Three worlds!

Tobirama and Daigu were left to discuss the wedding details, while Uzumaki Gamu went to arrange accommodations for Uchiha Hikari and Lala.

"Anyway... you two can stay in my room!" Uzumaki Gamu pointed at his room. "It's not big, but it should be fine for the two of you." - One was nine and the other thirteen. Neither was very old, so sharing this room would be no problem!

Hikari hurriedly asked, "Wait, where will you stay?" - Surely he didn't mean for all three of them to squeeze in together?

Uzumaki Gamu pointed at himself. "Me? Right here!" - With that, he used Wood Release: Three-Bedroom, Two-Living-Room Technique to conjure an eight-square-meter house outside his room. You only saw layouts like this from Shanghai subletters!

Hikari looked at the wooden house Uzumaki Gamu had conjured, then glanced back at the room behind her, which was over thirty square meters. "You're planning to live here?"

"What's wrong with it? I used to live somewhere like this-in my previous life!" Uzumaki Gamu spread his hands. - Surviving in a big city was hard for ordinary outsiders! If you wanted cheap housing without sharing with anyone else, you could only live in places that barely looked fit for human habitation!

This house is even smaller than the cage I used to live in... What kind of life did this guy have before? Wait, isn't he the clan chief's son? Why would he live somewhere like this? - Hikari didn't think Uzumaki Gamu was lying, so there had to be a reason!

"Anyway, you two can settle into my room. If anyone comes looking for me... tell them I went out on business!" With that, Uzumaki Gamu vanished with the Body Flicker Technique!

Lala asked curiously, "Hikari, what's Master..."

"No idea. It looks urgent," Hikari said, rubbing her chin.

Just then, Mito arrived with the Body Flicker Technique. "My second brother... left?"

"Yes. He said he had something urgent to do, then left," Hikari answered.

"He left... Could it be?" Something occurred to Mito, and she immediately activated her sensory abilities. Then... she couldn't sense Uzumaki Gamu anywhere.

"Honestly, at least wait until my wedding is over before leaving!!" Mito said angrily.

The other two were utterly bewildered. - Had Uzumaki Gamu gone to do something he wouldn't return from?

- Preparing ninja tools -

Uzumaki Gamu found a deserted spot, then entered the Instance Space.

Looking at the Wheel he hadn't seen in ages, he asked, "So... there are several missions this time?"

"Yes, host. This time, you have three worlds to choose from!" the Wheel answered.

"Wow! I even get a choice... Which worlds need me to save them?" Uzumaki Gamu asked.

The Wheel said nothing and simply displayed the details.

The first world-Harry Potter!

"Isn't that a Western magical world?" Uzumaki Gamu asked in confusion. "We can go outside Asia?"

The Wheel replied, "Missions have no geographical limits! Anywhere could need you!"

"...Is that so? Well, I have a question. Most of the people I'm supposed to kill die in the end anyway. Do I really need to go?" Uzumaki Gamu had always been curious about this. - Take Muzan, for example. He would have died at the end of the story anyway. Was it necessary to send Uzumaki Gamu over to kill him?

The Wheel answered, "Those who stubbornly refuse to die cause the deaths of many people whose time has not yet come. Having you kill them allows those people to survive! It makes the cycle of life flow more smoothly!"

"Doesn't the Underworld judge performance by head count?" Uzumaki Gamu asked.

The Wheel hesitated, then answered frankly, "...If too many people die, those above will hold us accountable too."

"...So we have to stick to a quota?" Uzumaki Gamu was speechless. - Even death required a lottery? What the hell was that about!

The Wheel replied, "...Everything follows the rules and regulations."

"...Then what am I?" Uzumaki Gamu asked curiously. - He'd been given a system, without even a face-to-face explanation. It looked suspiciously like temporary employment. Would they make him the scapegoat if anything went wrong?

The Wheel answered, "An off-payroll worker... However, if you perform well enough, you can be granted an official position as Black and White Impermanence."

"...Holy shit. After all that, my official job is actually Black and White Impermanence? I thought it would be Ox-Head and Horse-Face... Neither sounds particularly nice!" - To a Chinese person, those titles really didn't sound very good!

In theory, Black and White Impermanence should have been pretty awesome, but they appeared in all kinds of works, often as characters who got humiliated, leaving plenty of people thinking they weren't very impressive. If he was going to take a job, he ought to get something more badass. (Uzumaki Gamu: But what counts as a badass position in the Underworld? Surely they wouldn't make me Yama?)

"If you dislike it, you can call yourself a Shinigami instead... The work is the same anyway!" the Wheel answered.

"I see... Speaking of which, system, you're talking very smoothly this time. Is an actual person chatting with me?" Uzumaki Gamu noticed something telling.

