Tsunade waved a hand at Uchiha Hikari and said casually, "Don't worry. He just suffered a mental shock, probably from releasing a large number of Shadow Clones. He'll be fine after resting for a bit."
Then Tsunade turned back to Tokiju and asked, "Did you release the clone controlling your puppet?"
Tokiju wanted to answer, but the words were stuck in his throat. He couldn't make a sound.
All he could do was nod slightly.
Seeing this, Tsunade pointed at Tokiju and said to Uchiha Hikari, "See? This is what happens when you keep Shadow Clones around for too long. You need to be extremely careful about it from now on, too."
Uchiha Hikari nodded at once. "Got it, Tsunade. I'll be careful from now on."
Seeing that Uchiha Hikari had taken her words to heart, Tsunade nodded with a smile. Then she turned to Tokiju and said softly, "Tokiju, rest here for a bit. Shizune and I will go on ahead. Once you've recovered, come catch up with us."
Tokiju shook his head. The brief interruption had helped him recover, and he quickly said, "I'm fine now. Let's go together."
Seeing how determined he sounded, Tsunade didn't stop him. "All right, but take it easy."
Tokiju quickly got to his feet and casually brushed the dust off his clothes.
To be honest, his head was still spinning. If not for the mental strength he'd gained from living two lives, something serious might really have happened to him.
He wouldn't have died, but he would definitely have developed some kind of mental illness—especially dissociative identity disorder.
That's right: the part of Tokiju's mind controlling Sigurd had been deliberately split off, but it had still been acting on its own for quite a while.
During that time, that part of his mind had regarded itself as Sigurd. Even its way of speaking had differed somewhat from the original.
As a result, that part of his mind had slowly begun to develop on its own. If it had continued for another few days or even a couple of weeks—
The part of his mind sustaining Sigurd might have become an entirely new personality.
That was why Tokiju had been so dazed just now. The part of his mind he'd taken back had already become slightly different from the rest of him.
That difference wouldn't have affected Tokiju's original mind at all.
But the two minds merging still caused confusion, plunging Tokiju into a momentary state of mental weakness.
In short, he'd fallen from the treetop because his mind had weakened. He absolutely hadn't lost his footing. Absolutely not!
Still, the incident had served as a warning. He couldn't split off parts of his mind carelessly, or something could easily go wrong.
If that was the case, then he'd have to find another way to control his Sigurd persona.
That wouldn't be difficult for Tokiju. If he couldn't split off part of his mind to control Sigurd, he could just use a Shadow Clone with his full mind instead.
He could have a Shadow Clone control Sigurd, then dispel it after a while and create a new one.
That way, every so often, he'd only have to endure the memories returning when a Shadow Clone disappeared.
This would also minimize the risk of something going wrong with his mind.
Having thought of a solution, Tokiju wanted to try it right away. But they were still on the road, so he had to put the idea aside for now.
Besides, they were already close to Sigurd. At their current pace, it wouldn't take long to get there.
With that thought, Tokiju quickened his pace.
Seeing Tokiju return to his former speed, Uchiha Hikari, who had been walking beside him, finally relaxed and hurried to catch up.
Half an hour later, the four of them finally reached the small house where Sigurd and Uzumaki Miku were staying.
Tokiju was the first to push open the door and call inside, "Sorry to intrude!"
As soon as he opened the door, Tokiju spotted Sigurd standing off to the side, powered down, and Uzumaki Miku beside him, looking terrified.
Tokiju greeted her first. "Hey, Miku. Did I scare you?"
When Uzumaki Miku had first heard a commotion outside, she had indeed been frightened.
But when Tokiju opened the door and she got a good look at him, she relaxed.
The main reason was that Tokiju's six-year-old body was so deceptive, and he didn't seem to harbor any ill will.
On top of that, she was pregnant, and her maternal instincts were at their strongest. She had instinctively felt that Tokiju wasn't dangerous.
Uzumaki Miku stared at Tokiju for a moment, then asked uncertainly, "Are you Lord Sigurd's real body?"
"Uh..." Tokiju awkwardly scratched his cheek. "Sigurd is actually an alias. You can just call me Tokiju. That's my real name."
As Tokiju introduced himself, Tsunade walked in. Seeing Uzumaki Miku's bright red hair made her feel an immediate sense of kinship.
She stepped forward at once, checking Miku's body with chakra as she asked, "Are you the Uzumaki Clan member my younger brother rescued?"
Uzumaki Miku was taken aback and didn't answer right away.
When she didn't reply, Tsunade wasn't offended. She took Miku's arm and looked at the places where she'd been bitten before.
Seeing that the bite marks had faded, Tsunade furrowed her brow, then continued, "Don't worry. We won't hurt you. You might not know this, but Tokiju and I are both Grandma Mito's grandchildren."
Uzumaki Miku's eyes immediately widened in surprise. "You mean Lady Uzumaki Mito?"
She had been young when she left the Land of Whirlpools, but she knew of the Uzumaki Clan princess.
But Lady Uzumaki Mito had lived so many years ago. How could she have such a young grandson as Tokiju?
Seeing that Miku seemed unconvinced, Tokiju acted on a thought, and a pale golden chain shot out from behind him.
He made the chain swirl around the room, then said to Uzumaki Miku, "Well? Do you believe now that I have Uzumaki Clan blood?"
The moment she saw the chains, which looked just like the ones in her memories, Uzumaki Miku recognized them as the Uzumaki Clan's signature Adamantine Sealing Chains.
At once, her nervousness faded. She lowered her head and apologized. "I'm sorry, Lord Tokiju. I shouldn't have doubted you."
Tokiju waved a hand, unconcerned. "It's fine. I don't mind something this trivial."
Then Tokiju walked over to Sigurd. Shizune was standing in front of him, looking thoroughly curious.
At first, Uchiha Hikari had wanted to go inside and see what was going on, too.
But the room wasn't very big, and she thought it would be too cramped, so she went outside to keep watch.
Everyone in the room except Uzumaki Miku was already familiar to her, so there was no need to crowd in.
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