Originally, in Yugito's mind, the name Gengetsu Hozuki... well, how should she put it?
The image should have been a cool-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside mature beauty.
'But now, actually looking at the real portrait... those two little pencil mustaches are certainly, uh, distinctive.'
"So, wait, is Mu, the Second Tsuchikage, actually the woman? I guess that makes sense too, since Mu is completely wrapped up in bandages like a mummy. You literally can't tell the gender and that rough, hoarse voice could just be due to damaged vocal cords..."
Yugito racked her brains trying to come up with any other possibility.
"Um, the Tsuchikage is a dude too. It's recorded in the village's history books, and during the Five Kage Summit back in the day, an uninjured Mu was standing right behind the First Tsuchikage," Samui carefully reminded Yugito.
She was low-key terrified of accidentally shattering Yugito's entire worldview and causing her to have a mental breakdown, which could lead to a Tailed Beast rampage!
"..."
Yugito shuddered all over, twitching like a cat with its fur standing on end.
"Oh right, there are some more little stories later!" But Karui, completely lacking any sort of tact, excitedly picked the book right back up to read the next parts.
Well, as expected of that terrifying existence who didn't really know or speak to anyone before the plot ended, but somehow got married and had kids at lightning speed thanks to the Chouji gigachad technique after the plot wrapped up.
"The Second Tsuchikage, Mu, excels at stealth. He developed the terrifying invisibility ability that makes it impossible for anyone to sense his chakra. With this ability, Mu earned the nickname 'Nobody' or 'Non-Person'."
This was the introduction to Mu's stealth capabilities.
And honestly, it is indeed terrifying.
Stealth by itself isn't the scary part—what's scary is that the bastard also has Dust Release in his arsenal.
Facing Dust Release, if you have quick reactions and speed, you might still be able to dodge it.
But with 'Dustless Bewilderment', Mu can just go completely stealth mode and invisibly fire off a Dust Release when people are totally unprepared—who the hell can withstand that?
"The Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hozuki, is also skilled at stealth, though he uses his giant summoning clam to create illusionary mirages."
"However, the real truth is that they only developed these stealth and illusion techniques just to avoid detection from their own village's escorts when sneaking off to meet and get 'close' to each other."
"Truly touching and tragic love story."
"Speaking of songs, there's actually one attached at the end here. It's said to have been composed by Gengetsu Hozuki in Hozuki Castle, right after his heart was broken upon hearing that his beloved had gotten married and started a family. This is also the real reason why Hozuki Castle became a prison. Let me try singing it... Ahem, ahem."
"I'm a bird imprisoned by you, receiving less and less love~ I'm just a shadow you can take or leave, coldly watching you tell your lies~"
"Ah, so moving. It truly speaks to so many people's hearts." Karui sighed emotionally after tentatively singing a couple of lines.
Yugito was completely done with this shit.
Where are the real people in this?
And where are these so-called "heartfelt emotions"?
"Enough!" Yugito's sharp yell cut right through Karui's fangirl infatuation. "I don't believe a word of this, Karui! You really need to learn how to distinguish between fiction and reality!"
"Really?"
The smile instantly vanished from Karui's face as she looked dead serious at Yugito.
Her hands skillfully flipped through several pages, stopping at the very end.
"The conclusion of this book contains a preview for the next installment's plot. Would you like to know what it is?"
"I don't want to know about any more of these perverted-ass storylines!" Yugito uncomfortably extended her cat-like claws, leaving several deep scratch marks in the table.
The sound of nails scraping wood was extremely grating and unpleasant.
But compared to the stories she had just been forced to listen to, it was basically like hearing a god music that temporarily cleared her ears.
"No, remember what I said at the beginning? These plots are way beyond normal human imagination—they absolutely must have real-world prototypes."
"And the final preview, Yugito, is about the Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki." Karui's expression turned serious.
"What? Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki? Have you informed Lord Raikage about this?" Yugito's expression instantly became grave and completely earnest.
"Of course not. Lord Raikage couldn't even get through the first book before dismissing it as pure fabrication. How could I possibly convince him to sit patiently and read the second one?"
"Besides, with the village being so ridiculously busy nowadays, Lord Raikage barely even has time to catch his breath. This mission to Hozuki Castle practically counts as a vacation for him." Karui smiled wryly.
"So what exactly is the information about the Jinchuriki in the preview?" Yugito pressed.
"...It's pretty simple. It says someone from the Uchiha clan is planning to capture all the Tailed Beasts, activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi and pull everyone into an illusion world—all to create a world of 'zero'."
"?"
Yugito thought it actually sounded somewhat plausible at first.
It definitely resembled an evil mastermind's grand scheme.
But what was up with that last part? What did creating a world of "zero" even mean?
"Perhaps... we need to connect it with the previous romance plot?" Samui hesitated before venturing a guess.
'Oh crap,' her thinking was gradually aligning with this perverted storyline too!
"Exactly!" Karui snapped her fingers. "To recap: Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara shared an inseparable, 'profound' friendship. Their dramatic falling out was almost identical to what happened between the Second Mizukage and the Second Tsuchikage."
"It was because Hashirama got married and started a family that Madara felt like there was no place for him in Konoha anymore—or, more precisely, no place for his 'penis'."
"The Uchiha who wants to collect the Tailed Beasts in the sequel is just carrying on Madara's legacy, aiming to create a world of 'zero'."
"In this dream world, they can all freely and happily be with their 'loved ones'."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Yugito still completely refused to believe it.
What kind of perverted villain would go to those lengths for something like that?
"It's entirely possible." Karui closed the book and tapped the author's name. "Don't forget who wrote this book—it's a Konoha ninja. This could very well be actual intelligence they've gathered and hidden in plain sight."
"Yugito, if you're still so doubtful, why not just go try asking them? The Fifth Hokage and the others haven't even left yet."
"...Alright!"
After remaining silent for a moment, Yugito made up her mind.
She was going to go and get to the bottom of this.
If she didn't clarify this matter right now, she definitely wouldn't be able to get a wink of sleep after returning.
Yugito arrived at the residence where Makoto and the rest of the crew were resting.
Listening to the muffled sounds coming from inside, she raised her hand, about to knock.
Suddenly, Yugito thought of something.
It hit her like a sudden flash of inspiration.
She finally "understood" what Uchiha Hikari was actually so afraid of.
Could it be that Uchiha Hikari was actually that evil mastermind villain who wanted to collect all the Tailed Beasts?
And the whole reason for avoiding contact with her was because she planned to take her life eventually anyway?
Saving her earlier was only because if the Jinchuriki died, the Tailed Beast would die too!
Yugito shuddered in a cold sweat.
Then wouldn't she be in immediate danger by just walking right up to their door like this?
'Eh? Wait a second. Then why did she reject Ryuzetsu too?'
Thinking about this, Yugito gradually started to calm back down.
It seemed things weren't exactly as crazy as she initially thought.
"What's going on out there? Why are you twitching outside the door like you're having a damn seizure?"
A voice suddenly called out from inside the room.
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