"Lord Yuzuru, I-I..."
Kurama Yakumo stammered, unable to get the words out. Seeing this, Yuzuru said directly, "Yakumo, if you don't want to, just say so. You don't need to worry about anything else."
Hearing that, Yakumo immediately waved her hands in panic. "N-No, no, no! I am willing!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, two blushes rose on Yakumo's face. She lowered her head and tightly gripped the hem of her clothes with both hands.
A mischievous thought rose in Yuzuru's heart, and he pressed further, "Willing to do what?"
Yakumo secretly glanced up at Yuzuru. After hesitating for a while, she whispered, "Willing... willing to marry Yuzuru-sama."
"Who wants to marry Lord Yuzuru?"
"Yakumo..."
"Say it properly."
Yakumo was so embarrassed she looked like she was about to cry. Her voice trembled as she said, "Yakumo wants to marry Lord Yuzuru!"
"Hahahahaha..."
Yuzuru laughed heartily a few times.
So this was what an innocent young beauty felt like. Just a few words were enough to make her this shy.
The women at home had not given him this feeling in a long time.
Of course, he also liked the unique qualities that Tsunade, Mikoto, Kushina, and the others possessed.
In short, it all came down to one sentence.
He wanted them all!
Seeing Yakumo looking as though she had been bullied to the verge of tears, Yuzuru took the initiative and said, "Yakumo, then make your preparations. In a few days, move into the Everlasting Imperial Palace."
Hearing that, Yakumo suddenly lifted her head and asked in disbelief, "Lord Yuzuru, y-you're willing to take me as your wife?"
Yuzuru reached out and pinched Yakumo's cheek, saying gently, "Yakumo is so beautiful. How could I possibly refuse?"
In that instant, Yakumo felt all her previous gloom vanish completely.
In its place was a sweet, honey-like happiness.
More than ten years had already passed since the first time she met Yuzuru.
Now, her wish had finally come true!
Seeing the gentle look in Yuzuru's eyes, Yakumo mustered her courage and said, "Lord Yuzuru, come back with me for a moment."
"What is it?"
"I'll tell you when we get there."
————
————
Satomi Hill Villa.
Yakumo and Yuzuru entered the detached villa where she usually lived.
After entering the room, Yakumo pulled open the curtains.
Under the sunlight, the scene inside the room suddenly became clear.
Yuzuru froze for a moment, briefly losing himself in thought.
The room was filled everywhere with Yakumo's paintings.
And every painting shared the same subject.
Yuzuru.
Although the two of them had only met a few times, the portraits of him were vividly lifelike.
"Lord Yuzuru, please forgive my rudeness, but I really couldn't help myself..."
Hearing Yakumo's voice, Yuzuru came back to his senses.
He smiled and said, "It's fine. Yakumo, your painting skills are excellent. The scenes in them feel as if you saw them with your own eyes."
Seeing that Yuzuru did not blame her, Yakumo said happily, "Although the contents of these paintings are all things I imagined, they appeared in my dreams many times."
"In that sense, I suppose you could say I really did see them with my own eyes."
Feeling the sincerity in Yakumo's tone and catching the faint fragrance from her body, Yuzuru could not help but feel his heartbeat quicken slightly.
He pointed at the paintings in the room, lowered his head, and said, "Then... Yakumo, from now on, let's turn the contents of these paintings into reality. It's just..."
Hearing that, Yakumo anxiously asked, "Just what?"
A faint wicked smile appeared on Yuzuru's face. He leaned close to Yakumo's ear and breathed warmly against it.
"It's just that you may need to become an adults-only artist in the future."
Yakumo felt a tingling numbness run through her body, leaving her unable to muster even the slightest strength. An unprecedented sense of happiness rose in her heart.
In a daze, she felt as though she had become a lone boat upon the sea, swaying in a storm, rising and falling with the waves.
All she could do was offer her most devout prayers, begging the sea to grant her a trace of gentleness...
[Ding! Detected that the host's clan now possesses a clan member with a special bloodline: Five Senses Manipulation Kekkei Genkai bloodline. Reward obtained: Five Senses Manipulation Kekkei Genkai bloodline!]
[Current evolution progress of the Five Senses Manipulation Kekkei Genkai bloodline: 2%!]
Listening to the system prompt in his mind, Yuzuru felt another faint warm current appear in his body.
He could sense that his spiritual power had grown much stronger again.
At the same time, his eyes also felt a wave of soreness, swelling, and pain...
Perhaps...
It would not be long before he could evolve his Mangekyō Sharingan into the Rinnegan.
————
————
Konoha Year 71.
Three years passed in the blink of an eye.
After the Divine Kingdom was established, the shinobi world grew increasingly peaceful under Yuzuru's rule.
Everyone lived happy, prosperous lives, and the entire shinobi world presented a thriving scene of flourishing growth.
"So this is what it feels like to hold the whole world in the palm of my hand. It truly is intoxicating..."
"Even after a thousand years, ten thousand years, I will still be the emperor of the shinobi world!"
Looking down at Konoha, which had clearly transformed into a bustling city, Yuzuru could not help but sigh emotionally.
No wonder everyone yearned for immortality.
The joy of immortality was something those without it could never imagine!
[Ding! Congratulations, the host's family population has exceeded ten thousand additional members. Bloodline evolution attempts +1!]
[Current family population: seventy thousand!]
Hearing the system prompt ring out in his mind, a faint smile appeared on Yuzuru's face.
In just five years, the Uchiha clan's population had increased by a full ten thousand.
This rate was already quite impressive.
Moreover, compared to the early stages, once the population base grew larger, the rate of growth would only become faster and faster.
Right now, it was ten thousand people every five years. After a few more years, perhaps it would become ten thousand every three years, ten thousand every two years, ten thousand every year...
When that time came, his strength would truly enter an explosive period of growth.
"I spent twenty years laying the groundwork, only to realize now that I've just reached the peak period..."
Yuzuru could not help but laugh.
In Konoha Year 41, he had proposed the policy of "marry early, have many children, and exceed the birth quota" during the clan meeting. Twenty years had passed since then.
Twenty years...
He had finally developed to this point.
After thinking for a while, Yuzuru withdrew his thoughts and placed his attention back on the system panel.
Under the [Glorious Evolution] entry, every time the clan population increased by ten thousand, he would gain one chance to evolve a bloodline.
"Yotsuki bloodline, Uzumaki bloodline, Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai bloodline, Chinoike clan bloodline, Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai, Senju bloodline, Shikotsumyaku, Ice Release Kekkei Genkai..."
Yuzuru's attention gradually moved down from the bloodlines that had already completed their evolution.
"Transparent Release Kekkei Genkai, current evolution progress: 1%!"
"Five Senses Manipulation Kekkei Genkai, current evolution progress: 2%!"