Inside the Raikage's private office.
Yugito, now conscious, slumped halfway in her seat like a pile of lifeless mud.
She felt drained.
Her body had never been this exhausted before.
As if she had fought nonstop for days without rest.
Just moments ago, Matatabi told her that it had taken control of her body to kill A — the Fourth Raikage — and Killer B, then declared her the new Raikage.
Shock turned to confusion, then panic, and finally numbness...
In the end, she became numb and accepted it.
No matter how she felt about the Fourth Raikage and Bee, they were both gone now, and she had to carry the blame. She couldn't just turn on Matatabi directly.
Still, she didn't understand.
What was Matatabi's motivation?
Perhaps for tailed beasts, killing needed no reason.
But why would one want human power? Could it be because of being around humans too long?
Noticing something suspicious, Yugito inwardly asked Matatabi, "Two-Tails, you're already so strong. Why not just leave?"
Matatabi hesitated, quickly thinking up an excuse. "Even if I escaped, the ninja would catch me again and reseal me. I'd rather stay inside your body."
"And Eight-Tails feels the same way?"
"Exactly. It thinks the same too." Matatabi awkwardly replied with a forced smile.
"Tch..." Gyuki coldly snorted nearby but said nothing more.
"Why become a Kage?"
"Humans have hurt us. I want to retaliate and enslave them," Matatabi answered naturally.
Truth was, it didn't even know that person's true purpose. What benefit could there be in making Yugito the Kage?
With that reasoning, everything seemed to check out logically, yet Yugito had no response.
"Alright, what's wrong with my body? Why am I so tired?"
Well duh! Even minor chakra loss would leave you feeling empty. Let alone using such a powerful technique — of course something's wrong!
Rather than go into detail, Matatabi replied soothingly, "You'll recover after resting for a while. Don't circulate chakra or stimulate cell division these next few days — I'll share some chakra to help your body heal."
"Could this be a side effect from sealing two tailed beasts?" Yugito worriedly guessed.
Matatabi shook its head vaguely. "Probably three to five days of recovery and you'll be fine."
"Any hidden injuries left behind?"
Matatabi: "...How should I know? You'd have to ask that person!"
Yugito fell silent. After a long pause, she let out a deep sigh.
"This Raikage role... won't be easy."
According to Kumogakure's succession tradition, the next Raikage was usually someone trained by the previous generation. Someone who seized power purely through force, like herself, would inevitably lack universal support.
If the village found out she killed the Fourth Raikage brothers, they might brand her a war criminal like the infamous Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
"Two-Tails, what do you think I should do?" Yugito asked.
After asking, she couldn't help letting out a bitter, self-mocking laugh.
While others could at least talk strategy with someone they trusted, she was actually asking a tailed beast for advice.
But politically, she truly had no one reliable. At this moment, the only thing she could rely on was brute force.
"Kill whoever dares to resist," Matatabi the Two-Tails said simply and directly.
"...," Yugito sighed helplessly.
Showing weakness wasn't an option—the village wouldn't let a rebel-hearted jinchūriki live.
If she showed weakness, they might demand her tailed beast be extracted, putting her life in danger.
She knew that all too well—that's why she had no choice but to stay strong.
Whether she liked it or not, she would have to become the next Kage.
Could things really end up like Kiri, under dictatorial tyranny?
...
In Konoha, at the Hyūga clan compound,
A Byakugan boy stood silently in his small courtyard, as if sensing something.
Kaguya gained more than just information from Yugao and Yugito—she also gained access to various types of knowledge.
For example, "jutsu."
In her time, there was no such concept as jutsu.
Back then, during battle, techniques came naturally—manipulating space, controlling nature and elements came easily.
Chakra was merely pure energy.
Nowadays, ninja broke these abilities into fine details, creating systematic schools such as ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.
Shinobi with incomplete chakra further classified chakra into seven different natures: Wind, Lightning, Water, Fire, Earth, Yin, and Yang.
Sometimes Kaguya used Hiroki Hyuga's body to test the power of certain jutsus. Powerless to stop her, Hiroki could only endure it like grinding for experience while idling.
The five chakra natures—Wind, Lightning, Water, Fire, and Earth—were easy to learn, common as dirt, and had very little room for growth. Kaguya completely looked down on them.
In contrast, Transformation Jutsu and Clone Jutsu had some clever design and were somewhat useful.
"This feeling... is this another technique?"
Feeling the chakra flowing through him, detecting an improvement in physical performance, Hiroki couldn't help but ask.
