"Why, Yoru? If Master Gensui were on your side, wouldn't it make taking the Mizukage seat—and everything after—that much easier?"
As they stepped out of Gensui's estate, Mei Terumi looked at Yoru, baffled.
To her, Gensui was one of Yoru's greatest political assets. With the most powerful elder in Kirigakure behind him, paired with Yoru's battlefield exploits and overwhelming reputation, his ascension to the Fourth Mizukage was practically guaranteed.
With Gensui's endorsement, Yoru could rule from a position of strength and stability.
But instead, Yoru had rejected the support—and in doing so, turned it into resistance.
Why?
"Because I never wanted just the title of 'Kage.'"
Yoru came to a stop and glanced calmly at Mei.
"You think the bloody mist that suffocates this village came from the Third's policies alone? No. Corruption here runs deeper than that—entangled in every level of power. There are no clean hands in this mire."
He looked ahead.
"Becoming Mizukage, only to be strangled by the same old rotting institutions? No thanks. I've got no use for elders who stood by and let the blood mist thicken. Even if one of them is my teacher."
"Yoru…" Mei frowned. "Then the pressure on you will only get worse…"
"Yoru-sama!"
A clear, feminine voice called out from nearby.
Mei's expression tightened as Yuki kiri, her long white hair fluttering, approached with a warm smile.
She bowed low. "Yoru-sama. May I request your company—back to our clan compound?"
Yoru gave her a passing glance and continued walking without a word.
Mei, arms crossed, matched his pace. As they passed Kiri, she scoffed.
"Funny. Some people throw things away early on, only to want them back later. Shame it costs so much more the second time around."
Kiri clenched her lips, then bowed again. "Then I'll pay the cost."
As Yoru disappeared around the corner, she turned and hurried off toward the Yuki Clan compound.
Later
Mei followed Yoru through winding village streets. They stopped by several vendors and filled their bags with food. Eventually, they arrived at Yoru's home.
It was… humble.
Far from the central district, tucked into the village's outskirts, Yoru's apartment was small and quiet—more like a civilian's dwelling than a shinobi's.
When he had been exiled from the Yuki Clan, Yoru's mother had spent nearly all their savings to settle here.
Even after being accepted into the Academy with Gensui's help, and later recruited into ANBU, Yoru had refused the village's offer of upgraded housing. Mei herself had once invited him to live in the Terumi Clan estate.
But he'd turned her down, saying:
"It's quiet here. Good for training. And I'm used to it."
Training in Kido, Zanjutsu, Shunpo—techniques not meant to be witnessed in crowded places—was far easier in isolation.
"Fine, then. Tonight, you get to experience my specialty—grilled eel rice!"
Mei was almost too enthusiastic, throwing herself into cooking with the energy of a war general.
She even used Shadow Clones to dust and clean the entire house, while she began preparing the ingredients they'd bought.
Yoru's brow twitched slightly.
Last time she made eel rice… it tasted like charcoal. Burnt, bitter, sour—how did she even manage that?
Still… seeing how fired up she was, he could only hope her cooking had improved.
"…At worst, I've got backup ramen," he muttered, slipping into his room.
He sat down, reached into his storage scroll, and retrieved a dark crystalline shard.
[Spatial Lock Crystal]
Item Rank: A
Description: Locks a spatial coordinate. Can be combined with other dimensional techniques for various effects.
Cost: 10,000 Points
It wasn't flashy—but it was essential.
Techniques like Negación or Garganta required a spatial anchor like this.
A one-time use, permanent effect. Worth every point.
Yoru embedded the crystal into the space around his home. A new node instantly appeared in his dimensional sense.
Now he had a reliable teleport point here. A safety net.
With that done, he opened the long-ignored system panel.
Endless lists of items and techniques appeared—some familiar, many new.
He first checked his point total.
[Point Balance: 565,200]
After slaying Kakashi Hatake, his score had finally broken past the half-million mark.
Though he'd nearly emptied it all by unlocking Bankai, the subsequent battles had more than replenished him.
Some of it had gone toward essentials:
Iron Body (Hierro) for defense against teleporting assassins like Minato or Obito – 50,000 Points
Sonído, faster than Shunpo and just as spatially warped – 50,000 Points
Negación, the anti-space barrier for emergencies – 50,000 Points
A few spatial lock crystals and supplemental gear
Add it all up, and he'd spent over 100,000 points.
True war profiteering… now this is what "war gains" should look like.
He now had 560k+ left. Not infinite, but not lacking either.
But with no "half-price banners" like when he first got Hyorinmaru, his options were more limited.
He skimmed through the reward list:
Kido
Shinigami tech
Hollow or Quincy abilities
And then two entries caught his eye—
[Artificial Body Technology] (Gigai)
[Artificial Soul Technology] (Gikon)
He stopped scrolling.
His eyes narrowed.
Now things are about to get interesting…