[Land of Water, the Daimyo's Mansion]
In the elegantly and finely decorated lake district, in an unremarkable corner, the space suddenly twisted and distorted.
Two figures slowly appeared, Tobi and Yagura.
Yagura showed a trace of shock. A moment ago, he had only seen a flash before his eyes, and then he was transported to a place full of birdsong and flowers.
But before he could stay there long, he suddenly appeared here again.
He cautiously observed his surroundings, and soon found that the environment around him looked more and more familiar. As if he had seen it somewhere before.
Suddenly, something came to him, and he exclaimed in astonishment,
"This place... is the Daimyo's mansion?"
Tobi smiled, pointed at the huge lake not far away, and said, "That's right. Surprised? Unexpected?"
"You've been searching everywhere for the Three-Tails, never finding a trace. Yet in truth, it was never far away, but right before your eyes."
Yagura followed the direction of Tobi's finger, and suddenly understood.
Moreover… although the mansion where the Elder resided was not far from the Daimyo's estate, traveling there still required some time.
But just now, they had arrived here in only a few moments.
He looked at Tobi, his expression turning very serious, "The technique you used just now… was that some kind of space-time ninjutsu?"
Tobi said slowly, "You're really slow, huh. Only realizing that now?"
Yagura's wariness toward the masked man deepened once more.
It was one thing for him to possess powerful illusion techniques, but to also be able to use space-time ninjutsu.
Without markings, without external tools, aside from perhaps being slower than the legendary Yellow Flash in speed, in all other aspects, this technique even surpassed the Flying Thunder God.
He realized he had severely underestimated how dangerous the masked man before him truly was.
Tobi, however, patted Yagura's shoulder comfortingly, "Don't be so nervous. Relax a little."
"I've already told you, if I wanted to harm you, I could have done it long ago. The fact that I haven't means I bear you no ill will. If you trust me, then follow."
Having said that, Tobi no longer paid him any attention. He turned and casually walked toward the great lake.
Yagura hesitated for a moment.
Because he realized, although their arrival point wasn't exactly conspicuous, it was far from hidden.
Around them were plenty of maids and servants busy at work, and… samurai patrolling in all directions. Any of these people could discover them at any moment.
Yet just as he was hesitating, Tobi had already walked quite a distance ahead. After weighing things carefully, Yagura gritted his teeth and followed.
When he caught up to Tobi, he immediately whispered, "This is the Daimyo's estate, after all. We need to stay hidden. If we parade around like this and our identities are exposed, it'll cause serious trouble."
Tobi stopped, turned to glance at Yagura, and said mockingly, "So what if it's the Daimyo's mansion?"
"The Daimyo's still human, no different from commoners. Two eyes, one nose, one mouth, born and destined to die all the same. In fact… the Daimyo isn't even a ninja. His strength is pitifully weak."
"I'm afraid in the heart of that Elder of yours, the Daimyo is nothing more than a figurehead, a lucky charm with a fancy title."
Yagura couldn't help but look awkward. Because it was true, the Elders of the Mist Village didn't really hold much reverence for the Daimyo.
He could only reply, "Even so, there are still appearances to keep. If we ignore the rules entirely, the whole Land of Water will fall into chaos."
Tobi chuckled lightly, swaggered forward again, and said over his shoulder, "Stop wasting time with useless talk. If people could notice those around me so easily, you all would've found me long ago."
Yagura could only sigh helplessly and follow. Then he saw something astonishing. Along the way, all the servants, maids, and patrolling samurai acted as if they were blind, completely ignoring them.
The weather was clear and sunny; the sunlight even felt warm on his skin.
Yet Yagura suddenly felt a chill run down his back.
Everyone's eyes should've seen them, yet somehow, they instinctively overlooked their existence. It was one thing to fool ordinary people, but even he and Elder Genji hadn't sensed anything strange.
He suddenly felt that the masked man before him was becoming unreal. Like an illusion, a reflection of the moon on the water, or an image in a mirror.
Soon, the two of them reached the lakeside. Tobi looked at the still-stunned Yagura and interrupted his drifting thoughts.
"I know you can survive underwater. Come down with me."
With that, Tobi leapt into the lake.
Yagura came back to his senses, gave a bitter smile, and followed suit.
As an elite jonin of the Hidden Mist, he had plenty of experience surviving underwater.
The two of them swam downward, and before long, they reached the lakebed. Then Yagura saw it, deep in the murky depths lay a massive, turtle-like creature, sleeping soundly.
This was the Three-Tails, the very beast the Hidden Mist had searched for endlessly, never finding a trace.
To find the Three-Tails, over the years they had combed through every inch of the Land of Water, not even sparing the surrounding seas.
And yet… because they had overlooked this very place, all their past efforts had been for nothing.
Yagura couldn't help feeling a deep sigh well up in his heart, and a wry smile formed on his lips.
Seeing this, Tobi sneered, "This is the limitation of most ninja, anything connected to the Daimyo, and they instinctively avoid it…"
He paused, then continued, "Forget it. Some problems can't be fixed in a day or two. Stay here and don't move around. I'll go wake the Three-Tails."
Before Yagura could respond, Tobi had already approached the beast.
Once again, Yagura was shocked. Because he suddenly realized something.
'The masked man can… speak normally underwater?'
'How is that even possible?'
Recalling that strange, birdsong-filled space from earlier, Yagura pieced together a theory.
That must've been a separate dimension, isolated from the real world. The mysterious man could send part of his body, perhaps his head, into that space, allowing him to talk?
But even if that were true, how could his voice still travel normally through the real world?
What kind of ridiculous ability was this?
As Yagura's thoughts spiraled, Tobi had already reached the Three-Tails. Through mental energy, he gently stirred Isobu's consciousness.
Isobu slowly opened its eyes again.
It looked first at Tobi, who had found it once before, then at Yagura behind him, and connected its mind with the two of them.
Curiously, it said, ["So soon? You've already found me a new host?"]
Tobi replied, "Indeed. I've brought him here. What do you think?"
Isobu looked at Yagura's rather petite figure and said with some distaste, ["But isn't this kid… a bit too small?"]
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