Yoichi lightly knocked on Rumi's head before heading home.
He was selecting Hokage candidates precisely so he could relax, and here his cheeky student was, suggesting he return to be her secretary.
Did she get the idea from seeing him call back Sakumo earlier this afternoon?
After dinner, Yoichi lay in his courtyard on top of Gates, watching Sasuke, Karin, and the others train.
Ever since they witnessed a portion of Yoichi's power, Sasuke and Karin had thrown themselves into intense training, even dragging Naruto along with them.
Naruto had practically become Karin's little follower. Unlike Sasuke, he knew how to yield to Karin, so she didn't bully him. Sasuke, on the other hand, stubbornly refused to back down, leading to him being frequently bullied by Karin.
The only time Sasuke found refuge was when he hid behind Itachi, but then Naruto would mock him at Karin's command, pushing Sasuke to charge out, only to be beaten down by Karin again.
"Gates, how long are you going to use 'evolution' as an excuse? How many times have you dodged battles because of that?"
As Yoichi lay atop the giant bear, he suddenly remembered the creature beneath him. During the war, Gates had helped out a little, but once it ended, Gates settled into a comfortable retirement on the Uchiha compound.
He lived a life of luxury, feasting on one or two thousand pounds of meat daily, along with fruit, cakes, and honey. His life was better than Yoichi's.
Sometimes Gates would disappear for months, and if it weren't for the soul contract letting Yoichi track him, he might have thought the bear was dead.
"Roar~!"
Gates growled, sending a soul transmission to Yoichi: 'Master, while I've eaten plenty, if I could consume a few strong life forces, I'd be able to evolve into the Great Earth Bear King. I'd be far stronger than now—even you—'
Smack! Smack!
"How dare you use reverse psychology on me, trying to provoke your master? You think I'll let you hide underground again!"
Yoichi slapped the bear's belly, though Gates didn't mind. His thick skin made him impervious to such hits, and he even exposed his soft belly for Yoichi to strike. All he cared about was receiving the same life force Yoichi had given him last time.
After giving Tsunade life energy, Yoichi had saved some and given it to Gates. Ever since then, the bear had become clingy, constantly sending soul transmissions to Yoichi, trying to mooch more life energy.
'Master, just a little more, and once I evolve into the Great Earth Bear King, I'll take care of any enemies for you.'
"I barely have any enemies that need dealing with anyway. Fine, once you evolve, I'll send you straight to the battlefield."
With that, Yoichi made up his mind. The giant turtle at Turtle Island had been located and wouldn't need to be moved again. Even if the turtle died, the island wouldn't sink. He planned to use Yomi no Izanami to absorb its life force.
It was a bit of a shame. Turtles that could grow to the size of small islands were incredibly rare, and those tamed by shinobi were even rarer. Perhaps only in the deep ocean could another such creature exist.
"Wait here. I'll be back soon."
Yoichi was just about to head to Turtle Island to collect the giant turtle's life force when Itachi approached, somewhat hesitantly. "Father..."
"What is it, Itachi?"
"I... have a question about what you would do with him."
Yoichi didn't need to guess; the "him" Itachi referred to was Uchiha Fugaku. There wasn't anyone else Itachi would be concerned about.
"That guy, huh? Don't worry. I don't plan on executing him, even though he intended to harm the village."
Yoichi explained. Fugaku posed no real threat anymore; in fact, he might even be hoping for Yoichi to execute him.
"While I won't kill him, he won't be a shinobi anymore, and he'll have to face punishment. You understand why, right, Itachi?"
Yoichi was considering sending Fugaku to work in one of the mining areas, along with the other shinobi whose chakra had been sealed. The Land of Fire was rapidly expanding its rail system and severely lacked resources.
In the past, the Land of Fire was mostly self-sufficient in terms of resources. But now, they were importing materials from other nations, and the construction companies within the land were making money almost as fast as shinobi, thanks to the abundance of work.
"I understand. He made mistakes, so he must be punished. Thank you, Father."
"Go ahead. You may have missed the chance to be the Sixth Hokage, but you can still aim for the Seventh."
Yoichi encouraged Itachi before teleporting to Turtle Island with Hiraishin no Jutsu.
The giant turtle was still under the control of his Sharingan and remained in the sea near the Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Fire. As long as Kirigakure didn't send shinobi to investigate, no one would discover Turtle Island.
Kushina had even set up a barrier here, so ordinary people wouldn't "accidentally" stumble upon the island.
Turtle Island served two purposes: first, the waterfall of truth, which remained even if the turtle died. Second, it could move freely, but Yoichi no longer intended to relocate it. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the island would remain here.
"It's a pity, but you've outlived your usefulness. Yomi no Izanami!"
Yoichi's eyes morphed into six-tomoe Rinnegan, and the domain of life and death expanded around him, covering part of the giant turtle's body as he began draining its life force.
Even though the turtle was under a Sharingan-induced genjutsu, its body instinctively fought back as its life force drained away. But its struggles were futile, as the life force surged toward Yoichi like a flood breaching a dam.
The turtle was so massive that even the five-kilometer radius of Yomi no Izanami couldn't fully envelop it. The turtle was likely larger than the entirety of the Forest of Death.
As Yoichi absorbed its life force, he teleported twice more using Hiraishin no Jutsu to better target the turtle. After about ten minutes, the turtle's life force was fully drained.
