Sitting in an inn, Mingye looked out at the streets, so utterly different from those of the Land of Fire, and smiled. A man appeared from the staircase around the corner, walked over, and sat down before Mingye. He had golden hair and wore pale blue clothes streaked with yellow hemp-rope patterns. Despite his youthful face, he had no eyebrows, only two small mustaches, and a faint smile always lingered at the corners of his mouth. No matter where his gaze drifted, it seemed as though he were mocking someone. After sitting down, he tilted his head like a carefree recluse and studied Mingye carefully before suddenly speaking.
"Quite handsome. What a pity—you're just a tiny bit less handsome than me!"
Mingye looked up at the man and joked, "Your narcissism is truly something to behold."
The man picked at his ear, then blew the earwax from his little finger toward the windowsill as he spoke.
"Hehehehe! I'm the second wisest man in the Land of Water. Give me another seven or eight years, and perhaps I'll become the wisest. How can that be narcissism when it's simply the truth? Still, I'm quite curious. The famous third-in-command of the Uchiha Clan actually came to our Land of Water and wanted to secretly contact a renowned sage like me. Hmm! I don't understand, I don't understand!"
Maintaining his smile, Mingye placed a thick envelope on the table and continued, "Have you heard of the Yuki Clan? And the Kaguya Clan?"
The man's eyes lit up at the sight of the thick envelope. In high spirits, he nodded and replied, "Two of the most famous great clans of our Land of Water. How could I not have heard of them? What do you want?"
After capturing the Six-Tails, Mingye had not left