Mission to Uzumaki

Half a month later, at the end of April.

Nightview City, General's Residence, Outer Court.

"Hey, Kakuzu, you really have incredible luck with women. You married three women at once—can your body really handle that?"

Kurobei, who was usually stern and unsmiling, bumped into Kakuzu that morning. He waggled his brows as if teasing him.

"???"

Kakuzu opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but stopped himself.

"Kakuzu, that was pretty unfair of you. Getting married is such a major event, yet you didn't invite us over for drinks."

Another Jonin colleague came over, patted Kakuzu on the shoulder, and let out a resentful sigh.

"Minister Kakuzu, congratulations. I heard you married three women at once, and they were all princesses before this. You must be living the dream."

A direct subordinate from the same division also came up to congratulate him, though his tone was slightly sour.

"Three beautiful triplet sisters... You deserve to die, Kakuzu. You didn't leave even one for anyone else—you took all of them for yourself."

An unmarried Jonin colleague gripped Kakuzu's shoulders tightly, gritting his teeth with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

"No, how do all of you know about this?"

Still somewhat dazed, Kakuzu suddenly came to his senses. His expression beneath the mask turned awkward.

Everyone exchanged glances and nodded.

"Ah, that's right, we all know. Not just us, either. While you were on leave, word spread throughout the entire Military Bureau."

"..."

Who the hell did this?

Kakuzu immediately saw red, so furious his lungs felt ready to explode.

The reason he had gotten married in secret was to avoid exactly this sort of thing. He had not wanted to draw attention.

In front of others, he had to constantly maintain his good image as a quiet, honest, diligent man who kept his distance from women.

Now it had all been exposed, hadn't it?

How was he supposed to lead his team now?

"Where did this news come from?"

Kakuzu's tone was chilling. His miserable green eyes glowed faintly, making him look terrifying.

"Uh, it seems it came from a messenger from the Intelligence Division. He had a rather big mouth. He said Lord Yayoi had you choose one of the Land of Song daimyo's daughters as a potential marriage partner, but he never expected you to take them all."

"..."

Kakuzu remembered. Half a month ago, Yayoi had sent an Intelligence Division messenger with photographs of the Land of Song daimyo's daughters to arrange a marriage for him.

His first thought at the time had naturally been to refuse.

As everyone knew, Kakuzu, Minister of the Combat Execution Division, was an honest man who kept his distance from women.

But after seeing photos of the Land of Song daimyo's three daughters, he decided meeting them would not hurt.

After all, it was arranged by his superior. Wouldn't refusing to go be disrespecting the General?

Then, when they formally met, he found himself having trouble choosing.

However, after seeing that the Land of Song daimyo's family seemed to be living in some poverty after moving to the Land of Night...

His three daughters wore plain clothes, had few practical life skills, and struggled to find work. The family could barely maintain even basic food and shelter.

Since the Land of Song daimyo could not afford to support three daughters, Kakuzu could support them instead.

He wanted to give those pitiful girls a warm home.

Parents with no survival skills, younger brothers crying to be fed, and girls broken by the burden of life—if he did not save them, who would?

So, he chose to take them all!

"I'm going to see Yuroketsu."

Kakuzu took a deep breath and announced that he intended to find Aburame Yuroketsu, Minister of the Intelligence Division.

After more than half a year of working together, his relationship with Yuroketsu was fairly good. The other man should still give him some face.

"What are you going to see him for?"

"To have him assign that messenger to dig potatoes in the northeast of the Land of Night."

So-called potato digging did not actually mean digging potatoes. It meant mining.

The work was hard, exhausting, and filthy, with few days off. Furthermore, the northeastern Land of Night was frozen year-round, so few people voluntarily applied to oversee mining operations there.

Even though the position came with high wages and various extra allowances.

Just as Kakuzu was about to go find Yuroketsu, another Jonin colleague slapped his forehead as if remembering something.

"That won't be necessary. That messenger applied yesterday to go dig potatoes in the northeast on his own."

Kakuzu: "..."

"But don't worry. Yuroketsu will probably kick that messenger out of the Intelligence Division. You know how severely understaffed they are, and the professional standards of their agents are rather uneven..."

Kurobei spoke at that moment, patting Kakuzu on the shoulder and comforting his emotionally wounded old friend.

After teasing Kakuzu for a while, everyone dispersed.

It had only been an amusing bit of daily gossip. Once they had gotten their entertainment, they naturally let Kakuzu off the hook.

Before leaving, however, they still told Kakuzu to treat them to a lavish meal later. They would bring their wedding gifts themselves.

Seeing that the matter had been exposed, Kakuzu had no choice but to agree.