With a final wail, the turtle died as the Sharingan genjutsu wore off.
Even in death, Turtle Island didn't sink. The loss of life force had left hollow cavities inside the turtle's body, turning its shell into a massive, floating structure.
"Such a huge amount of life force... After Gates evolves, I should have plenty left over. If Tobirama handles Sunagakure well, maybe I'll even resurrect him."
With the life energy in hand, Yoichi teleported back to his courtyard, right beside Gates.
Gates stood up immediately upon seeing him return, wagging his tongue like an excited dog. 'Master, did it work?'
"Will your evolution make a lot of noise?"
'It shouldn't, but I'd feel better doing it in a more open area with my natural body.'
The bear grinned, suggesting Yoichi ride on his back. He wanted to carry his master outside.
Instead, Yoichi kicked the bear's large backside, annoyed at his lazy behavior. After informing Mikoto and Minato of his plans, he took Gates outside the village.
"This spot should work. Let's hope you succeed in your evolution."
Yoichi conjured a massive ball of life energy, its presence so potent that nearby forests began sprouting new leaves, and grass grew at a speed visible to the naked eye.
'Is all of this for me? Thank you, Master!'
"Thank me? You'd better not burst from overeating. I'd be impressed if you can even digest half of this."
Yoichi scoffed at the bear's enthusiasm. Gates was currently about thirty meters tall, while the turtle had been several kilometers in size and had lived for hundreds of years.
The turtle could have lived for a thousand years, but it crossed paths with Yoichi.
Yoichi split off about a third of the life energy and threw it into Gates' mouth. The bear swallowed it, but before he could lick his lips, his body began to expand uncontrollably.
"Roar!!"
The thirty-meter bear roared as his body swelled, starting his evolution process.
Golden light enveloped Gates, and his limbs, paws, and fur began to change. Yoichi, watching from a distance, noticed that the earth's energy was rapidly converging on Gates.
"He's already started evolving."
As Gates stood on all fours, his body grew to over forty meters, and his fur took on a golden hue as his power surged.
At this point, it was clear Gates had eaten too much, forcing him to evolve immediately to avoid being overwhelmed.
For over half an hour, the energy from the earth continued to flow into Gates. Yoichi kept a close watch on the bear, ready to step in and seal him if he couldn't handle the evolution.
Such a large amount of life energy would normally need to be sealed within a body for slow absorption. No one could handle the raw power all at once.
But Gates was brute-forcing the process, forcing the energy into himself and digesting it. Luckily, he succeeded.
"Roar!"
Another powerful roar erupted from Gates, this time filled with joy. Now, standing on all fours, he was over fifty meters tall. If he stood upright, he would likely be close to one hundred meters in height.
Gates had fully evolved into the Great Earth Bear King.
"Gates, now that you've evolved, show me your new strength!"
Yoichi stood before the giant bear, his chakra flaring as he summoned the skeletal form of his Susanoo.
Crack! Crack!
In mere seconds, the blue armor of Susanoo grew, towering over Gates at over 400 meters tall. Even if Gates stood upright, he would barely reach the knees of Yoichi's Susanoo.
How could he possibly fight against that?
Gates flopped onto his back, exposing his belly in surrender.
"Get up, you lazy bear! If you don't fight, I'll stomp you flat!"
Despite Yoichi's threats, Gates refused to budge, rolling over and flattening the nearby forest as he pretended not to hear.
Eventually, Yoichi had no choice but to let the bear off the hook. After testing a few of Gates' new abilities, he led the bear back home.
"Sleep in the courtyard tonight, lazy bear. Tomorrow, I'm sending you to the battlefield in the Land of Rain!"
Upon returning, Yoichi gave Gates a hard kick, but the bear didn't care. He rolled around the grass a couple of times before settling into his usual sleeping spot.
Though there hadn't been much fighting, Gates had expended a lot of energy firing dozens of Beast King Roar Bombs, but by stomping on the earth, he quickly recovered.
The Beast King Roar Bombs now had an annihilation effect. It took five Sage Art: Wood Release: Wood Locking Walls for Yoichi to block a single bomb.
Gates' gravity technique had also increased to 30 times the normal gravity, and his shield had grown even stronger. Apart from a Tailed Beast Bomb, there wasn't much that could penetrate it.
After testing all of Gates' abilities, Yoichi concluded that apart from the Nine-Tails, none of the other tailed beasts could stand against Gates.
"Yoichi-kun, you're back."
Mikoto greeted him at the door, helping him change shoes as she informed him, "Sasuke and Karin are already asleep."
"Mikoto, how about a bath? You and Mina both. I've got a surprise for you."
Mikoto blushed at his suggestion, feeling shy despite the lack of anyone else nearby. In a soft, scolding tone, she said, "Yoichi-kun, don't say such suggestive things..."
"This time it's really something good."
Without further explanation, Yoichi wrapped an arm around her and led her upstairs. He had already mentioned the life energy to Mikoto and Mina, and Tsunade had already benefited from it.
Mikoto was now in her thirties, still maintaining a graceful and mature charm, but deep down, she probably wanted to feel younger again.
Back on the second floor, Mikoto and Mina received their surprise, and Yoichi was equally rewarded. Tonight, he played the role of the lord, enjoying an entirely hands-free experience.
(End of Chapter)
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