Before long, in the rear courtyard of the Daimyo Palace, Aiko Hamuro, the newly appointed daimyo, sat quietly reading in a corner.
Although Feng had married her because he wanted to use her as a puppet to control the Tea Country,
he had also required her to read more, study more, broaden her horizons, and learn about the world.
After all, Feng had not been some uneducated fool in his previous life. He had properly received nine years of compulsory education, sworn beneath the Five-Star Red Flag to grow up as a Young Pioneer (doge), and simply could not truly treat another person as less than human.
Especially when she was his wife, the person he spent every day and night with.
Therefore, aside from restricting her access to the daimyo's authority, Feng let Aiko Hamuro choose and decide for herself everything else that an ordinary girl could do, wanted to do, and even the rights she had as his wife.
In the center of the rear courtyard, Feng used the Shadow Clone Technique he had learned not long ago to create a shadow clone and practice ninjutsu.
Meanwhile, his original body practiced swordsmanship under Uchiha Mikio's guidance.
Although Uchiha Mikio was not particularly skilled with the sword, his Jonin strength and battlefield-honed eye
were more than enough to guide Feng, who was still only a Genin.
As Uchiha Mikio instructed Feng in swordsmanship, he casually asked,
"Feng, I've always seen you searching for information about the Tailed Beasts and the Mask Hall.
"I can understand the Tailed Beasts. That kind of disaster-level power would indeed be a tremendous asset if it could be controlled.
"But why are you looking for the Uzumaki's Mask Hall? That place is remote, barren, and creepy.
"Other than a few ghostly masks, there's nothing inside."
"There really isn't anything important in the Uzumaki's Mask Hall... thing...??"
Wait!!!
Feng had initially answered casually while continuing his training.
But then he realized something was wrong. Why did Senior Mikio know that the Mask Hall was in such a remote location?
"Senior Mikio, do you... know where the Mask Hall is?"
Feng stopped training and asked uncertainly.
"Mm. During the last Ninja World War, when I was fighting Kirigakure ninja in the Land of Whirlpools,
"one of the temporary resting places we found during a mission happened to be the Uzumaki's Mask Hall."
Uchiha Mikio admitted it readily.
"Senior... why didn't you say so earlier? You just watched me search blindly all this time..." Feng was rather speechless.
"Uh, I only rested there once temporarily, hehe... so it didn't leave much of an impression. Didn't leave much of an impression.
"I only remembered these past two days that it was the Mask Hall you were looking for, so I came to tell you."
Uchiha Mikio scratched the back of his head awkwardly and smiled sheepishly.
"Then do you still remember the Mask Hall's exact location, Senior? Don't let me get my hopes up for nothing."
"Of course I do. I may not remember the Mask Hall very clearly, but that mission left a deep impression on me.
"So I still remember where the Mask Hall is."
As Uchiha Mikio said this, his expression dimmed and he sank into some memory.
Yet his Impure World Reincarnation body prevented that melancholy from fully showing. His eyes were clearly filled with immense sorrow, but there was not the slightest trace of moisture in them.
Feng tactfully remained silent, allowing Uchiha Mikio to slowly recall the past.
After quite some time, Uchiha Mikio, having finished reminiscing, broke the silence himself.
"Alright, enough about that. Tell me why you're looking for the Mask Hall.
"Could there be something valuable in that damned place? Or is there something special about that pile of broken masks?"
"Hehe, you guessed half of it right.
"The only useful things in the Mask Hall are those strange ghost masks."
"Oh?! What are those broken masks good for?"
"Mm... it would be troublesome to explain in detail. Simply put, the Uzumaki have a Sealing Jutsu for perishing together with an enemy, called the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
"The principle is roughly to summon the soul of a Death God, then use the caster's soul as the price to forcibly seal the soul of the captured target into the Death God's belly."
"?? And then? What's the use of that?
"Or are you planning to learn that mutually destructive Sealing Jutsu?
"That won't do. The Uchiha Clan is still waiting to become the supreme power of the Ninja World under your leadership."
Uchiha Mikio was still confused by Feng's explanation, but then he thought of an alarming possibility and immediately began trying to dissuade Feng.
"Haha, I haven't lived long enough yet. Why would I learn something like that?
"What I'm looking for is the Nine-Tails that has already been sealed inside the Death God's belly."
Feng laughed as he explained, then quietly revealed his true purpose.