Uzumaki Gamu thought of self-service vending cabinets. Those things apparently relied on people to calculate the bill too-someone behind the scenes watched the recorded footage, checked which drinks the customer had taken, then charged them. Artificial intelligence, with a very human workforce!

The Wheel replied, "Hello. I'm unable to answer that question at present. Let's discuss another topic."

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Uzumaki Gamu was genuinely speechless. "Forget it. Let's get back to the mission details... The first world is Harry Potter, so the target should be Voldemort, right?"

Uzumaki Gamu checked the mission details-kill Voldemort and the evil Death Eaters under his command. Rewards would depend on his final performance!

"Heh. Just as expected!" Uzumaki Gamu nodded, then analyzed it. "This mission... isn't exactly hard, but it isn't exactly easy either!" - This fantasy novel was a world-famous franchise, and its wondrous magical world had captivated countless people. Still, it was ultimately a fairy-tale-like story, so its combat was designed to be rather simple and straightforward!

The magicians of this world... or rather, its wizards, were basically all glass cannons!

No matter how strong you were, you still died when your time came! - Except Voldemort!

To cling to life, this final boss had split his soul and made seven Horcruxes. As long as they weren't all destroyed, he could potentially revive through them. He was about as hard to kill as Orochimaru!

"Why are all these snake-themed bastards so hard to kill... Sounds like a pain, so let's look at the others first!" Uzumaki Gamu grumbled. - On to the next mission!

Fullmetal Alchemist!

"...Holy shit, don't tell me I have to kill the Dwarf in the Flask? He's another hard one to kill!" Uzumaki Gamu said, exasperated.

Mission details-kill the Dwarf in the Flask and his subordinate Homunculi. Rewards would depend on his final performance!

The Dwarf in the Flask was a Homunculus created through alchemy. His true body was so fragile that exposure to air would destroy him, so he could only survive inside a flask. Didn't that sound easy to kill?

No, not at all! Because he possessed the powerful Philosopher's Stone!

In that series, Philosopher's Stones were red stones refined from living human souls through transmutation circles. They were the highest form of energy, allowing alchemy to be used without paying a price and making it possible to create anything.

And the Dwarf in the Flask possessed Philosopher's Stones made from hundreds of thousands of souls, using them to protect his fragile true body. Unless all those stones were exhausted, he couldn't be killed!

"Anyway, he's another extremely hard person to kill. Next mission!" Finding it troublesome, Uzumaki Gamu moved on to the next mission details!

This time, it was... Akame ga Kill!

"...Wait a minute. Are there any immortals in this world?" Uzumaki Gamu asked in surprise. - There wasn't really anything in that world that refused to die. Did he need to go?

Uzumaki Gamu looked further down and saw the mission details-destroy the Empire and the evil people affiliated with it. Rewards would depend on his final performance!

"...So countries count as targets to kill too?" Uzumaki Gamu was dumbfounded. - Wasn't a country a concept? You could kill that too?

The Empire was the country that served as the main setting of Akame ga Kill! This seemingly powerful nation was already terminally ill. Its upper-class nobles lived in extravagant debauchery, while commoners suffered terribly, and countless innocents had been buried by this rotten nation. In a sense, the country was also refusing to die, so there was nothing wrong with killing it!

The Wheel answered, "Death is impartial. Even if something isn't alive, I can kill it for you!"

"Isn't that a Mystic Eyes of Death Perception line? Is it appropriate here?... Forget it. You're the boss. Say whatever you like." Uzumaki Gamu didn't really have the right to be picky, so he dropped it and focused on choosing his mission. "Of these three... obviously, the Dwarf in the Flask is the hardest. Alchemy has a seriously high ceiling, and killing him would be a pain. Then... Voldemort isn't easy either. That bastard is only slightly less shameless than Muzan, and when he needs to hide, he hides damn well."

Voldemort could lie low for over a decade without emerging. As long as Dumbledore lived, he didn't dare act openly. An enemy capable of slithering around like a venomous snake in a sewer was extremely troublesome to deal with too.

Then... the easiest one was the world of Akame ga Kill!?

Although it had quite a few powerful fighters, he generally wouldn't need to worry about immortality and such. At least it wouldn't be too troublesome.

So... should he choose that one?

Uzumaki Gamu nodded. "Yep, that's the one!" - He had things to play around with in that world, so he chose to go there.

"Come to think of it, I thought you'd assign me to Jujutsu Kaisen... But it wasn't an option," Uzumaki Gamu grumbled. - His current setup was already very close to Satoru Gojo's, after all. Going there to change the tragedy of 2.5 would be pretty nice.

The Wheel said, "That world will be scheduled in the future!"

"So there really is one? I was just saying... Oh, right. Will there be a time difference this time?" Uzumaki Gamu asked. - He had to clarify that crucial issue. Otherwise, if he suddenly disappeared for years, his family would worry!

"Yes... Four years!" the Wheel answered.

