"Bored? Actually, this universe has many exciting places. If you and Kushina feel bored, I can have 18 build you a spaceship to go sightseeing."
Hyuga Mirai suggested, but that wasn't what Ayaka Uzumaki meant. She didn't know how to bring it up, and she was a bit reluctant herself.
"It's not that kind of problem..."
Ayaka Uzumaki leaned against Hyuga Mirai's chest, her rounded whiteness slightly deformed from the embrace. She had only just been reunited with Mirai-kun, so asking her to talk about this was really difficult.
But she had boasted before, and Ayaka Uzumaki also felt that with such long lifespans, some issues could be ignored. However, she hadn't told Kiyo, because if she did, she would definitely get a beating, like what happened to Kurenai Yuhi before, getting spanked on the sofa.
"Never mind, I won't say it."
Ayaka Uzumaki really didn't know how to bring it up, so she decided to put it off for a while. For now, she just wanted to enjoy being by Mirai-kun's side and make up for the past seven years. Thinking this, Ayaka Uzumaki buried her face in Hyuga Mirai's chest, took a deep breath, and her mood immediately calmed down considerably.
Hyuga Mirai felt a bit strange. He could use the Mind Stone to see what Ayaka Uzumaki was thinking, but there was no need. So he stroked her red hair and started thinking about other things.
That feeling of being watched earlier still made him uncomfortable. His senses wouldn't be wrong, but he hadn't found anyone. Or rather, the entity wasn't in this universe.
Even the Celestials probably couldn't spy on him with the Infinity Stones.
Entities beyond a single universe: dimensional gods, the Watcher, or others. But regardless, they all surpassed the level of a single universe. If Hyuga Mirai could fully use the six Infinity Stones, he could also channel the universe's energy to surpass a single universe.
Dormammu was a relatively weak dimension lord. The truly strong ones were at the multiversal level.
But he needed time. First, he had to evolve himself to the limit of a single universe, then adapt to the most fundamental power within this universe.
Too many strange things had happened. Ever since he started dealing with the power of time, Hyuga Mirai had lost the feeling of controlling everything. He sensed higher-level existences but had no way to deal with them.
Hyuga Mirai couldn't just put his heart at ease and wait for them to show up. Without preparation, it would constantly worry him.
The Time Stone could see the future, but the future timelines Hyuga Mirai saw all seemed to be good ones. Among millions of timelines, even the moderately good ones showed the ninja world civilization dominating the entire universe, with the name Hyuga becoming the master of the universe.
In the slightly worse ones, countless time-travelers came from the future, but they didn't negatively affect Hyuga Mirai or the ninja world civilization. Instead, they were captured by Orochimaru and Senju Tobirama, who 'dissected' all the secrets from their minds.
If he only looked at the Time Stone, Hyuga Mirai felt he had nothing to worry about. The Time Stone was the most powerful force in this universe. Any external force that came here would be recorded by the universe and could be seen through the Time Stone.
'Build a time machine, then farm Celestials to develop myself.'
Hyuga Mirai's idea was very bold. His own strength was still slightly weaker than a Celestial's, but with the six Infinity Stones, Celestials could only be raised like pigs by him.
As for more matters, Hyuga Mirai planned to follow the information seen by the Time Stone and lie in wait for future visitors. With enough information, he could have multiple responses.
With the Infinity Stones in hand, as long as this universe wasn't destroyed, there would be no immediate danger.
Hyuga Mirai felt somewhat relieved, then turned over and pinned Ayaka Uzumaki beneath him.
"Mirai-kun? ... Mm~"
At the Uchiha house, specifically Uchiha Mikoto's home, still the one next to Hyuga Mirai and Uzumaki Kushina's place. After Uchiha Sasuke got married, he moved out, but he still came back occasionally.
Uchiha Sasuke got married a year later than Naruto, and only because Uchiha Mikoto pushed him. Otherwise, Sasuke probably would have stayed in his Security Force position until he was thirty before considering heirs.
