follow you from now on to search for all those interesting things in life?"
Yuzuru shrugged casually. "Of course. But the condition is that you must work hard to become stronger."
Hearing this, Kimimaro felt, for the first time, a sense of gratitude for possessing talent far beyond ordinary people.
"I will not disappoint your expectations, my lord!"
"Go on."
"Yes!"
As Kimimaro entered the Kamui space, Uchiha Obito closed the spatial portal.
Yuzuru made a brief gesture with his hand, and Obito used the Body Flicker Technique to vanish from the spot.
Only then did Yuzuru turn his gaze toward Terumi Mei. "I'm leaving. Remember our agreement."
"If you still haven't taken control by the time I attack Kirigakure, don't blame me for being ruthless."
After everything that had happened, Mei's favorable impression of Yuzuru had grown more and more.
Hearing that he was leaving, a trace of reluctance appeared in her eyes. "I understand, you heartless man."
Yuzuru glanced at her, wrapped an arm around her slender waist, and gently pulled her into his embrace.
Having never been this close to a man before, Mei froze instantly, her mind going completely blank.
Feeling her hurried breathing, Yuzuru's lips curled slightly.
"Consider this a little advance interest—so you don't lose motivation."
As he spoke, he lowered his head and kissed her fiery red lips.
Time seemed to stand still. After an unknown length of time, the two slowly separated.
"See you~"
The moment he finished speaking, his figure vanished from the spot.
Mei remained frozen for quite a while before snapping back to her senses, feeling as if her heart was about to leap out of her throat.
Just now… she had been forcibly kissed!
And just as she had imagined, the feeling was far too wonderful.
She couldn't help reliving the moment, her soft tongue sliding out to lick the corner of her lips.
After a while, a hint of embarrassment surfaced on her face.
That had been her first kiss, yet there had been no sense of ceremony at all.
And what was that about "advance interest"? As if he were giving her some kind of benefit…
Most importantly, he left immediately after kissing her—like a complete scoundrel!
After letting her thoughts run wild for a while, Mei finally calmed herself down.
With a faint smile on her lips, she headed toward the Mizukage building.
Whether for herself or for the people of Kirigakure, she needed to work hard to seize control of the village.
————
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Konoha Village.
Yuzuru and Uchiha Obito appeared out of thin air on the outskirts of the village.
Compared to the era when Sarutobi Hiruzen ruled, even without counting the surrounding satellite towns, Konoha's size had expanded more than tenfold.
So arranging land for the Kaguya clan and the Yuki clan posed no problem at all.
"Wow! So this is Konoha!" Haku exclaimed as he walked through the streets.
Having grown up in a small fishing village on an island, he had never seen such a prosperous place before.
It felt like arriving in paradise.
Kimimaro was equally shocked, but he instinctively suppressed his emotions.
After all, throughout his short life, he had always been raised and treated as a human weapon.
After showing them around Konoha for a while, Yuzuru led the two of them to the Hokage building.
Seeing him enter, Fugaku immediately set aside his work.
"Yuzuru, was this trip successful?"
Yuzuru nodded. "Kirigakure's ten billion ryō has been transferred, and the Kaguya clan and the Yuki clan have fully settled in Konoha."
"These two children are the most talented ninjas from their respective clans. Arrange for them to attend the Ninja Academy for further training."
Both Kimimaro and Haku possessed exceptional talent. With proper training at the academy, they could at least reach the level of elite jōnin in the future.
Fugaku smiled. "As expected of you, Yuzuru. No matter what you do, you always achieve the best results."
"With these ten billion ryō in funding, construction in the Land of Fire won't face any problems for the time being."
Yuzuru waved his hand dismissively. "It's just an advance payment. Once we conquer other nations, we may need to invest even more manpower and resources to transform them."
Fugaku nodded. Seeing that Yuzuru had nothing more to add, he spoke again. "Yuzuru, my father can no longer get out of bed. If you have time, go visit him."
Yuzuru was momentarily stunned before agreeing. "I understand."
————
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Inside a standalone courtyard, Yuzuru slowly entered a room.
On the bed, Tarou lay flat, silently staring at the ceiling.
"Clan Leader Tarou."
Yuzuru called out. Tarou's eyes refocused, and he spoke with surprise, "Yuzuru?"
Yuzuru sat at the bedside and gently helped him up. "Clan Leader Tarou, it's only been a while since we last met. How have you grown so frail?"
"I'll have Tsunade and Orochimaru come take a look later."
Tarou smiled and waved his hand. "No need. It's not some serious illness—just age catching up with me."
"To witness the Uchiha take control of Konoha and achieve the goal of becoming Hokage within my lifetime—I am already satisfied."
"Speaking of which…" Tarou seemed a little sentimental. "When I first met you, you were just a child. Yet in the blink of an eye, I have grown old and frail, while you have become the most powerful shinobi in the world, wielding immense authority."