"Heh... There's actually a specific time? Then why didn't you tell me last time?" Uzumaki Gamu demanded.

"Host, you did not ask me that question!" the Wheel answered.

"Damn, so I have to ask myself? Can't you be a little smarter?" Uzumaki Gamu complained.

"Please select a mission yourself, host!" - The gentle tone vanished, turning mechanical!

"...Did the human customer service log off? Wow, you ran away after a little criticism? That's way too irresponsible!" Uzumaki Gamu sighed. "Forget it. I'm in no position to blame anyone. I'm not exactly fond of shouldering responsibility either... Anyway, I just have to choose the mission myself now, right? Well, nobody said I had to leave immediately, so... I'll wait until my little sister gets married!" - If he ran off like this, his sister would probably hate him to death. Better go back and wait until Mito's wedding was over before leaving!

It felt like... it shouldn't take too long!

- Preparing ninja tools -

When Uzumaki Gamu leisurely returned home, he found Mito blocking his doorway.

"Uh... Little sis, what are you standing here for?" Uzumaki Gamu asked curiously.

"Waiting for you..." Mito asked bluntly, "Are you leaving again?"

"Not yet... The trial mission has arrived, but I can wait until after your wedding to leave!" Uzumaki Gamu answered.

"I see... That's good!" Mito sighed in relief, then asked nervously, "Will you be gone for years again this time?"

"Well... I already asked. It'll be four years this time," Uzumaki Gamu answered.

"Four years..." Mito's tightly furrowed brows eased a little, but she still asked uneasily, "...Do you have to go on this mission?"

"It isn't compulsory, but... I want to go!" Uzumaki Gamu replied.

"Why?!" Mito pressed.

"Because it's interesting!" Uzumaki Gamu replied.

That answer nearly broke Mito's composure. "Just because of that? If this keeps up, the age gap between you and everyone else will keep growing. In the end... you'll be the only one left!" - Mito finally voiced the worry she had been carrying all along.

"Well..." Uzumaki Gamu scratched his head awkwardly. - Having died once, his views on life and death already differed from those of ordinary people. On top of that, he had just heard about his future employment, so this didn't particularly bother him. If he really got a job in the Underworld, perhaps he could meet everyone in the world after death... Why did this feel so much like Ichigo Kurosaki?

Soul Society was practically his backyard, and everyone he met after death was a friend. It was even happier than being alive!

Well, I'm nowhere near as badass as Ichigo Kurosaki, Uzumaki Gamu grumbled inwardly. - He was, after all, the most ridiculously gifted bloodline inheritor in anime history, possessing every powerful bloodline in his world! It felt like a protagonist setup you'd only see in fanfiction, not a talent an ordinary person could have!

After his inward complaints, Uzumaki Gamu told Mito, "Well... true. In a few decades, maybe I really will be the only one left. But the connections we make don't end here. As long as I keep moving forward, I'll keep meeting new friends and new family. So... I won't end up alone. You don't have to worry about that!" - Uzumaki Gamu understood what Mito was worried about. She simply feared he would become lonely.

Although he hadn't experienced anything like that and couldn't be certain the future would turn out as he said, Uzumaki Gamu found it hard to imagine a compulsively sociable friend-maker like himself ending up dying alone.

"...True. Making friends is what you're best at, Brother," Mito sighed.

Just then, Uzumaki Gamu ruffled Mito's hair. "Well, it's not like I'm never coming back. Look at it another way: at least I'll definitely live longer than you, so you won't have to worry about me dying before you. You won't feel lonely for the rest of your life!"

"...Who comforts people like that?" Mito said, speechless. - After saying that, she thought quietly for a while and said nothing more.

Next came preparing Mito's wedding and building the village. The village construction was unexpectedly fast!

That was mainly thanks to Hashirama. After confirming that the Hidden Whirlpool Village's completion date would be his wedding day, he brought a large group over to help build it. With Hashirama's Wood Release and a large number of Senju clansmen helping-especially once they learned Hashirama was getting married-the Senju were so enthusiastic that they worked even harder than the Uzumaki. (Uzumaki clansmen: Are we really the ones building our village?) Construction sped up dramatically. Truly, the bolder the ambition, the greater the yield!

At this rate, the village's basic infrastructure would be finished in half a month... What incredible construction speed! Had the Senju really never considered switching to real estate development? Surely that paid better than being ninja?

Well, people in this world were rather stubborn-minded and hadn't thought about using chakra to improve productivity. But that could wait.

Uzumaki Gamu wasn't idle during that half month either. He... prepared a grand wedding for his sister? No, he didn't!

It was someone else's wedding, after all. The spotlight belonged to them. What would he be doing stealing it? As a member of the bride's family, the best thing he could do was prepare a generous dowry for his sister, one that would make the Senju never dare neglect Mito!

