Looking at the woman collapsed on the ground, Kakuzu let out a cold laugh.
"What kind of trash dares to covet Kakuzu-sama's body?"
He then looked at the heart in his hand and licked his lips.
"Still, this heart isn't bad."
"I didn't expect you to really be willing to give me your heart."
Hidden underground, White Zetsu watched the scene, momentarily at a loss for words.
"Why… why… why did you kill her?!"
White Zetsu nearly lost his mind. The excitement he had painstakingly built up vanished instantly.
"Humans really are strange creatures."
"Only bowel urges are eternal."
White Zetsu glanced at Kakuzu once more, deeply engraving his face into memory.
He swore to himself even if someone like Kakuzu begged him, he would never observe his bowel urges!
This is just too much!
Kakuzu had no idea that while he was playing a heart-extraction game with the woman, something underground had been watching him the entire time.
The Mayfly Technique was truly absurd.
By merging one's body with the earth and vegetation, it allowed for extremely high-speed movement.
As for chakra, by integrating with the ground and connecting to organic networks such as plant roots and underground water streams, the user could travel rapidly to virtually any location.
If that were all, the technique would merely be impressive.
But the most terrifying part was that during its activation, all presence could be completely erased.
No matter who it was, no one could sense White Zetsu underground.
After installing the heart, Kakuzu walked out.
Outside, three children stood there, trembling as they looked at him.
Kakuzu glanced at them and gave what he believed was a kind smile.
But in the eyes of the three children, that smile looked like a devil's grin from hell.
"K-Kakuzu-sama… a-are we leaving now?"
Kakuzu smiled again.
These three children were his money bags.
"Of course. I was entrusted to come find you."
As someone who had lived from the Warring States Period to the present, Kakuzu knew exactly how terrifying he looked to them.
So he continued,
"Relax. Nothing will happen to you."
"It was your clansmen who asked me to search for you."
Kakuzu had said these words many times before.
The three youths had heard them many times as well yet they still couldn't bring themselves to fully trust him.
They were remnants of the Uzumaki Clan from the Land of Whirlpools.
The final sparks of the clan, protected at the cost of countless lives.
Their elders had hoped they would find a place to survive, reproduce, and pass down the Uzumaki bloodline.
Looking at the three children, Kakuzu felt smug.
He hadn't even planned to search for surviving Uzumaki.
Yet during a previous black-market mission, he happened to run into them.
Their red hair made him cautious—and sure enough, they really were Uzumaki.
Kakuzu silently calculated in his mind.
An S-rank mission paid between one and three million ryo.
Each Uzumaki was worth two million ryo.
That was the equivalent of three S-rank missions.
And this was something he stumbled upon after already giving up.
This wasn't just profit, this was getting absurdly rich.
Clearing his throat, Kakuzu looked at them and said,
"Let's go."
"We're almost at Konoha."
The three youths exchanged glances and nodded.
They didn't understand the deeper truth behind the destruction of the Uzumaki Clan.
But they knew that Kirigakure Village was responsible and that their destination, Konoha, was a village on par with Kirigakure.
That knowledge made them uneasy.
Meanwhile, back in Konoha, Yuki Seisui stood on a balcony, watching Minato, Kushina, and the others below.
Uzumaki Kushina was currently teaching them.
Uzumaki sealing techniques were notoriously difficult.
Even after all this time, Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Nagato still hadn't fully mastered them.
It wasn't that they hadn't learned them, they just hadn't truly understood them.
Basic sealing techniques were still simple enough.
Using them posed no real strain.
Among them, Nagato learned the fastest.
"Such peaceful days…"
Yuki Seisui sighed softly.
"If possible, I'd like days like this to last forever."
But he knew, that wasn't realistic.
Just then, Nawaki came running in from outside, shouting loudly,
"They're back! They're all back!"
Seeing Nawaki, Yuki Seisui jumped down from the balcony.
"What's back?" he asked.
"Your sister and the others?"
Nawaki panted heavily, hands on his knees, nodding repeatedly.
"Yes—yes!"
"They're back!"
His words drew Kushina's attention.
Not having heard the rest, she asked in confusion,
"What's back?"
"It's nothing," Yuki Seisui replied.
"Jiraiya and Sister Tsunade brought the main force back."
"If you want to watch, you can go."
Yuki Seisui had no interest in joining the crowd.
But Kushina's eyes lit up.
She looked around excitedly.
"Do you guys want to go see?"
Seeing her eagerness, Konan twisted Nagato's arm before he could refuse.
Then she smiled sweetly.
"Sure!"
Nagato glanced at Konan in confusion only to receive a fierce glare in return.
He felt utterly baffled.
"Wait for me, I'll go change!"
Kushina dashed inside.
Nagato turned to Konan, but Minato patted his shoulder and sighed.
"Minato-senpai, what's wrong?"
"Nagato… I used to be just like you."
As he spoke, Minato pulled out a small book from his clothes.
"But after reading this, I stopped being like that."
He waved the book gently.
Nagato asked curiously,
"What is it?"
"The Ultimate Guide to Romance," Minato said solemnly.
The book had played a major role in helping him win Kushina's heart.
Hearing this, Yuki Seisui turned his head.
Looking at the yellowed booklet, he didn't know what to say.
Yamanaka Inoichi… you'd better not have leaked my name.
Yuki Seisui silently swore, if Inoichi had written his name in that book, he'd make him regret it.
He truly regretted it.
He should never have talked about those things back then.
Especially not in front of Yamanaka Inoichi.
If only I'd been mute.
A boomerang thrown years ago had finally come back and hit him square in the forehead.
Minato and Nagato were still talking.
Holding the romance guide Minato handed him, Nagato looked at Konan.
Konan was looking back at him.
"Why are you staring at me?" she said, glancing at the book in his hands.
"Don't you dare use anything from that book on me!"
Nagato immediately promised,
"Don't worry. I won't."
Soon, Kushina returned after changing clothes.
She led Konan and the others in a lively procession toward the village gate.
…..
Completed version available on Available on [P]atreon.[c]om/Veltoria [remove brackets]