Even so, Kakuzu was still brimming with resentment.

The honest, dutiful image he had painstakingly built had completely collapsed in everyone's minds.

Fortunately, his past secret visits to brothels had not been exposed. Otherwise, his reputation would have been even worse.

That messenger had better pray that he spent the rest of his life digging potatoes in the northeast.

"Lord Yayoi, I'm here."

After arriving at the Tenshu Tower, Kakuzu, whose emotions had stabilized, first reported to Yayoi.

His week-plus of wedding leave was over, and he needed to return to work as soon as possible.

"You look well. Ten days have passed—have you taken care of everything at home?"

Yayoi smiled as he examined Kakuzu.

Compared to before, the man's temperament had changed somewhat in certain ways.

Someone unfamiliar with him might not even notice the change.

"Yes, everything has been handled."

"That's good. Still, I never expected you to take all three of the Land of Song daimyo's daughters."

When Yayoi first heard the news, he had been stunned for quite some time before slowly recovering.

Under his command, Kakuzu's life trajectory had become completely different from that immortal ninja from the original story who was obsessed with money.

At the very least, he possessed normal values in life, took his work seriously, actively protected his comrades, and was a dependable companion worthy of important responsibilities.

When the Land of Night had first been established, Yayoi had even planned to have Kakuzu manage its finances.

Yet Kakuzu had refused without hesitation, saying he had no interest in something as vulgar as money, which could never fulfill his life's purpose.

"..."

Hearing Yayoi tease him much like his colleagues had earlier, Kakuzu's expression beneath his mask became awkward again, and he stammered without finding any words.

He was indeed very satisfied with those three girls.

Not only were they beautiful and gentle, but they were all under twenty, triplets born of the same mother, and eighty percent alike in appearance... It was simply triple the happiness.

"Enough, I won't tease you anymore. The burden on your shoulders won't be light from now on. With women at home to look after you and handle the household chores, I can rest easier too."

Yayoi changed the subject, his expression becoming much more serious.

"Yes!"

Kakuzu immediately straightened up.

"I have a mission for you now."

Yayoi took a scroll from beside him.

Kakuzu stepped forward, accepted it, and opened the scroll to glance over its contents.

"A diplomatic mission to the Uzumaki Clan?"

"That's right. A few days ago, the Uzumaki Clan officially founded the Land of Whirlpool and established the ninja village of Uzushiogakure. They have invited many countries and ninja villages to attend their founding celebration."

Yayoi explained the situation.

Kakuzu nodded. The Uzumaki Clan's founding of a nation was no secret in the Ninja World. They had been actively preparing for it ever since the Hidden Leaf Village was established.

Moreover, the Land of Whirlpool did not have much territory. It was passable among smaller countries at best, and its population was not large. Many were refugees whose survival could not be guaranteed. With the Uzumaki Clan's strength, they could easily control that land.

Besides, the Uzumaki Clan was an ally of the Senju Clan. No matter what, they had to show them this courtesy.

"Is this trip to the Uzumaki Clan simply to attend the ceremony?"

"That is only one purpose. The second is for you to help me test whether the Uzumaki Clan is willing to form a marriage alliance. I had originally planned to send Kurobei, but he has other matters to handle right now."

Yayoi rubbed his throbbing brow. The main problem was that he simply had too few ninja and samurai under his command who could stand on their own.

Even though he had expanded education, the ninja and samurai he could put to use in the short term were still the old hands from before.

The Aburame Clan and other small ninja clans joining them had slightly eased the shortage of talent, but at the national level, their reserves of capable people were still severely inadequate.

As for the Hyuga Clan members who had come with Kicho, excluding ordinary family members, there were only twelve ninja in total: one branch-family Jonin, seven branch-family Chunin, and four Genin.

Putting that small number into national development was still only a drop in the bucket, incapable of making any real impact.

"Also, you can bring your three new family members along on this trip. Consider it a honeymoon."

"I understand. But forget the honeymoon. I'll consider it when I have time later."

Kakuzu nodded solemnly and rejected Yayoi's suggestion of a honeymoon.

Work was work, and personal affairs were personal affairs. He could still distinguish between the two.

Besides, the outside world was far from peaceful. He would be fine alone, but if he took three burdens with him on a long journey and they encountered any danger, he might not be able to protect them.

(The details of Kakuzu's matchmaking will not be shown. If you are interested, I can find time to write a side story about it.

Also, although Kakuzu's body was modified by the forbidden technique Earth Grudge Fear, he has not ceased being human. He still has blood, a meridian system, a heart, and other organs. There is no reproductive barrier between him and normal humans.)