The mission in the Land of Grass.
Because Shishou had waited half an hour before setting off, he was the first to find Uzumaki Eri and her daughter, resulting in the mission being a failure for Mikoto and her team.
Failure in a mission meant punishment, a rule Shishou had set with them beforehand.
Shishou didn't administer the punishment immediately, but that didn't mean he forgot. In fact, he was anticipating their failure, so there was no way he would forget.
Half an hour later.
Uchiha Mikoto, blushing, stepped out of her room wearing the 'cool' ninja outfit Shishou had given her, along with her Konoha forehead protector.
"How do I look?"
Due to her excitement, Mikoto's three-tomoe Sharingan appeared, and she glanced aside, unable to look directly at Shishou.
"Need you ask?"
"Of course, you look stunning."
Shishou praised her, immediately transforming into a ravenous wolf and pouncing on the delicacy before him.
He had accumulated a lot of pent-up energy from Uzumaki Eri and naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity.
...
In the following days,
Shishou stayed close to Mikoto, rarely appearing in public.
It wasn't until Mikoto couldn't take it anymore and kicked him out that he returned to Konoha.
"Yo, isn't that Kakashi, Guy, and Anko?"
"They're only getting back now?"
Shishou, wearing a thick winter coat, had just arrived in Konoha's streets when he saw Kakashi, Guy, and Anko returning from the Land of Demons.
They were heading to the Hokage's office to report.
Flying Thunder God really is convenient, Shishou thought with a chuckle, as he walked into a shop.
The New Year was approaching, and he needed to buy gifts for Mikoto and the others.
Feelings need to be nurtured.
Otherwise, even the best of relationships can fade.
Shishou deeply believed this.
Not knowing what the girls liked, Shishou bought each of them a piece of expensive clothing.
Normal clothing, of course.
He also got gifts for Hinata, Ino, and Naruto.
The ANBU following Naruto had been withdrawn, so Shishou had no more concerns.
He got Naruto a thick winter coat.
Shishou figured Naruto wouldn't buy such things for himself.
He bought Ino a pair of plush gloves with little pig decorations.
For Hinata, he got a set of medical books and a plush rabbit hat.
To change Hinata's timid nature and reluctance to go all out in battle, Shishou had been encouraging her to learn and engage with medical knowledge.
He hoped that dealing with corpses would increase her courage.
Having bought the gifts, Shishou first delivered them to Mikoto and the others, earning their heartfelt gratitude.
Uzumaki Eri was so moved she cried, as it was the first gift she had ever received in her life.
Karin felt similarly.
Shishou then delivered the gifts to Ino and Hinata.
Shishou's exploits against Sasuke had reached the parents, and as an outstanding student representative, Shishou was warmly welcomed by Ino and her parents.
Especially Ino's mother, left a very good impression on Shishou.
Gentle, beautiful, and graceful.
This stirred Shishou's mischievous heart.
But if he had to choose one, Shishou would still choose Ino.
As for Hinata, due to the rules of the Hyuga clan, Shishou didn't get to speak much with her.
After a boring meal where words were scarce, Shishou took his leave.
Despite this, Hinata was very happy, walking Shishou to the door.
"Where could he have gone?"
In the evening, Shishou went to Naruto's house and found it empty.
But it wasn't unusual.
If Naruto stayed put, he wouldn't be Naruto.
Leaving the gift behind, Shishou turned to leave.
Just as he stepped out, he saw Naruto on the street, looking dejected and out of place amidst the festive surroundings.
Every New Year, seeing others in high spirits, Naruto felt especially lonely.
Because he was always alone.
"Sigh."
Shishou sighed, calling out to Naruto:
"Naruto, where have you been? Come here."
Hearing someone call him, Naruto looked up.
Seeing Shishou at his door, he smiled and ran over, asking:
"Shishou, what are you doing here?"
"Hey, I brought you something."
Shishou pointed to the gift at Naruto's door.
Seeing that Shishou had brought him a gift, Naruto's eyes lit up with excitement:
"Shishou, is this really for me?"
"Of course."
"Thank you, Shishou, you're the best."
"Don't mention it. Put it away, and let's go get some ramen. My treat."
"Great, I'll have two bowls."
"Sure, as many as you can eat, even ten."
"Shishou is the best~~~"
"Haha..."
...
Night.
At the entrance of Ichiraku Ramen.
"Shishou, I'm heading home."
After finishing ramen, Naruto cheerfully parted ways with Shishou.
He couldn't wait to see what Shishou had given him.
"Okay, you go ahead. I'm heading home too."
Shishou waved goodbye to Naruto.
Poor kid, Shishou thought as he watched Naruto run off, smiling before walking away.
Walking along,
Shishou suddenly froze in place.
He realized whom he should ask for Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques.
Currently, the sealing techniques left by the Uzumaki clan—
Konoha had them, but they wouldn't give them to him.
Tsunade had them, but she wouldn't give them to him either.
Orochimaru probably had them, but Shishou couldn't find him at the moment.
Moreover, it was uncertain if Orochimaru had obtained the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques like in the original Fourth Shinobi War.
Since Orochimaru likely started searching for the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques after having his hands sealed by the Third Hokage, seeking a way to break the Reaper Death Seal.
Aside from these,
the only option left was Uzumaki Kushina, whose soul was sealed within Naruto.
This idea had just occurred to Shishou.
Kushina would probably teach Uzumaki Eri the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques.
However, learning sealing techniques wasn't something that could be done quickly.
Flying Thunder God, although difficult, had relatively few points of knowledge. Shishou could memorize it and slowly master it with his talent.
The Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques were different; they were an entire system of knowledge, vast and complex, not comparable to a single jutsu.
So, figuring out how to keep Kushina's soul around long enough to teach him or Uzumaki Eri was Shishou's problem to solve.
"This needs careful planning. I need to think this through."
With determination, Shishou felt quite happy.
Once he had the right direction, he just needed to solve the problems along the way.
"Let's see if there's any progress on Danzo's side."
"If he's succeeded, I won't need to find Orochimaru for Hashirama's cells."
With this in mind, Shishou looked around and disappeared.
...
Hokage's Office.
With the New Year approaching, the Third Hokage was busy with various meetings.
It wasn't until the evening that he had time to meet Kakashi and his team, who had returned from the Land of Demons.
"Mr. Lurigan and Ikari, what kind of names are these?"
"Never heard of them."
After hearing the report, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, frowned in thought.
Two suddenly appeared mercenary powerhouses in the Land of Demons, possessing a large insect summon and helping the priestess seal a beast as powerful as a Tailed Beast, 'Moryo.'
Anyone capable of helping the priestess seal 'Moryo' was no ordinary person, likely a shinobi of Kage-level strength.
And these two had no prior reputation, as if they had appeared out of nowhere.
This puzzled the Third Hokage.
But since they had left contact information, they were clearly not fugitives.
No need to delve too deeply into it.
In the future, keep an eye on them and try to win them over.
Having figured it out, the Third Hokage looked at Kakashi and his team, saying:
"Alright, you've done well. Take a week off."
"In a week, return to your posts."
Kakashi and his team responded in unison:
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
...
Similar conversations were happening in the Sand and Stone Villages.
After the news of the 'Moryo Incident' spread across the ninja world,
the names Mr. Lurigan and Ikari began to be known in all the countries.