"It's Kumogakure's physical martial arts method. It uses chakra to activate the body, greatly enhancing physical strength, speed, and attack power. They specifically developed it as a chakra application method especially suited for lightning-type shinobi."
"It can work with other chakra natures too, though with reduced effects. Your Yang nature will work fine."
"Compared to Konoha's Eight Gates technique—which temporarily unlocks extreme physical potential at great cost—it has far fewer side effects. You should train in this from now on."
"Why don't you train with me?" Hiroki grinned playfully.
"Remember this feeling. Do it yourself." Kaguya said indifferently, then withdrew from his body.
Recalling the jutsu Kaguya had used, Hiroki gathered chakra, fingers pressed together and hands crossed in a familiar shape.
Muscle memory did the trick—he pulled it off right away.
[Shadow Clone Jutsu]
After the smoke cleared, an exact replica of himself appeared beside him.
As the clone continued training Gentle Fist, he focused on practicing physical martial arts.
...
"Just rest for these few days."
At sunset, Yugao removed her mask and stepped out of the Anbu base.
*Cough*... Yugao.
By the roadside, a teenage boy wearing a ninja hat and long brown hair stepped forward. His noticeable dark circles and pale complexion made him look frail as he waved at Yugao Uzuki.
"Hayate." Yugao Uzuki responded with a gentle smile.
"Good timing—I have the day off too. Let's go grab something to eat together. Genma, Anko, and others are already there," Hayate Gekko invited.
"Sure." Yugao Uzuki nodded, but suddenly realized she couldn't move her body.
"Yugao, that's not the way..."
"I... wait just a second." Yugao Uzuki looked helplessly as her distance from Hayate Gekko increased. Her body seemed to move on its own toward another direction.
"Yugao, you don't want to come, do you?"
"No, I didn't mean that at all. I don't know what's happening either." Yugao Uzuki urgently explained.
"If you want to refuse, just say so directly. I can accept it, instead of agreeing then running far away," Hayate Gekko said somewhat disappointedly.
"Hayate, please don't misunderstand. My body just seems to have its own will!"
"Why would you use such an awkward excuse? Well, I understand now." Hayate Gekko sighed and turned to leave.
"Hayate..." Yugao Uzuki was almost in tears.
With mixed and complicated feelings, Yugao Uzuki watched helplessly as herself returned to the Anbu base.
Shink~
The katana commonly equipped by Anbu agents was drawn out, the sharp blade pointing toward a silver-haired masked Anbu officer.
Kakashi calmly asked her while staring at the katana aimed at the center of his forehead: "Are you challenging me?"
"Senior, I..."
Before Yugao Uzuki could finish explaining, her body acted first.
The long sword swung toward Kakashi.
Clang~
Kakashi drew his wakizashi to block, his eyes also turning cold.
"It looks like you're serious."
[Physical Martial Arts Method] paired perfectly with sword techniques—many Kumogakure shinobi used this combination.
Kaguya directly controlled Yugao Uzuki's body to perform [Physical Martial Arts Method].
Yugao Uzuki could definitely feel something changing inside her body.
"I... seem to have become stronger."
As Kakashi's slash came dangerously close, Yugao Uzuki instantly countered with her long sword.
It was only at this moment that she surprisingly realized her body had finally returned to normal.
Her body remained in an activated state; Yugao Uzuki gradually adapted and stopped being distracted.
Her physical abilities improved significantly—speed increased, attacks became stronger.
She was getting better and better at using sword techniques.
Kakashi was genuinely surprised.
According to his knowledge, her sword skills were all taught by Hayate Gekko. Yet now, she somehow seemed even stronger than Hayate.
[Dance of the Sword.]
Two shadow clones of Yugao Uzuki appeared. The original and clones simultaneously used Shifting Body Technique, attacking Kakashi from three directions—left, right, and above.
Three flashes passed, followed by several *clang* sounds as Kakashi's katana got sliced into four pieces.
Without using any jutsu, he lost completely.
Both paused and stopped fighting.
Kakashi calmly evaluated, "With your current strength, you're capable of battling jonin."
"Thank you for your guidance, senior."
"Yugao Uzuki said.
The next day, she went in for another full-body check-up.
"Looks great. No issues at all," the doctor said.
"Really? Are you sure? Did you check for anything else—like genjutsu traces or implanted objects?"
The doctor rolled her eyes. "You're just being paranoid."
"But... but…"
"No buts about it."
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