Yin Nine-Tails, Yang Nine-Tails, and News of the Mask Hall

Before long, in the rear courtyard of the Daimyo Palace, the newly appointed daimyo, Aiko Hamuro, sat quietly in a corner reading.

Although Feng had married her because he intended 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 understand the world.

After all, Feng had not been some uneducated fool in his previous life. He had properly completed nine years of compulsory education, sworn an oath beneath the five-star red flag, and been a Young Pioneer growing up. There was simply no way he could truly treat someone as less than human.

What was more, she was his wife, the person who spent every day and night by his side.

Thus, aside from keeping her away from the daimyo's authority, Feng allowed Aiko Hamuro to 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.

Meanwhile, in the center of the rear courtyard, Feng used the Shadow Clone Technique he had recently learned to create a shadow clone and practice ninjutsu.

His main body, meanwhile, trained in swordsmanship under Uchiha Mikio's guidance.

Although Uchiha Mikio was not particularly skilled with a sword, his jōnin strength and battlefield-honed insight

were more than enough to guide Feng, who was currently only a genin.

As Uchiha Mikio instructed Feng in swordsmanship, he casually asked,

"Feng, I've always seen you searching for information on the tailed beasts and the Mask Hall.

"I can understand the tailed beasts. Their power is like a natural disaster, and if you can control one, it would indeed be a tremendous asset.

"But why are you looking for the Uzumaki's Mask Hall? That place is remote, barren, and eerie.

"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 been casually chatting while training as well.

But then he realized something was wrong. How 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 rest points 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 speechless.

"Uh, I only rested there once during that mission. Heh... it didn't leave much of an impression. Not much of an impression.

"I only remembered in the past couple of days that it was the Mask Hall you were looking for. That's why I told you now."

Uchiha Mikio scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and gave an awkward laugh.

"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. The Mask Hall itself didn't leave much of an impression, but that mission certainly did.

"So I still remember where the Mask Hall is."

As Uchiha Mikio said this, his expression grew somewhat desolate, as though he had fallen into some memory.

Yet his Impure World Reincarnation body prevented his sorrow from fully showing. His eyes were clearly filled with grief, yet there was not the slightest trace of moisture in them.

Feng tactfully remained silent, allowing Uchiha Mikio to slowly recall the past.

After quite a while, Uchiha Mikio emerged from his memories and broke the silence himself.

"Enough, let's not talk about that. Tell me why you're looking for the Mask Hall instead.

"Does that damned place have some kind of treasure? 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 peculiar ghost masks."

"Oh?! What are those broken masks for?"

"Mm... it would be troublesome to explain in detail. Simply put, the Uzumaki have a sealing technique meant for mutual destruction called the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

"The principle is roughly that it summons a Death God's soul. At the cost of the caster's soul, it forcibly seals the soul of the captured target into the Death God's stomach."

"?? And then? What use is that?

"Or are you planning to learn this mutually destructive sealing technique?

"That won't do. The Uchiha Clan is still waiting for you to lead us to the pinnacle of the Ninja World."

Uchiha Mikio was still confused by Feng's explanation, but then he thought of a terrible possibility and immediately tried to dissuade him.

"Haha, I'm not tired of living yet. Why would I learn that thing?

"What I'm looking for is the Nine-Tails that has already been sealed inside the Death God's stomach."

Feng laughed as he explained, then quietly revealed his true objective.

"The Nine-Tails? Shouldn't that thing be sealed inside Konoha's Jinchūriki? How could it be in the Death God's stomach?"

Uchiha Mikio was confused again. This completely contradicted everything he knew about the Nine-Tails.

"Mm, Senior, you're right, but also wrong. Before you died, the Nine-Tails had indeed always been sealed inside a certain Jinchūriki in Konoha.

"But not long after you died, after the Third Shinobi World War ended, Minato Namikaze became the Fourth Hokage.

"Near the end of his first year as Hokage, someone took advantage of the Jinchūriki giving birth, when her body was extremely weak, to release the Nine-Tails and summon it into the center of Konoha, causing Konoha's Nine-Tails Night.

"Konoha suffered devastating losses and casualties, and the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki at the time was none other than the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze's wife.

"Perhaps for Konoha, or perhaps because he wanted to die alongside his wife, a Jinchūriki who would certainly die after losing her tailed beast,

"Minato Namikaze used the mutually destructive Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal the Nine-Tails inside the Death God's stomach.

"However, before sealing it away, he split the Nine-Tails into Yin and Yang halves. The Yin Nine-Tails was sealed into the Death God's stomach.

"The Yang Nine-Tails, meanwhile, was sealed inside his son, making him Konoha's new Jinchūriki.

"Now, what I want is naturally the Yin Nine-Tails inside the Death God's stomach."

Feng explained the general situation and his objective to Uchiha Mikio.

Uchiha Mikio fell into thought upon hearing this. After a moment of silence, he spoke again.

"Then... I have one last 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 minds, 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 fighting for control of a single body.

"And I have a way to coexist peacefully with a tailed beast. If neither side fights the other, it is almost impossible for a Jinchūriki to lose control or go berserk."

Feng continued explaining.

"If that's the case, then there's no problem. Just tell me when you plan to go to the Mask Hall." This time, Uchiha Mikio nodded readily.

"There's no rush. Before going, I still need to confirm a few things. Otherwise, going there would be pointless."

Feng was in no hurry.

The Yin Nine-Tails was inside the Death God's stomach, and finding the Mask Hall was to determine which Death God it was.

But even if he found the corresponding Death God mask, it would all be pointless unless someone put on that mask and used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to cut open the Death God's stomach 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.

Clearly, Feng could not find such a person in the current Ninja World.

But Feng had another option: Kushina Uzumaki and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, whom he had summoned through 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 technique.

She had taught Minato Namikaze his sealing techniques. Minato knew the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, so who would believe that Kushina did not?

As for Tobirama Senju, that guy was the Uchiha Clan's number one hater and Feng's preferred target for using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

But there was one 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, it would not be difficult for Feng to verify that.

He still had not used the Copy Card that had copied Tobirama Senju's Flying Thunder God Technique. All he needed was to find a time and try it on the Tobirama summoned through Impure World Reincarnation 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 Impure World Reincarnation Kushina seal the Yin Nine-Tails into his body, resolving 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 she would definitely put more effort into helping Feng seal the Yin Nine-Tails.

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 stomach. If the entire Uchiha Clan learned this news, they might celebrate as a clan.

For the sake of sacrificing one person to bring happiness to countless families, Tobirama Senju would surely be willing to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal for Feng if he knew, right?