In the morning, Uchiha Mikoto diligently prepared breakfast. It was rare for Sasuke to come back, so she put in a lot of effort. Having defected to Hyuga Mirai early, and with Uchiha Sasuke's Indra chakra having helped Hyuga Mirai considerably, Mikoto had also benefited from the lifespan-extending potion.
Time seemed to have no effect on her. Mikoto's gentle and dignified temperament was very outstanding, and beneath this temperament, an undeniable mature charm radiated. Ordinary young girls had no confidence standing next to Mikoto.
The fact that she could give birth to someone as handsome as Uchiha Sasuke was entirely due to Mikoto's genes. If Sasuke had looked anything like Uchiha Fugaku, he wouldn't have attracted so many girls' affection when he was young.
"Mom, I might be leaving soon, and it will be for a considerable time."
During the meal, Uchiha Sasuke spoke. He had brought his wife back specifically to tell Mikoto this. Leader Senju Tobirama was preparing preliminary space exploration missions. Even if not for space immigration, they needed to bring back a large amount of resources for development.
Sasori was taking the lead on this. He needed to survey more resources in space, looking for rare metals or meteorites. The Security Force and the Engineering Department would provide most of the personnel. The initial plan was for three thousand people.
Senju Tobirama had already thoroughly surveyed the planets near the ninja world planet. Within five light-years, there were four habitable life-bearing planets, and many other planets contained vast resources. Bringing them back would allow the ninja world civilization to develop rapidly.
The Security Force, as the vanguard, had a heavy mission. They might only return once every few years. However, Senju Tobirama had already considered building several large space stations as relay points.
After several years of development, about one-third of the explored resources on the ninja world planet had been consumed. When Hyuga Mirai learned of this, he asked in detail and then realized that Senju Tobirama truly deserved to be the leader.
Apart from him, only a non-lazy Kakashi Hatake could compare to Senju Tobirama.
Using Pure Land energy and tailed beast chakra to clone White Zetsu, while greatly elevating the status of the Puppetry Division. Now, the Engineering Department ranked in the top three within the Federation, and within the Engineering Department, the Mechanical Puppet Corps had the highest status.
The tirelessly working White Zetsu and the solar-powered mining puppets had been mining continuously for ten years, constantly updating the ninja world's infrastructure. Aside from some stylistic differences, the overall development was about thirty years ahead of Earth's technological level.
Because Hyuga Mirai had left a foundation, and the Federation still hadn't fully digested it.
Hearing Sasuke's words, Uchiha Mikoto felt a bit sad, but still asked, "How long will you be gone?"
"The first batch might take a while, about five or six years. That's why I'm bringing That's why I'm bringing Kiko with me with me. Right now..."
Uchiha Sasuke paused here. He was a bit worried about his mother. If Uchiha Mikoto hadn't already retired from the Security Force, Sasuke would have tried to convince her to come along. After all, the Security Force mostly performed guard and escort tasks, and it wouldn't be too tiring in the space station.
"Don't worry about me, Sasuke. I have Kushina. Life is so much better now than before."
Mikoto smiled gently. A few years were nothing. She couldn't let herself become a burden to Sasuke. And if she missed him, seeing him wouldn't be difficult.
"I understand. If something comes up, don't worry about my mission."
Sasuke said with concern. Compared to his mother's life, he was thinking more about something else. "If you like, then go ahead..."
"What?"
Hearing this, Mikoto's face showed a moment of daze.
"Nothing. Just follow your heart. Don't let the past bind you anymore."
After saying this, Sasuke glanced at the time, then stood up and said to Mikoto, "It's about time. Kiko and I need to go to the Security Force meeting." Both he and his wife were in the Security Force now, though Kiko was administrative staff.
"Be careful."
Mikoto saw Sasuke and Kiko off. Returning to the living room and sitting down, she was still thinking about Sasuke's words.
Don't let the past bind you...
She didn't seem to be bound by the past anymore. Mikoto looked at herself in the mirror. Her appearance seemed frozen around thirty years old. Her skin was as fair as a young girl's. Her plump thighs, wrapped in black stockings under her skirt, were something Kushina had envied more than once.