So Uzumaki Gamu sought Hikari's help. "I need you to heat something for me with Fire Release!"

"Don't you know Fire Release yourself?" Hikari asked, puzzled.

"Well, I need to concentrate on controlling Magnet Release, so I'll have to leave the heating to you!" Uzumaki Gamu requested.

After some thought, Hikari agreed to Uzumaki Gamu's request. It would be a way to repay the kindness she had received while living with the Uzumaki Clan!

Hikari had lived in the Uzumaki Clan Homeland for several days now, experiencing a life completely different from before. She was clearly an outsider, so why did the Uzumaki all treat her like family? It was so much better than being with the Uchiha. Those Uchiha bastards hadn't treated their own clansmen as family at all! (The Uchiha clansmen who died on the night of the red moon: Exactly! Two bastards didn't treat their own clansmen as family. They sure had fun slaughtering us!)

Well, someone had let slip that Uzumaki Gamu was pursuing Hikari. After the gossip spread, the entire Uzumaki Clan knew, and loads of people already regarded Hikari as Uzumaki Gamu's future wife... Didn't that make her family?

Of course, the Uzumaki clansmen tactfully refrained from saying so outright, simply showing her goodwill to help Uzumaki Gamu along. As a result, Hikari's affection for the entire Uzumaki Clan kept rising, until she almost wanted to change her surname. She might as well call herself Uzumaki Hikari from now on!

And so, Hikari worked with Uzumaki Gamu to make Mito's dowry!

Then... over half a month passed! The Shinobi World's first hidden village, Uzushiogakure, was officially founded! Hashirama and Mito's wedding was held that very same day!

The schedule was as follows: first, Uzushiogakure would hold a daytime celebration of the village's completion. Once the festivities ended, the Senju bridal procession would immediately depart with Mito, and the wedding would officially take place at the Senju Clan Homeland.

At the celebration venue.

Looking at the completed village, Uzumaki Gamu couldn't help remarking, "I never thought our Uzumaki Clan would be the first in the Shinobi World to build a village!"

Standing beside him, Tobirama answered, "Your village only has Uzumaki ninja, after all, so you don't need to worry about reconciling different ninja clans. And you've simply seceded from the Land of Fire to found your own country. Acting as your own Daimyo means you don't have to consider a Daimyo's wishes either. Naturally, founding your village is easy!" - Other countries' hidden villages were part of their nations, and even appointing a village leader required consulting the Daimyo, so founding them wasn't that simple!

Since the Uzumaki Clan had simply seceded from the Land of Fire to establish its own country and village, it had far fewer concerns and could do whatever it wanted. The only issue was... they now had to become self-sufficient! To live well, they would need to remember: three parts fate, seven parts hard work. Ah, only by striving could they win!

Uzumaki Gamu looked to his other side, at his eldest brother, Uzumaki Daigu, who was sobbing his eyes out.

"Brother, do you really need to cry that much?" Uzumaki Gamu asked, speechless.

"Our little sister is marrying a good man. I'm happy!" Daigu said, smiling through his tears. - More than half the houses in Uzushiogakure had been made by Hashirama. His actions spoke for themselves. What bride's family wouldn't like such an honest, dependable man?

Daigu wiped his tears. "I'll go entertain the other honored guests. You two keep chatting!" - The Uzumaki Clan had plenty of friends in the Shinobi World, so quite a few ninja clans had sent people to congratulate them. Of course, they were also there to congratulate Hashirama Senju on his wedding!

After Daigu went to greet the guests, Uzumaki Gamu asked Tobirama beside him, "It's such a happy occasion, so why do you look so tense?"

"The more festive the occasion, the less we can afford to let our guard down!" Tobirama answered. "Both the Senju and the Uzumaki have enemies. If they attack while we're off guard, we'll be in serious trouble."

"So you stationed people outside our village to establish a security perimeter." Uzumaki Gamu's Six Eyes had already spotted the Senju clansmen patrolling outside!

Of course, the Uzumaki had people patrolling outside too! They weren't relying solely on the Senju to stand guard!

"Yes..." Tobirama nodded. "I'll join the patrols too. See you when the bridal procession departs... Oh, and thank Madara Uchiha on my brother's behalf for his help!"

Uzumaki Gamu looked at Madara, who sat alone in a corner of the celebration venue-an aloof man with no friends could only have a table to himself... Well, mostly nobody dared sit with him! He asked Tobirama, "Thank him for what?"

"You should find out if you ask him," Tobirama answered. - With that, he vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.

Uzumaki Gamu shrugged. Tobirama was proud too, and wouldn't willingly accept help from the Uchiha! That was why he wouldn't say what they had helped with!

Well, he could only learn about that from Madara. Conveniently, the aloof man didn't even have anyone to talk to, so Uzumaki Gamu would go keep him company!