"The first matter concerns the three Kirigakure Anbu from a couple of days ago."
"According to their own confession, their mission was to search for the whereabouts of Terumi Mei and her two companions."
"Terumi Mei-san holds a very high position in Kirigakure, so after her disappearance, the Yondaime Mizukage took it very seriously. He has now ordered a search of the entire sea."
"Yondaime Mizukage? The Three-Tails Jinchuriki, huh."
Naruto stroked his chin and asked, "What does Mei have to say about this?"
Kirigakure's actions were understandable. As the disciple of Elder Genji, Mei's status in Kirigakure was comparable to the Sannin of Konoha. Moreover, she was accompanied by a Byakugan user and one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Losing three key combatants in a village already struggling with a lack of talent was a devastating blow.
Especially Mei… In Kirigakure, her strength is only second to the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, making her the clear future Fifth Mizukage.
And if the timeline was about right, the Fourth Mizukage probably only had a year or two left, so Mei's importance was even greater now.
"Terumi Mei-san hopes that the leader will spare the three Anbu and has written a letter to explain the situation to Kirigakure."
Naruto crossed his hands and thought for a moment before saying, "No matter what, those three Kirigakure Anbu did attack the Land of Waves' patrol team. Although there were reasons behind it, their actions were still egregious. Let them continue their labor reform under Mui's supervision."
"As for the explanation, Mei is free to contact the outside world whenever she wants. I believe she's a smart person."
Naruto didn't think Terumi Mei would be foolish enough to let Kirigakure send their Ninjas to rescue her. After all, anyone they sent would just be free labor for the Land of Waves.
Moreover, she wouldn't reveal Naruto's future plans to the outside world. After all, if the Five Great Nations were to unite against Naruto, Kirigakure would be the first to suffer.
Who made Kirigakure too far away from the other four great Ninja Villages and too close to Land of Waves?
Kirigakure wasn't as large as Konoha, and Naruto's current strength was far beyond what it used to be. A single Great Spiralling Ring from him could wipe Kirigakure off the map.
"Understood, I'll inform Terumi Mei-san."
Kaho nodded and moved on to the second matter.
"This second matter is a bit strange. Two days ago, a cargo ship returning to the Land of Waves spotted a strange fortress floating in the sky above the sea. The captain, worried about the cargo being damaged, took a photo from a distance and immediately steered away."
As she spoke, Kaho pulled out a photo from the folder, her face filled with curiosity.
In all her years, she had never heard of a fortress that could float in the sky, let alone one so massive.
'A flying fortress?'
Naruto also took the photo with a puzzled expression and examined it closely.
Sure enough, there was a massive fortress hovering above the sea, with a bizarre design and a giant stone head at its center.
Naruto frowned slightly. In his vague, distant memories, he recalled there was something like this.
After thinking for a while, he finally recalled the key point.
A Ninja Village with military technology eerily close to modern times, the Land of Sky.
If he remembered correctly, this village's combat style was similar to that of an aircraft carrier. They had even developed a Zero-Tails, a creature made of dark Chakra, as the fortress's main cannon, with power comparable to a Tailed Beast Ball.
But the real reason why Naruto remembered this Ninja Village so deeply was not these Chakra Technologies that were incompatible with the Ninja World, but its leader.
His name was Shinno.
'But why would the Land of Sky's fortress appear in these waters? Was their headquarters nearby?'
After considering this, Naruto nodded and said, "The captain made the right call. If any ships encounter it in the future, they should steer clear and report it to me immediately."
"Understood."
Although Kaho was also curious about the flying fortress, she didn't press further since Naruto didn't elaborate. She continued, "The last matter is related to the Uchiha Clan."
"While organizing their scrolls, the Uchiha Clan discovered a record of a powerful weapon that has been passed down since ancient times."
"A weapon? What kind of weapon?"
A glint of interest flashed in Naruto's eyes, though he didn't show too much surprise. The Uchiha Clan, after all, was an ancient clan with centuries of history. It was only natural for their ancestors to leave behind some powerful artifacts.
He himself had several pairs of three-tomoe Sharingan in his possession.
These items were naturally taken from the Uchiha Clan's secret chamber. Not only had he collected the Uchiha Clan's Jutsu, but also their history, secrets, and wealth.
Naruto had only picked a few Jutsu to learn and hadn't gone through everything in detail. These were meant to serve as the foundation for building his faction.
Now that the Uchiha clan had fully pledged their loyalty, Naruto decided to return the scrolls to them, though he had made copies of the Jutsu. After all, these were now national assets.
Naruto hadn't expected that returning the scrolls to the Uchiha would yield such a pleasant surprise.
Though, for now, he would have to be disappointed.
Kaho shook her head and said, "The scroll recording this weapon is written in a coded language. Only the Uchiha Clan's successive clan heads and elders knew how to decipher it. But now..."
"Most of the Uchiha Clan's elders didn't survive, so they're still trying to figure out how to decode it."
Naruto's mouth couldn't help but twitch upon hearing this. 'Why report it so early if it was just going to get my hopes up for nothing?'
"So, have they deciphered anything yet?"
Seeing Naruto's expression, Kaho smiled and said, "They've managed to decode part of it. The weapon has been around since the Warring States Period and seems to be related to the Mangekyo Sharingan. However, because it was too powerful, it was sealed away by the Senju and Sarutobi Clans in a certain location."
"Right now, the Uchiha Clan is trying to crack the code to find that location."
After finishing her report, Kaho also grew curious.
Because after listening to her report, she noticed the flicker of surprise in Naruto's eyes.
After hearing Kaho's description, Naruto also recalled what the so-called 'weapon' was.
What had been sealed away by the Senju and Sarutobi Clans during the Warring States Period wasn't a weapon at all… it was a girl named Uchiha Hikari. (T/N: For those who don't know her, she's from the game, Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections.)
The Dojutsu of her Mangekyo Sharingan were nothing to scoff at.
"Tell the Uchiha Clan to speed up their decoding efforts. Once they've made progress, inform me. I'll go there myself."
Hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed Kaho's eyes. She hadn't expected Naruto to take this so seriously.
"Understood."
After reporting the events of the past two days, Kaho left the office.
Seeing that there was nothing else to attend to, Naruto sat back in his chair and slowly closed his eyes.
His consciousness sank into the seal space.
After dragging it out for so long, it was finally time to remove the last seal on the Nine-Tails.