"The Nine-Tails? Isn't that thing supposed to be sealed inside Konoha's Jinchūriki? How did it end up in the Death God's belly?"
Uchiha Mikio was confused again. This completely contradicted everything he knew about the Nine-Tails.
"Mm, Senior, you're right, but also not right. Before you died, the Nine-Tails was indeed always sealed inside one of Konoha's Jinchūriki.
"But not long after you died, after the Third Shinobi World War ended, Minato Namikaze became the Fourth Hokage.
"When he was nearly one year into his term as Hokage, someone took advantage of the Jinchūriki giving birth and being extremely weakened to release the Nine-Tails, then summoned it to the center of Konoha, triggering Konoha's Nine-Tails Night.
"Konoha suffered devastating losses and casualties, and the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki at the time was the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze's wife.
"Perhaps for Konoha, or perhaps to die alongside his wife, the Jinchūriki who was doomed to die after losing her Tailed Beast,
"Minato Namikaze used the mutually destructive Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal the Nine-Tails into the Death God's belly.
"However, before sealing it, he divided the Nine-Tails into Yin and Yang halves. He sealed the Yin Nine-Tails into the Death God's belly.
"He sealed the Yang Nine-Tails inside his son, making him Konoha's new Jinchūriki.
"Now, what I want is naturally the Yin Nine-Tails inside the Death God's belly."
Feng explained the general situation and his objective to Uchiha Mikio.
Uchiha Mikio fell into thought after hearing this. After a moment of silence, he spoke again:
"Then... I have one final question.
"Everyone knows that once someone becomes a Jinchūriki, they are eroded by the emotions of the Tailed Beast within them. They often lose their senses, lose control, and go berserk.
"What if you become a Jinchūriki and lose your mind? The Uchiha Clan's future depends on your wisdom."
"Hehe, there's no need to worry about that. The main reason Jinchūriki lose control is because they are constantly fighting the Tailed Beast inside them. Both sides hurt each other while struggling for control over one body.
"But I have a way to coexist peacefully with a Tailed Beast. If neither side fights the other, it is extremely difficult for a Jinchūriki to lose control or go berserk."
Feng continued explaining.
"If that's the case, then there's no problem. Just let me know when you plan to go to the Mask Hall." Uchiha Mikio nodded readily this time.
"No rush. Before going, I still need to confirm a few things. Otherwise, it would be pointless even if we went."
Feng was in no hurry.
The Yin Nine-Tails was inside the Death God's belly, and finding the Mask Hall was meant to identify which Death God it was.
But even if he found the corresponding Death God mask, it would all be pointless unless someone wore that mask and used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to cut open the Death God's belly and release the Yin Nine-Tails.
Therefore, Feng needed someone who could use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal and was willing to use it for him.
Obviously, Feng could not find such a person in the current Ninja World.
But Feng had another method: Kushina Uzumaki and Tobirama Senju, whom he had brought back with Impure World Reincarnation.
There was no need to say much about Kushina. She was the only Uzumaki in Konoha, and the Dead Demon Consuming Seal had originally been an Uzumaki Sealing Jutsu.
She had taught Minato Namikaze his Sealing Jutsu. Minato knew the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, so who would believe that Kushina did not?
As for Tobirama Senju, that guy, the Uchiha Clan's number one hater, was Feng's preferred target for using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
But there was also a fatal problem: Tobirama might not know the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, even if he was the Ninja World's foremost master of forbidden techniques.
And that was what Feng needed to confirm.
Fortunately, this was not difficult for Feng to verify.
Do not forget that he still had an unused Copy Card containing Tobirama Senju's Flying Thunder God Technique. He only needed to find a time and try using it on the reincarnated Tobirama to find out.
If Tobirama knew the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, then everyone would be happy.
After having him use it to release the Yin Nine-Tails, Feng could have the reincarnated Kushina seal the Yin Nine-Tails into his body, solving his weakness of lacking chakra. Feng would be happy.
At the same time, Minato's soul would be released. Kushina would surely be happy too, and would definitely put more effort into sealing the Yin Nine-Tails for Feng.
Finally, after using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, Tobirama Senju would have to remain forever in the little dark room inside the Death God's belly. If the entire Uchiha Clan learned of this, they might celebrate as a clan.
For such a wonderful deed—sacrificing one person to bring happiness to countless families—Tobirama Senju himself would surely be willing to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal for Feng if he knew about it.
Before you continue