Joking

"Tobi, do you need my help?"

"Get lost, don't bother me."

Tobi waved his hand impatiently, his attitude extremely nasty.

Yet in the eyes of Yagura, this was merely a joke between close friends.

He smiled helplessly, said nothing, and lowered his head to continue processing documents.

Clearly, this was a highly abnormal scene.

Tobi, or rather, Obito, had already used Genjutsu to control Yagura, becoming the true master of Kirigakure.

At this moment, Obito was digesting the intelligence he had just obtained from Orochimaru.

"King? Emperor? Both have golden Rinnegan, so they must be the same person... That living puppet wasn't conjured out of thin air; she truly exists in the Ninja World... Judging by the fact that she can reverse-summon the Rinnegan, her relationship with the person who possesses it must be profound. If I find her, I can find the Rinnegan, so that is a viable path... Furthermore, since her puppet appeared beside the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, it means I can also find clues about the Rinnegan from the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails..."

In fact, on the day of the Uchiha clan massacre three months ago, Obito had known there was a connection between the golden Rinnegan and the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails.

However, at that time, Kirigakure was plagued by one rebellion after another. Obito was too busy suppressing the uprisings to investigate the situation of the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, so he could only send White Zetsu to monitor him.

White Zetsu reported—the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails is named Uzumaki Naruto, aged seven, turning eight soon, lives in an apartment in Konoha, and is unmarried.

He attends the Ninja Academy, returns home by seven at the latest every day, doesn't smoke, doesn't drink, occasionally skips class, goes to bed at eight, and ensures he gets ten hours of sleep.

He drinks a glass of warm milk before bed, does 20 minutes of light exercise to warm up, and then goes to sleep...

In short, White Zetsu said Naruto was perfectly normal.

However, Obito always felt White Zetsu's report was a bit strange, though he didn't think too much about it; after all, White Zetsu's thought process was very peculiar, and he had never seen a normal White Zetsu.

But thinking that the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails was in Konoha and wouldn't run away, it didn't matter if he delayed a bit.

The investigation into Naruto was thus dragged out.

But it could no longer be delayed.

Originally, due to some unspeakable selfish motives, only Obito and Itachi knew about the newly appeared Rinnegan.

The others in Akatsuki, including Zetsu, were unaware of the new Rinnegan's existence.

But now, after Orochimaru's revelation, Obito had lost his intelligence advantage and had to act quickly.

Obito pondered: "Let Zetsu waste time searching for that woman, while I go directly to investigate the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. That way, I can find the Rinnegan one step ahead of Zetsu..."

Find the Rinnegan, seize the Rinnegan, become the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails, break free from Madara's control, and become the primary executor of the Eye of the Moon Plan.

This was the ambition in Obito's heart.

Tap, tap, tap...

Footsteps echoed outside the office.

Obito was startled, snapped out of his ambition, and hurriedly jumped off the desk, standing respectfully behind Yagura.

"Lord Mizukage..."

Ao of the Mist walked into the office, frowning as he glanced at Obito.

Although Obito reacted quickly, Ao had still seen the scene of Obito sitting on the desk.

"Tobi, is he really just an ordinary Anbu? Why is he so insolent in front of Lord Mizukage without being punished?"

Ao felt deeply confused.

The Mizukage's desk was specifically for handling the political affairs of the Mist, possessing a sense of majesty; even the Mizukage himself was not supposed to sit on it.

A mere Anbu...

There was definitely something wrong with him!

Thinking back on the various irrational decisions the Mizukage had made over the years, suspicion grew in Ao's heart.

He reported the matters without changing his expression, left the Mizukage Building, quietly released the seal on his Byakugan, and glanced back.

His vision pierced through the walls.

The Mizukage, whose Chakra flow in his brain was chaotic, and the Anbu Tobi, whose single eye was unusually bright.

"Actually... it's actually like this! Lord Mizukage has been controlled!!!"

Suppressing the intense shock in his heart, Ao quickened his pace and rapidly left the area.

--Konoha--

A day off.

The morning sun shone through the window into the room. Naruto sat at the dining table, eating breakfast while talking to his parents in his heart.

"My savings are almost empty; they'll only last another year."

As he spoke, Naruto picked up his milk and drank it in one gulp, set the cup back on the table, and leaned back in his chair, a look of distress on his small face.

According to his plan, his savings should have lasted until graduation, but his plan had overlooked two important influencing factors.

One was the cost of training.

Training tools like Kunai, Shuriken, and weights all cost money, and the prices were quite expensive.

The second issue is his appetite.

I don't know what's going on, but as he grows older, his appetite has been getting bigger and bigger.

He can't be called a bottomless pit, but calling him a small-scale glutton wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Eating more naturally means spending more money.

"That detestable Third Hokage, he's truly shameless, actually embezzling the inheritance that Minato and I left behind..."

Inside the Sealing Space, Kushina cursed the Third Hokage roundly. Minato's expression was grim, but he didn't stop his wife's foul-mouthed rant.

Because Minato also wanted to point at the Third Hokage's head and scream at him.

Did I offend you somewhere back then, for you to treat my son like this!

"I have a money-making plan—pick up my old trade, debut as an id... oh wait, no, become a brand ambassador... I won't lie to you, many shop owners have been secretly contacting me..."

The couple was confused at first, not understanding what Naruto's so-called money-making plan was, but they soon realized.

It turned out to be sitting in front of other people's shops to attract hate and draw traffic.

"Absolutely not! Naruto, you cannot demean yourself like that!"

Kushina and Minato expressed their strong opposition.

To the two of them, who valued their dignity, using other people's disgust to make money damaged one's self-esteem and felt like self-abasement.

They would not allow their son to become that kind of person.

"You guys are exaggerating too much. Actually, as long as you don't care and treat those ignorant people like air..."

Naruto tried to persuade his parents, but under their firm opposition, he had to give up and look for another way.

"Wait... I have another idea!"

After pretending to think for a few seconds, Naruto clapped his hands and said, "I've decided to follow family tradition: marry into the Hyuga family and let Hinata keep me."

The idea of their son living off a woman stunned the couple.

Marrying into her family?

That had even less dignity; it would be better to debut as a brand ambassador.

"What do Mom and Dad think of my idea?" Naruto asked, oblivious to the danger.

Kushina put her hands on her hips and said angrily, "It's terrible! Mom didn't give birth to you just for you to be someone else's son. Besides, don't you know that marrying into a family will make people look down on you? You'll be on the receiving end of everyone's Byakugan..."

Minato's mind worked quickly; after briefly considering Naruto's temperament, he felt that the idea of marrying into the family must be a joke.