Actually, Kushina herself was not bad either. She always maintained a young mindset. With their lifespans multiplied by dozens, they didn't need to worry about their beauty fading.
"Could Sasuke mean..."
Mikoto suddenly thought of what Kushina had told her last time, then connected it with what Sasuke had just said. That child thought she was still thinking about Fugaku?
The memorial tablet at home was left for Sasuke as a remembrance. Mikoto herself had long moved on. Life was so good now. Except that the house was sometimes quiet, everything else was fine.
Mikoto was suddenly surprised to find that Sasuke's words today had stirred up some memories. But she had even forgotten what Fugaku looked like. The first thing that came to mind instead was the young man who used to call her 'madam'...
What Kushina and Ayaka had talked about when drunk last time, about trying or not trying, Mikoto had originally taken it as a joke. But when Hyuga Mirai actually returned, she felt her long-calm heart suddenly become active.
"Really, why did Kushina have to say that kind of thing, and drag me into it too..."
After complaining, Mikoto suddenly thought: could Kushina have boldly and secretly discussed it with Ayaka? They had seemed quite close lately. A few days ago, when Mirai-kun returned, she had visited more proactively than Mikoto.
If she didn't have that intention, wouldn't she behave like that? Mikoto suddenly felt she was overthinking. She shook her head and reassured herself, "That was just a joke, not serious."
But what if Kushina had taken it seriously?
She had always been bold, even back in Konoha. And from some of Kushina's behaviors, Mikoto could clearly sense her dependence on Mirai-kun. After all, he had saved her from Konoha. That dependence, with the passage of time, had probably turned into affection.
Because Kushina had a history of that: the catalyst for her falling for someone seemed to be being saved from despair.
"I need to... keep an eye on Kushina. At least I can't let..." Can't let her go alone secretly.
Thinking this, Mikoto stood up from the sofa and quickly walked toward the door. She was going to Kushina's house to gather some information.
"Where is this?"
Kiyo Hyuga asked curiously. An endless expanse of darkness. If Hyuga Mirai beside her wasn't emitting light, she probably wouldn't even see her own hand.
Hyuga Mirai said, "It should be considered the edge of the universe, though that's not precise. Three seconds ago it was, but now the edge is hundreds of light-years away."
Kiyo Hyuga asked suspiciously, "What are we doing here?"
"Looking for a lone Celestial. He was supposed to observe the birth of new Celestials or use his abilities to create universes, but he's not doing that at all. It seems he has no intention. So, we'll use him to plant the God Tree."
As soon as Hyuga Mirai finished speaking, he saw a light flying toward them from afar, stopping a few million kilometers away.
"He's noticed us and sensed my intent."
Hyuga Mirai said with a smile. He raised his right hand, on which four Infinity Stones were embedded: Soul, Mind, Space, and Time. He couldn't yet handle all six Infinity Stones, but four were enough to deal with a Celestial.
As long as he didn't overuse cosmic energy, Hyuga Mirai didn't have to worry about getting hurt.
After sensing the danger, the Celestial immediately stopped, but the space around it had already been locked. Its soul and mind were also erased and controlled instantly. Aside from a vast amount of energy, this Celestial was now essentially an empty shell.
This Celestial was born less than ten million years ago, an anomaly. If they didn't capture it now, in thirteen years, it would still wander near the ninja world star system and be killed by Hyuga Mirai.
Hyuga Mirai said, "Let's go back. With its life energy, it should be able to grow two or three God Tree fruits."
"So it's that simple."
"Of course. Did you think there would be a big battle? Without the Stones, I'd be no match for a Celestial in my current state."
After saying that, Hyuga Mirai put his arm around Kiyo's slender waist and used the Space Stone to bring the Celestial's body back, placing it within three light-years of the ninja world star system.
Then he could rest for a few years, waiting for the universe's God Tree fruit to mature.
(End of chapter)